Hexx

Hexx Biography by Eduardo Rivadavia

After kicking around the Bay Area with little to show for it since 1978, San Francisco's Paradox changed their name to Hexx shortly before signing with the Shrapnel label and releasing their debut album, No Escape, in 1984. This showed them to be in the traditional metal camp, with a few N.W.O.B.H.M. influences, but by the time of their sophomore effort, Under the Spell, arrived in 1986, Hexx was clearly assimilating elements of the thrash scene raging all around them. Now comprised of vocalist/guitarist Clint Bower, guitarist Dan Watson, bassist Bill Peterson, and drummer John Shafer, Hexx released a pair of EPs -- 1988's Watery Grave and 1989's Quest for Sanity -- while continuing to tinker with their sound, which had pretty much achieved death metal qualifications by the release of 1992's Century Media-issued Morbid Reality. The band officially closed up shop a year or two later, but reconvened in 2014 around co-founders Dan Watson and Bill Peterson, original No Escape vocalist Dennis Manzo, and new drummer Gary Gutfeld, for a performance at a festival in Germany. A flurry of lineup changes followed, and by 2017 the band was operating at full-strength with a crew that included Watson (guitar), Eddy Vega (vocals), Bob Wright (guitar), Mike Horn (bass), and John Shafer (drums). That same year saw the release of Hexx's long awaited follow-up to 1992's Morbid Reality, Wrath of the Reaper, which was released via High Roller Records.