Havok is an American Thrash Metal band which formed in 2004 and hails from Denver, Colorado.

Founding member David Sanchez formed Havok with fellow classmate and then-drummer Haakon Sjoegren with Shawn Chavez joining the band a short time after, responding to a flyer that Sanchez and Sjoegren had put up around the Denver area indicating that they were looking for a guitarist. After Marcus Corich (the final member of their original lineup) joined in 2004, Havok released their first demo, Trash Can, and a single, Murder by Metal, in 2005.

In 2007, Tyler Cantrell and Richie Tice had taken over duties of bassist and drummer, respectively. On September 19th of that year, Havok released their first EP, Pwn ‘Em All, which they toured in heavy support of. Later, in December of that year, Ryan Bloom had joined the band as the new drummer, the band signed to Candlelight Records, and they began work on their first studio album.

By the time fall of 2008 came around, Cantrell had been replaced by new bassist Jesse de los Santos and on June 2nd, 2009, Havok released Burn, the band’s debut album. Bloom, however, left the band in April prior to the release of Burn and was replaced temporarily by Scott Fuller, but Pete Webber eventually took over as full-time drummer.

In September of 2010 after touring in support of Burn, Reece Scruggs joined Havok as their new lead guitarist. On March 29th, 2011, Havok released their critically acclaimed sophomore album Time Is Up. The album spread through the Metal community and quickly became a defining album in the scene that came to be known as the New Wave of Thrash Metal.

After over a year of touring in support of time is up, Jesse de los Santos was replaced by Mike Leon and Havok returned to the studio to work on their third full-length album, Unnatural Selection, which was released on June 25th, 2013. The album was a success, reaching #154 on the Billboard 200. Unnatural Selection was the last release with Candlelight Records, and on July 11th, 2014, the band signed with Century Media Records.

On April 30th, 2015, founding lead guitarist Shawn Chavez unfortunately passed away at the age of 30.

In September of 2015, the band parted ways with bassist Mike Leon and was replaced by Nick Schendzielos. They also revealed they had been working on their fourth full-length release the same month.

Havok’s fourth studio album, Conformicide, was released on March 10th, 2017. After touring for a short time, Havok announced in July of 2018 that they were going to stop touring and write a new album. This subsequently became their fifth album, titled V which released on May 1st, 2020.

Three months after the release of V, bassist Brandon Bruce announced he left the band and Nick Schendzielos resumed bass duties. The same month, Havok also announced they were working on material for their sixth studio album which is expected to be released in 2024.

Current Lineup:
David Sanchez: Vocals, Guitars (2004–present day)
Pete Webber: Drums (2010–present day)
Reece Scruggs: Guitars (2010–present day)
Nick Schendzielos: Bass Guitar (2015–2019; 2023-present day)

Past Members:
Shawn Chavez: Guitars (2004–2010; died 2015)
Marcus Corich: Bass Guitar (2004–2005)
Tyler Cantrell: Bass Guitar (2006–2007)
Jesse de los Santos: Bass Guitar (2009–2012)
Mike Leon: Bass Guitar (2013–2015)
Haakon Sjoegren: Drums (2004–2005)
Richie Tice: Drums (2005–2007)
Ryan Bloom: Drums (2007–2009)
Scott Fuller: Drums (2009–2010)
Brandon Bruce: Bass Guitar (2019–2021)