Pestilence welcomes new bassist

Legendary Dutch death metallers Pestilence have joined forces with Dario Rudić as the band’s new full-time bass player, following their split with Roel Käller in September.

“Hello, I’m Dario Rudić from Zadar, Croatia. I’m 44 years old and I’ve been playing music since I was 15,” the new Pestilence bassist comments. “I’ve been listening to metal my whole life and of course one of the first death metal bands was Pestilence, who were my role models then and now. Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that one day I would get the chance to play with these greats. I’m looking forward to sharing the stage with the masters from Pestilence and opening new musical Portals with them.”

Rudić steps in as the band is about to embark on a string of tour dates that starts in late November with a one-off show in Italy, and continues through December with a three-date run in Spain (together with Cancer) and eight headlining shows in the UK — the “Echoes of Horror” tour — including stops in Manchester, Glasgow, and London.

Pestilence was established in the Netherlands in 1986 and is considered a genre-defying, progressive death metal phenom, who paved the way alongside Death, Cynic, and Atheist. The group is led by founder, guitarist, and mastermind Patrick Mameli, who has been the band’s guiding force through two breakups and reunions. Both a reinvention and a reaffirmation of everything the band has stood for since 1986, Pestilence is more than ever breaking new ground and exploring the further outposts of extreme metal on “Exitivm” (2021) — their latest album, which charted on several Billboard charts, most notably the Billboard 200. In recent years, the band has remastered and reissued its classic catalog (including “Mallevs Maleficarvm,” “Consvming Impvlse,” “Testimony of the Ancients,” oraz “Spheres”), released a best-of album titled “Levels of Perception,” and announced “Portals” as the title of its upcoming studio album. The latter is expected to be released in 2026.

Tour dates:

11/29 @ Alchemica Music Club, Bologna (IT)

5/12 @ Portugalete (ES)

6/12 @ Wolf, Barcelona (ES)

7/12 @ Revi Live, Madrid (ES)
8/12 @ The Fleece, Bristol (UK)
9/12 @ Rebellion, Manchester (UK)
10/12 @ Ivory Blacks, Glasgow (UK)
11/12 @ The Groove, Newcastle upon Tyne (UK)

12/12 @ Bannerman’s Bar, Edynburg (UK)
13/12 @ Corporation, Sheffield (UK)
14/12 @ Camden Underworld, London (UK)

Line-up:

Patrick Mameli – vocals and lead guitars 
Michiel van der Plicht – drums
Max Blok – lead guitars
Dario Rudić – bass  

Pestilence:

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