Pestilence are a Dutch technical death metal band from Enschede. Formed in early 1986, the group originally consisted of vocalist and bassist Chuck Colli, guitarist Randy Meinhard, and drummer Patrick Mameli. After Colli's early departure, Mameli switched to guitar and has remained in this role ever since; he took over vocals permanently in 1990. Pestilence disbanded in 1994, then reformed between 2008 and 2014, and have been active again since 2016. The band's current lineup includes Mameli alongside drummer Michiel van der Plicht (since 2020) and guitarist Max Blok (since 2025).
History
1986–1994 Pestilence was formed in early 1986 by guitarists Randy Meinhard and Patrick Mameli, who met through an advertisement placed by Meinhard. The original lineup also included vocalist and bassist Chuck Colli, with Mameli temporarily on drums. Colli was "kicked out" after around a month. Mameli subsequently switched to guitar and took over vocal duties, with Gerrit Ulrich and Marco Foddis brought in on bass and drums, respectively. Ulrich left after a few months and the band recorded its first demo Dysentery as a three-piece, with Mameli also covering bass duties. In September 1987, Martin van Drunen took over as the band's vocalist, also performing live bass.
After the release of second demo The Penance and full-length debut Malleus Maleficarum, Pestilence went through a number of lineup changes. According to Foddis, the group essentially broke up in late 1988, with him and Meinhard forming a new band called Sacrosanct. The pair saw out a December 1988 tour, before guitarist Patrick Uterwijk and bassist Sebastian Dooijes from support act Theriac joined the band. At the time, Mameli claimed that he had dismissed Meinhard and Foddis. By January 1989, Foddis had returned, and by March, van Drunen had returned to live bass duties due to Dooijes' departure. This lineup released Consuming Impulse in December 1989.
Martin van Drunen left Pestilence and joined Asphyx shortly after the completion of a US tour in October 1990, claiming that Mameli had "been behaving too much like a band boss". Mameli subsequently took over vocal duties and van Drunen was briefly replaced on bass by Nick Sagias, although he left "after a couple of months or so", with Mameli later claiming that "personality-wise it just didn't click between him and the rest of the band". Tony Choy of Cynic and Atheist took over in time for the recording of 1991's Testimony of the Ancients. In the summer of 1992, with Choy unavailable, Jack Dodd stood in on bass for the band's performance at Dynamo Open Air festival.
Pestilence recruited Jeroen Paul Thesseling as their new full-time bassist later in 1992 and released their fourth album Spheres in 1993. The band broke up in 1994, with various sources claiming that the band were experiencing internal tensions and/or that Spheres did not sell as highly as expected.
2008–2019
Patrick Mameli announced the reformation of Pestilence in January 2008, with Tony Choy returning on bass and Peter Wildoer of Darkane added on drums. That March, former guitarist Patrick Uterwijk was added to the band's touring lineup. The main trio released the band's first album in 16 years, Resurrection Macabre, in March 2009. After touring until September, Choy was replaced by his previous successor, Jeroen Paul Thesseling. Wildoer also left after the tour, described by Mameli as "a session drummer" for his tenure. He was replaced in December by Yuma van Eekelen. The new lineup — now also including Uterwijk as a full-time member — released Doctrine in April 2011.
In February 2012, Mameli announced that Thesseling and van Eekelen had left to "work more intensively on their main projects", with Stephan Fimmers of Necrophagist and Tim Yeung of Morbid Angel taking their places. By July, Yeung had been replaced due to "conflicting tour schedules" by Psycroptic drummer Dave Haley, and by February 2013, Fimmers had also been replaced by Georg Maier in time for the recording of Obsideo. After the album's touring cycle, Mameli announced in July 2014 that Pestilence was "on permanent hold", but noted that "If there is any interest in Pestilence doing old-school shows in the future, me and Patrick Uterwijk will surely think about the options."
Just over two years later, in October 2016, Mameli announced a second reformation of Pestilence, with a lineup including returning bassist Tony Choy alongside new members Santiago Dobles (guitar) and Septimiu Hărşan (drums). By the following February, Choy had been replaced by Alan Goldstein, with Mameli commenting: "Choy's out. I only work with professional people." Within a couple of months, Goldstein had also been dismissed, with Vicious Rumors bassist Tilen Hudrap taking his place. The new lineup recorded the band's comeback album Hadeon, before Dobles left in November 2017 due to "personal circumstances", with his place taken by Calin Paraschiv, a bandmate of Hărşan's in Necrovile. By the end of 2018, Pestilence included all three members of Necrovile, as Edward Negrea replaced Hudrap, who had to leave due to "scheduling differences".
Since 2019 On 1 June 2019, Pestilence announced that Rutger van Noordenburg had replaced Calin Paraschiv on guitar. Six months later, Edward Negrea was also replaced, by Joost van der Graaf. Finally, another six months later, Septimiu Hărşan left due to "personal and professional matters partly related to the COVID-19 pandemic", with Michiel van der Plicht taking his place. After recording Exitivm and Levels of Perception, van der Graaf left in July 2023 and was replaced by Roel Käller. In January 2025, van Noordenburg also left the band, with Max Blok taking his place. In November of that year it was announced that bassist Roel Käller had left Pestilence two months earlier and was replaced by Dario Rudić. On August 7, 2026, Pestilence announced that bassist Dario Rudić had left the band due to "personal reasons" - and that the group is looking for a new bass player.
