Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
The recently revamped reformation of death metal legends Massacre, as Massacre X, has undergone another transformation.
The band has changed their name to Gods Of Death. The new name was chosen to represent the band as well as the members Rick Rozz (DeLillo) and Kam Lee being two of the “founding fathers of the death metal genre,” according to a press release. Joining Rozz and Lee in Gods Of Death (as well as the previously announced Massacre X) are Rozz’s The End bandmates, Michael Grim (bass/vocals) and Mike Mazzonetto (drums).
A somewhat sordid, complicated back story is present in the ongoing details of events, that date as far back as 1983. That was the year that Kam Lee (vocals) and Rick Rozz DeLillo (guitar) formed Mantas. That band would later add Chuck Schuldiner to its line up and become Death. Then in 1985, Lee and Rozz helped form Massacre.
After years of denigrating one another publicly, Lee and Rozz announced in December that they were joining forces in a revamped version of Massacre. For obvious reasons, they tacked on the Roman numeral X (ten) to mark it being the band’s tenth incarnation and line up.
Within days of that announcement, former Massacre drummer Bill Andrews — who moved to Japan in the early 1990s — released a statement saying that he did not approve of this latest attempt to reform Massacre and threatened legal action if Rozz and Lee moved forward with their plans.
Purportedly, Gods Of Death plan to play songs from Massacre’s classic ‘From Beyond‘ album, along with select tracks from Death and Mantas. Those plans are more than exciting enough for me personally, regardless of what name it’s under, as long as Rozz and Lee are involved.
