Criminal | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Santiago, Chile |
Genres | Thrash metal, death metal, groove metal |
Years active | 1991–present |
Labels | Inferno Records, Metal Blade, Massacre Records |
Associated acts | Pentagram, Lock Up, Cradle of Filth, Extreme Noise Terror, Killing Mode, Belphegor |
Website | [1] |
Members |
Anton Reisenegger Sergio Klein Dan Biggin Zac O´Neil |
Past members | Robin Eaglestone Juan Francisco Cueto Staff Glover Mark Royce José Joaquín Vallejos Jimmy Ponce Olmo Cascallar |
Criminal is a Chilean-British thrash metal band which formed in late 1991 in Santiago by Anton Reisenegger (guitar and vocals) and Rodrigo Contreras (lead guitar). Later they were joined by J.J. Vallejo on drums and Juan Francisco Cueto as bassist, completing the original lineup. The band incorporates elements of thrash metal, death metal, groove metal and hardcore. They later moved to Colchester, England.
The band received international attention with their second studio album, Dead Soul, released in 1997. Their next release, Sicario, established them as a known band in Europe and received good reviews.
Criminal has released seven studio albums, two live albums, and two demos. They will release their eighth album, entitled Fear Itself, on 11 March 2016.
In late 1991 Reisenegger Anton joined Rodrigo Contreras to start a new thrash metal band: Criminal. Anton was already known in the local underground scene, and had received recognition by bands like Napalm Death and Dismember. The latter band had played with Rodrigo Contreras before.
Their debut show was in April 1992, opening for Kreator. That same year they released two demos that got wide distribution in the local scene. Their second demo, Forked received good reviews by international heavy metal magazines like Metal Hammer in Holanda.
In 1994 they recorded their first album, Victimized, independently and sold 1000 copies in three weeks of its release. The album got the attention of the major BMG label. The album was distributed in countries like Mexico, Argentina and Japan. The videos of Self Destruction and Disorder were frequently broadcast on MTV Latin America on the Head Bangers show, rapidly gaining reputation internationally. After that they made their first appearance outside their country, in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo. In 1995, they played at the Festival of Latin American Metal in Guadalajara, Mexico. After this show J.J. Vallejo was replaced by Jimmy Ponce, drummer of Slavery.