Members Current Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributionsPatrick Mameliall Pestilence releasesMichiel van der Plicht2020–presentdrumsMax Blok2025–presentguitarsnone to date
Former Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributionsRandy Meinhard1986–1988guitarsChuck Colli1986noneMarco FoddisdrumsGerrit Ulrich1986bassnoneMartin van Drunen1987–1990Patrick Uterwijkguitarsall Pestilence releases from Consuming Impulse (1989) to Presence of the Pest (2016), except Resurrection Macabre (2009)Sebastian Dooijes1988–1989bassnoneNick Sagias1990–1991Tony ChoyJack Dodd1992Presence of the Past (2015)Jeroen Paul ThesselingPeter Wildoer2008–2009drumsRessurection Macabre (2009)Yuma van Eekelen2009–2012Doctrine (2011)Stephan Fimmers2012–2013bassnoneTim Yeung2012drumsDave Haley2012–2014Obsideo (2013)Georg Maier2013–2014bassSeptimiu Hărşan2016–2020drumsSantiago Dobles2016–2017guitarsAlan Goldstein2017bassnoneTilen Hudrap2017–2018Calin Paraschiv2017–2019guitarsnoneEdward Negrea2018–2019bassRutger van Noordenburg2019–2025guitarsJoost van der Graaf2019–2023bassRoel Käller2023–2025noneDario Rudić2025–2026
Timeline
Lineups PeriodMembersReleasesEarly 1986Patrick Mameli — drums Randy Meinhard — guitars Chuck Colli — bass, vocalsrowspan="2" Spring/summer 1986Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Randy Meinhard — guitars Marco Foddis — drums Gerrit Ulrich — bassFall 1986–September 1987Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals bass Randy Meinhard — guitars Marco Foddis — drumsDysentery (1987)September 1987–December 1988Patrick Mameli — guitars, bass Randy Meinhard — guitars Marco Foddis — drums Martin van Drunen — bass, vocalsThe Penance (1987) "Hatred Within" (1988) Malleus Maleficarum (1988) Chronicles of the Scourge (2006) January–March 1989Patrick Mameli — guitars Marco Foddis — drums Martin van Drunen — vocals Patrick Uterwijk — guitars Sebastian Dooijes — bassMarch 1989–fall 1990Patrick Mameli — guitars, bass Marco Foddis — drums Martin van Drunen — bass, vocals Patrick Uterwijk — guitarsConsuming Impulse (1989) Chronicles of the Scourge (2006) Late 1990–early 1991Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Marco Foddis — drums Patrick Uterwijk — guitars Nick Sagia — bassEarly 1991–summer 1992Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Marco Foddis — drums Patrick Uterwijk — guitars Tony Choy — bassTestimony of the Ancients (1991) Presence of the Pest (2016) Summer 1992Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Marco Foddis — drums Patrick Uterwijk — guitars Jack Dodd — bass Presence of the Pest (2016) 1992–1994Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Patrick Uterwijk — guitars Marco Foddis — drums Jeroen Paul Thesseling — bassSpheres (1993) Reflections of the Mind (2016)Band inactive 1994–2007January–March 2008Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Tony Choy — bass Peter Wildoer — drumsMarch 2008–August 2009Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Tony Choy — bass Peter Wildoer — drums Patrick Uterwijk — guitars Resurrection Macabre (2009)October–December 2009Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Patrick Uterwijk — guitars Jeroen Paul Thesseling — bassDecember 2009–February 2012Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Patrick Uterwijk — guitars Jeroen Paul Thesseling — bass Yuma Van Eekelen — drumsDoctrine (2011)February–July 2012Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Patrick Uterwijk — guitars Stephan Fimmers — bass Tim Yeung — drumsrowspan="2" July 2012–February 2013Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Patrick Uterwijk — guitars Stephan Fimmers — bass Dave Haley — drumsFebruary 2013–July 2014Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Patrick Uterwijk — guitars Dave Haley — drums Georg Maier — bassObsideo (2013)Band inactive August 2014–September 2016October 2016–February 2017Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Tony Choy — bass Santiago Dobles — guitars Septimiu Hărşan — drumsrowspan="2" February–April 2017Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Santiago Dobles — guitars Septimiu Hărşan — drums Alan Goldstein — bassApril–November 2017Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Santiago Dobles — guitars Septimiu Hărşan — drums Tilen Hudrap — bass"Hypnotic" (2018) Hadeon (2018)November 2017–December 2018Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Septimiu Hărşan — drums Tilen Hudrap — bass Calin Paraschiv — guitarsrowspan="4" December 2018–June 2019Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Calin Paraschiv — guitars Septimiu Hărşan — drums Edward Negrea — bassJune–December 2019Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Septimiu Hărşan — drums Edward Negrea — bass Rutger van Noordenburg — guitarsDecember 2019–June 2020Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Rutger van Noordenburg — guitars Septimiu Hărşan — drums Joost van der Graaf — bassJune 2020–July 2023Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Rutger van Noordenburg — guitars Joost van der Graaf — bass Michiel van der Plicht — drumsExitivm (2021) Levels of Perception (2024)July 2023–January 2025Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Rutger van Noordenburg — guitars Michiel van der Plicht — drums Roel Käller — bassJanuary 2025–September 2025Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Michiel van der Plicht — drums Roel Käller — bass Max Blok — guitarsNovember 2025–August 2026Patrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Michiel van der Plicht — drums Max Blok — guitars Dario Rudić — bassAugust 2026–presentPatrick Mameli — guitars, vocals Michiel van der Plicht — drums Max Blok — guitarsnone to date
References
External links Pestilence official website