The Marquis is Dead is the avant-garde industrial-metal project of Brussels-based multidisciplinary musician Dillon Steele, known for his feral fusion of doom-drenched riffs, heavy electronics, explosive beats, and custom-forged percussion. The project marks a radical evolution from Steele’s earlier incarnation, The Marquis — a name associated with post-punk, EBM, and dark electronic music — Steele has reshaped his sound into something raw, heavier, and unmistakably physical.
The influence of heavyweights from Steele's hometown such as Black Sabbath and Godflesh is instantly recognizable throughout each riff. Growing up in working-class neighbourhoods of Birmingham, the official home of metal, these bands were instrumental in forming his own musical identity. After stints in Sheffield, Montreal, Berlin, Paris, and now Brussels, his sonic identity has sharpened into a visceral, confrontational style forged across continents. Each stop left a scar on the project’s sound: the ghost of UK metal, the icy precision of cold wave, and the machinery of techno.
Live, the project hits with full force. Now joined by bassist Reshma Goolamy (Neptunian Maximalism), Steele transforms his sound into a hard-hitting duo that merges precise sequencing with gut-punching riffs and thundering low end. With past releases on labels such as Strange Therapy, X-IMG, and Aufnahme + Wiedergabe, and performances across North America, Europe, Mexico, and Japan—including recent appearances at Brutal Assault Festival(CZ), Sonic Rites Festival (FI), and Over The Edge Fest (DE)—The Marquis is Dead bridges the electronic underground and the metal avant-garde with unrelenting intent.
The influence of heavyweights from Steele's hometown such as Black Sabbath and Godflesh is instantly recognizable throughout each riff. Growing up in working-class neighbourhoods of Birmingham, the official home of metal, these bands were instrumental in forming his own musical identity. After stints in Sheffield, Montreal, Berlin, Paris, and now Brussels, his sonic identity has sharpened into a visceral, confrontational style forged across continents. Each stop left a scar on the project’s sound: the ghost of UK metal, the icy precision of cold wave, and the machinery of techno.
Live, the project hits with full force. Now joined by bassist Reshma Goolamy (Neptunian Maximalism), Steele transforms his sound into a hard-hitting duo that merges precise sequencing with gut-punching riffs and thundering low end. With past releases on labels such as Strange Therapy, X-IMG, and Aufnahme + Wiedergabe, and performances across North America, Europe, Mexico, and Japan—including recent appearances at Brutal Assault Festival(CZ), Sonic Rites Festival (FI), and Over The Edge Fest (DE)—The Marquis is Dead bridges the electronic underground and the metal avant-garde with unrelenting intent.
