Vengeance Rising

Vengeance Rising
The classic Vengeance Rising lineup
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, US
Genres	Thrash metal, Christian metal (early)
Years active	1987–1992, 2004
Labels	Intense
Associated acts	Die Happy, Deliverance, Once Dead
Members	Roger Martinez
Past members	Larry Farkas Doug Thieme Roger Dale Martin Glenn Mancaruso Chris Hyde Derek Sean Jamie Mitchell Victor Macias Jimmy P. Brown II Johnny Vasquez George Ochoa Daniel Cordova Michael Wagel Glenn Rogers

Vengeance Rising was an American Christian thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Fronted by vocalist Roger Martinez, they originally formed as Vengeance in 1987, but changed their name in 1989 to avoid conflict with another band from the Netherlands. Band members Larry Farkas, Doug Thieme, Roger Dale Martin, and Glenn Mancaruso left following Once Dead and formed the band Die Happy. Roger Martinez stayed on to record two more studio albums, but aside from him, Vengeance Rising's lineup changed for each subsequent album. While the group was a ground breaking Christian metal band, today Vengeance Rising is known for vocalist Martinez's turning from Christianity to Satanism to atheism, since he has continuously done interviews about it. AllMusic describes Vengeance Rising's history as "one of the most entertaining and bizarre stories in the realm of heavy metal."

The band was known for its fascination with violent themes, as reflected lyrically in their first two albums. Their first two albums, before the split into Die Happy, are considered their best. Their debut Human Sacrifice was called "the most radical Christian album ever released" by HM Magazine editor Doug Van Pelt. Their penchant for violence extended to the stage, and the band would graphically portray the crucifixion of Christ at their shows. Extreme graphics also appeared in the cover art of the band's albums. Both Human Sacrifice and Once Dead were censored by Christian bookstores at least partially because of their violent graphical content. Copies of their third release. Destruction Comes, had a censorship sticker covering the male figure, dubbed "Raegoul", exposing half of his flesh without skin.

A review of Once Dead in CCM found that the cover of that albums depiction of "resurrection from spiritual death" was "". Musically, the album showed an influence of speed metal, with thrash arrangements on some songs, like the cover of Deep Purple's Space Truckin', and "Out of the Will", which reminded one reviewer of One Bad Pig. While the vocals often sounded "like someone gargling razor blades", the lyrics were found to be "very Bible based," and matched with the scriptural references from which they were drawn.