Dave Witte

Dave Witte (born August 11, 1971) is an American drummer. He is known for his work in numerous extreme metal or hardcore punk bands including Municipal Waste, Melt-Banana, Discordance Axis, Black Army Jacket, Birds of Prey, Burnt by the Sun, and Deny the Cross among others. He has also played as a session drummer for many other acts.

Dave Witte
Witte performing with Municipal Waste
Background information
Born (1971-08-11) August 11, 1971
OriginNew Jersey, United States
GenresExtreme metal, heavy metal, hardcore punk
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Drums, percussion
Years active1990–present
LabelsPulp, H.G. Fact, Slap-a-Ham, Relapse, Devour, Hydra Head, Earache, Ipecac, Tankcrimes, Nuclear Blast
Websiteblog.davewitte.com

Early life

Witte is a New Jersey native.[1] He relocated to Richmond, Virginia to join Municipal Waste. He has been the drummer on numerous albums since 1990. He plays many styles of drumming while retaining heavy aspects of music in all his projects. Witte was introduced to drumming in grade school by his Uncle Victor.[2] Before he graduated high school he was studying many performances, and had already formed his first band, Human Remains.

Drumming

Witte often plays with multiple bands at once. A renowned drummer in the underground scene, he is known for his precise blast beats and rolls, technical fills and overall speedy playing. Witte says he "loves the speed aspect of drumming".[3]

Witte plays Trick drums, Paiste cymbals, and Vic Firth drumsticks.

Bands

Witte has been in numerous bands since the early 1990s. He has never been in just one band, and he has been in up to five or six bands at once.[4] He has recorded many studio albums with bands, toured with many other bands, or formed his own bands always keeping busy playing music.

Municipal Waste (2004–present)

Witte joined Municipal Waste in 2004, after previous drummer Brandon Ferrel left the band. In 2005 Municipal Waste released their first album with Witte on drums, Hazardous Mutation. Since then they have released Massive Aggressive in 2009. Their most recent album, The Fatal Feast came out in 2012. According to Witte Massive Aggressive is the best album the band has done to date.[5][6]

Burnt by the Sun (1999–2009)

Witte formed Burnt By the Sun in 1999 along with friend John Adubato. Witte's reason for forming the band was because he was tired of buying records "that failed to deliver what they promised[7]" so they formed their own style of metal using what Witte and the other members felt were missing from heavy music. The band released a demo on Ferret records. After the demo they released several albums on Relapse Records. After a hiatus Witte claimed it was time to make a third record, but stated the band "can not and will not be full-time".[1] He also stated this will be the last release from Burnt by the Sun.[8]

Deny the Cross (2013–present)

Formed in 2013 by Witte, vocalist Carlos Ramirez, guitarist Dan Lactose, and bassist Ramon Salcido, Deny the Cross is powerviolence band that released their debut album, Alpha Ghoul, in 2016, via Tankcrimes. In addition to Witte, Deny the Cross' members have also been in such bands as Spazz, Agents of Satan, Black Army Jacket, Plutocracy, Funeral Shock, and Lakota.

Birds of Prey (2006–present)

[9]

King Generator (2007–present)

[10]

Past bands

Witte toured with Melt-Banana for four years.

Witte's second band, Discordance Axis, that gained much critical attention after the band had broken up.

  • Human Remains

This was Witte's first band.

A NYC-based powerviolence band that released one studio album, and a slew of EPs and compilation tracks.

Witte has also collaborated with numerous artists to create:

  • Hex Machine
  • Candria
  • Redrum
  • Major-burns
  • Atomsmasher
  • Phantomsmasher
  • Anodyne
  • East West Blast Test
  • Hope Collapse

Witte also rehearsed with Pig Destroyer with the intention of joining the band following the departure of drummer Brian Harvey but was forced to back out due to a pre-existing wrist injury. Material was written for the band's upcoming album with Witte.[11]

Personal life

On his off-time from recording and touring Witte works in the kitchen of a catering company. Since 2017 he runs, together with his girlfriend, a vegan foodtruck.[3] He is a self-proclaimed beer lover, with Belgian beers being his favorite. He also finished his first triathlon in 2003.[1] He is well known for his skullet, and tough guy mustache.

Discography

References
  1. Ailes, Drew (March 4, 2006). "Dave Witte interview". lambgoat.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2007.
  2. Dave Witte Biography paiste.com, October 25, 2009
  3. Dave Witte Interview club.kingsnake.com, October 4, 2008, October 23, 2009
  4. Dave Witte Interview with Decibel decibelmagazine.com, September 24, 2009, October 24, 2009
  5. Municipal Waste Interview roadrunnerrecords.com March 13, 2009, October 20, 2009
  6. Municipal Waste Website Archived November 25, 2005, at the Wayback Machine facethewaste.com, October 19, 2009
  7. Burnt By the Sun Relapse Records Page relapse.com, 10/22/2009
  8. Dave Witte's Blog blog.davewitte.com, October 20, 2009
  9. Birds of Prey Myspace Page myspace.com/birdsop October 23, 2009
  10. King Generator's Myspace Page myspace.com/kinggenerator, October 22, 2009
  11. "Operation Grindcore: Interview: Pig Destroyer". Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
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