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, 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 magazine's 2010 Reader's Poll.
In 1983, Hoglan began his music career as a roadie (lighting engineer) for the thrash metal band Slayer, where he also played the drums during concert soundchecks.[3] He also did backing vocals on the song "Evil Has No Boundaries", from the first Slayer album Show No Mercy.[4] 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.[1]
In 1984, Hoglan was part of the band War God with Michelle Meldrum.[3] At the end of the same year he was asked to join the thrash metal band Dark Angel as the drummer.[3] He penned most of the lyrics for Dark Angel's next three albums. He achieved greater fame during the mid-1990s playing with Death, at the same time that bandleaderChuck Schuldiner was taking that group into a more progressive style. Subsequently, he recorded one album with the thrash metal band Testament, and made the acquaintance of Canadian 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.[5] He would go on to record several albums with Townsend, both as part of the speed/industrial/death metal band Strapping Young Lad and under Devin Townsend's name.
Hoglan was also part of thrash metal 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.[citation needed]
On the Vancouver stop of Opeth's 2004 Lamentations tour, Hoglan stood in for drummer Martin Lopez, who was said to be having panic attacks.[6] Opeth's drum tech had filled in for the two previous dates on the tour and Lopez rejoined the band for the Seattle, 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.[6] 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, California.
Other bands have also recruited Hoglan as a session drummer. He has recorded albums with the Norwegian black metal band Old Man's Child and the Danish death metal 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.[7] 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.[8]
Gene Hoglan with Testament at Ruhrpott Metal Meeting 2017
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.[9] 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.[10][11] Hoglan announced his second departure from Testament on January 21, 2022.[12]
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.[13] He also participated in the recording sessions of Viking's reunion album, No Child Left Behind (2015).[14]
Hoglan participated in the 2013 reunion of Dark Angel, who still play live occasionally to this day.[15] 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.[16]
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.[17][18]
Gene Hoglan - The Atomic Clock (DVD, 2010, Hoglan Industries)[24]
Behind the Player: Dimmu Borgir (DVD, 2010, Alfred Music Publishing)[25]
Gene Hoglan - The Clock Strikes Two (DVD, 2016, Hoglan Industries)
Bryan Beller - "Mastering Tone and Versatility (DVD, 2012, Alfred Music Publishing)
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