Beyond Death surfaced back in 1987 outside of Buffalo, NY where founding members Alex Webster (bass), Jack Owen (guitar) and Darrin Pfeiffer (drums) experimented with speed and thrash metal. They recorded their first demo A Slice of Death which took notice in the Buffalo underground scene.
The three piece group sought after another guitarist for that extra edge…enter Frank Lombardi. It was soon learned that with Frank’s addition to the band, it diversified them into reaching multiple genres with their new style of death/thrash/punk metal. Frank also added another element by the band having now two lead vocals with Alex and Frank switching off singing each song live. The new lineup exploded into the local scene in early 1988 with their next demo Yuk Fou.
Unfortunately in 1989 Alex and Jack departed from Beyond Death to team up with members from another local band (Tirant Sin) that soon created the legendary death metal band (Cannibal Corpse). Darrin and Frank tried to hold things together until calling it quits after Darrin moved on to play for upcoming local hardcore band (Zero Tolerance) and later ska giants (Goldfinger) as Frank tried his luck with punk metal.
In late 1989, Frank knew by the popularity that Beyond Death’s music had with their fans that he decided to continue their legacy. Frank found bassist Jason Coryer and was able to help keep the band progressing. After no luck in finding a drummer, Darrin filled in part time to then help record the first studio demo. The hunt for a drummer finally came to an end as Frank and Jason found Bill Rogala (Guillotine). His style and personality fit the band perfectly. Beyond Death was once again alive and kicking in clubs across Buffalo. They recorded the next demo live entitled Above and Beyond Reality in 1991. Things did not move along as expected as the grunge genre started to take hold and once again Beyond Death drifted apart. The revival lasted under 2 years as Frank, Jason and Bill called it quits in 1992.
Fast forward to the year 2007. 16 years have passed, Frank, Jason and Bill started talking about another shot at getting back on stage. Beyond Death was back from the grave by the summer 2007…this time with a vengeance. They soon played several successful shows and found that they still have a strong following. In late 2007 Beyond Death produced their latest album HappySick which has been their best recording to date combining songs of old and new.
BEYOND DEATH CLIP ON CANNIBAL CORPSE DVD Beyond Death clip from Centuries of Torment DVD
BEYOND DEATH ORIGINAL LINEUP -1987
