Chicago's Lair of the Minotaur was formed in spring of 2003 by former 7000 Dying Rats members Steven Rathbone (vocals/guitar) and Donald James Barraca, along with Pelican drummer Larry Herweg. Inspired by the vulgar, misanthropic, proto-black metal pioneered decades earlier by the likes of Venom and Hellhammer, then adding lyrics based on classic Hellenic mythology, the trio produced a six-song EP later that year and quickly found a home with Southern Lord Records. Their full-length debut, Carnage, arrived in mid-2004 and the three-song Cannibal Massacre EP followed a year later; then a second, even more potent full-length named The Ultimate Destroyer was released in early 2006.
