Acheron (band)

American death/black metal band

For other uses, see Acheron (disambiguation).

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Acheron

Origin| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres| Death metal, black metal
Years active| 1988–2010, 2010–2016, 2017–2019
Labels| Turbo, Lethal, Moribund, Full Moon, Black Lotus, Displeased, Listenable Records
Members| Vincent Crowley
Art Taylor
Shaun Cothron
Brandon Howe

Acheron (/ˈækərən, -ɒn/) was an American death/black metal band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that was formed by Vincent Crowley in 1988.[1][2] The band is named after the mythological river Acheron (Ancient Greek: Ἀχέρων – Akhérōn) located in the underground kingdom of Hades in ancient Greek mythology. They are not to be confused with 1990s Australian death metal band Acheron, nor the 1980s/1990s American power metal band Acheron, nor any of several lesser known European thrash and death metal bands with similar names between the 1980s and the present.

## History

[edit]

Founded in 1988 by vocalist/bassist/songwriter Vincent Crowley[3] (formerly of Nocturnus, and leader of the Satanic youth group "Order of the Evil Eye"),[4] Acheron's musical output is almost exclusively Satanic and Anti-Christian in content. Early albums featured interludes by Peter H. Gilmore.[4] Crowley was appointed as a priest in the Church of Satan by its founder, Anton Szandor LaVey, and began spending a lot of his time debating local televangelists, limiting Acheron's output for a time.[4] He later disassociated himself from the church to act independently.[5]

In 2003, the band released an album of cover songs, Tribute to the Devil's Music, including tracks originally recorded by Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Kreator, and Celtic Frost.[5]

On April 26, 2010, Vincent Crowley announced the band's breakup.[6] On December 27, 2010, it was announced that Acheron have reunited.[7]

The band broke up again in 2019, and Vincent has since focused on underground projects.

## Members

[edit]

* Vincent Crowley – Guitars (1988–1991, 1996–1998, 2008), Vocals (1991–1994, 1994–2010, 2010–2019), Bass (1991–1994, 1994–2010, 2010–2019, 2025-)
* Art Taylor – Guitars (2009–2010, 2012–2019)
* Eric Stewart – Guitars (2024-)
* Cody Johns – Drums (2017–2018, 2025-)

### Past members

[edit]

### Vocals

[edit]

* Michael Smith – Vocals (1988–1990)
* Rhiannon Wisniewski – Vocals (2002)

### Guitars

[edit]

* Belial Koblak – Guitars (1989–1991)
* Pete Slate – Guitars (1991–1992)
* Tony Blakk – Guitars (1992, 1994, 1995)
* Vincent Breeding – Guitars (1992, 1994–1995)
* Trebor Ladres – Guitars (1994–1995)
* Michael Estes – Guitars (1996–1999, 2001–2004)
* Bryan Hipp – Guitars (1998)
* Ben Meyer – Guitars (1998)
* Bill Taylor – Guitars (1999)
* Stacey Connolly – Guitars (2004)
* Max Otworth – Guitars (2006–2010, 2010–2012)
* Ash Thomas – Guitars (2008–2009)
* Eric Stewart – Guitars (2010)

### Bass

[edit]

* David Smith – Bass (1988–1991)
* Troy Heffern – Bass (1996)

### Keyboards

[edit]

* Peter H. Gilmore – Keyboards (1988–1989)
* John Scott – Keyboards (1996–1999)
* Adina Blase – Keyboards (1998–1999)
* Aaron Werner – Keyboards (2001–2005)

### Drums

[edit]

* James Strauss – Drums (1988–1989, 1989–1991, 1991–1992)
* Ron Hogue – Drums (1989)
* Robert Orr – Drums (1991)
* Michael Browning – Drums (1992, 1994–1995)
* Joe Oliver – Drums (1995)
* Richard Christy – Drums (1996–1998)
* Tony Laureano – Drums (1998)
* Jonathan Lee – Drums (1998–1999)
* Daniel Zink – Drums (2001)
* Kyle Severn – Drums (2002–2010, 2010–2014)
* Scott Pletcher – Drums (2010)

### Timeline

[edit]

## Discography

[edit]

* Messe Noir (Demo, 1989)
* Rites of the Black Mass (1991, re-released in 2006)
* Alla Xul (7", Demo, 1992)
* Rites of the Black Mass (Turbo, 1992)
* Hail Victory (CD, Metal Merchant, 1993)
* Satanic Victory (CD, Turbo, 1994)
* Lex Talionis (CD, Turbo, 1994; reissued as Lex Talionis: Satanic Victory, Blackened, 1997)
* Anti-God, Anti-Christ (CD, Moribund, 1996)
* Those Who Have Risen (CD, Full Moon Productions, 1998)
* Compendium Diablerie: The Demo Days (CD, Full Moon Productions, 2001)
* Xomaly (2002)
* Rebirth: Metamorphosing Into Godhood (CD, Black Lotus, 2003)
* Tribute to the Devil's Music (CD, Black Lotus, 2003)
* The Final Conflict: Last Days of God (CD, Displeased Records, 2009)
* Kult Des Hasses (CD, Listenable Records. 2014)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kristiansen, Jon "Metalion" (1991). "Acheron". Slayer (8): 7.
2. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Acheron". Allmusic. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
3. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 9\. ISBN 0-7535-0257-7.
4. ^ a b c Rivadavia, Eduardo "Acheron Biography", AllMusic
5. ^ a b Apicella, Vinnie "Acheron – Tribute To The Devil's Music Archived December 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine" (review), Ink19
6. ^ "Maximum Metal". Maximum Metal. Archived from the original on March 17, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
7. ^ "Blabbermouth.Net – Acheron Is Back!". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved August 13, 2012.[permanent dead link]

## External links

[edit]

* Official website at Internet Archive
* Acheron at Rockdetector at Internet Archive
* Vincent Crowley's channel on YouTube
* Rivadavia, Eduardo "Acheron – Rebirth: Metamorphosing Into Godhood" (review), Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation
* Acheron interview, Metal Message
* Acheron interview Archived October 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Voices From the Darkside

Authority control databases

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