Necrophagia was one of the first death metal bands. The band was assembled in Wellsville, Ohio in 1983. Their name derives from the act of cannibalizing, or eating a corpse. The word derives from the two Greek words nekron (corpse) and phagein (to eat).

Necrophagia was a popular group in the underground "tape trading" scene of the early-to-mid-1980s. Featuring hard-driving metal and growling vocals, Necrophagia became a pioneer in the fledgling extreme metal genre. Their first full-length album, Season of the Dead, was recorded and released in 1987.

The band then split up due to musical differences, and lay dormant until 1997 when frontman Killjoy reformed the band with then Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo (under the pseudonym Anton Crowley) on guitars, Wayne Fabra on drums and Dustin Havnen on bass. This lineup released the album Holocausto de la Morte and the EP Black Blood
Vomitorium. Havnen was then replaced by Jared Faulk, with Gorelord mainman Frediablo also joining as a second guitarist and Opal Enthroned (then Anselmo's wife) joining the band on keyboards. This line up released the Cannibal Holocaust EP in 2001 before splitting up leaving Killjoy & Frediablo as the only members for a short time.

In 2002 Killjoy announced the new Necrophagia line-up. Joining him and Frediablo would be Frediablos brother Fug
on guitar, Iscariah (formerly of Immortal) on bass, Titta Tanni on drums and Mirai Kawashima of Japanese avant-garde black metal band Sigh on keyboards. This proved to be the most productive time for Necrophagia, with all members concentrating on the band rather than treating it as a side project. They released the albums The Divine Art of Torture and Harvest Ritual Vol. 1, as well as the Goblins Be Thine EP.

On June 6, 2006 Necrophagia released Slit Wrists And Casket Rot, a live album from their "Harvesting
the Dead" tour.

Frediablo left the band in early 2006 to concentrate on his other band Gorelord, and has been replaced by Undead
Torment.

On 22 December 2007 Necrophagia announced that Death Trip 69, will be released before Summer 2008, followed by a major tour, but the release of the album has been delayed.

The day Pungent Stench disbanded in 2007 marked the loss of one of death metal's most unique originators...and the calls for a reunion have not ceased ever since. Although disappointed by the sudden split, founding member singer/guitarist Martin „El Cochino“ Schirenc continued to release music and play concerts with various other projects, before he finally agreed to attend a Pungent Stench tribute show in Istanbul, where he played several songs from his former band under the moniker „The Church of Pungent Stench“. Supported by Mike Gröger (Hollenthon) on drums, as well as Hakan Nurcanlı (Art Diktator) on bass, this 2011 concert was a huge success. Subsequently, Schirenc received numerous offers from various promoters to also bring this show to other cities.

It wasn’t until 2013 that Schirenc finally agreed to take „The Church of Pungent Stench“ on the road to grace stages worldwide. The new line up continued to feature Mike on drums, but also introduced a new bass player, Danny Vacuum, known for his involvement with bands like Genocide S.S., Necrony, and The Accidents. The first show took place at the Eindhoven Metal Meeting and only marked the beginning of a successful series of appearances at the biggest festivals in Europe (Neurotic Deathfest, SWR Barroselas Metalfest, Graspop Metal Meeting, Hellfest, Bang Your Head, Brutal Assault, Into The Grave) and the USA (70.000 Tons of Metal and Maryland Deathfest).

Due to a legal dispute, the band was forced to change its name and is now touring as „SCHIRENC PLAYS PUNGENT STENCH“. However, the mission remains the same: bringing the music of Austria’s sickest band back to life and keeping the flame burning by refusing to praise the ashes!