Impaler

Active years: 1983 to present

St. Paul, Twin Cities metro

St. Paul shock rock and metal band formed in 1983, signed to Combat Records and famous for its horror stage show and run-ins with the PMRC.

Impaler formed in St. Paul in spring 1983 with singer Bill Lindsey, guitarists Michael James Torok and Mike Senn, bassist Court Hawley and drummer Robert "Meaty Bob" Johnson. The band mixed speed metal, heavy metal and punk with shock rock theater. Demo tapes caught the ear of Important Record Distributors, which signed Impaler to its labels IRD and Combat Records. The 1985 EP Rise of the Mutants drew protests over its gory cover, and Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center tried and failed to pull it from stores, which only brought the band more attention. The 1986 album If We Had Brains... We'd Be Dangerous! was produced by Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü. Wake Up Screaming! followed on Channel 83 Records in 1990, and in 1996 Best Buy tried to pull Undead Things over its cover. Impaler kept recording through the 2000s on Root of All Evil Records, released Live at First Ave in 2019 and The Great Hereafter in 2021. The stage show features fake blood, cages, coffins and a mock disembowelment finale. Impaler has a star on the outside mural at First Avenue, and Bill Lindsey still leads the band.