Bruce Fitzhugh

**Labels:** | * R.E.X. Records
* Solid State Records
 **Associated Acts:** | Living Sacrifice, Zao, Evanescence, Broken by the Burden, Embodyment, Soul Embraced, Benea Reach, The Showdown, Aletheian, Megabruce, Few Left Standing, Further Seems Forever, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Project 86, No Innocent Victim, Becoming Saints, Eso-Charis

**Bruce Fitzhugh** (born 1972) is a thrash metal/death metal musician who has most notably performed with Living Sacrifice. Fitzhugh is the second vocalist of the band, as well as the original Rhythm Guitarist, making his musical debut on their self-titled first album. Fitzhugh took the mantle of Vocalist in 1995, when original Vocalist/Bassist Darren "D.J." Johnson departed from the band for personal reasons.

## History

### Early Life (1972-1988)

Bruce Fitzhugh grew up in Arkansas. Fitzhugh, unlike others, was not raised in a Christian home. Because of this, his family allowed him to listen to Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, and the more extreme metal bands. Eventually, as a teenager, he attended church with a friend, which was his gateway to becoming a believer. He met Darren "D.J." Johnson and Lance Garvin in youth group, where they joined together with them to form a band.

### Early Living Sacrifice era (1989-2003)

In 1989, Fitzhugh, Johnson, and Garvin formed a band called Living Sacrifice, with Jason Truby joining the band shortly afterwards as their Lead Guitarist. The band recorded a demo, titled *Not Yielding to Ungodly*, which they released independently. The band mailed the demo to Believer, a band they had grown to enjoy, which resulted in the band later signing with R.E.X. Records. Kurt Bachman worked A&R for the label. The band signed for four albums.

In 1991, the band released their eponymous debut album through R.E.X. Records. The album was a thrash metal album, which was heavily compared to Slayer. Although the album was enjoyed, the band departed from the thrash metal style to be more of themselves, going into a death metal style, with their second album, *Nonexistent*. Fitzhugh, countless times, has expressed his distaste for how the album was recorded, specifically the engineer who was hired to record it.

The next year, the band recorded a few tracks for a split album with Celldweller and Brainchild, both of which featured Scott Albert, also known as Klayton. The album was released in 1993, titled *Metamorphosis*, which featured 5 tracks; two different mixes of tracks on *Nonexistent* and three new tracks. 1994 saw the release of *Inhabit*, the album considered to be the heaviest of their discography. At this point, Fitzhugh had just played Rhythm Guitars for the band, until 1995, when DJ departed from the band, due to some personal issues; DJ had grown more in the Straight-Edge Hardcore scene and was growing out of musical scene. With this the remaining band members decided they did not want to hire a new vocalist, so Fitzhugh and Truby decided to both try out their vocal abilities. Truby could do about two songs before he would lose his voice, while Fitzhugh was able to pull it off. Still requiring a Bassist at this point, the band hired Truby's brother, Chris, who had re-devoted his life to Christ at this point, and with this lineup began recording a demo of four songs for their upcoming album. The demo featured "Sellout", "Spirit Fall" and two other tracks, with Fitzhugh doing Vocals on the release, as well as Rhythm Guitars.

After the production of the four demo tracks, the band began writing the next album, with the four piece lineup. The band re-recorded the four tracks, as well as write and record the remaining 8 tracks, with Jason writing a majority of the album. Fitzhugh recorded the rest of the album with his Vocals, which had a high register, however not as high as the previous demo. When the album, *Reborn*, was released, the band received positive reviews. Shortly after the album's release, after a few tours, the Truby brothers departed from the band. Filling in for the band while Fitzhugh and Garvin searched for replacements were Cory Brandan Putman of Eso-Charis on Lead Guitars and Jay Stacey on Bass. The two filled in until they found two new members; Rocky Gray on Lead Guitars, who Garvin was in a band called Soul Embraced with and Arthur Green on Bass, who was in Eso-Charis alongside Brandan. In 1999, Brandan's brother and Green's friend, Matthew Putman joined the band as an additional percussionist, after playing a show at Cornerstone Festival in 1998 along with Chad Wilburn (Mindrage, Society's Finest).

With the lineup, the band recorded a two-song demo, followed by another full-length album, titled *The Hammering Process*, which were released in 2000. Following the release, in 2001, the band embarked on a tour with Project 86 and Stavesacre. During the tour, Living Sacrifice's van got into a car accident, although Fitzhugh was riding in the Stavesacre van. Luckily, no one was injured, and the van received minimal damage. The same year, the band and covers of their music were featured on *A Tribute to Living Sacrifice*, which featured projects of band members and friends of the band including Soul Embraced, Crimson Thorn, 26 Days Til Freedom, and Crutch.

