Lord Mantis

Unapologetically harsh and violently powerful, Lord Mantis is a blackened sludge metal band from Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Playing at aggressive tempos with a whiplash impact, Lord Mantis' musical assault reveals an unexpected depth, with carefully constructed sonic textures below the troubled surface. Their sound is paired with bleak, ferocious lyrics that focus on brutality, decay, misanthropy, and sexual perversity while finding room for their own pain, both physical and emotional. The group first made a major impact in the metal underground with their 2012 album Pervertor and reaffirmed their dark but powerful stance with 2014's Death Mask. After tragedy nearly ended the band, they returned at full-strength with 2019's Universal Death Church. Drummer Bill Bumgardner and guitarist Greg Gomer formed the first edition of Lord Mantis in 2005, with bassist and singer Charlie Fell joining in time for the recording of the band's debut EP, 2007's Period Face. Andrew Markuszewsk next signed on to play guitar, and in 2009 the quartet brought out their first full-length album Spawning the Nephilim, issued by Seventh Rule Records. Lord Mantis jumped to the U.K. metal label Candlelight Records for their second LP, 2012's Pervertor. Following the album's touring cycle, Gomer left Lord Mantis, and Sorceron took over on guitar, while the group also added lead vocalist Dylan O'Toole. This edition of the band cut 2014's Death Mask, issued by Profound Lore Records. Long-simmering tensions in the band came to the boiling point during the tour following Death Mask's release, and when the dust settled, Sorceron and Fell were out of the Lord Mantis lineup; they soon formed a band of their own, Missing. In 2015, a new version of the group made its debut, with Bumgardner, Markuszewski, and O'Toole accompanied by bassist Will Lindsay and guitarist Scott A. Shellhamer. This edition of Lord Mantis brought out an EP, Nice Teeth Whore, in 2016, but the group suffered a heavy blow when Bumgardner committed suicide, dying on October 9, 2016. The band went on hiatus in 2017 as past and present members of the group dealt with their grief and their strained relationships. In 2019, Lord Mantis reunited, with O'Toole on vocals, Markuszewski and Sorceron on guitars, Fell on bass and vocals, and Bryce Butler on drums. In November 2019, the band released their first music since Bumgardner's death, Universal Death Church, with guest appearances from Pelican's Dallas Thomas on guitar and Yakuza's Bruce Lamont on sax. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi