Die Happy was an American

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

band. The group was formed in 1990 when

Vengeance Rising Vengeance Rising was an American Christian thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Fronted by vocalist Roger Martinez, they originally formed as Vengeance in 1987, but changed their name in 1989 to avoid conflict with another band from t ...

members

Larry Farkas Larry Farkas (born May 2, 1966) is an American musician who primarily performs thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harri ...

, Doug Thieme, Glen Mancaruso, and Roger Dale Martin split the band, citing unrest with that band's front man and vocalist, Roger Martinez. They hired Robyn Kyle Basauri, formerly of

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

, as a vocalist and he officially joined the band after the release of their eponymous debut. At the time of their first album the band was seen as "Vengeance Rising with a new Vocalist". For their second release, however, their sound changed to more of a hard, classic rock sound. Lyrically, the band was socially focused. Songs dealt with issues such as

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

and

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

("Real") and American Indian

massacres A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

("Painted Truth").

Related Projects

Following the demise of Die Happy, Robyn Kyle Basauri and bassist

Greg Chaisson Greg Chaisson (born August 9, 1958 in Toronto, Canada) is a bass guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer who has played in various bands, most notably Badlands, which featured former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee, vocalist Ray Gillen, a ...

formed the band Red Sea. Hiring Chris Howell on guitar and Jeff Martin on drums, the band released one album, ''Blood'', on Rugged Records in 1994. They were initially scheduled for a support tour with

Ken Tamplin Ken Tamplin (born December 11, 1963) is an American vocal coach, YouTuber, and former Christian rock performer. Founder of Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy, Tamplin is known for his vocal range and vocal training methods. He has contributed to his ...

, but were dropped in favor of

Greg X. Volz Gregory Xavier Volz (born January 12, 1950) is a Christian rock singer. He is most noted for being the lead singer of Petra from 1979 to 1985. He has continued to sing, sporadically, for different iterations of Petra such as Classic Petra (201 ...

. Musically, they were compared to the English band

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

, Glen Mancaruso, Roger Dale Martin, and Doug Thieme had reformed under the new name

Once Dead Once Dead is a Christian metal band that originated in Los Angeles, California. The band has played at Festivals such as Up From The Ashes, Elements of Rock Festival and Nordic Fest. History The band started as a reunion for Vengeance Rising a ...

with the addition of

Ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series o ...

vocalist Scott Waters. Originally planning to be a reunion, Martinez owned the original rights to the name. Instead of fighting for the rights to "Vengeance Rising," they instead used the name "Once Dead". Once Dead has released one album so far, ''Visions of Hell''. The line up for this release included

Jim Chaffin Jim Chaffin is the original drummer for the Crucified and Fasedown and has played with many other acts, such as Deliverance, the Blamed and Left Out. History Jim Chaffin was born in Madera, California and began playing drums at the age of ...

(

The Crucified The Crucified is an American Christian hardcore and crossover thrash band from Fresno, California that formed in 1984. Its lineup is vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarist Greg Minier, bassist Jeff Bellew, and drummer Jim Chaffin. The band are considere ...

The Blamed ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, Facedown,

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapted ...

) on drums and Devin Schaeffer (

Fasedown Fasedown are a Christian hardcore band from Fresno, California, that formed in late 1998. Members have also been in Once Dead, The Blamed, Deliverance, The Sacrificed, and many more. In 2015 vocalist Devin Shaffer had "throat setbacks" accord ...

) on vocals. A follow up album has been delayed due to a vocal condition of Schaeffer's.

Discography

*1992: ''Die Happy'' (

Intense Records Intense Records was an independent record label whose releases were mostly in the metal genre. Intense was bought out in 1989 by Frontline Records and became an imprint of that company. The bands in their roster were some of the premiere Christia ...

, Review: ''Cross Rhythms'') *1993: ''Volume 2'' (Intense Records) *1993: ''Intense Live Series Vol. 4'' (Intense Records)

Members

Current * Robyn Kyle Basauri – vocals (1990–1994) *

– guitars (1990–1994) * Doug Thieme – guitars (1990–1994) * Glen Mancaruso – drums (1990–1994) *

– bass (1993–1994) Former * Roger Dale Martin – bass (1990–1993), lead guitar (1993) ive Live musicians * Andy Robbins – bass (1993)

References

External links

Profile
at BNR Metal

at No Life Til Metal
Robyn Kyle Basauri
at Shoutlife {{DEFAULTSORT:Die Happy American Christian metal musical groups Christian rock groups from California Musical groups established in 1990