Three releases followed in 2002, with a video titled *Processed* coming out, a pre-release EP titled *Subtle Alliance* was released, and finally the band's sixth album, *Conceived in Fire*. Fitzhugh has stated several times that *Conceived in Fire* is his favorite release. After the release of the album, the band began to embark on a tour that would mark Fitzhugh's final tour. Cory Brandan Putman returned to the band after Gray had departed to join Evanescence, and after Fitzhugh's departure, Putman was to take over Rhythm Guitars and Lead Vocals, with Bryan Gray (The Blamed, The Satire, ex-Six Feet Deep) taking over Lead Guitars. However, while on the final dates, Garvin stated that he did not want to perform in the band anymore, which resulted in their disbanding. The band would shortly thereafter announce their disbanding.

### *In Memoriam* and Zambooie (2003-2007)

After their disbanding, in 2005, Fitzhugh reunited with two of his former bandmates, Garvin and Gray, to record three new songs for an *In Memoriam* compilation of their works, which featured "In Christ", "Killers" and "The Power of God". After the release of the album, the three went back into a hiatus until three years later. After the release, Fitzhugh formed a merchandise company called Zambooie with Mike Lewis (ex-Puller, ex-For Love Not Lisa, ex-Stavesacre). The business also saw Andy Atkins (A Plea for Purging, ex-With Blood Comes Beauty), Adam Tanaka (ex-With Blood Comes Beauty, ex-Foxhole), and Billy Power (ex-Blenderhead) as well as several others.

### Later Living Sacrifice Era and other projects (2008-present)

In 2008, the band reunited with the lineup of Fitzhugh, Garvin, Gray, and Green in their respective positions. The same year, the band recorded a two-song EP, titled *Death Machine*, which featured "Death Machine" and "The Battle". The band had recorded a new album, planning on releasing it in December 2009, but ended up pushing it back to January 2010. The album, titled *The Infinite Order*, came out in January 2010, through Solid State Records. Following the release, the band began touring again. Fitzhugh, despite growing tired of touring originally, enjoyed these performances. Some of the band's shows were filmed and released as a DVD titled, *In Finite Live*. The next year saw the band slow down once more, however, in 2013, the band recorded their eighth studio album, titled *Ghost Thief*. Fitzhugh did some interviews in 2015, following the release by two years, speaking about the band was recording new material. The same year, a re-recorded version of "Something More", featuring Green and Gray, rather than the Truby brothers, was featured on a soundtrack for *Killing Floor 2*, which was released through Tripwire Interactive. Fitzhugh and Jeremiah Scott (Demon Hunter, The Showdown, ex-Destroy Destroy Destroy) recorded two tracks for the soundtrack as well, "Made for War" and "Defend the Crown".

 In 2015, Fitzhugh recorded a cover of Megadeth's song "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due" for their 25th anniversary, alongside former Becoming the Archetype/Aletheian/Solamors members Alex Kenis and Travis Turner, who recorded guitars/bass and drums respectively. Jeremiah Scott of Demon Hunter assisted in the recording process. Fitzhugh joined Manhead Merch after Zambooie went under in 2013, and eventually became the Vice President of Artist Services and in charge of the e-commerce site. In 2016, Fitzhugh guest-starred on a track by Becoming Saints, his nephew Drew Garrison's band, titled "Lost". From 2017 to 2018, Fitzhugh performed with Living Sacrifice on their select dates, including Shipwrecked 2017 and a few other shows, one of which, Darren Johnson performed vocals for, Fitzhugh was on guitars. In 2018, the band was featured on a benefit compilation for Timothy Henderson (ex-Warlord), with a track recorded back in 2000 titled "New Day", which was one of Fitzhugh's favorite tracks from the album sessions.

 Fitzhugh will be featured in an untitled Living Sacrifice documentary coming out in 2019, alongside the rest of his band-mates and former band-mates, which is being filmed by David Lipke, a friend of the band's.

## Personal Life

Fitzhugh is married to Jennifer Gelvin Fitzhugh and has three daughters. He has an older brother and a nephew named Drew Garrison, who performs in Becoming Saints, a Christian metalcore band.

