California thrash metal collective Nefarious has unveiled “Master Plan,” the second preview from its forthcoming debut album, “Addicted To Power.” The record is scheduled for release on July 18, 2025 through Relentless “Metal” Records, while Hectic/Bleeding Priest Records will handle a collector-oriented vinyl edition. The new project brings together musicians with deep roots in the Bay Area’s influential heavy metal network and related scenes. Its lineup includes Hirax singer Katon W. De Pena, former Exodus guitarist Rick Hunolt, Heathen and Anvil Chorus guitarist Doug Piercy, bassist Tom Gears of Blind Illusion and Ancient Mariner, and Death Angel drummer Will Carroll.

Nefarious (Blu-Ray)

“Master Plan” arrives as an uncompromising thrash track built around rapid-fire guitar work, forceful rhythms and De Pena’s cutting vocal style. Its lyrical focus centers on systems of power, manipulation and corruption, themes that have long occupied a central place in aggressive metal music. The group’s accompanying video was filmed at Soundwave Studios in Oakland by George Anderson Photography. Its stark, energetic presentation aims to match the song’s confrontational musical character rather than soften it with elaborate narrative devices.

A Nefarious Plot

The album was tracked at Subterranean Studio in Oakland and Pyramid Studio in San Francisco, two locations closely tied to the region’s enduring independent heavy music culture. Damien Rasmussen of Smoke And Mirrors Productions mixed the material. That local production approach reinforces the band’s connection to the Bay Area, a scene that helped establish thrash metal as a global force during the 1980s. While the genre has evolved through successive waves of extreme metal, its original combination of speed, technical guitar playing and socially charged writing continues to draw devoted audiences.

Nefarious [DVD]

Nefarious draws particular attention because of the experience carried by its members. Hunolt played a key role in Exodus’s celebrated guitar legacy, while Piercy has contributed to several respected metal institutions over decades of recording and touring. Carroll’s drumming with Death Angel links the project directly to another cornerstone of the Bay Area movement, and De Pena has led Hirax through a career defined by high-energy traditional thrash. Gears adds further regional pedigree through his work with Blind Illusion, a band remembered for its adventurous approach to the genre’s early sound.

A Nefarious Carol

Hunolt described the new band as a long-awaited opportunity to deliver direct, old-school thrash for listeners who have supported the musicians throughout their careers. He said the members are eager to take the material to audiences and reconnect with the metal community through live performances. De Pena framed the group in similarly combative terms, emphasizing its collective intensity and its intention to make the songs hit with maximum force. Piercy said the material had remained under wraps for some time and promised additional videos and concerts following the initial releases.

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The first Nefarious single, “One Nation Enslaved,” preceded “Master Plan” and established the band’s preference for topical language and hard-charging arrangements. Together, the two releases suggest that “Addicted To Power” will lean into the attack-first values associated with classic thrash, while benefiting from players who have spent years refining their craft. In an era when established metal artists increasingly form collaborative projects outside their primary bands, Nefarious reflects both the durability of the genre and the continued appeal of veteran musicians working with trusted peers. Such projects often give artists room to revisit foundational influences without the expectations attached to larger, long-running names.

Nefarious: Merchant of Souls

Nefarious will make its live debut on July 19, 2025, at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco during an album-release event for “Addicted To Power.” The venue has long served as a gathering point for independent rock, punk and metal acts, making it a fitting setting for a band assembled from Northern California’s heavy music history. The performance will offer the first opportunity to hear how the group’s layered studio guitar parts and tightly constructed rhythms translate to the stage. With more appearances expected to follow, Nefarious is positioning itself not as a one-off collaboration but as a working band prepared to carry its material beyond the album cycle.

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