About

BRENDON SMALL – the mastermind behind massive metal band Dethklok and albums The Dethalbum, Dethalbum II, Dethalbum III and Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem – will release his new high-stakes intergalactic extreme rock/metal album, Galaktikon II: Become The Storm, on August 25, 2017 via Megaforce Records/MRI.

In addition to co-production by Brendon Small and Grammy-nominated producer/engineer Ulrich Wild (who also worked on the Dethklok albums), Galaktikon II: Become The Storm features the distinct rhythmic powers of drum legend Gene Hoglan (Testament, Death, Dark Angel) and bassist extraordinaire Bryan Beller (The Aristocrats, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai). Galaktikon II: Become The Storm follows the space-age theme of 2012’s original Galaktikon album, with a conceptual storyline and a heavier, darker, more brutal sound. With the above-mentioned musicians behind the project, it comes as no surprise that Galaktikon II: Become The Storm is a welcomed transformation and expansion of the sound that put Brendon Small on the musical map. With uncapped time and creativity on their side, Small & Co. were able to reach above and beyond what fans have come to expect. Galaktikon II: Become The Storm proves to be Small’s most commanding release yet.

Musician, actor, writer and comedian Brendon Small started his TV media career as the co-creator, writer, voice actor, composer and musician for Home Movies, a cartoon that initially aired on the UPN television network and then moved to Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. Soon after work on Home Movies ended in 2004, Berklee College of Music alum Small found fame as creator, executive producer, voice and music behind the Adult Swim series Metalocalypse, which premiered in 2006. The series focuses on a fictional death metal band named Dethklok. In addition to all of the behind-the-scenes work on the series, he also provided voice talent for the characters Skwisgaar Skwigelf, Pickles the Drummer, and Nathan Explosion, three of the five members of Dethklok. The song “Thunderhorse” was also featured on the hit video game Guitar Hero II. In conjunction with the show, Brendon Small created the real-life version of Dethklok – writing, recording, performing and touring in support. Each Dethklok album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart upon release. The Dethalbum was the highest charting death metal album in the history of the Billboard 200, before Dethalbum II and Dethalbum III later claimed that title. Since the Dethklok era, Small has been busy in not only the music world, but the comedy world. Small has appeared on several television, radio and podcast programs such as @Midnight, Comedy Bang Bang, Howard Stern, WTF with Marc Maron – often in a recurring guest role. He is also a regular voice actor for several popular animated series’, including Squidbillies and Venture Bros. Brendon Small is a regular performer at SF Sketch Fest, Bridgetown Comedy Fest and Improv Hollywood.






BRYAN BELLER has maintained a frenetic, multi-faceted career as a bassist, composer, solo artist, writer and clinician for over twenty years.

Beller’s reputation as a uniquely talented yet supremely tasteful team player for adventurous instrumentally-minded artists is clearly evidenced in his two main current gigs. First, he has been Joe Satriani’s tour bassist for both the Unstoppable Momentum (2013-14) and Shockwave (2015-16) world tours in addition to featuring on the Shockwave Supernova record. Second, he’s the bassist/manager of the rock/fusion super-trio The Aristocrats (with uber-players Guthrie Govan on guitar and Marco Minnemann on drums), the hottest new act in the genre in countless years. The Aristocrats have released three critically acclaimed studio albums, along with two live releases documenting the band’s world tours in support of their debut album The Aristocrats and sophomore album Culture Clash. Their most recent, and lavishly hailed, studio album Tres Caballeros is the focus of their current world tour, which began in the summer of 2015 and will extend through to late 2016. This high profile work has landed Beller on the pages of numerous music magazines, including cover features in Bass Player and Bass Musician magazines.

Beller’s additional work experience tells a similar story. He was Steve Vai’s choice for the 2009 live CD/DVD Where The Wild Things Are, a tour-de-force document of the six-piece Vai band Beller anchored on bass in 2007. He’s also toured with the “band” Dethklok, a tongue-in-cheek extreme metal band borne of the hit Cartoon Network “Adult Swim” show Metalocalypse;Beller’s tracked on the last two Dethklok releases (Dethalbum III; The Doomstar Requiem) and has anchored the band for three nationwide tours to date, alongside metal monsters Mastodon and Machine Head, among others. He’s been a musical partner of freak/genius guitarist Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa) for over 17 years and 10 albums. And his versatility was on display touring intimate venues across the U.S. with R&B/soul singer/songwriter/keyboardist Kira Small for several years.

