An unrelenting American thrash/hardcore/speed metal group, California's Evildead emerged in 1989 with the influential Annihilation of Civilization. Comprised of members of Agent Steel and Abattoir, the band has undergone numerous lineup changes over the decades, with co-founder and guitarist Juan Garcia serving as the sole constant member. After releasing The Underworld in 1991, Evildead went on an extended hiatus that ended in 2020 with the arrival of their long-awaited third long-player, United States of Anarchy.

Founded in 1986 by former Agent Steel guitarist Juan Garcia alongside vocalist Phil Flores, guitarist Albert Gonzalez, bassist Mel Sanchez, and drummer Rob Alaniz, the band signed with Germany's Steamhammer label, and by the close of 1989 they had released both an EP (Rise Above) and a full album (Annihilation of Civilization) of particularly brutal thrash metal.

Regarded with great respect in the metal underground, the album failed to reach the mainstream, so after taking stock of their prospects, Flores and Garcia retooled Evildead's lineup with new members Dan Flores (guitar), Karlos Medina (bass, and another Agent Steel alum), and drummer Doug Clawson prior to recording 1991's The Underworld. The concert LP Live...From the Depths of the Underworld arrived two years later, but like myriad other heavy metal bands in the early '90s, Evildead were swimming against the ferocious tide of grunge and were forced to cease operations in its wake.

Evildead resurfaced in 2010 for a series of live performances with a lineup consisting of Garcia, Alaniz, Gonzalez, Sanchez, and new vocalist Steve Nelson (Winterthrall, Noctuary). Despite issuing a new track, "Blasphemy Drive," the band folded in 2012. They reunited four years later, though, for a one-off show to celebrate Alaniz's 50th birthday. That iteration of the group (Garcia, Alaniz, Gonzalez, Karlos Medina, and Phil Flores) gelled, and subsequently headed into the studio to begin work on a new album. The resulting United States of Anarchy, nearly five years in the making, arrived in 2020. ~ James Christopher Monger & Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi