Hatchet

Explore the band's historical lineups, musicians, and studio albums.

Active4 formations4 studio albums

Formation chronology

Newest first

Formation 4 of 4

2017 – Present

Members

Julz Ramos
Vocals, Guitar
Clayton Cagle
Guitar
Devin Reiche
Bass
Ben Smith
Drums

Formation facts

Dying to Exist introduced Devin Reiche on bass beside the Ramos / Cagle / Smith core that had already recorded Fear Beyond Lunacy. Combat Records announced the album with that four-piece as the band's Combat-era lineup.
Combat head David Ellefson called Hatchet a fit for the relaunched label: aggressive modern thrash with old-school intensity. Ramos said he was happy to land on Combat because of its thrash history.
Ramos said Dying to Exist was the fastest and most creative Hatchet material to date because all four members contributed writing throughout the record, and that it was the most they had sounded like a band collectively.
After heavy touring around Dying to Exist, the band slowed down and the pandemic stretched the break. Ramos later said the Leave No Soul songs were new material finished over the internet once everyone had grown more attached to being at home.
For the W.A.S.P. cover "Hellion," Ramos said the song's energy always made him move. Because he was singing it, the band let him try it, and bassist Devin Reiche (also Anubis frontman) coached the high melodic parts Ramos could not carry alone.
By October 2024 Ramos said the geographically scattered Ramos / Cagle / Reiche / Smith lineup was still the one he wanted moving forward. Leave No Soul used that same four rather than starting another formation chapter.

Studio albums

Dying to Exist (Jun 2018)

Formation 3 of 4

2015 – 2016

Members

Julz Ramos
Vocals, Guitar
Clayton Cagle
Guitar
Kody Barba
Bass
Ben Smith
Drums

Formation facts

In May 2015 Hatchet announced Clayton Cagle, Kody Barba, and Ben Smith as the new members behind Ramos for the album that became Fear Beyond Lunacy. Ramos said they had already spent the previous month recording and that their musical personalities were in the sound.
Ramos already knew Cagle from Bay Area shows with Cagle's other band Apothesary. Their manager also worked with Apothesary, which helped make the guitar hire a natural fit.
Barba lived in Pennsylvania and had been trying out for Warbringer when the shared manager steered him toward Hatchet. After Skype and video sessions, he traveled west and, Ramos said, laid down all the bass tracks.
Smith contacted Ramos while already booked on a long U.S. tour with VX36 supporting Artillery and Onslaught. Ramos preferred a Bay Area drummer for writing foundations, and Smith's Iron Assault and road experience sealed the choice.
Unlike Dawn of the End, Fear Beyond Lunacy was written against a hard campaign deadline. Ramos described locking himself away to force songs out, then showing them to the new members and going almost straight into the studio.
Ramos said Ben Smith helped arrange drum patterns on Fear Beyond Lunacy, while Clayton and Kody put their own flair into the parts they recorded and gave the album more attitude.
The Fear Beyond Lunacy cover, painted by Andrej Bartulovic of All Things Rotten, shows a person driven insane by fear-fed media. Ramos framed it as a jab at living as media-addicted slaves told what to fear.
After finishing the album, the new four first hit the stage in August 2015 supporting Kobra and the Lotus. Ramos called it the first time the new Hatchet lineup would play live after recording Fear Beyond Lunacy.

Studio albums

Fear Beyond Lunacy (Oct 2015)

Formation 2 of 4

2012 – 2014

Members

Julz Ramos
Vocals, Guitar
Clark Webb
Guitar
Travis Russey
Bass
Eli Lucas
Drums

Formation facts

After a fall 2008 hiatus spent hunting a new vocalist and bassist, Hatchet returned in 2009 for its first U.S. tour with Havok. The reform period used short-term members rather than the Awaiting Evil studio five.
Between Awaiting Evil and Dawn of the End, Hatchet completed three full DIY U.S. tours and absorbed repeated personnel shuffles that stalled overall progress. Through the changes, founding member Julz Ramos kept the band going and moved into lead vocals.
Ramos later said some Dawn of the End songs were written as early as right after the debut, and that several had already been played live for years before the band finally recorded them.
The Dawn of the End recording four took shape in stages: Travis Russey joined on bass in 2010, Eli Lucas on drums in 2011, and Clark Webb on second guitar in 2012.
Dawn of the End became Hatchet's first album for The End Records, five years after the Metal Blade debut and after the band had rebuilt around Ramos as both guitarist and vocalist.
For the first Hatchet music video, "Signals of Infection," Ramos wanted a simple performance clip. He cited late-'80s and early-'90s thrash videos by VIO-LENCE, Death Angel, Overkill, and Demolition Hammer, and credited Wayne Marsala of Greyhaven Productions.

Studio albums

Dawn of the End (Mar 2013)

Formation 1 of 4

2007 – 2008

Members

Marcus Kirchen
Vocals
Julz Ramos
Guitar
Sterling Bailey
Guitar
Dan Voigt
Bass
Dave Wert
Drums

Formation facts

Julz Ramos and drummer Dave Wert started Hatchet in January 2005 after growing tired of the stale metal scene in their hometown. The pair wanted music with substance and driving aggression that could help revive thrash in the Bay Area.
Hatchet's first show was at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma, opening for local metal bands in the venue lobby. Ramos later said they did not even have a bass player yet.
Early on, Ramos pushed for a local new-wave thrash network. He later named Fog of War, Devastator, and Dekapitator as bands involved from the beginning of those all-new thrash shows around the Bay Area.
When Metal Blade first messaged the band on MySpace with "Hello From Metal Blade," Ramos thought it was a joke. The label contact quickly became real, and the deal followed.
Before the Metal Blade deal, Hatchet appeared on Katon W. DePena's Thrash Metal Warriors compilation, headlined the Tidal Wave metal festival on a bill with veteran Bay Area acts, and shared a stage with Possessed.
On Awaiting Evil, Ramos brought most of the music as finished guitar songs, Dave Wert added drum parts, and Marcus Kirchen wrote the lyrics. Ramos said the title track was the song where everyone contributed the most.
Awaiting Evil was recorded and mixed by Roger Tschann and mastered by Ken Lee. Discogs credits the album to the Kirchen / Ramos / Bailey / Voigt / Wert lineup released through Metal Blade.
By February 2009 Hatchet was publicly seeking a new permanent vocalist and bassist after the debut-era lineup broke down. The band asked for dedicated players who could match the style of the previous singer and handle regular Petaluma rehearsals and touring.

Studio albums

Awaiting Evil (May 2008)