Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his playing style is very technically demanding, he retains high accuracy at extreme tempos, earning him the nicknames "The Atomic Clock" and "Human Drum Machine". Hoglan has played for numerous metal bands across his career. He first established himself as the drummer of Dark Angel in the 1980s, and began to expand his repertoire in the early 1990s after that band split up. Since then, he has played for

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, Strapping Young Lad and the solo projects of its frontman Devin Townsend, Fear Factory, Dethklok and Testament, amid two Dark Angel reunions and participation in several other side projects. He released his own album, the ''Gene Hoglan: The Atomic Clock'' DVD, and served as Testament's longest-serving drummer. Hoglan was featured on the cover of '' Modern Drummer'' magazine in November 2010. He also won ''Terrorizer'' magazine's Reader's Poll for Best Drummer 2010, and ''Modern Drummer'' magazine nominated Hoglan for Best Metal Drummer, and Best Recorded Performance (for Dethklok's ''Dethalbum II'') on their 2011 ballot. He was nominated for Best Drummer in ''

Revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

'' magazine's 2010 Reader's Poll.

Early life and influences

Hoglan got his first drum kit when he was 13 and is completely self-taught. He started jamming along to his Kiss and Rush records, with Peter Criss and

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart ( ; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian and American musician, known as the drummer, percussionist, and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush (band), Rush. He was known to fans by the nickname "the Profe ...

being his early influences. Later Cozy Powell, Tommy Aldridge, Robb Reiner of

Anvil An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually Forging, forged or Steel casting, cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked"). Anvils are massive because the hi ...

, Rob "Wacko" Hunter of Raven and Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor got him into double bass drumming.

Career

In 1983, Hoglan began his music career as a roadie (lighting engineer) for the

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band Slayer, where he also played the drums during concert soundchecks. He also did backing vocals on the song "Evil Has No Boundaries", from the first Slayer album '' Show No Mercy''. He contributed in the recording of '' Haunting the Chapel'', holding Dave Lombardo's drum kit together while recording "Chemical Warfare" because there was no carpet in the studio, said drum kit including a china cymbal owned by Hoglan. He became an influence in Lombardo's drumming style and speed. Lombardo had just had the double bass added to his kit and it was the first double bass Hoglan ever played. Lombardo was impressed with Hoglan's playing, and Hoglan gave Lombardo tips regarding the use of the double kick drum. In 1984, Hoglan was part of the band ''War God'' with Michelle Meldrum. At the end of the same year he was asked to join the thrash metal band Dark Angel as the drummer. He penned most of the lyrics for Dark Angel's next three albums. He achieved greater fame during the mid-1990s playing with

, at the same time that

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

Chuck Schuldiner was taking that group into a more progressive style. Schuldiner stated that there had previously been animosity between himself and Hoglan, but the two eventually were able to reconcile their differences. He said: "It was just screwed-up, stupid shit that happened when Death and Dark Angel toured together, and I'm glad we were able to get past it. I wanted Gene to play on the record because he has a lot of experience, and he has his own unique style of playing." Subsequently, he recorded one album with the thrash metal band Testament, and made the acquaintance of

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

multi-instrumentalist Devin Townsend, forging a lasting friendship. Around this time, coming off of the final tour he performed with Death, Hoglan was approached by Slayer to replace a departing Paul Bostaph. Jon Dette, however, took the position, much to Hoglan's approval. He would go on to record several albums with Townsend, both as part of the

speed In kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. Intro ...

/ industrial/

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

band Strapping Young Lad and under Devin Townsend's name. Hoglan was also part of

band Tenet, a side project of Strapping Young Lad guitarist Jed Simon, from 2003 to 2007. Hoglan left the band on amicable terms in January 2007. He was replaced by Adrian Erlandsson only to return to the group in June of the same year. Hoglan recorded his drum parts for the entirety of the following album in a mere two days. On the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

stop of Opeth's 2004 Lamentations tour, Hoglan stood in for drummer Martin Lopez, who was said to be having panic attacks.Blabbermouth.net - April, 2006 - OPETH Mainman: We Don't Know If Drummer MARTIN LOPEZ Is Ever Coming Back
April 11, 2006 Opeth's drum tech had filled in for the two previous dates on the tour and Lopez rejoined the band for the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, show. In 2005, Hoglan stood in for Lopez for the majority of the Sounds of the Underground tour when Lopez began having more panic attacks. Hoglan played double duty by playing a set with Strapping Young Lad then performing with Opeth later in the evening. It was later announced Lopez had a rare blood disorder and was seeking treatment. Hoglan also appeared in Opeth's music video "The Grand Conjuration" as they filmed it on the tour while in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Other bands have also recruited Hoglan as a session drummer. He has recorded albums with the Norwegian

