“The best part about being a drummer is having the control to be my own musical boss in action,” says veteran LA underground metal drummer Cesar Escobar. “It can be pretty intense being 25 to 30% of the band at all times. Drums are not like any other instrument the drums do not follow they lead.” As current drummer for underground OC thrash death metal hybrid band Madrost since 2007, Escobar, in his early 30s, has over nearly two decades of street cred as an extreme metal drummer, and promoter in his own right, as he was involved in the formation, and responsible for the thriving of the underground backyard DIY gig culture among punk and metal, in Lincoln Heights and other areas of Downtown and East LA.

“When I started toughing backyard gigs, they were mostly metal, because there was no metal scene it was all punk,” Escobar said. ”But little by little we started Housing all kinds of thrash, grind and death metal bands, and it started to grow and was and going off for a few years. “We even had people from bigger bands coming to some of our shows, like Wayne Static from Static X, Juan Brujo from Brujeria, and Dino from Fear Factory. I like to think I helped to create part of the underground metal scene in LA.”

As a master behind the drum kit, playing in bands, Escobar’s solid style of drumming is based on stamina, speed and stealth, all influenced from an early age by grunge, 60s rock, and heavy metal, his current style of death metal chaos and the speed and intensity of thrash. Escobar’s playing is an amalgamation his early skills as s drummer learning from his favorites: bands like Led Zeppelin, the Doors, Nirvana and early thrash greats like Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth.

After stints in various underground metal bands including Metal Lords, and Shrapnel, and Doomsayers, Escobar has been behind the kit with Madrost, a band that features guitarists/vocalists Tanner Poppitt and NicK Wilson and bassist Richard Orellana. The extreme metal unit is attempting regional, and eventual world domination with a heavy and sophisticated rush of speed metal and technical, e death metal executed with precision. Escobar’s drums keep the music glued together bonded by the aggression and loud pounding his drums create. “Drumming keeps you moving its fun, but you have to say in shape,” he said. “Playing is very physical, especially metal drumming, which is highly demanding on the body so you have to stay in shape.”

Throughout his endeavors in various metal bands, Escobar has gotten to work with and record with several high profile metal musicians. Including members of Steppenwolf, Nuclear Assault, Anthrax, and most notably, former drummer Megadeth, Nick Menza, whom he has worked with in the studio. “Nick Menza is a good friend of mine, and I consider him a mentor,” Escobar said.

As for the future, there are no limits as to what beholds Madrost, as the band has already done three tours of the South West region of the US and parts of Mexico. With a growing, rabid fanbase in the OC and greater LA area, the band continues to play shows regularly. To date, Madrost have shared the stage with bands like Exhumed, Destruction, Dying, Fetus, Hirax,