Growing up in the San Francisco area suburbs as young metal heads can make it quite likely to take influence from the pioneers of metal that spanned the area in the 1980’s. So it’s no surprise that Hatchet describes their sound as “Pure, Uncompromising, Bay Area Thrash Metal”.
Since hitting the Bay Area Metal scene in early 2007, Hatchet quickly made a name for itself. They worked hard to gig as often as they could and also not compete with, but group together bands of the like to help strengthen the scene.
After self-releasing two demos, the band’s debut album, Awaiting Evil, was released in mid-2008 via Metal Blade Records. The album was well-received by thrash enthusiasts around the globe and proved a great beginning for Hatchet. During the album cycle, the band completed 3 full DIY U.S. tours that helped put them on the map for up and coming thrash metal bands.
Their sophomore effort, Dawn of the End, released on their new label, The End Records, showcased a much more aggressive and professionally oriented band. The band hit the road and performed over 200 shows throughout 2013/14 touring and performing alongside national acts such as: Soilwork, Jeff Loomis Band, Blackguard, Trivium, Flotsam and Jetsam, Exmortus, Warbringer, Havok, Lich King, Black Tide, Cellador and Threat Signal
The band’s third release titled Fear Beyond Lunacy is highly anticipated among thrashers and metal heads worldwide. The album will debut a new Hatchet lineup behind founding member, vocalist, and lead guitarist, Julz Ramos. The new members have injected the band with a surge of raw energy, and fans of Hatchet will be overly satisfied with this revived enthusiasm laid into the recordings. Says Ramos, “the faster, thrashier tracks hit harder than ever before, while the melodic stuff is catchier and we’ve even experimented with some heavier, slower tempos.”
The band eager to release this monster of an album spent two months hyping the record’s release while sharing stages nationally with Kobra and the Lotus and Doyle and since release has remained continually in the public eye touring supporting Metal Church, Flotsam and Jetsam, Helstar, Act of Defiance, Eliminate and their own headliner with Black Fast and Green Death.
Their fourth album saw them team up with the legendary Combat Records. now owned and operated by David Ellefson from Megadeth. Hatchet released their label debut 'Dying to Exist' in the summer of 2018. The album received critical acclaim and saw them land on the Billboard charts for the first time in their career. To promote the album, the band went on North American tours supporting Exmortus and The Absence, a debut European tour supporting Raven. In 2019, the band embarked on a North American tour with Kataklysm, Exhorder, and Krisiun as well as a Canadian headline tour with support from Hazzard.
Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
