Taking their name, and frankly much of their sound, from the legendary Celtic Frost, this Chicago death metal trio came together in 1993. Although Usurper's sound is fairly derogatory of early black/death metal, à la Venom and the aforementioned Celtic Frost, they manage to be creative enough to stay away from being labeled a retro band. Consisting of Sythe (guitar), Diabolical Slaughter (vocals), and Apocalyptic Warlord (drums), they released a studio demo, Visions From the Gods (now out of print), in 1994. In 1995, they added bass player Necromancer and recorded their debut album Diabolosis, released on Head Not Found. Necropolis records signed Usurper in 1995 and released an EP entitled Threshold of the Usurper. Apocalyptic Warlord parted ways with the band in 1996, forcing them to hire a session drummer for a short tour with Dark Funeral. They recruited Dave Hellstrom to pound skins in 1998 and released USURPER II: Skeletal Season. In 1999, Usurper toured the U.S. with Cradle of Filth and in 2000 released Necronemesis. ~ Kevin Odle