Persekutor

Persekutor from Romania

Conceived in a forgotten corner of Eastern Europe, PERSEKUTOR channel the tradition of early black metal champions like Venom, Celtic Frost and Bathory through the unflinching hard rock efficiency of AC/DC into their own infectious strain of Carpathian heaviness: Ice Metal.

Upon lending early track “Power Frost” to the 2016 horror film Beyond the Gates — starring Barbara Crampton of Re-Animator and Chopping Mall fame — PERSEKUTOR frontman Vlad the Inhaler moved to Los Angeles and enlisted lead guitarist Inverted Chris (ex-Lightning Swords Of Death), lead bassist Adam Hell Murray (Deth Crux/Blistering Joy) and lead drummer Scott Batiste (ex-Saviours) to join the endless blizzard. After an initial series of unhinged live performances — the first ended in a stabbing, the second was at a strip club, the third was supporting Armored Saint at Decibel magazine’s Metal & Beer Fest pre-party — PERSEKUTOR recorded their full-length debut.

Permanent Winter was released by Svart Records in September 2020 and bolstered by a pair of raucous videos from crack production team TV/VCR. The album was hailed by Revolver as a “gloriously ignorant mix of goat-loving black metal and greasy rock n’ roll,” by Sleeping Shaman as “an avalanche of a new record” and by Devilution, who ranked it their International Album of the Year, as “a masterpiece.” PERSEKUTOR released the Brain Freeze EP in late 2022, with the title track featured in the Shudder original horror flick Christmas Bloody Christmas. The EP marked the debut of second lead guitarist Blake Meahl, formerly of international metal stars Huntress, and set the stage for the band’s next ice age.

In early 2023, PERSEKUTOR joined forces with the volatile visionaries at Blues Funeral Recordings for their latest foray into the riff-blasted tundra: Snow Business. Recorded by Crom/Despise You guitarist Phil Vera at Veracuda Studios in El Sereno, California, with mixing by Tyler Meahl and mastering by Sanford Parker, Snow Business sees the ice metal masters expanding their frosty purview. Shortly after mixing the album, Tyler Meahl (ex-Holy Grail) became PERSEKUTOR’s new lead drummer. The band is now ready to conquer the world with their new album, to be released in early June via their new home Blues Funeral Recordings.