200 Stab Wounds is one of the sickest and heaviest bands to emerge in the modern death metal scene. Along with creating awesome music, a death metal act can grab a lot of attention via their name – and “200 Stab Wounds” makes one hell of a visual impression.
But how did the band come to decide on such a name? Well, band member Steve Buhl can tell you himself.
As part of a recent conversation with Heavy New York, the band singer was asked about the origin of the band’s name. Funny enough, per Buhl, there is not much of a complex or super deep reasoning behind the band name.
The interviewer asks Steve if there is any significance to the “200” in the band’s name; he expresses that “200 Stab Wounds” just rolls off the tongue and that he wouldn’t want to hear any other number be used. In response to this question, Steve says:
“No, not really. You kind of answered the question yourself; it just rolls off the tongue. It just sounds hard. 300 doesn’t sound right, 100 doesn’t sound right. So 200.”
He then goes on to add, “People said online that we used to be called 117 Stab Wounds, and that’s not true. We’ve always been 200 Stab Wounds. But yeah, there’s no real significance to that number; it’s just something that sounds good. Lance came up with the name. When we put this band together – I remember him telling me this years ago [Lance sharing the name with Steve] – I was like, ‘Yo we should use that because it’s perfect.’ And here we are.”
In another part of the conversation, Steve opens up about the band’s lyrical subject matter; in typical death metal fashion, the Cleveland, Ohio act has created a plethora of tunes that provide gruesome and horror movie-esque imagery.
When it comes to the lyrical subject matter the band explores, the interviewer asks Steve if he wants the lyrics to be open to interpretation, or if Steve wants to “engage” the listener via the lyricism. In response, Steve says:
“I don’t know… I guess it’s more open to interpretation. I mean, there’s not really a message at all to our music, our lyrics, or anything like that. It’s just mostly stories about random things. So there’s not really a message; I guess it’s just open to interpretation, whatever the listener thinks the song is about or what they want it to be about.
“That’s what I like about our music – it’s not about pushing a certain message or whatever – it’s just about having fun and I guess whatever you take that song as you can make it your own.”
Steve also shares that the band has not considered creating a concept album (but that they could be open to that).
The most recent release to come from the band is actually a single they put out this year titled “Masters of Morbidity.” You can check out that track for yourself below.
Earlier this year, we wrote up a feature where we highlighted 20 bands and acts that have elevated the metal genre.
Of course, we shouted out 200 Stab Wounds on this list, but if you are curious to know who the other 19 acts are (or what we had to say about the Cleveland, Ohio metalheads), follow the link below.
The New Age Of Metal: 20 Bands + Artists Redefining Heavy Music
Watch: New Documentary Explores Impact + Culture Of Death Metal