On his own, Beller released his debut rock/jazz fusion solo album View in late 2003 to widespread acclaim, earning the monthly feature in Bass Player Magazine (“…it’s a thrill to witness an artist like Beller find his voice with such a self-assured debut…”). His second album Thanks In Advance (2008), a definitive compositional statement about breaking through anger and finding gratitude, garnered even more critical praise (“…a bonafide entry for bass album of the year” – Chris Jisi, Bass Player Magazine). Beller’s first live album Wednesday Night Live – a raw, powerful, intimate document of his 2010 touring lineup playing the world-famous Baked Potato in Los Angeles – was released in 2011 on both CD and DVD. His first instructional DVD, Mastering Tone And Versatility, was released by Alfred Publishing in early 2012, and he’s a featured artist on the instructional website Jamplay.com.

Beller’s 16-year span as a freelance writer includes cover stories on bass luminaries such as Justin Chancellor (Tool), Christian McBride, Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) and Chris Wolstenholme (Muse), as well as a landmark cover feature on the state of heavy metal bass involving ten different interviews. In 2010, Beller interviewed former Governor of Arkansas and 2008 Republican Presidential candidate (and part-time bassist) Mike Huckabee for Bass Player Magazine. He’s also interviewed a veritable who’s who of the modern bass world: Jonas Hellborg, Victor Wooten, John Patitucci, Lee Sklar, Neil Stubenhaus, Jay DeMarcus (Rascal Flatts), Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, Nine Inch Nails), Bill Laswell, Jimmy Haslip, Stefan Lessard (Dave Matthews Band), Matt Garrison, Adam Nitti, Oteil Burbridge, Dave LaRue, Miroslav Vitous, Billy Sheehan, Emmy-award winning television scorer W.G. “Snuffy” Walden (The West Wing), and myriad others.

Beller’s earliest days on bass were as a Westfield, New Jersey pre-teen on upright in the school orchestra. It was short-lived, as he switched to electric at 13 to better play Rush, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Metallica tunes. Concurrently, a couple of years of classical piano lessons morphed into his own self-taught ear training regimen, as he learned to play those same classic rock and metal songs on the piano completely by ear. Once he landed at Berklee College Of Music, Beller focused solely on bass, and eventually joined a blues-rock band called 100 Proof, which played originals mixed with blues and Allman Brothers covers in Boston’s dirtiest bars. Beller’s rootsy, earthy, groove-oriented approach (as opposed to some of the more shred-oriented players of the time) had found a welcome home – and the original lineup of the band went on to do interesting things: One (Dylan Altman) wrote a #1 hit song for Tim McGraw; another (Jon Skibic) served as the touring guitarist for The Eels and the Gigolo Aunts; and the other (Ben Sesar) ended up as Brad Paisley’s touring drummer for ten years and counting.

But it was when Beller met drummer (and Frank Zappa fanatic) Joe Travers at Berklee that his career first ventured onto its current path. Joe knew Mike Keneally, who was in Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa’s band Z. Eventually Joe moved to Los Angeles, joined that band, and got Beller an audition in 1993, which Beller won, thereby entering the world of Zappa-influenced and instrumentally-minded musicians he still calls fellow travelers to this day.

As a pure player, a masterclass clinician (sponsored by Mike Lull Custom Basses, Gallien-Krueger Amplification and D’addario Strings), a former Contributing Editor for Bass Player Magazine, and a former Vice-President of SWR Sound Corporation, Beller brings a global perspective to the world of bass, and sits at the intersection of many of its current pathways.




GENE HOGLAN – It’s no small feat for a metal drummer to acquire the nickname The Atomic Clock. Then again, Gene Hoglan is no small drummer. First, he’s huge in stature (albeit rapidly shrinking, as his recent 160 lb. weight loss will attest) – a hulking beast able to split snare heads with a single stroke. Far more significantly, he’s a giant in his field, an innovator known for playing with precision, groove and flair, but who’s just as capable of manipulating the kit with grace and finesse, as well as power and might.

Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward called him, “The new John Bonham, the leading light of a new generation.” Rock and jazz legend Dennis Chambers also praised Hoglan for his creativity and eagerness to play outside of previously established parameters.