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

band Old Man's Child and the Danish

band Daemon. Additionally he has done production and engineering work for other albums and demos. Hoglan also was recruited by Vancouver thrash metal band The Almighty Punchdrunk, and appeared as a band member for their only album to date, '' Music for Them Asses'', released in 2001. Hoglan is working with Dethklok, the band from the animated TV show '' Metalocalypse''. The show was co-created by stand-up comedian/actor/musician Brendon Small, who also composes or performs all of the music. Hoglan features in Dethklok's debut album, '' The Dethalbum'', which was released on September 25, 2007. He toured with Brendon Small and the live band during the summer of 2008. Besides working with Dethklok, Hoglan is also a guest star by voicing a health inspector in one episode of the series. He later performed on '' Dethalbum II'', the sequel album released on September 29, 2009, and again toured with Dethklok. The two later collaborated to make Brendon Small's Galaktikon using extra studio time from the Dethklok studio sessions. Hoglan filled in as the drummer for Unearth when their then drummer, Mike Justian, quit while on tour. He has also joined the metal band Pitch Black Forecast, with Mushroomhead singer Jason Popson, as the band's permanent drummer. Even more recently, Hoglan was announced as the drummer for the reunited Bay Area Thrash metal band Forbidden's reunion tour, replacing original drummer Paul Bostaph. Hoglan played drums on Zimmers Hole's third studio album '' When You Were Shouting at the Devil...We Were in League With Satan'' in 2008. 20171209 Oberhausen Ruhrpott Metal Meeting Testament 0438

20171209 Oberhausen Ruhrpott Metal Meeting Testament 0438

In June 2011, he reunited with Testament, to record their eleventh studio album '' Dark Roots of Earth''. On that album, he filled in for Paul Bostaph, who was unable to participate in the recording sessions because of a "serious injury". In 2012, he began touring with Testament, and on January 27 filled in for Charlie Benante of Anthrax. Although Hoglan was initially brought back to the band as a temporary drummer (in a fashion similar to his initial tenure when he recorded the '' Demonic'' album), he had since rejoined as a permanent member of Testament, recording two more albums with the band – '' Brotherhood of the Snake'' (2016) and '' Titans of Creation'' (2020) – and surpassing original drummer Louie Clemente as their longest-serving drummer. In 2018, Hoglan played with both Anthrax and Testament on the same nights during the Slayer farewell tour while Charlie Benante was recovering from carpal tunnel syndrome. Hoglan announced his second departure from Testament on January 21, 2022. Gene was the drummer for Fear Factory from 2009 to 2012 and played on their release '' Mechanize''; his association with the band ended when he was "no longer needed", and he expressed both a reluctance to join and a disappointment in the ultimate resolution of his tenure. He also participated in the recording sessions of

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

's reunion album, '' No Child Left Behind'' (2015). Hoglan participated in the 2013 reunion of Dark Angel, who still play live occasionally to this day. The band announced in late March 2023 that it would continue on after the death of band member Jim Durkin and was planning to release a new album sometime in 2023 or 2024.

Other ventures

In 2017, Hoglan released an art collection consisting of long-exposure photography of him playing with colorful glowing drumsticks, resulting in psychedelic imagery. Hoglan made a guest appearance in the season 2 finale of '' The Eric Andre Show'' on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

Equipment

Gene endorses and uses Pearl Drums, Sabian cymbals, Pro-Mark sticks and Evans heads.

Drum setup

*Drums – Pearl Reference Carbon Mist Finish, Black Hardware **24x16 Bass Drum (x2) **12x10 Tom **14x12 Tom **18x16 Floor Tom **14x8 Brass Free Floating Snare Drum *Cymbals – Sabian **15" AAX X-Celerator Hi-Hats (or 15" AA Metal-X Hi Hats) **19" Paragon Chinese **22" HH Power Bell Ride **18" AAX X-Plosion Fast Crash **18" AAX Metal Crash **8" Paragon Splash (originally owned by

) **10" Paragon Splash (originally owned by Neil Peart) **19" AAX Metal Crash **22" HH Power Bell Ride (x2) **19" Paragon Chinese (or 20" AAX Chinese Brilliant) (x2) *Drumheads – Evans **G2 Clear **SD Dry *Pedals: ** Tama Camco (until 2015–2016) (×2) ** Pearl Eliminator Redline (nowadays) (×2) *Hardware – Pearl **B1000 Boom Stand (x7) **H2000 Hi-Hat Stand **S2000 Snare Stand **T2000 Double Tom Stand **D2000 Throne *Other ** Pro-Mark 2B Nylon Tip Drumsticks

Bands

Current * Dark Angel (1984-1992, 2002-2005, 2013-present) * DTA: Death to All (2012-present) * Pitch Black Forecast (2005-present) * Tenet (1996-present) * Dethklok (2007-present) Former *

(1993-1995) * Fear Factory (2009-2012) * Forbidden (2011) * Meldrum (2008-2009) * Phantasm (1987) * Strapping Young Lad (1995-2007) *

(2011-2013) * Zimmers Hole (2007-2018) * Testament (1997-1998, 2011-2022) Live * Anthrax (2012, 2018) * Forbidden (2011) * Opeth (2004) * Unearth (2007) Session * Old Man's Child (1998) * The Almighty Punchdrunk (1999) * Daemon (2002) * Devin Townsend (1998-2001) * Frygirl (2001) * Just Cause (2001) * Naphobia (1995) * Wargod (1985) Timeline

