R.I.P. John Brenner of Revelation and Against Nature, 1967-2026
Sad news out of the Maryland doom underground as John Brenner, founding guitarist/vocalist of Revelation and Against Nature, has passed away at the age of 59. John began Revelation in 1985 under the moniker of Panic, and helped shape the Chesapeake doom underground with album’s like 1991’s Salvation’s Answer and 1995’s …Yet So Far before returning with Release in 2008 alongside bassist Bert Hall, Jr., and drummer Steve Branagan, while at the same time developing a mellow progressive rock sound on an incredibly prolific run as Against Nature with the same three-piece configuration, issuing no fewer than 17 full-lengths between 2005 and 2012.
And whatever Brenner accomplished in the 1990s as a songwriter, that years-long splurge — Revelation also had four albums between 2008 and 2012, which isn’t nothing, if sparse in comparison — was something magic, but even more than a gifted player and writer, I will remember Brenner as a sweet, humble guy. I feel lucky to have seen him play, and more fortunate to have interviewed him the couple times I did.
He was never high on his own legacy when he had every right to be, and had such a deep love and appreciation for creating that it informed the listening experience of his records. By the time the Bandcamp era really took hold, he was mostly done and onto what seems to have been a pretty successful professional career, but the low-key heft and emotional resonance of his work remains vibrant in that material, and if you can find it, it is worth the time and effort to do so.
Bert Hall posted the following remembrance on social media:
John Joseph Brenner, February 18, 1967 – July 31, 2026
In the last hour, some of the worst news imaginable was shared with me. John Brenner passed away tonight.. John quietly fought a diagnosis of stage 4 stomach cancer he received earlier this year.
John was a very private man. The irony in that is that John was a man whose work was known and appreciated here and in far away places where cultural and day to day life sometimes looked very different than where he called home. Many of us knew him as an immensely creative and inspired musician and songwriter. John was all of that and much more.
Online articles telling John’s story of having been a high school dropout that rose, through his own personal drive, to get a GED, graduate from college and earn two Masters degrees, teach at university and go on to spearhead a program whose goal was to engage youth and provide a pathway into higher education are easily found. I hope you take a moment and have a look at the amazing things John accomplished in the years that many of us missed his presence in the music world. These articles provide an amazing counterpoint to the man we all admired for writing classics like Never Comes Silence, Salvation’s answer and For the Sake of no one along with 19 Against Nature releases.
John and I had been friends since we were 14 years old in the 9th grade at Baltimore Polytechnic. Neither of us stayed beyond that year and BOTH of us ended up in summer school for the first time! I remember when John dropped out, he used to talk about reading the dictionary all the time! All of the steps in his academic life were quietly executed and laid out the road he eventually embraced as his passion and life’s work.
Many of us will miss his dry humor, his personality, his intelligence and his contributions to the academic AND musical worlds, but the largest vacuum he leaves behind is his presence as a friend, brother, mentor and inspiration.
I have so much gratitude for the time spent laughing, creating, driving each other nuts while traveling the world together and living the dream of our youth!! Time makes us temporary to this existence but the light we share of ourselves in the memories we build together makes us immortal.
Until we meet again in the next world… I’ll be sure to bring a bass.
Tags: Against Nature, Maryland doom, Revelation
