NEFARIOUS Record Release Show: Hellfire, Nefarious, Defiance (& Vorlust)
- Hectic
- Jul 22
- 3 min read
DNA Lounge
San Francisco, CA
July 19, 2025
It was another home town Bay Area thrash metal family reunion of sorts at the DNA Lounge on a Saturday night, for Nefarious’ record release show.
A lot of people turned out to see the debut live performance of NEFARIOUS, a “super group” of thrash metal veterans featuring Katon W. De Pena (HIRAX) on vocals, Rick Hunolt (ex-EXODUS, DIEHUMANE) and Doug Piercy (ex-HEATHEN, ex-ANVIL CHORUS) on guitar, Tom Gears (ex-BLIND ILLUSION, ANCIENT MARINER) on bass and Will Carroll (DEATH ANGEL, HELLHUNTER) on drums.
The place was packed early with lots of familiar faces, and a long line of people eager to get their first Nefarious t-shirt, patch or CD. (The collectible vinyl was delayed at the plant and is shipping in a couple of weeks, sorry). It was quite a mix of old heads who’d been coming out to thrash shows for 40+ years, but with a lot more young people than I expected too (concerts at the DNA are all ages, so the pit was pretty ferocious).
Bay Area thrash vets Defiance kicked off the evening. I don’t think I’d seen Steev Esquivel up on stage since maybe a Skinlab show in the late 90s, was cool to see him back at it. Defiance tore through a tight set of 5 tunes, with Q from Phantom Witch doing a fantastic job filling in on drums with just 4 days notice to learn the songs (Defiance’s regular drummer is also the drummer for the musical Wicked, which caused an apparent conflict).
Then the featured act of the evening, Nefarious, took the stage and played through all 8 of their songs (the CD has 8 tracks, while the collectible vinyl only fit 6 to maintain the best sound quality, since several of the songs are 6+ minutes long). It was a fantastic and fun performance, with plenty of heaviness punctuated by between song banter with the crowd. Old school thrash metal, with the intertwining guitars of Piercy and Hunolt, and Katon’s wild-eyed frontman energy. Quite the debut.
Nefarious Setlist
DNA Lounge, July 19, 2025
Day After
Addicted to Power
Master plan
Together We Rise
Intro / Mirror death
Snarler
Avatar of Chaos
One Nation Enslaved
Local heroes Hell Fire kept the crowd going as the headliner. I’ve always been a big fan of this relatively new band, and they’ve been building a solid following for themselves through 3 albums and plenty of touring. They play a classic blend of NWOBHM / Iron Maiden inspired metal, with soaring high vocals and dueling guitars, but with a bit of San Francisco thrash thrown in for good measure. Definitely worth checking out if you see them on a bill.
After the main show was done, the back stage area was even open for people to go pay their respects and catch up with old friends, a cool space with a bar and DJ booth that must be open during some of the DNA Lounge’s frequent dance clubs.
Then the side doors were opened to Above DNA, the smaller club space above DNA Pizza, for the afterparty. There Vorlust played a ferocious set of their “beast metal” to a very receptive crowd of die-hard metalheads who were ready for more. Featuring Sonny from Necrot on guitar, and the alter-ego of music video / horror filmmaker Marcelle Marais on guttural vocals and bass, Vorlust are always a great death metal time.
It was a perfect night of Bay Area thrash metal and a successful debut performance for Nefarious. Hopefully more Nefarious shows will be announced soon.
–Hectic
