Kevin Mahoney

Kevin Mahoney
Mahoney (center) with Siege bandmates in 1984
Background information
Birth name	Kevin J. Mahoney
Born	(1965-09-06)September 6, 1965 Massachusetts, United States
Died	October 14, 2011(2011-10-14) (aged 46) Stoughton, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	Hardcore punk, grindcore, powerviolence
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Vocals, saxophone
Years active	1981–1985, 2006–2008
Labels	Relapse Records, Deep Six Records
Associated acts	Siege, The Spoils

Kevin J. Mahoney (September 6, 1965 – October 14, 2011) was an American singer. He is best remembered as the vocalist of Siege, a pioneering Massachusetts-based hardcore punk band whose speed and discord influenced the formation of the grindcore and powerviolence subgenres of punk rock and heavy metal. Mahoney's incongruous lead vocal style also influenced the development of these genres.

Mahoney was a member of Siege from 1983 to 1985, their main productive years. He also led the group The Spoils with Siege drummer Rob Williams in the early 2000s.

Mahoney grew up in Braintree, Massachusetts. He had two sisters, Keren and Kathy, the latter his twin. Keren's husband Rick Jones was a member of the Boston-area hardcore punk band Jerry's Kids, an influential early Boston hardcore group. Prior to joining Siege, Mahoney played in a ska band.

In 1983, Mahoney joined three musicians from nearby Weymouth to form Siege. Siege played an extreme style of hardcore punk, combining exceptionally fast tempos with Mahoney's screeches and howls. In addition to serving as the band's lead vocalist, Mahoney occasionally played saxophone with the group, creating an additional layer of noisy texture in the band's chaotic sound. Siege recorded a demo cassette and three tracks released on the Cleanse the Bacteria compilation, and performed throughout New England over the next few years. They disbanded in 1985 when Mahoney failed to appear at their first gig in New York City, which was subsequently cancelled.

Although the band wrote only 20 minutes' worth of music and never played outside of New England, they achieved significant posthumous fame. The group is now cited as a catalyst of the grindcore and powerviolence genres, and has influenced such noteworthy bands as Napalm Death, Carcass, and Dropdead. After years of being bootlegged, their recorded output was officially released by Relapse Records as the Drop Dead album in 1994.