Country of origin: United States Location: Venice, California Status: Active Formed in: 1985 Genre: Thrash Metal/Crossover Themes: Life, Humour, Angst, Society, Concepts Current label: Unsigned/independent Years active: 1983-1985 (as Chaotic Noise), 1985-1998, 2012-present Founded from ex-members of Chaotic Noise, an L.A. punk band originally formed in 1983. It consisted of Dan Clements, Adam Siegel and a former drummer. They had not had a permanent bassist, and people just figured they were unstable. They decided to change the name and start fresh, and they taught one of their roadies, Shaun Ross, how to play bass. With the addition of drummer Greg Saenz, the line-up was stable for a couple of years and recorded some demos that got their name circulating around the underground. Excel never split-up before or after the release of Seeking Refuge. Dan Clements and Shaun Ross kept the band alive, albeit with unstable line-ups, which led to sporadic live performances. Excel remained "active" until at least 1998, but by that time, the band slowly but surely fell apart. In January 2012, they announced their reunion and in March of the next year, they performed their first live show in 15 years at the RVCA Los Angeles store on Fairfax. The band has stated that there is new material in the works as well as more live shows. In 2003, ex-members of Excel considered legal action against Metallica over the song "Enter Sandman", which they claim borrows heavily from the Excel song "Tapping Into the Emotional Void", originally included on The Joke's on You LP, released in 1989, two years before the release of Metallica's Black Album. In 2006, Dan Clements joined forces with former Suicidal Tendencies members Grant Estes, Amery Smith and Louiche Mayorga and formed the band AgainST.