WILL CARROLL On NEFARIOUS's Split With KATON W. DE PENA: 'He Just Broke Off Communication With Us'
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NEFARIOUS has parted ways with singer Katon W. De Pena (HIRAX) and has replaced him with Sean Rivera (COFFIN HUNTERS). The band's new lineup, which also includes Rick Hunolt (EXODUS, DIEHUMANE) and Doug Piercy (HEATHEN, ANVIL CHORUS) on guitar, Tom Gears (BLIND ILLUSION, ANCIENT MARINER) on bass and Will Carroll (DEATH ANGEL) on drums, will make its live debut on January 3, 2026 at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco, California.
Carroll discussed the NEFARIOUS singer switch during an appearance on Zetro's Toxic Vault, the YouTube channel of former EXODUS frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Things didn't work out [with Katon]… HIRAX is touring, and they're pretty busy. So that played a part in it. But it was a communication thing that was really the problem. He would not talk to us for months at a time… He just broke off communication with us. So we took that as he didn't wanna be in the band… And we did waste some time waiting and sitting around… But we had to move on. And that's where Sean comes in."
Regarding NEFARIOUS's new vocalist, Will said: "His name is Sean Rivera. And he sings for a band, or he's in a band called COFFIN HUNTERS. Not to be confused with the [side band of EXODUS bassist] Jack Gibson, COFFIN HUNTER. This one's plural, COFFIN HUNTERS, and they're more of a traditional heavy metal band. They play a lot in Santa Rosa. Rick discovered him. Rick went to one of their shows and saw him sing. And we knew things were kind of going south with Katon."
In a social media post, Carroll stated about his appearance on Zetro's Toxic Vault: "I didn't say anything out of line or untrue. In fact, I gave a very vanilla version of the whole Katon thing."
The Katon-fronted version of NEFARIOUS played its first — and only — show on July 19 at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen here.
NEFARIOUS's debut album, "Addicted To Power", came out on July 18 via Relentless "Metal" Records, with the collector vinyl available through Hectic/Bleeding Priest Records.
Regarding how NEFARIOUS came together, Katon told The Metal Crypt: "I think it was going to be a solo record for Doug Piercy at first. We had all run into each other from years of playing in the same scene. It seemed like the timing was really what it was. I did a couple of benefits. I did one for Tom Hunting from EXODUS where we raised money for his hospital bills. We did another one for Sean Killian, the singer from VIO-LENCE. At those benefits, I saw a lot of these musicians. We talked to each other and obviously talked about music. Then it came around to where we played some shows together. I think that's what made us all notice each other a little bit more, like, 'Hey, I wonder what it would be like to play with those guys.' Even though I live in Los Angeles, I go up to San Francisco quite often. It's been working out pretty well. We're just going to keep writing music. The one thing that we all have in common is we love writing music. I think that's what keeps us so motivated to do this."
Describing NEFARIOUS's sound, Katon said: "I think we're a cross between, obviously, early thrash metal, but also a lot of the heavy metal influence is there as well. You will hear some harmonies, bands like [IRON] MAIDEN and THIN LIZZY. We'd be lying if we said that wasn't there, because we grew up on that stuff. DEEP PURPLE's a big influence. RAINBOW. Obviously, Ritchie Blackmore, stuff like that. It's going to be in there. I think we also have a different way of looking at it, because we've been doing it for so long. We're not trying to be like a lot of the other bands, and we're not trying to be modern. There are modern sounds, because we're recording in modern studios. The music's definitely coming from the right place. I think that people hear that when they listen to this new song 'One Nation Enslaved', you can hear that we definitely have stuck to our guns. We're not trying to do commercial music, but we also are writing songs that are memorable."
This past July, NEFARIOUS released the official music video for the "Addicted To Power" title track. The clip is a raw performance piece filmed at Soundwave Studios in Oakland, California.
"Addicted To Power" followed previously released, critically praised tracks "Master Plan" and "One Nation Enslaved", which were made available earlier this spring.
The music for "Addicted To Power" was recorded at Subterranean Studio in Oakland, California and Pyramid Studio in San Francisco, California. It was mixed by Damien Rasmussen of Smoke And Mirrors Productions.
De Pena previously stated about NEFARIOUS: "We're not a band. We are a gang ready to crush skulls and make eardrums bleed ... Necks will be sore ...!!"
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
