Death SS

Death SS
General information
Genre (s)	Initially heavy metal , later crossover
founding	1977, 1987, 2012
resolution	1984, 2008
Website	http://www.deathss.com/
Founding members
singing	Steve Sylvester (until 1982, 1987-2008, since 2012)
guitar	Paul Chain (until 1984)
bass	Danny Hughes (Daniele Ugolini) (until 1978, † 1983)
Drums	Tommy Chaste (Tomaso Castaldi) (until 1979)
Current occupation
singing	Steve New Years Eve
guitar	Al De Noble (2007-2008, since 2012)
bass	Glenn Strange (2005–2008, since 2012)
Keyboard	Freddy Delirio (1994–1996, 2005–2008, since 2012)
Drums	Bozo Wolff (since 2012)
former members
singing	Sanctis Ghoram (1982–1984, † 2004)
guitar	Claude Galley (1980–1981)
guitar	Christian Wise (1987-1989)
guitar	Kurt Templar (1987-1991)
guitar	Alberto Simioni (1989)
guitar	Kevin Reynolds (1989-1991)
guitar	Maurizio Figliolia (1991)
guitar	Jason Minelli (1991-1994)
guitar	Al Priest (1991-1994)
guitar	Vincent Phibes (1994-1997)
guitar	Felix Moon (1994-1998)
guitar	Emil Bandera (1996-2006)
guitar	Simon Garth (Ilario Danti) (1998)
guitar	Simon Garth (Nardo Lunardi) (1998)
guitar	Francis Thorn (2007-2008)
bass	Danny Hughes (Gabriele Tommasini) (1978-1982)
bass	Claude Galley (1982-1984)
bass	Erik Landley (1987-1989)
bass	Marc Habey (1989–1990)
bass	Andy Barrington (1990-1993)
bass	Judas Kenton (1994-1996)
bass	Andrei Karloff (1997-1999)
bass	Kaiser Sose (1999-2002)
bass	Bob Daemon (2002-2005)
Keyboard	Marcel Skirr (1992-1993)
Keyboard	Oleg Smirnoff (1997-2005)
Drums	Tommy Chaste (Franco Caforio) (1979–1980)
Drums	Tommy Chaste (Andrea Vianelli) (1981-1984)
Drums	Boris Hunter (1987-1991)
Drums	Ross Lukather (1991-1997, 2005)
Drums	Anton Chaney (1997-2005)
Drums	Dave Simeone (2006-2008)

Death SS is an Italian metal band formed in Pesaro in 1977 . Their music combines elements of horror and occultism with metal; its founder and only remaining original member Steve Sylvester sees the band as a magical musical project and was a long time member of the Ordo Templi Orientis , over whose Italian branch he oversaw. At the beginning the band played heavy metal , later other influences flowed in, for example from nu metal .

The band name does not refer to the NSDAP's Schutzstaffel , but stands for “ In Death of S teve S ylvester ” and thus refers to the name of their singer; he stands for the death of his old self and its rebirth as an entity within the band. He also emphasizes that Death SS is not a political band and has “absolutely nothing to do with Nazi stuff”.

Band history

Steve "The Vampire" Sylvester founded Death SS in 1977 with Paul "Death" Chain, Danny "Mummy" Hughes and Thomas "Werewolf" Chaste. A little later, Claud "Zombie" Galley joined the band. The band members used pseudonyms that were passed on from members to their successors, especially in the early phase of the group. Alice Cooper and Kiss , who had been his greatest idols in Sylvester's childhood, and the films by Hammer Film Productions had a great influence . Likewise, were Clive Jones and his band Black Widow always been an important influence and has frequently been covered by Death SS. In 1981 the band recorded the demo Horned God of the Witches , which quickly caught on in the underground. Appearances took place in the costumes appropriate to the nickname; Sylvester believes that a band's image has to match their music and places great emphasis on their aesthetics and choreography. Because of psychological problems, Sylvester did not take part in Death SS from 1982 onwards. He was briefly active again in 1984 with Death SS, but Paul Chain left the band to follow solo plans, and the rest of the band fell apart shortly afterwards.

After Sylvester moved to Florence , he looked for new members. A collection of the old demos and EPs was first published in 1987, followed the following year with ... in Death of Steve Sylvester, the debut album. Sylvester gives 1988 as the year the band was founded, since he never left the band; at that time he took a satanic oath that he had to respect. Black Mass , released in 1989, used elements of Gregorian chant , a novelty in metal, which also attracted the attention of the band abroad. In Germany the band name caused confusion again and again, which is why u. a. A second booklet was specially designed for the live album The Cursed Concert, which was released in 1992 . Copies intended for trade in Germany were given a booklet printed with the full band name.

In the next few years, other albums and EPs were released at irregular intervals with changing line-ups. On the third album Heavy Demons , the band turned to a more straightforward style, with the metal elements over the horror elements came to the fore. After that, Steve Sylvester began a solo career and released his first solo album Free Man in 1993 , before becoming active again with Death SS. After Do What Thou Wilt from 1997, on which the band first worked with a keyboard player who played the character "Phantom of the Opera", as well as another solo album under the title Mad Messiah , Sylvester reduced the thelemic references as he did them felt exhausted and did not want to repeat itself. However, they never completely disappeared. In addition, from the album Panic, more industrial elements flowed into the sound image of the band, which were expanded on the following Humanomalies . The look of the band also underwent profound changes, as the old costumes were replaced with leather outfits. 2001 Death SS released almost simultaneously the EP Let the Sabbath Begin and the single Transilvania ; on the first is Hymn of the Satanic Empire, or The Battle Hymn of the Apocalypse , which was originally written by Anton Szandor LaVey and pays homage to him. In 2006, The 7th Seal was released , the title of which refers to a magical ritual that the band performed at the time of their formation and fulfilled with this album. The album has an apocalyptic atmosphere and contains references to, among other things, the Revelation of John , the Kabbalah , numerology with reference to the number seven , the sexual practices of tantric magic.