While Hoglan has always found playing to be its own reward, lately he has enjoyed some major mainstream metal success. He played drums on the last two Testament albums, Dark Roots of Earth and the new Brotherhood of the Snake. The former debuted at number 12 on the Billboard album chart and number nine worldwide. Less than three months later, Dethklok’s third album Dethalbum III hit number 10 on the Billboard album chart and Number One on the rock charts. It marked the first time in history that an extreme metal drummer was featured on two Top 15 albums in a three month period.

“I always enjoyed working with Dethklok and that album was no exception,” Hoglan says. “Actually it worked out better because the songs were a little more worked out going into the recording. Previously, we had 30 seconds of music and we had to build the songs from that. This time [Dethklok founder Brendon Small] had everything built up so that was a really exciting record to work on.”

Hoglan toured with Dethklok extensively and worked on the band’s 2013 album, The Doomstar Requiem. And after the Adult Swim program Metalocalypse – which birthed the animated band Dethklok — was canceled Hoglan continued working with Small in Brendon Small’s Galaktikon, appearing on the band’s self-titled debut as well as its upcoming second record Galaktikon II.

“It was crazy because before I did that, I flew to Oakland and started doing the Testament record,” Hoglan says. “We had 14 days to get that done because on the 15th day I had to fly down to LA to record Galaktikon II. And the day we finished that, I flew up to Canada and played shows with Zimmers Hole.”

In truth, Hoglan is far too talented, ambitious and restless to tie himself down to just a couple of bands. Currently, he is the reigning beatmaster for Death For All, a tribute to death metal founders Death, which Hoglan played in from 1993 to 1995. He is also co-writing songs for a new album by his pioneering thrash band Dark Angel – their first since 1991 – and he continues to play with Zimmers Hole, Pitch Black Forecast and a new yet-unnamed project with Meldrum guitarist and bassist Laura Christine. Plus, Hoglan recently finished his upcoming DVD The Atomic Clock: The Clock Strikes Two, the follow-up to his acclaimed 2010 DVD The Atomic Clock.

“I worked on this new one for the last 36 months and it came out amazing,” Hoglan says. “In every single regard, it blows the last one away,” Hoglan says. “It’s done on a larger scale, it’s filmed in HD, the production is amazing, the mix is incredible and the drums sound awesome.”

Just as significantly, The Atomic Clock: The Clock Strikes Two isn’t just for drummers. Hoglan plays along with songs by Testament, Death, Galaktikon, Strapping Young Lad and Meldrum and provides plenty of stories about the songs and behind-the-scenes footage.

“I’m doing a lot of talking so you definitely get to see my personality come out,” he says. “I enjoy entertaining so I’ve make it fun for people to watch. You could be a guitarist or a non-musician and still enjoy this. I tell lots of stories and I down these the different parts of these songs, which I did not do on the last one. It’s a different animal. It’s a bigger beast, a more snarling, awesome monster.”

Hoglan credits much of his success to sheer stubbornness and tenacity. Since he joined his first high school band Dark Angel (not to be confused with the later, completely separate Dark Angel of thrash legend), Hoglan has been determined to use his playing as a vehicle to make metal louder, more chaotic and more rewarding for the listener. From 1984 to the present he has injected his style into numerous original and influential acts, including not only Dark Angel, but Death, Devin Townsend, Strapping Young Lad, Testament, Dethklok, Fear Factory, Forbidden, Zimmers Hole and others.

“I’ve always been about doing things at the next level,” Hoglan says. “I’ve always thought, ‘What new playing elements, technologies and approaches can we take to make this sound cooler, heavier and even more intense?’”






ULRICH WILD is a Grammy nominated, multi-platinum producer and mixer. He’s known for his work with notable Metal acts Detklok, Pantera, Static-x, White Zombie, Deftones, and Breaking Benjamin, as well as more eclectic artists Emilie Autumn, Stolen Babies, and Fiddle Witch and the Demons of Doom.

In his productions, Ulrich specializes in taking the artist to the peak of their abilities while bringing out their essence. With a penchant for establishing musical identities, Ulrich has focused many artists towards their defining sound, helping them launch their careers.

Born and raised in Switzerland, Ulrich lives and works in Los Angeles. In 2015 he founded his label WURMgroup to create a home and build careers for up and coming artists.

Ulrich Wild is available for production, mixing, and songwriting. If interested, get in touch and briefly describe your project.

Grammy Nominee: Best Engineered Album for White Zombie’s Astro Creep 2000: Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of The Electric Head.’