Pessimist

Death metal outfit Pessimist assembled in Baltimore during 1993, its original lineup consisting of vocalist Rob Kline, guitarist and vocalist Kelly McLauchlin, bassist Tony Pernia, and drummer Chris Pernia. After issuing a pair of demos and the 1995 E.P. Absence of Light, the quartet secured a contract with Lost Disciple Records, which issued the 1997 full-length Cult of the Initiated and its 1999 follow-up Blood for the Gods, both marked by the group’s fiercely unyielding, old-school death-metal approach. Steady road work and scattered festival slots throughout those years earned the band a small yet devoted audience within the American extreme-metal underground, until three-quarters of the lineup abruptly departed in 1999 to launch a separate endeavor that later took the name Psychotogen. As the sole remaining founding member, McLauchlin recruited guitarist Bill Hayden, bassist and vocalist Ralph Runyan, and Mick Kimock; the refreshed unit resurfaced in 2002 with its third album, Slaughtering of the Faithful.