The band was formed in 1979 in Droitwich, England, by guitarist Nick Bowcott,[1] and there have been numerous lineup changes over the years, with frontman Steve Grimmett being the longest running member, from 1982 to 1988, then 2006 until his death in 2022.

He recruited Dave Wanklin on bass, Lee Harris on Drums, and most importantly, Steve Grimmett on vocals.

[3][4] Grim Reaper soon became readily identifiable with Bowcott's guitar work and lead vocalist Steve Grimmett's head voice vocals.

[5][6] Their 1985 follow-up, Fear No Evil, showed improvement on the production front and also enjoyed moderate success in both the United States and Europe.

[7] Legal battles with Ebony Records delayed the release of the band's third album Rock You to Hell by almost two years.

With the production of their fourth studio album (reportedly to be called Nothing Whatsoever to Do with Hell) about to start, another round of legal action from Ebony Records effectively dealt the death blow to Grim Reaper, subsequently disbanding in 1988.

The "original" lineup of Grim Reaper (without Nick Bowcott) played the Keep It True VI festival in Lauda-Königshofen on 8 April 2006.

The band played the annual MetalBrew festival in London's Mill Hill on Saturday 18 July 2009.

The festival was then cancelled when the promoter forfeited, but the band (urged on by a crowd of fans who had already bought tickets) managed to play the date along with several originally billed acts (as a single-day event instead of a weekend-spanning one).

[11] In April 2014, Grim Reaper played their first show in the US since 1987, joined by original guitarist Nick Bowcott, and featured several tracks from the forthcoming album, From Hell.