Merging brutal physical power with an unerringly precise attack, Decrepit Birth are a technical death metal band from Santa Cruz, California. The band's story begins in the mid-'90s, when vocalist Bill Robinson met guitarist Matt Sotelo, and the two discovered they shared an ambition to create truly uncompromising music. In 2001, things got serious when Robinson and Sotelo teamed up with bassist Derek Boyer and began assembling material. By 2003, the band had developed a reputation for their striking live shows, and they released their debut album, ... And Time Begins, with the three musicians joined by drummer Tim Yeung. Yeung didn't last long with the group, and in 2004 K.C. Howard became their new drummer. After extensive touring, Sotelo began writing material that gave Decrepit Birth a more melodic sound without cutting back on their ferocity. The result was their second full-length album, 2008's Diminishing Between Worlds. While Joel Horner was playing bass with the band by this time, he didn't appear on the album, with Sotelo playing bass and keyboards as well as guitar. By Decrepit Birth's standards, their next album was completed quickly, with Polarity released in 2010 by respected metal label Nuclear Blast; the Robinson/Sotelo/Horner/Howard lineup was supplemented in the studio by guitarists Dan Eggers and Ty Oliver and drummer Lee Smith. By the end of 2010, Sam Paulicelli became the group's new drummer, replacing KC Howard, and Sean Martinez took over from Horner on bass in 2013. While Decrepit Birth toured hard in support of Polarity, the group took a break after Sotelo became a father for the first time and wanted to stay home with his young son. However, he didn't stop writing new songs while on paternity leave, and with Sotelo and Martinez recording in their respective home studios and Paulicelli cutting drum tracks at a studio in Canada, Decrepit Birth returned in 2017 with the album Axis Mundi. ~ Mark Deming