Warbringer

A

lthough originally starting under the name Onslaught, their name was quickly changed for obvious conflicts with the more famed band of the same name. Under the membership of Andy Laux (bass), John Laux (guitars), Adam Carroll (drums), John Kevill (vocals) and Emilio Hoschet (guitars), Warbringer (not to be confused with the Italian band of the same name) would launch themselves with their Born of the Ruins demo in 2005, followed by the One by One, the Wicked Fall (2006) EP; the EP featuring Ryan Bates assuming drums. After the split release with Merciless Death, Avenger of Blood, Enforcer, Hatred and Toxic Holocaust, Speed Kills... Again and War Without End would follow in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The debuts got circulation thanks in part to a local thrash metal revival scene growing around the L.A. area. Thanks to word of mouth, organic promotion, and social networking sites, a lot of young promoters began booking shows with exclusively traditional style heavy metal bands.

Waking into Nightmares (2009) saw Ben Bennett (bass/vocals) and Nic Ritter (R.I.P. 2017; drums) join but the drum role was soon replaced with Carlos Cruz because Ritter was still an active member of the progressive metal outfit Prototype; Ritter would subsequently die in 2017 from drowning. After Worlds Torn Asunder (2011), Ben Mottsman (bass) and Jeff Potts (guitars) joined for IV: Empires Collapse (2013), but those roles were once again filled by new members in the form of Jessie Sanchez (bass) and Chase Becker (guitars) for Woe to the Vanquished (2017).

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