FOG

After Dawn Crosby passes away, and it seems pretty much useless to continue Fear of God in any name or form, the remaining musicians continue for several more years under the Fog monicker. From the get-go, however, the band's longevity is in peril. Tony Mallory intends to leave the band to concentrate on Chapelblaque, but likes the direction Fog is taking. He stays on to fill in. The band continues to perform and record in the spring of 1997. Although they use the name Fog, promoters still avidly use the old band name. The band opt for a male vocalist, John Childs (formerly of Bastard Son and Infectious), who is also drawn in as a possible replacement for Mike Schafer on guitar. The only remaining semi-original member, still on drums, is John Grden.

In winter 1997 to the summer of 1998, this line-up records an album entitled "Jezabel's Dream". It contains almost an hour of intense music that reminds little of the olden days - an atmospheric/symphonic death metal kind of album, and with it the band finally leaves behind the weight of the Carlino/Crosby legacy. Mike Schafer plays very little on the actual album and leaves after the recordings are finished, though he joins again the week before Christmas 1998. Tony Mallory leaves the band after the last '98 gig, citing professional differences (also, Chapelblaque has released their full-length album "Hymnals of the Last Days" after the summer, which presumably needs more of his attention). Tony is replaced by veteran Maryland music scene guitarist Russ Strahan (formerly of many bands) in April 1999. He leaves the band in August of the same year, to be replaced by former Black Mass bassist Ted Wade (in October). In August 2000, after their performance at Haldaddys (one of Fog's regular haunts), John Childs decides to leave the band, too. John Grden and Bill Hayden join Pessimist, at which point the final appendix of the Fear of God story comes to an end.

Picture below left to right Mike (?), Bill, John C., John G., Ted Wade (live, Old Mill Tavern, Dundalk, Baltimore, MD, around summer 2000)

 

Bill Hayden in action.

 

Biographies not mentioned in the Fear of God section:

 

John C. Childs. July 18 1976 (Baltimore). Vocals and bass in Bastard Son (November 1993 - December 1995) and The End (January 1995 - March 1995), bass and backing vocals in Infectious (December 1995 - March 1996), bass in Last Chance (June 1996 - August 1996) and vocals in Fog (January 1997 - August 2000).

Mike Schafer. Bass in Fog (1997 - 2000).

Russ Strahan. August 25 1963. Guitar in LKT (? - ?), Disciples of Aggression (? - ?), Iconoclasm (? - ?) and Fog (April 1999 - July 1999), bass in Black Mass (? - ?).

Ted Wade. December 6 1972 (Baltimore, Maryland). Bass in Black Mass (? - ?), guitar in Fog (October 1999 - 2000), Prophets of Porn (late 2000 - current).

 

Discography:

 

 

FOG - "Jezabel's Dream" (1999)

John Childs - vocals; Tony Mallory - guitar/keyboards; Mike Schafer - bass; Bill Hayden - guitar; John Grden - drums.
"Three Days of Darkness", "Jezabel's Dream", "Metapholic Vortex", "Entrantment", "Infrablack/Mourning Light", "Eternal Sleep", "Prisoners of the Flesh", "Drown the Sun" and "Cykel Cycle / Visitations in the Dead".
Recorded at Oblivion Studios.