Excel
Excel in 1988, L-R: Adam Siegel, Shaun Ross, Greg Saenz and Dan Clements
Background information
Also known as	Chaotic Noise
Origin	Venice, California, U.S.
Genres	Crossover thrash
Years active	1983–1995 2012–present
Labels	Suicidal High Speed Caroline Delicious Vinyl Capitol Malicious
Members	Dan Clements Shaun Ross Greg Cerwonka Damon de la Paz
Past members	Adam Siegel Brandon Rudley Rickey Palamino Evan Warech Max Asher Vic Caruso Greg Saenz Michael Cosgrove Carlos Gutierrez Alex Barreto

Excel is acrossover thrash band fromVenice, California, founded by singer Dan Clements and guitaristAdam Siegel in 1983. They were influenced by earlypunk rock bands like theGerms andBlack Flag, as well as heavy metal bands likeBlack Sabbath,Trouble,Slayer,Corrosion of Conformity andCryptic Slaughter. Being influenced bystreet art, Excel is also known forspray painting^[1] on the streets of the cities where they make their tours, hence why there are many differentlogos of the band.

Excel came out of the West Side Los Angeles crossover thrash scene as did many others in California likeNo Mercy,Beowülf,Suicidal Tendencies andCryptic Slaughter. They are sometimes associated with other acts in thethrash metal scene likeTestament,Overkill andMegadeth.

Excel has recorded three studio albums, threesplit albums, fivedemos, threesingles and two live albums;^[2][3] the band broke up in 1995 but in 2001 they released reissues of their first two albums:^[4]Split Image andThe Joke's on You, with some bonus tracks. In August 2009 they edited a special collection of eight DVDs of their tours around Europe and Los Angeles and published them on their official MySpace.^[5] The band reformed in 2012.

The band was formed by Dan Clements andAdam Siegel in 1983 under the name Chaotic Noise. Evan Warech joined as drummer, while the bass was occupied by a lot of different musicians that year, with Clements later saying "We had a different bassist every four months, and people just figured we were unstable."^[6] In 1984, Rickey Pallamino took over the four strings; with the lineup finally completed, they recorded their firstDemo. In 1985, Warech and Pallamino left the band; the latter was replaced by Shaun Ross, who created the name "Excel" with his friends from theLA graffiti crew KSN (Kings Stop at Nothing),^[7] changing the band name.

A few months later a new drummer joined Excel:Greg Saenz. Excel participated in the compilationWelcome to Venice (released by Suicidal Records) which includes three of their songs. In the next few months they recorded three demos:Sonic Decapitation in February 1985,Personal Onslaught June 9 andRefuse to Quit in January 1986. In 1987 they participated in the tapeThrasher Skate Rock 5: Born to Skate^[8] which included their song "Insecurity"; also recorded on their first studio album,Split Image (recorded by Suicidal Records and released byCaroline Records), released in July the same year. Excel had performed live in L.A. in recent years, but the June 16, 1987, they gave their first official concert in the Fender's Grand Ballroom ofLong Beach, California, and a second time March 18, 1988, to promote their new album. Later that year, they edited their first single, a cover of the song "Message in a Bottle" originally released byThe Police in the albumRegatta de Blanc in September 1979. In early 1989, Excel recorded another single, "Blaze some Hate", to promote their second studio album:The Joke's on You, released June 20, 1989, byCaroline Records. In March, the band made a show atChuck Landis' Country Club in Reseda, California and the Palasades Theater inSan Diego (with the bandB'LAST!). In November, Excel made their first tour, which was made in Netherlands in the cities ofSneek,Heemskerk,Eindhoven,Rotterdam,Goes andDen Bosch.

On their return to United States, Excel played at The Palace in Hollywood, California, the Star Club inYbor City,^[7] Florida, andPhiladelphia April 29, 1990. ThenAdam Siegel joined the ranks ofInfectious Grooves to record the albumThe Plague That Makes Your Booty Move...It's the Infectious Grooves in 1991; he got back in 1992 to play at the "Whisky a Go Go" in Hollywood. A few months later they recorded their fifth demo:Third album demos; the songs of this demo were used later in the reissue ofThe Joke's on You.

Also in 1991, Excel piqued interest in taking legal action againstthrash metal bandMetallica over the song "Enter Sandman", which they claim borrows heavily from Excel's song "Tapping into the Emotional Void",^[9] originally included onThe Joke's on You LP, released in 1989, two years before the release of Metallica'sBlack Album (it was most eventually echoed byMegadeth frontmanDave Mustaine in a 2004 interview^[10]), but nothing moved forward due to improper legal counsel.

In 1993, Siegel returned toInfectious Grooves to record the albumSarsippius' Ark on February 16 of the same year; then he andGreg Saenz got together to form thepower trioMy Head, leaving Excel definitely. After three years of silence, with Brandon Rudley, from the San Fernando Valley metal band Immorally Demonic, on guitar and Max Asher (listed on credits as "Max") on drums, Excel returned with a newstoner metal style to record a newsplit album with the band Shrine. They recorded their last single to promote their third studio album:Seeking Refuge, released August 29, 1995. After releasing the album Clements was unable to find a replacement for Max Asher on drums, preventing the band from playing live shows. Vic Caruso joined Excel as drummer and toured with the band in support of the album, playing at the Board in Orange County festival at the CSU Dominguez Hills Velodrome in Carson, CA in May 1995.^[11] Caruso can be seen playing drums in the music video for "Unenslaved".^[12] The band toured the US, headlining shows and also opening for bands such as Marilyn Manson. In 2000, Rudley died from abrain aneurysm at the age of 25 and Excel was officially disbanded a few months later.

In May 2006, singer Dan Clements joined forces with originalSuicidal Tendencies members Grant Estes (guitar), Amery Smith (drums) and Louiche Mayorga (bass) and the formerNo Mercy Kevin Guercio (vocals) to form the bandAgainst to record two tracks for a newsplit album calledWelcome 2 Venice.^[13] After the release of the album there were rumors about a possible Excel reunion, however Clements said he had no intentions of re-forming the band and did not want anyone to takeAgainst as a return of the group.

Excel announced their reunion in January 2012. Involved in the reunion at the time were Dan Clements on vocals, Shaun Ross on bass andGreg Saenz on drums; guitaristAdam Siegel was asked to participate but he declined the offer,^[14] and the band replaced him with Alex Barreto.^[15] On March 30, 2013, Excel played their first reunion show at a private party at RVCA in Los Angeles, California.^[16]

Excel is still active as of 2019, and they perform shows occasionally, mostly around the areas of Southern California. The band is working on new music for their first studio album in nearly three decades.^[17]

Timeline

All live albums are self-produced

All DVDs are self-produced and were released in August 2009

All demos are self-produced

• Excel atAllMusic

• Excel (band)
• Crossover thrash groups
• Musical groups established in 1983
• Musical groups disestablished in 1995
• Thrash metal musical groups from California
• Musical quartets from California
• Musical groups from Los Angeles

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