Agretator

Essentially the precursor to Darkane, the band eventually known as Agretator formed around 1991 as Demise. Two years later they were told that a band named Demise already existed, and so they adopted the name Agretator, a combination of the words Agressor and Agitator. They managed to release Delusions in 1994 on a tiny record label that really didn't serve them well marketing-wise, but they soldiered on, releasing a self-financed MCD in 1996 (Distorted Logic) and an unreleased demo in 1997. Their music was choppy, technical thrash metal, showing some promise but never really jelling into something solid. No doubt Delusions is a lost classic to some, but to these ears the songs just didn't take hold. Eventually their desire to become more technical got the best of them, which has been the bane of many such bands -- the desire to be quirky or unconventional detracts from the simple composition of real songs. By 1998 they were done, and the core of the band evolved into Darkane soon afterword.