Gene Hoglan
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Eugene (Gene) Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967 in Dallas, Texas) is a well-known American extreme metal drummer. He also plays guitar, although not on any records (save for some riffs on Dark Angel's Leave Scars and Time Does Not Heal and one lead on Silent Scream's record From the Darkest Depths of Imagination). He is famous for his creativity in drum arrangements and his technical playing, extremely accurate at almost any tempo—earning him the nickname "The Atomic Clock".
Hoglan got his first drum kit when he was 13 and is completely self-taught. In 1984, Hoglan began his music career as a roadie (lights engineer) for the seminal thrash metal band Slayer, where he also played the drums during the soundcheck. He was also part of the band War God with Michelle Meldrum. At the end of the same year he was asked to join the thrash metal band Dark Angel as the drummer. He penned most of the lyrics for Dark Angel's next three albums. He achieved greater notoriety during the mid-1990s playing with Death, at the same time that bandleader Chuck Schuldiner was taking that group into a more progressive style. Subsequently, he recorded one album with the thrash metal band Testament, and made the acquaintance of Canadian multi-instrumentalist Devin Townsend, forging a lasting friendship. He has since recorded several albums with Townsend, both as part of the speed/industrial/death metal band Strapping Young Lad and under Devin Townsend's name.
Hoglan is part of a death metal band called Tenet, the brainchild of Strapping Young Lad guitarist Jed Simon. The band has been signed to Century Media Records but has not yet recorded an album.
In 2004, Hoglan stood in for Martin Lopez of progressive metal band Opeth for the Vancouver, British Columbia show on Opeth's Lamentations tour who was said to be having panic attacks. Opeth's drum tech had filled in for the 2 previous dates on the tour and Martin Lopez rejoined the band for the Seattle, Washington show.
In 2005, Hoglan stood in once again for Martin Lopez for the majority of the Sounds of the Underground tour when Lopez began having more panic attacks. Hoglan played double duty by playing a set with Strapping Young Lad then later that night performing with Opeth. It was later announced Lopez had a rare blood disorder and was seeking treatment. Hoglan also appears in Opeth's music video "The Grand Conjuration" as they filmed it on the tour while in Los Angeles, California.
Other bands have also recruited Hoglan as a session drummer. He has recorded albums with the Norwegian black metal band Old Man's Child and the Danish death metal band Daemon. Additionally he has done production and engineering work for other albums and demos.
[edit] Discography
(Gene Hoglan played drums, unless otherwise noted)
- 1983 - Slayer - Show No Mercy backing vocals in Evil Has No Boundaries
- 1986 - Dark Angel - Darkness Descends
- 1989 - Dark Angel - Leave Scars
- 1989 - Dark Angel - Live Scars (EP)
- 1991 - Dark Angel - Time Does Not Heal
- 1992 - Dark Angel - Decade Of Chaos (best of CD)
- 1992 - Silent Scream - From the Darkest Depths Of The Imagination (mixing, production)
- 1993 - Death - Individual Thought Patterns
- 1995 - Death - Symbolic
- 1995 - Naphobia - Of Hell (guest drummer)
- 1997 - Strapping Young Lad - City
- 1997 - Testament - Demonic
- 1998 - Old Man's Child - Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion
- 1998 - Strapping Young Lad - No Sleep Till Bedtime (live)
- 1998 - Devin Townsend - Infinity
- 1998 - Devin Townsend - Christeen plus 4 Demos (EP)
- 1999 - The Almighty Punchdrunk - Music For Them Asses
- 2000 - Cranium - Speed Metal Satan (engineering)
- 2000 - Devin Townsend - Physicist
- 2001 - Devin Townsend - Terria
- 2001 - Just Cause - Finger It Out
- 2001 - Frygirl - Someone Please Kill Me (conga's)
- 2002 - Daemon - Eye For An Eye
- 2003 - Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad
- 2003 - Tenet - Sovereign [demo]
- 2004 - Strapping Young Lad - For Those Aboot to Rock (DVD)
- 2005 - Strapping Young Lad - Alien
- 2005 - Opeth - played drums on The Grand Conjuration video, song of Ghost Reveries album
- 2005 - Ani Kyd - Evil Needs Candy Too
- 2006 - Strapping Young Lad - The New Black
