Alexei Rodriguez

Alexei Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican drummer, once known for his time in Canadian heavy metal band 3 Inches of Blood and the metalcore band Walls of Jericho. He was the drummer for the New York-based band, Prong.

Alexei Rodriguez
Rodriguez at the Ozzfest Meet-N-Greet in Mansfield, MA on 8/20/07
Background information
Birth name	Alexei Rodriguez
Origin	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Occupation(s)	Musician
Years active	Heavy metal, metalcore, hardcore punk, black metal
Associated acts	Prong, 3 Inches of Blood, Walls of Jericho, KMFDM, Trial, Catharsis, Ümlaut, Endstand, Reem, The Great White Void, Between Earth & Sky, Wait In Vain, Chthonic, Hail the Night
Website	Alexei's MySpace profile

In 1999, he recorded on the full-length, "Are These Our Lives?" (via Equal Vision Records) with Seattle hardcore outfit, Trial, under the assumed name, Jesus L. Pecador. From 1994-2002 he played for North Carolina-based anarcho-punk/hardcore band, Catharsis, with whom he completed 2 full-length albums, Samsara (1997) and Passion (1999), as well as a variety of EPs (often under pseudonyms). With Ümlaut he also played on a full-length, "Havok Wreakers" (2001) and EP, "Finland" (1999), appearing again in the "Total Disfuckincography" (2005) which included all the previously released recorded material, again under an assumed name (Baron Burri Von Blixen). In 2002 he also contributed lead and backing vocals to Finnish hardcore/punk band, Endstand on two tracks from their split EP with Kafka.

Rodriguez was also the drummer for Walls of Jericho, a Detroit metalcore band for whom he played on their second full-length album, All Hail the Dead in 2004, as well as on the live video footage from the "Hellfest 2003" DVD, and the music video for the song, "There's No 'I' in 'Fuck You'". He was recruited into 3 Inches of Blood in 2005 after the departure of their 2nd drummer, Matt Wood. He recorded one album with 3 Inches of Blood, Fire up the Blades, before being fired from the band for assaulting Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler in November 2007 (although Rodriguez was himself beaten up by bouncers following this incident).[1]

A new disc on Hellfish Records (US) and Refuse Records (Europe) is to be released shortly by BETWEEN EARTH & SKY, featuring Rodriguez as well as other members of Trial, as well as ex-members of Vancouver, BC outfits STRAIN and BY A THREAD. Rodriguez also contributed to new material under the band name, The Great White Void, based out of Berlin, Germany, featuring members of The Ocean Collective (Metal Blade Records) and MÖNSTER, although the material has yet to be released. He also appears on the new Trial Reunion/Retrospective double DVD out now (Panic Records), featuring footage from the 3 sold-out reunion shows the band played in 2005 in Seattle, London and Budapest. A full-length record from Wait In Vain released in July 2008 features Rodriguez on all drum tracks, playing alongside fellow Trial alum, Timm McIntosh. He played drums anonymously on the full-length disc, "Mirror of Retribution" by Taiwanese melodic black metal band, Chthonic, released in 2009 (Spinefarm Records).

While briefly residing in Los Angeles, he met Tommy Victor (Prong, Danzig, Ministry), who invited him to play drums for a KMFDM remix he contributed to their recent album, "Krieg", as well as to join an updated version of Prong with Victor and newly recruited bassist, Tony Campos (Static-X, Asesino, Ministry). The new line-up promptly did two American tours with Soulfly and another with Fear Factory, and is currently working on a new album to follow up 2007's "Power of the Damager." Simultaneously, pre-production is underway an as-yet-unnamed new project with Paul Perry (Insolence, Level, Fuel, Possessed, Testament).

References

1. "Classic Rock Magazine - 3 Inches Of Blood fire their drummer and apologise for beating up Saxon". classicrockmagazine.com. 2007-11-12. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-12.