Hellevate, the speed/thrash metal band from Kansas City, Missouri, are excited to announce the permanent return of original drummer, RJ "The Machine Gun" Whitmer, who will be featured on the band's upcoming new EP.

Hellevate have collectively checked in with the following comment: "Hellevate are pleased to announce the return of original drummer, RJ "The Machine Gun" Whitmer to the band! Edward "Shredward" Unfred had several changes in his personal life which meant he could no longer continue with the band. RJ was very excited to step back in for the first time since 2016."

RJ has this to say on the issue, “Well I said I wasn’t gonna go away forever! What, did you not believe me? Well regardless, I’m back baby! As you could imagine, I am BEYOND excited to return to the stage with my brothers of metal! I am in a much better place than I was three years ago and can’t wait to show you all what we’ve been working on! We still got some surprises up our sleeves, new material, and a lot more material yet to be written!”

In other news, Hellevate announce that they have begun recording a new EP. The 4-song EP will be produced by Hellevate’s own Danowar and Josh the Boss.

About the EP, Josh says, “We’ve been working on a ton of songs for a while now and super pumped to show some of them to everyone! We’re really eager to get back out with some new material that will pound your face in! The new songs are more melodic, more aggressive, and generally stronger as well as more confident than any of our previous stuff. We can’t for you guys to hear it.”

The EP is set to release before the end of the year. Expect more details in the future.

Band lineup:

Vocals: Erik “Jager” Schmutzler
Guitars: Dan "Danowar" Whitmer
Guitars: Josh "The Boss" Cole
Bass: Zack "The Ripper" Burke
Drums: RJ "The Machine Gun" Whitmer