David Brom is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 murderer. He killed his parents, brother and sister with an axe in February 1988 near Rochester, Minnesota

Rochester, Minnesota

Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...

.

Crimes

16-year-old Brom had a fight with his father over the music he listened to immediately before the murders.

Negativland prank

When their 1987 album, Escape From Noise

Escape from Noise

Escape from Noise is a 1987 album by Negativland. It marked the band's first break on an established independent record label, SST Records. On this album, they continued to develop their experimental style. The group also incorporated elements of pop music with shorter tracks and more conventional...

, proved to be more successful than they expected, Negativland

Negativland

Negativland is an experimental music and sound collage band which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. They took their name from a Neu! song, while their record label is named after another Neu! song...

, a sound collage

Sound collage

In music, montage or sound collage is a technique where sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage, the use of portions of previous recordings or scores...

 band, canceled the tour they were expected to do and released a fake press release stating the band would be placed in house arrest

House arrest

In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...

 until investigations concluded as to whether the track "Christianity Is Stupid

Christianity Is Stupid

"Christianity Is Stupid" is the most well-known song from Negativland's 1987 breakthrough album, Escape from Noise. In the song, Negativland rearranges words and phrases to form a different meaning. They sampled phrases from a 1971 sermon by Rev. Estus Pirkle . Pirkle's narrative included an...

" was implicated in Brom's murders. The resulting media craze, stemming from journalists neglecting to fact-check, is lampooned in the title track of their 1989 album, Helter Stupid

Helter Stupid

Helter Stupid is Negativland's second album on SST Records, released in 1989. It was Negativland's first attempt at a concept album.-Structure:...

, whose insert also includes background information behind the band's prank.

In Popular Culture

American Death Metal

Death metal

Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

 band Macabre

Macabre (band)

Macabre is an extreme metal band from Illinois. They were formed in 1985 in Chicago, Illinois, and have never had a line-up change. They blend thrash metal, death metal, and grindcore to form their own unique style dubbed murder metal...

 released a song titled "David Brom Took an Axe" on their 1989 album Gloom

Gloom (album)

Gloom is the debut album of Macabre, released in 1989. Several versions of this album exist. Some versions include the Grim Reality EP, other include a few live tracks and two songs from the Grim Reality EP.-Track listing:# "Embalmer"...

 based on the David Brom murders.

External links

• MN Department of Corrections Offender Locator