Vengeance Rising

The band was known for its fascination with violent themes, as reflected lyrically in their first two albums. Their penchant for violence extended to the stage, and the band would graphically portray the crucifixion of Christ at their shows. 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 album's depiction of "resurrection from spiritual death" was "grisly". Musically, the album showed an influence of speed metal, with thrash arrangements on some songs, like the cover of Deep Purple's Space Truckin', In the mid 1990s, Martinez left the Christian faith, telling HM that he was a committed atheist in 1997. Since Martinez owns the rights to the name "Vengeance Rising", they used the name Once Dead. They released a DVD of that show called Return with a Vengeance. On August 6, 2017, it was announced that Human Sacrifice was being reissued and a reunion show, with the band's original lineup, with Jim Settle, vocalist of Hand of Fire, filling-in on vocals for Martinez, would be performed at SoCal Metal Fest 2 on August 12. ==Discography==

;Studio albums • Human Sacrifice (1988, Intense Records, Reviews: Cross Rhythms, PowerMetal.de ) • Once Dead (1990, Intense, Reviews: Cross Rhythms (1), Cross Rhythms (2)) • Released Upon the Earth (1992, Intense) ;Compilations • Anthology (1993, Intense) ==Members==

:Many members have participated in other projects Current Former Session musicians • Jamie Mitchell - (1991) lead guitar (Scaterd Few) • Victor Macias (aka Joe Monsorb'nik) - (1991) bass (Tourniquet, Deliverance) • Jimmy P. Brown II (aka Simon Dawg) - (1991) (Deliverance) Touring musicians • George Ochoa - (1992) guitars (Deliverance, Recon, Worldview) • Daniel Cordova - (1992) guitars (the Slave Eye, Shades of Crimson, the Sacrificed, Heretic) • Michael Wagel - (1992) bass ==Side projects==

• Larry Farkas, Doug Thieme, Roger Martin, and Glenn Mancaruso played in Die Happy. All the aforementioned also formed Once Dead with Scott Waters in 2004. • Jamie Mitchell played in the punk band Scaterd Few. • Larry Farkas, George Ochoa, Jimmy Brown, Chris Hyde and Victor Macias played in Deliverance. • Daniel Cordova made a guest appearance on "Sons of Thunder" CD by Driver. • Roger Martinez produced a demo for the band Ritual in 1991. • Macias also performed in Tourniquet. ==References==