Excel (3)

Excel is a crossover thrash band from Venice, California. The band never achieved commercial success during their early years of performing and recording, but they are considered to be one of the first crossover thrash bands to come out of Venice, along with hometown mates Suicidal Tendencies.

They started in 1983 under the name Chaotic Noise and members at that time were Daniel Clements (vocals), Adam Siegel (guitars), Rickey Palamino (bass) and Evan Warrech (drums). In 1985, they changed their name to "Excel" and Palamino and Warech would leave the band. Their replacements were Shaun Ross and Greg Saenz.

After releasing two albums, Split Image in 1987 and The Joke's on You in 1989, Siegel joined Mike Muir's Infectious Grooves in 1991. A year later, as Excel were in the process of working on their third album, Siegel and Saenz left the band and were replaced respectively by Brandon Rudley and Max Asher. Their third and last album to date, titled Seeking Refuge, was finally released in 1995. After that, Excel continued under various lineups but rarely played live, and the band had broken up by the time Rudley died from a brain aneurysm in 2000.

The band announced a reunion in 2012, featuring three-fourths of the classic Split Image lineup (Clements, Ross and Saenz) and Alex Barreto on guitar; Saenz later left Excel again and would be replaced by Mike Cosgrove and then by Carlos Gutierrez (2). Excel is still active as of 2020; they perform live mostly in Southern California and new music is rumored to be in the works.