Switzerland · deathcore · beatdown

Paleface Swiss

1 upcoming festival →

Swiss beatdown with a genuinely unsettling vocal performance sitting on top of the chug — Europe's heaviest recent export.

Paleface Swiss formed in Zürich in 2017, initially performing under the name Paleface before adopting the current name in 2023 to avoid clashing with another artist of the same name. Vocalist Marc "Zelli" Zellweger, guitarist Yannick Lehmann and bassist Tommy Lee have been present since the start, with drummer Luigi Paraventi joining more recently. The band is regarded as one of the more visible European acts working in beatdown hardcore and deathcore.

Their sound is built around slow, heavily downtuned riffing, abrupt tempo drops and breakdowns designed for pit response, with vocals that lean toward guttural, distorted shouting rather than conventional screaming. The band draws on slamming deathcore as much as hardcore, favouring short, blunt tracks over extended arrangements, and cites influences ranging from Slipknot and Korn to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

The band has released three studio albums and three EPs, most recently Cursed in January 2025 and The Wilted EP in January 2026, both through Blood Blast Distribution. Metal Hammer identified 2024 as a breakout year, pointing to the group's mix of deathcore, hardcore, nu metal and thrash and drawing comparisons to early Slipknot.

Paleface Swiss began playing live only in 2022 but quickly built a reputation for chaotic, high-energy shows, developed largely through touring and word of mouth online. On one US tour they replaced their opening act with an extreme wrestling match refereed by Zellweger, who has described the band's performances as played "at the limit", an intensity he says audiences feel directly.

Read more

deathcorebeatdown