Deadguy

Formed in 1994, Deadguy was influenced by a variety of bands, including Black Flag, Black Sabbath, Unsane, Today Is the Day, Misfits, Voivod, and Slayer.{{Cite web |last=Creter |first=Tim |date=February 1, 1997 |title=Deadguy |url=https://lollipopmagazine.com/1997/02/deadguy-screamin-with-the-deadguy-quintet-interview/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110213323/https://lollipopmagazine.com/1997/02/deadguy-screamin-with-the-deadguy-quintet-interview/ |archive-date=November 10, 2022 |access-date=April 7, 2024 |quote=Some of our musical influences are Black Flag, Black Sabbath, Unsane, Today is the Day, Misfits, Voivod, Slayer… just to name a few.}}

The band took their name from a line in the John Candy movie, Only the Lonely.{{cite web | last = | first = | title = Deadguy | publisher = TrouserPress.com | url = http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=deadguy | accessdate = February 14, 2007}} The group issued two 7-inch extended plays that year alone: Work Ethic and White Meat. Although not as widely known as some of their peers, Deadguy has proven to be very influential on modern hardcore and metal as evidenced by their only proper studio album, Fixation On A Co-Worker being inducted into the Decibel magazine Hall of Fame in July 2006.

The band embarked on a fateful US tour in support of Fixation on a Co-Worker that was plagued by misguided booking and lack of funds. The band splintered during the western leg of the tour as Keith Huckins and Tim Singer left the band and moved to Seattle, Washington to form Kiss It Goodbye.{{cite web|last1=Ramirez|first1=Carlos (May 9, 2014)|title=Keith Huckins (Rorschach, Deadguy, Kiss It Goodbye)|url=http://www.noecho.net/interviews/keith-huckins-rorschach-deadguy-kiss-it-goodbye|website=noecho.net|date=May 9, 2014 |publisher=No Echo|accessdate=March 12, 2017}} The remaining members (Tim Naumann, Chris Corvino and Dave Rosenberg) then recruited Tom Yak and Jim Baglino (on second guitar and bass respectively). After the lineup changes, Deadguy wrote and recorded Screamin' with the Deadguy Quintet. A US tour with Bloodlet ensued in support of the EP. The tour was gruelling but successful and Tom Yak left the band shortly thereafter, and the rest of Deadguy recruited Doc Hopper member Chris Pierce to replace him. They played their last show in New Brunswick, NJ in 1997. Pierce later ran a recording studio in New Brunswick called Technical Ecstasy which recorded many locally renowned acts such as The Ergs and used his old Deadguy connections to get "Pops" to do guest vocals on their song "Maybe I'm The New Messiah" while recording their benchmark album "Dorkrockcorkrod".

On May 25, 2021, Deadguy announced they would reunite the "Fixation on a Co-worker" lineup and play the 2021 Decibel Metal and Beer Fest. It was their first show in 25 years.{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title=Decibel Fest back on for 2021, Deadguy reunion added! (full lineup) |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/decibel-fest-back-on-for-2021-deadguy-reunion-added-full-lineup/ |website=BrooklynVegan |access-date=May 25, 2021 |language=en}} This live performance was subsequently released as Buyer's Remorse: Live from the Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest in June 2022 by Decibel Records, as the label's first release.{{Cite web |title=Deadguy - Buyer's Remorse TRANSLUCENT ORANGE VINYL |url=https://store.decibelmagazine.com/products/deadguy-buyers-remorse-translucent-orange-vinyl |access-date=June 9, 2022 |website=The Decibel Store}}

On April 29, 2025, the band announced their official signing to Relapse Records, and their second studio album, Near-Death Travel Services, to be released on June 27 of the same year.

Deadguy's musical style consists of "screaming vocals [...] set to discordant guitars," and is characterized by "extremely personal" lyrical content and an "extremely dark and somber approach." Brian Peterson assessed in the book Burning Fight that the band's sound "mixed metal, the caustic noise rock of groups like Today is the Day and Unsane, the experimental punk of bands like the Cows, and the innovative hardcore of Black Flag." Peterson said, "They weren't sure how well their sound that combined hardcore, metal, noise, and rock would be received, but ultimately they didn't care – what mattered was that they were making the music they wanted to play." According to drummer Dave Rosenburg, "basically, we studied a bunch of records we liked by these amazingly heavy bands and added a bit of Black Sabbath and started to make up these parts for songs." According to vocalist Tim Singer, "We were still part of the hardcore scene, but we thought it needed a jolt – it had become formulaic and manufactured. Our music wasn't going to have a predictable mosh part that everyone stands around and waits for. We were listening to different shit and thought we might as well incorporate it into what we wanted to do. I still considered us a hardcore band though, so we worked in the same channels and had the same ethics. We just wanted to try something new."{{Cite web |title=Deadguy Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More {{!}} A... |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/deadguy-mn0000225768 |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Peterson |first=Brian |title=Burning Fight |publisher=Revelation Records Publishing |year=2009 |pages=201-202}}

• Chris "Crispy" Corvino – guitars, backing vocals (1994–1997, 2021–present)
• Dave Rosenberg – drums (1994–1997, 2021–present)
• Tim "Swinger" Singer – lead vocals (1994–1996, 2021–present)
• Keith Huckins – guitars (1994–1996, 2021–present)
• Jim Baglino – bass (1996–1997, 2021–present)