Discography

Hoglan played drums on the following albums, unless otherwise noted. * 1983: Slayer – '' Show No Mercy'' (backing vocals on "Evil Has No Boundaries") * 1985: Wargod – ''Wargod'' (demo) * 1986: Dark Angel – '' Darkness Descends'' * 1987: Phantasm – ''Wreckage (demo) * 1989: Dark Angel – '' Leave Scars'' * 1990: Dark Angel – ''Live Scars'' (EP) * 1991: Dark Angel – '' Time Does Not Heal'' * 1992: Dark Angel – ''Decade of Chaos'' * 1992: Silent Scream – ''From the Darkest Depths of the Imagination'' (mixing and production) * 1993:

– '' Individual Thought Patterns'' * 1995: Death – '' Symbolic'' * 1995: Naphobia – ''Of Hell'' (guest drummer) * 1997: Strapping Young Lad – ''

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

'' * 1997: Testament – '' Demonic'' * 1998: Old Man's Child – '' Ill–Natured Spiritual Invasion'' * 1998: Strapping Young Lad – '' No Sleep Till Bedtime'' * 1998: Devin Townsend – ''

Infinity Infinity is something which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is denoted by \infty, called the infinity symbol. From the time of the Ancient Greek mathematics, ancient Greeks, the Infinity (philosophy), philosophic ...

'' * 1998: Devin Townsend – ''Christeen Plus 4 Demos'' (EP) * 1999: The Almighty Punchdrunk – '' Music for Them Asses'' * 2000: Devin Townsend – ''

Physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

'' * 2001: Devin Townsend – '' Terria'' * 2001: Just Cause – ''Finger It Out'' * 2001: Frygirl – ''Someone Please Kill Me'' (Congas) * 2002: Daemon – ''Eye for an Eye'' * 2003: Strapping Young Lad – '' Strapping Young Lad'' * 2003: Tenet – ''Sovereign'' (demo) * 2005: Strapping Young Lad – '' Alien'' * 2005: Opeth – played drums in the video for " The Grand Conjuration" from their '' Ghost Reveries'' album * 2005: Ani Kyd – ''Evil Needs Candy Too'' * 2006: Strapping Young Lad – '' The New Black'' * 2007: Meldrum – ''Blowin' Up the Machine'' (guest drummer) * 2007: Dethklok – '' The Dethalbum'' * 2007: Dethklok – '' ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead/Dethklok'' * 2007: Mr. Plow – ''Apocalypse Plow'' * 2008: Zimmers Hole – '' When You Were Shouting at the Devil...We Were in League With Satan'' * 2008: Pitch Black Forecast – '' Absentee'' * 2008: Mechanism – ''Inspired Horrific'' * 2009: Fattooth – ''Fattooth'' * 2009: Dethklok – '' Dethalbum II'' * 2009: Tenet – ''Sovereign'' * 2010: Fear Factory – '' Mechanize'' * 2012: Brendon Small – '' Brendon Small's Galaktikon'' * 2012: Testament – '' Dark Roots of Earth'' * 2012: Pitch Black Forecast – ''Burning in Water... Drowning in Flame'' * 2012: Meldrum – ''Lifer'' * 2012: Dethklok – '' Dethalbum III'' * 2012: Sylencer – '' A Lethal Dose of Truth'' (guest drummer on "Get It Up") * 2012: Memorain – ''

Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

'' * 2013: Dethklok – '' The Doomstar Requiem'' * 2014: Pitch Black Forecast – ''As the World Burns'' * 2015:

– '' No Child Left Behind'' * 2016: Testament – '' Brotherhood of the Snake'' * 2017: Brendon Small – '' Brendon Small's Galaktikon II'' * 2019: Bear McCreary – '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (soundtrack) * 2019: Bryan Beller – ''Scenes from the Flood'' * 2020: Testament – '' Titans of Creation'' * 2023: Dethklok – '' Dethalbum IV'' * 2024: Bear McCreary – ''The Singularity'' * 2025: Dark Angel – '' Extinction Level Event''

Videography

* Dark Angel - ''Ultimate Revenge 2'' (VHS, 1989) * Strapping Young Lad - '' For Those Aboot to Rock: Live at the Commodore'' (DVD, 2004, Century Media Records) * Gene Hoglan - ''The Atomic Clock'' (DVD, 2010, Hoglan Industries) * Behind the Player: ''Dimmu Borgir'' (DVD, 2010, Alfred Music Publishing) * Gene Hoglan - ''The Clock Strikes Two'' (DVD, 2016, Hoglan Industries) * Bryan Beller - "Mastering Tone and Versatility (DVD, 2012, Alfred Music Publishing)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoglan, Gene American heavy metal drummers American black metal musicians 1967 births Living people Dark Angel (band) members Death (metal band) members Testament (band) members Millikan High School alumni Drummers from Dallas Musicians from Long Beach, California Forbidden (band) members 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Fear Factory members Strapping Young Lad members Old Man's Child members Phantasm (band) members Dethklok members Thrash metal musicians American death metal musicians Drummers from California