| Kam Lee | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Barney Kamalani Lee |
| Born | October 31, 1966 |
| Origin | United States of America |
| Genres | Death metal, thrash metal |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, drums |
| Associated acts | Death, Massacre |
Kam Lee (born Barney Kamalani Lee) is an American singer. He is best known for his vocal contributions to an early incarnation of Death (called Mantas) in 1983–84,[1] and later joined Massacre in 1985, founded and formed by Bill Andrews.[2]
Lee early on employed the vocal style called the death grunt or death growl, taking influence from the then Celtic Frost vocalist Thomas Gabriel Fischer (a.k.a. Tom G Warrior). Massacre recorded 2 demo tapes that were heavily distributed using the tape trading system but did not lead to a record deal. The band dissolved when members Rick Rozz, Bill Andrews and Terry Butler left to join a later inception of Chuck Schuldiner's Death; however, the subsequent citing of Massacre as influences by bands such as Napalm Death signified a great interest in the defunct act within the death metal community. This led to a reformation and the recording of the album From Beyond on Earache Records, made up mainly of reworking of the songs featured on the original 1985 & 1986 demo tapes.
Lyrically, Lee drew heavily from the stories of American author H. P. Lovecraft, and the album's cover art featured a painting by artist Ed Repka representing creatures from Lovecraft's imagination. Lee also played drums in both Mantas and Death as well as vocals. He has also been a member of many other short-lived bands. In 2006 he joined a band with Terry Butler (Death/Massacre/Six Feet Under), Sam Williams and Curtis Beeson called Denial Fiend of whom released their debut "They Rise" on October 16, 2007. In that same month, Massacre played their final gig in the United States on October 6, 2007. October 26, Massacre began their final tour dubbed "Re-Animated" in Berlin, Germany.
In 2009, Lee started the death metal band Bone Gnawer, with Rogga Johansson, Morgan Lie, and Ronnie Bjornstrom.[3] Later that year, Lee and Johansson would form another death metal band called The Grotesquery, along with members Johan Berglund and Brynjar Helgetun.[4]
Lee has been cast as a serial killer in the independent horror film Deep Seeded, scheduled for a 2011 release.[5]
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