Bodysnatcher (band)

Lore & Background

Bodysnatcher was founded in 2014 in Florida. They released their debut EP Abandonment in 2015, followed by three studio albums: Death of Me (2017), This Heavy Void (2019), and Bleed-Abide (2022). In 2024, they released their second EP Vile Conduct. On November 7, 2025, they released a single with a video, Blade Between The Teeth. On January 26, 2026, they released the single The Maker and announced their fourth studio album, Hell Is Here, Hell Is Home, which released on April 10, 2026 via MNRK Heavy.

Reader's Guide

Bodysnatcher has been a consistent presence in the deathcore scene since their formation in 2014. Their music is characterized by a blend of deathcore with an emphasis on hardcore elements, drawing influence from bands such as Black Tongue, Overthrower, Traitors, King Conquer, Terror, and Hatebreed. The band's discography includes four studio albums and two EPs, with their later work released on MNRK Heavy. Their 2026 album Hell Is Here, Hell Is Home features a guest appearance by Scott Vogel of Terror. The band's members include vocalist Kyle Medina, guitarists Kyle Carter, bassist Kyle Shope, and drummer Chris Whited. Their 2025 single Blade Between The Teeth and 2026 single The Maker preceded the album's release.

Did You Know?

• Bodysnatcher's debut EP Abandonment was released in 2015.
• Their fourth studio album Hell Is Here, Hell Is Home was released on April 10, 2026.
• The band has cited Terror and Hatebreed as influences.
• Three of the four band members have the first name Kyle—only the drummer is named Chris.

Formation and the Pandemic Pivot

Paleface Swiss traces its roots to 2017 in Zürich, where vocalist Marc "Zelli" Zellweger, guitarist Yannick Lehmann, and bassist Tommy Lee came together under the simpler name "Paleface." Their early output was structured as a chaptered EP series: Chapter 1: From the Gallows arrived in 2018, followed by Chapter 2: Witch King in 2019. The third installment, Chapter 3: The Last Selection, was originally slated for a May 2020 EP release, but the global pandemic disrupted their plans. Rather than simply delaying the project, the band expanded the material into a full-length debut album, giving the songs more room to breathe and establishing a stronger sonic foundation. Drummer Colin "CJ" Hammond anchored the rhythm section during this formative period, playing from 2017 through 2022. This early chapter—three EPs and one album in roughly four years—laid the groundwork for the heavier, more ambitious material that would follow, and it demonstrated a band willing to adapt its creative process when external forces demanded a change of direction.

Breakout and the Live Spectacle

Paleface Swiss did not begin performing live until 2022, yet they quickly built a reputation for shows that felt less like concerts and more like controlled chaos. By 2024, Metal Hammer recognized the band as experiencing a major breakout, citing their extremely heavy fusion of deathcore, hardcore, nu metal, and thrash, and drawing comparisons to early Slipknot. Their live sets became a defining part of their identity: packed tours, headline slots at festivals like Resurrection Fest and Sick New World, and a commitment to performing every single show "at the limit," as vocalist Marc Zelli put it in a Metal Hammer interview. One particularly memorable moment came during a U.S. tour, where the band replaced the scheduled opening act with an extreme wrestling match that Marc himself refereed. This theatrical, high-energy approach—blending musical aggression with spectacle—helped transform them from a Swiss regional act into a name recognized across the international extreme-metal circuit.

Genre Fluidity and Sonic Lineage

Critics tend to file Paleface Swiss under beatdown hardcore, deathcore, and nu metal, but the band itself resists being locked into any single subgenre label. What emerges from their recordings is a deliberately fluid sound that shifts between aggressive riffs, melodic hooks, and thrash-inflected passages, making it genuinely difficult to categorize. Their stated influences span a remarkably wide spectrum: the chaotic intensity of Slipknot and Korn, the emotional directness of Amity Affliction and NF, the arena-scale riffs of Nickelback and Nothing but Thieves, the punch of Bullet for My Valentine, the technical edge of Trivium, and the classic heavy-metal foundations of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. This eclectic mix explains why their music can sound simultaneously modern and timeless, brutal and accessible. Rather than committing to one scene or one sound, the four-piece from Zürich draws from whatever serves the song, creating a hybrid identity that has resonated with audiences far beyond the typical hardcore and metal crowds.

Rapid Output and the Road to 2026

Following the positive reception of their 2022 second album Fear & Dagger, the band entered a period of extraordinary creative velocity. In 2023 they rebranded to "Paleface Swiss" to avoid confusion with another artist using the same name, and they flooded the market with standalone singles including "Best Before: Death," "Please End Me," and "The Gallow." That momentum carried into 2024, when vocalist Marc Zelli contributed vocals to Left to Suffer's single "Lost in the Dark" and the group released a remarkable string of tracks, from "You Can't Kill Me" to "Love Burns." Their third studio album, Cursed, dropped on 3 January 2025 through Blood Blast Distribution, marking a continuation of their rising profile. The drum seat saw turnover during this stretch, with Cassiano "Cassi" Toma stepping in after Colin Hammond's departure and later being succeeded by Luigi Paraventi in 2026. On 21 October 2025 the band announced The Wilted EP, released on 2 January 2026, capping a multi-year run of relentless output that has kept them firmly in the conversation.