## Discography

**Living Sacrifice**

* *Not Yielding to Ungodly* (1989)
* *Living Sacrifice* (1991)
* *Nonexistent* (1992)
* *Metamorphosis* (1993)
* *Inhabit* (1994)
* *Demo* (1996)
* *Reborn* (1997)
* *The Hammering Process* (2000)
* *Conceived in Fire* (2002)
* *Subtle Alliance* (2002)
* *In Memoriam* (2005)
* *Death Machine* (2008)
* *The Infinite Order* (2010)
* *In Finite Live* (2011)
* *Ghost Thief* (2013)
* Untitled Documentary (2021)

**Megabruce**

* "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" (2015; Megadeth cover)

**Bruce Fitzhugh & Jeremiah Scott**

* "Made for War" (2015)
* "Defend the Crown" (2015)

**Guest Appearances**

* Embodyment - *Embrace the Eternal*, "Religious Infamy" (1998)
* No Innocent Victim - *Flesh & Blood*, "Tear Us Apart" (1999)
* Evanescence - *Origin*, "Lies" (2000)
* Benea Reach - *Possession*, "The Mountain" (2002)
* Aletheian - "Breathing Murder" (2002; Living Sacrifice cover)
* The Showdown - *A Chorus of Obliteration*, "Dagon Undone - The Reckoning" (2004)
* Demon Hunter - *Storm the Gates of Hell*, "Sixteen" (2007)
* The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - *Danza II: Electric Boogaloo*, "The Electric Boogaloo" (2007)
* Project 86 - *Wait for the Siren*, "S.O.T.S." (2012)
* Soul Embraced - *Mythos*, "Transhuman" (2013)
* Broken by the Burden - "The Escapist" (2014)
* Becoming Saints - *Oh, the Suffering*, "Lost" (2016)

**Production**

* Zao - *Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest* (1997)
* Eso-Charis - *Eso-Charis* (2001)
* Few Left Standing - *Regeneration of Self* (2002)
* Embodyment - *Songs for the Living* (2002)
* The Showdown - *A Chorus of Obliteration* (2004)
* Further Seems Forever - *The Final Curtain* (2007)

**Appearances**

* Zao - *The Lesser Lights of Heaven DVD* (2005)

## References

1. ↑ Fitzhugh mentioned in a interview in 2015 that he was 42, with a later interview being published in 2015 where he stated that he was 43. Therefore he was most likely born in 1972.
2. ↑ Downey, Ryan. "Biography: Living Sacrifice". AllMusic. Retrieved on May 8, 2018.
3. ↑ Fitzhugh, Bruce (September 20, 2015). "Bruce Fitzhugh of Living Sacrifice". As The Story Grows. Interview with Travis Turner and Stephen Sarro. Retrieved on May 8, 2018.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mann, Doug (October 16, 2016). "Doug Mann, founder of R.E.X. Music (Part One)". As The Story Grows. Interview with Travis Turner and Bruce Fitzhugh. Retrieved on May 8, 2018.
5. ↑ "Brainchild/Living Sacrifice/Celldweller - Metamorphosis". Discogs. Retrieved on May 9, 2018.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Various (June 3, 2017). "Living Sacrifice "Reborn" Special". As The Story Grows. Interview with Travis Turner. Retrieved on May 9, 2018.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Putman, Matt (February 1, 2015). "BVC015: Matthew Putman of Living Sacrifice, Eso-Charis, Lovedrug and every other band ever.". As The Story Grows. Interview with Jesse Jeremiah and Travis Turner. Retrieved on May 10, 2018.
8. ↑ "Living Sacrifice to tour through May". Lambgoat. March 14, 2001. Retrieved on May 14, 2018.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Fitzhugh, Bruce (March 17, 2015). "#9 - Ghost Thief of Your Heart". Never Was Podcast. Interview with Mark Salomon. Retrieved on May 14, 2018.
10. ↑ "Living Sacrifice breaks-up". Lambgoat. May 14, 2003. Retrieved on May 30, 2018.
11. ↑ Allen, David (May 12, 2003). "Archived Copy". HxC.com. Retrieved on May 30, 2018.
12. ↑ Atkins, Andrew (August 22, 2015). "Andy Atkins". Urban Acheiver Podcast. Interview with Billy Power. Retrieved on May 30, 2018.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Killing Floor 2 Official Game Soundtrack Announced!". Tripwire Interactive. Retrieved on August 7, 2018.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Turner, Travis (September 24, 2015) "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due". As The Story Grows. Retrieved on August 7, 2018.
15. ↑ "Manhead - Team - Bruce Fitzhugh". Manhead Merch. Retrieved on June 7, 2018.
16. ↑ "WE BEAR THE SCARS - We Bear the Scars". Weebly. Retrieved on August 7, 2018.