• Tim "Pops" Naumann – lead vocals (1996–1997), bass (1994–1996)
• Tom Yak – guitars (1996-1997)
• “Big” Chris Pierce – guitars (1997)

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• Fixation on a Co-Worker (Victory Records, 1995)
• Near-Death Travel Services (Relapse Records, 2025)

• I Know Your Tragedy: Live at CBGBs (Hawthorne Street Records, 2000)
• Buyer's Remorse (Decibel Records, 2022)

• White Meat 7" (Dada/Popgun Records, 1994)
• Work Ethic 7" (Engine/Blackout Records, 1994) (CD edition, featuring White Meat tracks, released in 1995)
• Screamin' with the Deadguy Quintet (Victory Records, 1996)
• Body Parts 7" (Man Alive Records, 2022)

• Driving You Straight To Hell Bootleg (SuperNova Records, 2021){{Cite web |date=October 28, 2021|title=Deadguy: SuperNova Records releases limited Cassette "Of Driving You Straight To Hell Bootleg 1995/1996" |url=https://bloodynews.ro/en/2021/10/28/deadguy-supernova-records-releases-limited-cassette-of-driving-you-straight-to-hell-bootleg-1995-1996/ |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=bloodynews.ro}}

In 2021, a documentary titled Deadguy: Killing Music was released by director William Saunders and producer Nathaniel Shannon of Fourth Media.{{Cite web |title=DEADGUY Documentary 'Killing Music' to Premiere This Week |url=https://lambgoat.com/news/34789/deadguy-documentary-killing-music-to-premiere-this-week/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=lambgoat.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Macomber |first=Shawn |date=September 21, 2021 |title="We Were Punishing People": A Review of Deadguy: Killing Music |url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2021/09/21/we-were-punishing-people-a-review-of-deadguy-killing-music/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=Decibel Magazine |language=en-US}} It is the first authorized documentary on the band's short-lived career and their seminal album, Fixation on a Co-Worker.{{Cite web |title=Beyond the Playlist with JHammondC: Beyond the Playlist: William Saunders |url=https://beyondtheplaylist.libsyn.com/beyond-the-playlist-william-saunders |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=beyondtheplaylist.libsyn.com |language=en}} The feature was an official selection at several film festivals{{Cite web |title=Athens International Film And Video Festival |url=http://www.americantowns.com/event/athens-international-film-and-video-festival-2022-04-03-athens-oh.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=www.americantowns.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=2022 BARE BONES MUSIC-DOCUMENTARY SONGWRITING FILM FESTIVAL |url=https://barebonesfilmfest00.tripod.com/2022barebonesmusicdocumentarysongwritingfilmfestivalnominees/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=barebonesfilmfest00.tripod.com}}{{Cite web |title=SU 22 Festival Film {{!}} Deadguy: Killing Music (w/ Filmmaker Q&A) |url=http://www.soundunseen.com/upcoming-events/2021/11/12/su-22-festival-film-deadguy-killing-music |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=Sound Unseen |language=en-US}} and winner of the 2021 Vesuvius International Film Festival's Documentary Film category.{{Cite web |title=@vesuviusinternationalfilmfest on Instagram: "🇮🇹 ECCO A VOI I VINCITORI DELLA XVI EDIZIONE DEL @vesuviusinternationalfilmfest #andthewinnersare #officialselection #finalist #16 #th #edition #novembre #vesuviusinternationalfilmfest #shortmovie #feature #script #videoclip #winner #danceshort #documentary #webseries #microshort #poster #trailer #showreel #award #lgbt #poster #trophy #allhandmade #covid19 #short #feature #fashion #script #congratulations Thanks to @beatricelorenzi" |url=https://www.instagram.com/tv/CW6IVJdKzC5/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=Instagram |language=en}} Through the series of interviews and events in the creation of the film, the band members reconnected. The day after the film's premiere at Underground Arts in Philadelphia, PA, the original band members performed together live for the first time in over 20 years.{{Cite web |title=Everything Went Black Podcast: EWB 220 KEITH HUCKINS (DEADGUY) on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ewb-220-keith-huckins-deadguy/id438300734?i=1000536234459 |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-US}} Another 2021 performance, at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, NY, was recorded and included in the on-demand streaming and blu-ray versions of the film.{{Citation |last=Saunders |first=Bill |title=Deadguy: Killing Music |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15739040/ |type=Documentary |access-date=October 11, 2022}} Shawn Macomber of Decibel describes Deadguy: Killing Music as "Wry and stylish on the surface while reveling in primal vitriol and unorthodox approaches to violence just below" and "one of the best documentaries ever, period, on extreme music, the combustible nature of the youth drawn to create it, and the subsequent better-to-have-a-full-core-nuclear-meltdown-than-fade-away art."{{Cite web |last=Macomber |first=Shawn |date=September 21, 2021 |title="We Were Punishing People": A Review of Deadguy: Killing Music |url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2021/09/21/we-were-punishing-people-a-review-of-deadguy-killing-music/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=Decibel Magazine |language=en-US}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.discogs.com/artist/544072-Deadguy Deadguy] on Discogs
• [https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Deadguy/3540475795 Deadguy] on Encyclopaedia Metallum

{{Authority control}}

Category:Musical groups established in 1994

Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1997

Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2021

Category:Metalcore musical groups from New Jersey

Category:American mathcore musical groups

Category:Victory Records artists

Category:1994 establishments in New Jersey

Category:Musical groups from New Brunswick, New Jersey