On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the band, Death SS played a concert at the Headbangers Open Air in 2008, which was taken as a farewell to the band from various sides. This was not confirmed, however, as Death SS continued to have isolated appearances and from 2012 worked in a permanent line-up on their eighth album, which was entitled Resurrection and was released a year later.

Discography

Demos

• 1981: Horned God of the Witches
• 1982: Demo II

Studio albums

• 1988: ... in Death of Steve Sylvester (Discomagic / Metalmaster)
• 1989: Black Mass (Discomagic / Metalmaster)
• 1991: Heavy Demons (Contempo Records / Rosemary's Baby)
• 1997: Do What Thou Wilt (Lucifer Rising)
• 2000: Panic (Lucifer Rising)
• 2002: Humanomalies (Lucifer Rising)
• 2006: The 7th Seal (Lucifer Rising)
• 2013: Resurrection (Lucifer Rising)
• 2018: Rock 'n' Roll Armageddon (Lucifer Rising)

Live albums

• 1992: The Cursed Concert (Contempo Records)
• 1998: Il ritorno degli occulti (Cursed Coven, limited to 200 pieces)
• 2006: Live 1990: The Complete Black Mass Show (Cursed Coven, limited to 200 pieces)
• 2009: Live 2008 I - Gods of Metal (self-published)

Singles

• 1982: Zombie / Terror (self-published)
• 1982: The Night of the Witch (self-published)
• 1983: Profanation (self-published)
• 1989: Horrible Eyes (Lucifer Rising)
• 1989: Vampire (Metalmaster)
• 1989: In the Darkness / The Mandrake Root (Metalmaster)
• 1991: Heavy Demons / Baphomet (Contempo Records)
• 1996: Chains of Death (Lucifer Rising)
• 1997: Come to the Sabbath (Lucifer Rising)
• 1997: Guardian Angel (Lucifer Rising)
• 2003: Hell on Earth (Lucifer Rising, promo single)
• 2003: Sinful Dove (Lucifer Rising, picture single)
• 2004: The Sleep of Reason (Lucifer Rising, promo single)
• 2005: Give 'em Hell (Lucifer Rising)
• 2005: The Golem (D-Maniacs)
• 2013: Ogre's Lullaby (Lucifer Rising)
• 2014: Dionysus (Lucifer Rising)

EPs

• 1983: Evil Metal (Metal Eye)
• 1990: Kings of Evil (Metalmaster)
• 1991: Where Have You Gone? (Contempo Records)
• 1993: Straight to Hell (Contempo Records)
• 1998: Baron Samedi (Lucifer Rising)
• 1999: Scarlet Woman (Lucifer Rising)
• 2000: Hi-Tech Jesus (Lucifer Rising)
• 2000: Lady of Babylon (Lucifer Rising)
• 2001: Let the Sabbath Begin (Lucifer Rising)
• 2001: Transilvania (Lucifer Rising, single)
• 2003: Pain (Lucifer Rising)
• 2012: The Darkest Night (Lucifer Rising)
• 2013: Eaters (Lucifer Rising)

Compilations

• 1987: The Story of Death SS (1977–1984) (Minotauro)
• 1995: The Cursed Singles ( Avantgarde Music , Box-Set)
• 1996: Horror Music: The Best of Death SS (Lucifer Rising)
• 1998: Night of the Living Death SS (Lucifer Rising, box set)
• 1998: The 666 Box (Lucifer Rising, box set)
• 2004: The Horned God of the Witches (Lucifer Rising)
• 2006: Heavy Demos (Cursed Coven)
• 2007: The Do What Thou Wilt Demo Sessions (Cursed Coven)
• 2007: 30 Years of Horror Music (self-published, box set)
• 2011: All the Colors of the Dark - The Very Best of Death SS (Under Fire)
• 2014: Horror Music Vol. 2 (Under Fire)
• 2019: Rarities, Live & Outtakes - An Exclusive for the Cursed Coven (Cursed Coven)
• 2019: The Story of Death SS - Early Demos & Live Recordings 1977-1984 / The Horned God of the Witches (Skol Records)
• 2020: The Evil Singles - 1982/1997 (Skol Records)

VHS / DVD

• 1992: The Video 1988–1990 (Cursed Coven, VHS)
• 1993: The Cursed Show (Contempo Records, VHS)
• 2003: Let the Panic Begin (Lucifer Rising, DVD)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Javi Metal: DEATH SS: "Tuve que dejar el grupo entre 1982 y 1984 debido a enfermedades mentales". (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved March 2, 2010 (Spanish).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Riccardo "Zirukkio" Fassone: DEATH SS - Apocalypse Now! April 9, 2006, accessed March 2, 2010 (Italian). 
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Ulle: DEATH SS: You love or hate them - and that's exactly what they want. July 14, 2006, accessed March 2, 2010 . 
4. ^ ^{A b} Lorenzo "Thelema" Macinanti: DEATH SS - Intervista A Steve Sylvester. April 7, 2001, accessed March 2, 2010 (Italian). 
5. ↑ Daniel Müller: DEATH SS - Evil has many different faces. Retrieved April 15, 2017 . 

Web links

• Official website
• Death SS at Allmusic (English)
• Death SS at laut.de