Vengeance Rising

Vengeance Rising was an American Christian thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Fronted by vocalist Roger Martinez, they formed as Vengeance in 1987, but changed their name in 1989 to avoid conflict with a band from the Netherlands. Band members Larry Farkas, Doug Thieme, Roger Dale Martin, and Glen Mancaruso left following Once Dead and formed the band Die Happy. Roger Martinez stayed on to record two more studio albums. Aside from him, Vengeance Rising's lineup changed for each subsequent album. A once groundbreaking Christian metal band, Vengeance Rising is known for vocalist Martinez's conversion from Christianity to Satanism to atheism. AllMusic describes Vengeance Rising's history as "one of the most entertaining and bizarre stories in the realm of heavy metal."