Hailing from Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, Pile of Knives have been steadily carving their place in the modern extreme music landscape. Rising from the ashes of members’ previous band Existence, the group delivers a crushing fusion of death metal, slam, and beatdown hardcore.
Following their 2024 debut EP, No Light, the band doubled down on their newly released EP, Driven by the Blade, a release packed with groove, grit, and unrelenting heaviness:
For the latest installment in No Echo's Our Biggest Influences series, Pile of Knives vocalist Bryan Martinez dives into some of the albums that shaped his musical DNA—the brutal, diverse records that helped forge his voice and lyrical approach within his band's merciless sound.
Great picks below!
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Deicide, Once Upon the Cross (1995)
"There are so many greats when it comes to vocals in death metal, but when I heard Glen Benton for the first time it blew me away. He literally sounded like a monster from hell and I was obsessed with trying to imitate that sound.
"By far the biggest influence for me, when I was starting to do vocals, and this record overall is way ahead of its time. This could come out today and crush most."
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Dying Fetus, Reign Supreme (2012)
"There are so many great Dying Fetus records, this one is not my favorite but it is their best written album they have done yet. So many amazing parts musically that makes any musician question what they are doing, but also mixed with hard-hitting parts."
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Merauder, Master Killer (1996)
"I think enough has been said about this one. Its the fucking shit! There is a reason why it gets so much love after all these years. Spinkicks galore!"
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The Red Chord, Clients (2005)
"This band is a huge part of our youth. Even our drummer, 'Pickle,' had the album cover tattooed on his leg. Their music let us know we dont need to have rules, you can have fun, but you can still be heavy as fuck.
"This record is turning 20 years old this year, and they are playing a couple shows where they are playing it in its entirety(we will be there!). Also, we still can't believe we have Guy the vocalist on our previous record. Younger us would lose our minds knowing this would happen!"
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All Out War, For Those Who Were Crucified (1998)
"This band came out with this record in 1998 which is insane to say. It's a hardcore album that is borderline a death metal record. It's so devastating, from the riffs, drums, all the way to the harsh vocals. What's even crazier is that they continue to come out with amazing records."
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Through The Eyes of the Dead, Malice (2007)
"Love the previous album and EPs, but this is the one with brother Nate Johnson making his debut on vocals. Musically this record is insane, the guitar work and drums are out of this world, and it was recorded by the legendary Erik Rutan who killed it.
"What stood out to me and a lot of us was Nate's vocals. It was literally King Kong being recorded. He was a huge inspiration not only to us, but everyone around that time. His name constantly was brought up then and still to this day and for good reason."
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Sworn Enemy, As Real As It Gets (2003)
"Queens, New York, Mother Fucker! It's beatdown with some of the most tasty riffs. The drums and bass beat the shit out of you. I can never go a long time without listening to this one. This is another one that I'm doing an infinite amount of spin-kicks to."
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Nile, Annihilation of the Wicked (2005)
"As a young man this record was one of the fasest things I ever heard, I was like what the fuck is going on? The guitar playing was insane and the mix of the Egyptian influence was super refreshing.
"What blows everyone away, though, is George Kollias, one of the greatest death metal drummers if not the best. It's one thing hearing this record, but seeing them pull this off live was an out of body experience."
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100 Demons, In the Eyes of the Lord (2000)
"The name alone is influential, I was so excited to hear this when I read the name. This band does not have much in their catalog, but man, with the few releases they have, it's enough to influence a shit ton of people.
"This is such an honest, scary, and straight to the point kind of record. Also some of the scariest moments you will ever witness live."
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Bloodbath, Breeding Death (2000)
"I can talk about so many records from this band. Everything from the year 2000 to 2008 are my favorite things to this day to listen to. But I have to go with the O.G. the first EP. I go back to this every couple months, from the riffs, drums, bass, vocals, and lyrics.
"It's just a perfect death metal record. It's only three songs, and it's enough to fulfill all your brutal needs. It's actually crazy to think that members of Katatonia and Opeth wrote some of the greatest death metal songs. This band deserves a lot more love and admiration."
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Driven by the Blade is out now on music streaming outlets. A CD version will be available for preorder shortly through Been There Scene That Records.
Pile of Knives on social media: Instagram
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