Sematary

Zane Brian Steckler (born December 22, 2000), known professionally as Sematary, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He began releasing music and founded the Haunted Mound rap collective in 2019. Sematary has released nine mixtapes and three EPs. His distorted and overblown production style, which is influenced by witch house and black metal, and deep-fried aesthetic have garnered him a cult following online.

Early life Zane Brian Steckler was born in Northern California on December 22, 2000. He was raised in Granite Bay, an outer suburb of Sacramento, and has described his hometown as "redneck-y". His mother is a painter and his father is a record producer who worked on various film scores, including writing a song for the soundtrack to the 1998 film Pokémon: The First Movie while working as a jingle writer. Steckler's upbringing, according to him, was "normal", and he has expressed that he hated school. He first began experimenting with music at the age of 11 through the use of GarageBand and Logic Pro.

Career Steckler began releasing music as Sematary in 2019, releasing his first song Mordor on March 22nd of that year. Following his graduation from high school, he would go on to release his collaborative debut mixtape, Grave House, with fellow rapper and childhood friend Ghost Mountain in August of that year. In March 2020, he released the mixtape Rainbow Bridge 2, in continuation of his previous album. He also released a follow-up mixtape to Grave House with Ghost Mountain, Hundred Acre Wrist, in July 2020. In October of the same year, he released the mixtape Screaming Forest, which would begin a new era for Sematary and the rest of Haunted Mound as a whole.

Sematary released the mixtape Butcher House in January 2023, with a tour of the same name taking place following its release. Paste praised Butcher House as "easily the hardest-hitting rap record of the year right now", while Revolvers Eli Enis called it "beautifully belligerent". In September, Sematary released the EP King of the Graveyard. He also appeared as a guest on Suicideboys' Grey Day Tour in the fall of 2023. Later that month, Sematary released "Wendigo", a post-punk song, as a single for his album Bloody Angel, which was released in March 2024. His second headlining tour began one month later. In January 2025, Sematary released the single "Still Da Same" in collaboration with the rapper Xaviersobased. His single "Heart So Pure" was released the following month with the B-side "Oxycodone". His mixtape Haunt-O-Holixxx was released on Halloween in 2025.

Artistry

Sematary was inspired by witch house band Salem and rappers Chief Keef, Black Kray, and Yung Lean to start rapping, with Yung Lean motivating him to pursue a career in music after he saw him perform at the Warlord American tour. and samples depressive black metal tracks into the production, which is especially prevalent in the Rainbow Bride series. and the Chicago drill sound. His vocals are typically layered and distorted with Auto-Tune and his instrumentals are often lo-fi.

, Sematary had recorded a majority of his music in the "Butcher House", an abandoned slaughterhouse built in 1905. Günseli Yalcinkaya of Dazed compared his music videos to B horror movies. His online aesthetic has been described as deep-fried and defined by its horror influences, including his often holding a chainsaw; he has compared it to that of Chief Keef. He has been vocal against the presence of the alt-right in underground hip hop.

Discography Mixtapes +List of mixtapes, with release date and label shown Title Details Grave House Released: August 16, 2019 Re-Released: April 18, 2025 Label: Self-released (Re-Released under Haunted Mound) Format: Digital download, streaming, CD Rainbow Bridge Released: November 8, 2019 Label: Haunted Mound Format: Digital download, streaming, CD Rainbow Bridge 2 Released: March 20, 2020 Label: Haunted Mound Format: Digital download, streaming, cassette Hundred Acre Wrist Hosted by DJ Sorrow Released: July 31, 2020 Re-Released: April 18, 2025 Label: Haunted Mound Format: Digital download, streaming, CD Rainbow Bridge 3 Released: April 29, 2021 Label: Haunted Mound Format: Digital download, streaming, cassette, CD Screaming Forest Released: October 29, 2021 Label: Haunted Mound Format: Digital download, streaming, CD Butcher House Released: January 13, 2023 Label: Haunted Mound Format: Digital download, streaming, CD Bloody Angel Released: March 29, 2024 Label: Haunted Mound Format: Digital download, streaming, CD Haunt-O-Holixxx: The Mixtape Released: October 31, 2025. Label: Haunted Mound Format: Digital download, streaming, CD

Extended plays

+List of extended plays, with release date and label shown Title Details Warboy Released: May 1, 2020 Label: Haunted Mound Format: Digital download, streaming, CD King of the Graveyard Released: September 29, 2023 Label: Haunted Mound Format: Digital download, streaming The Wagoner EP Released: April 11, 2025 Label: Haunted Mound Format: Digital download, streaming Note: Its songs were originally released as standalone uploads and leaks in 2020, but were not officially released as its own EP until 2025.