Origin:	Tempe, Arizona, USA
Genres:	Thrash Metal

Page online:	November 6, 2011
Last update/review:	May 27, 2020

Vektor

Originally hailing from Arizona but soon relocating to Philadelphia, Vektor was one of many bands holding the thrash banner high in the new millennium, but they did not take the stale retro route like many contemporaries. Fans first began to take notice with the release of Demolition in 2006 (originally considered the band's debut album but later reclassified as a demo), and a pair of releases on the up-and-coming thrash label Heavy Artillery cemented their status as rising stars. Their style is rooted in thrash but with technical/progressive tendencies, and their sci-fi lyrics lent an air of originality as well. By 2016 the band was firing on all cylinders, as that year's Terminal Redux album (now on Earache) was a critical success and the groundswell of underground fan support was beginning to take hold. But six months after the album's release, three of the four members amicably left to pursue other interests, leaving only founder Disanto behind. The band remained inactive until May 2020, when guitarist Erik Nelson returned, with two new members in tow.