This band released one devastatingly heavy album in 1999 for indie upstart Takehold Records, and then like so many other metalcore bands, disappeared after only one album and one split (with fellow-Floridians Set Apart) never to be heard from again. A few members turned up elsewhere–some in the mysterious metal band Yeti, while drummer Nathan Warshowsky served as a studio drum tech for artists as diverse as Forever Changed, Underoath, Day of Fire, and even Paramore.
Deathmask Grin came out just as metalcore as a genre was really taking off, and it was a significant contribution to the genre musically, despite it being heard by so few people. Sadly, it was not reissued even after Tooth&Nail/Solid State bought out Takehold Records in 2002. The album was fast and heavy, in ways most ‘hardcore’ bands hadn’t taken the genre up to this point, and featured very metallic vocals in an almost black metal style not too dissimilar to Zao or As I Lay Dying. While the band originated in Florida, not much else is know about the band (to me at least), including what caused the break up.
“Lacerate” is the second track off the album and features a 6/8 time signature throughout much of the song, before going into a 4/4 slow dirge for the bridge.
