Death Metal Forefather Terry Butler Continues to Crush With Inhuman Condition

In the death-metal world, what’s old is new again. There’s currently a bevy of bands playing “old school death metal," leading a recent resurgence of a subgenre that peaked in the early ’90s with bands such as Death, Deicide, Obituary and Cannibal Corpse. But the best part about the rebound, especially for those newer to the gore-drenched underworld, is that those original bands and players are still around — and they’re not just collecting their roses and replaying the classics, but making new music, too.

Veteran death-metal bassist Terry Butler remembers when he was introduced to the scene, which comprised just a handful of metalheads at his high school in Tampa, Florida. He says one reason people were drawn to the brutal brand of metal was "being part of a group."

“You might have fifteen or twenty kids at your high school that like the same music, but that’s it. It’s like a close-knit community you have. You feel like you’re part of something, so when a show comes to town, your family, so to speak, goes out to see it, and you can hang with like-minded people,” he says.

A gentle giant, Butler says that familial aspect still exists around music that sounds like it was made in 1988, when guitars were downtuned and filled with distortion, and vocals were so harsh they’d give you a sore throat. A current member of Obituary, Butler has also played with such influential bands as Death, Massacre and Six Feet Under.

But it’s his new band, Inhuman Condition, that’s currently putting out music. Butler and his bandmates are on the road with Deicide and Kataklysm for Deicide’s thirtieth anniversary tour of its landmark album, Legion. The acts play Summit Music Hall tonight.

Inhuman Condition, whose name is a nod to a Massacre track, recently released Fearsick, the followup to the band’s 2021 debut, Rat°God. The trio of ex-Massacre players, including guitarist Taylor Norberg (who is also currently in Deicide) and drummer Jeramie Kling, throw down death metal that sounds like it was recorded at legendary Tampa studio Morrisound Recording.

“It came out a couple weeks ago, and it’s doing really good. It’s picking up steam. We’re kind of doing it on our own on Bandcamp, but people are really getting into it,” Butler says of Fearsick. “People can expect to hear some killer riffs, catchy riffs that they’ll remember. Some killer drumming. Just some old-school death metal mixed with thrash. It sounds like 1988. It sounds like Massacre mixed with [Death album] Leprosy. It’s good stuff. It’s easy to digest, but it feels good, it sounds good. It’s a good time.”

Seeing younger fans in the audience is also a good time, he adds.

“We get a lot of young kids coming to the shows. It’s like the people who were kids when they came out to see us in ’88 or ’90 are bringing their kids out now. It’s a good thing; it’s the cycle of life. These fathers are now bringing their sons,” Butler says.

Part of paying it forward now also includes bringing newer death-metal bands on the road. “It’s killer. It’s cool, because hopefully down the road, [when] these bands are still going, they’ll look back like, 'That was a killer tour,' or, 'Obituary brought us out on our first tour,'” he says. “A lot of it comes around in a circle. I’m not one to say a band is no good because they sound like they’re from 1988 or something. To me, that’s great — that’s how we want to sound.

"I mean, how much faster can you get?" he continues. "How many more blast beats or different guitar parts can you squeeze into a five-minute song? The way I was raised musically, I like that style. I like riffs. I want to hear riffs. To me, I prefer this style.”

Not to say that he’s old or stuck in his ways, but at 54, Butler is no doubt one of the forefathers of death metal. It's a title he proudly wears and accepts nowadays.

“I love it; I don’t shy away from it. Hey, it is what it is. ... It’s a genre that we created, and we’re still on the front line of it. It’s awesome. It’s a good feeling,” he says, adding he doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon, either. “The flame is still there. The desire is still there. I love to create music, I love to play shows. I’m going to do it until I can’t, whenever that may be.”

Inhuman Condition, 7 p.m. Tuesday, August 23, Summit Music Hall, 1902 Blake Street; tickets are $27.