Shuvel was an American

rap metal Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables. History Origins and earl ...

band originally from

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

. The band released their major label debut album in 2000 through Interscope Records.

History

Original members Jeff Hollinger (vocals), Isaac Ayala (vocals) and Kyle Hollinger (drums) formed the band in 1997 in

. They added guitarist Ryan Stuber and bassist Carlos Sandoval. After playing local venues for a while, they moved to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

to further their career, spending six months there until then moving to Los Angeles. A stripper in attendance at the band's performance at a house party in

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

connected the band with an artist relations agent from Interscope Records in 1999. The band released their debut album ''Set It Off'' in late 2000.Rodriguez, Kenn (April 6, 2001). "Shuvel finds fans aren't just in Kansas anymore", '' Albuquerque Journal'', p. 15. The band toured with

Sevendust Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lo ...

Crazy Town Crazy Town (sometimes abbreviated as CXT) is an American rap rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1995 by Bret Mazur and Seth Binzer. Crazy Town is best known for their 2000 hit single "Butterfly", which reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' ...

, and Kittie, and landed a spot on the second stage of Ozzfest 2000. The band was eventually left with only one vocalist, Isaac Ayala, due to the band kicking out Jeff Hollinger from the band after 2006. Shuvel continued to tour and release music until their dissolution in 2011. Shuvel drummer Kyle Hollinger later joined the band Crazy Town. Another Shuvel drummer Trevor Stafford went on to join

Adelitas Way Adelitas Way is an independent American band formed in Las Vegas in 2006. The band's debut single "Invincible", broke them into the mainstream scene after the song made numerous television appearances in commercials and live sporting events. As ...

Musical style

According to '' Spin'' reviewer Greg Milner, the band's sound is a "mash-up of Beasties, Bizkit and

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."Milner, Greg (November 2000)
"Native Sons: Dodging bullets at the front lines of the rap-rock revolution"
'' Spin'' 16 (11): 198.

Critical reception

Spin Magazine reviewer Greg Milner called the band's music "genuine head-bobbing/banging music" and "fine mainstream metal" in contrast to James Doolittle of ''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. In 2020, the newspaper permanently closed its ...

'' who was unimpressed with the " metal, metal/rap routine" of ''Set It Off'', going on to say that "you realize just how silly a copycat sounds when nothing new is brought to the table." Tim Sheridan of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

called it "an energetic but rather run-of-the-mill rap-metal disc".

Members

;Final line-up *Isaac Ayala - Vocals (1997 - 2011) *Ryan Stuber - Guitar (1997 - 2011) *Carlos Sandoval - Bass (1997 - 2011) *Josh Fresia - Drums (2005 - 2011) ;Previous members *Jeff Hollinger - Vocals (1997 - 2006) *Kyle Hollinger - Drums (1998 - 2000) *Trevor Stafford - Drums (2001) *Keigan Veer - Guitar (1997) *Logan Dudley - Drums (1997)

Discography

;Albums *''Set It Off'' (2000) *''Return Of The Fist'' (2006) *''As The World Burns'' (2009) ;EPs *''The Demonstration'' (1999) *''Demo'' (2003) ;Singles

References

{{reflist Rap metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Rock music groups from Texas