NEFARIOUS, Featuring DEATH ANGEL And Ex-EXODUS Members, Releases First Single With New Vocalist SEAN RIVERA
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NEFARIOUS, which features 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, has announced the addition of vocalist Sean Rivera to the group's ranks. Rivera joins the group as the replacement for Katon W. De Pena (HIRAX),who sang on NEFARIOUS's debut album, "Addicted To Power". Rivera brings an unlimited vocal range, a larger-than-life presence, and pure stage fury. His energy pushes everything harder, faster, louder.
From the start, NEFARIOUS has sought someone fully committed, present, and ready to grow with the band.
Piercy states: "We wanted someone who could be in the room with us — creating, rehearsing, and ready to play. It's hard to get tight as a band when they can't rehearse on the regular. The Bay Area has always thrived on that energy, and now we've got it. Long-distance situations can get complicated when there's simply no communication."
Hunolt adds: "Sean Rivera has brought NEFARIOUS to the next level. The metal gods gave us a true musical wizard. Not only is he an amazing singer, and absolute stellar musician (guitar, keyboards),but he is an amazing human to work with and I can't wait for you all to hear this man sing. C'ya on the road in '26 .. Lfgoooooo!"
Rivera comments: "When Doug and Rick reached out to me and asked if I wanted to try out for NEFARIOUS on vocals, I was excited and nervous. Everyone in the band are fantastic players and have such seasoned musical histories, and stepping into that felt really significant to me. After listening to the album I thought the songs were great and knew it was a project I wanted to be a part of. Thankfully, everyone liked what my vocals added and I was really stoked when they asked me to join. They're all really great people and have been super supportive with the whole process of learning the songs and becoming a part of the band. I feel really fortunate to be given this opportunity and I'm really excited for all we can accomplish together on the road ahead!"
NEFARIOUS will play its first show with Rivera at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco on Saturday, January 3, 2026. More dates will soon be announced, followed by a full European tour in August/September 2026, kicking off at the legendary Alcatraz festival in Belgium.
A new version of the previously released NEFARIOUS song "Day After", featuring Rivera's vocals, can be heard here.
During a recent livestream, De Pena stated about his departure from NEFARIOUS: "Yeah, NEFARIOUS was great. I'm glad I did the record. I'm very proud of the record. And I did one show with them. That was awesome too. But I have to focus on HIRAX. That's my band. It's been my band for 40 years, and that's where my heart's at and that's what I gotta do. But I wish NEFARIOUS all the best. Great band and great musicians."
Carroll discussed the NEFARIOUS singer switch during a recent appearance on Zetro's Toxic Vault, the YouTube channel of former EXODUS frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza. He said in part: "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.
"Addicted To Power" came out on July 18 via Relentless "Metal" Records, with the collector vinyl available through Hectic/Bleeding Priest Records.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
