Razorback is a Filipino

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 hard rock

Hard rock

Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

 band formed in 1990. Originally known for being regulars at the now-defunct Kalye, a club in Makati, the band had proven their onstage mettle many times over, via their own club gigs to full-scale concerts as well as for having opened for Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...

 and Metallica

Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

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History

Razorback first began performing covers of legendary rockers such as Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

 and Juan De la Cruz Band

Juan de la Cruz Band

The Juan de la Cruz Band was a Filipino rock band formed in 1968. In December 1970, the band was featured in the first open field rock festival in the Philippines, the Antipolo Rock Festival. The band's popularity gained momentum in September 1971 when it backed up the production of Jesus Christ...

, Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...

 and Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...

. The group was put together by drummer Miguel Ortigas and guitarists Tirso Ripoll and David Aguirre. Members of Razorback and Wolfgang used to jam onstage billed as the Flaming Hemorrhoids. Five years later, the band, composed of Kevin Roy on vocals, Ripoll and Aguirre on guitars, Ortigas on drums and Louie Talan on bass, released their debut album entitled "Hebigat Sounds Volume One". (Hebigat is a portmanteau, created by fusing the words Hebi, a play on the English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 word heavy, and the Filipino

Filipino language

This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...

 word bigat, literally, heavy.) The album contained such tracks as "Giyang", "Tabi ng Bulkan (Beside the Volcano)" and "Pepe D' Hepe".

David Aguirre is now the lead guitarist for the Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

-based band 3 Headed Dog. Manuel Legarda, also of Wolfgang, has taken over his guitar duties for Razorback.

Beggar's Moon

Founding member Miguel Ortigas soon decided to leave the band in March 1996, prompting the band to take on Brian Velasco. In 1997, the band released their second album entitled "Beggar's Moon" under Epic Records. It produced hits like "Payaso (Clown)" and "Ikot Ng Mundo (Earth Revolution)", the latter garnering an NU 107 Rock Awards Song of The Year nomination that year. Ripoll won Best Guitarist of the Year; Talan won the Best Bassist the following year. "Beggar's Moon" eventually went platinum

Music recording sales certification

Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

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One track off the Beggar's Moon album is entitled Of Hobbits and Pipeweed; perhaps a homage to J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...

 and his books The Hobbit

The Hobbit

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...

 and The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...

.

Basti Artadi of Wolfgang

Wolfgang (Filipino band)

Wolfgang is a Filipino heavy metal, hard rock and grunge band formed around 1992 in Manila, Philippines. Wolfgang is notable for being the only Filipino rock band to release albums in Japan and the United States and for realizing Platinum record sales in their home country...

 shares credit for work done on the Beggar's Moon album art. According to Tirso Ripoll in his podcast with Basti Artadi, Tropical Banter, Beggar's Moon can be played over Blade Runner

Blade Runner

Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...

 in synchronicity, similar to Dark Side of the Rainbow

Dark Side of the Rainbow

Dark Side of the Rainbow – also known as Dark Side of Oz or The Wizard of Floyd – refers to the pairing of the 1973 Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon with the visual portion of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. This produces moments where the film and the album appear to...

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Star

The third Razorback album, "Star", was released in 1998. The album produced the award winning video hit "Voodoo, Who Do?", plus other favorites such as "Tikman ang Ulan (Taste the Rain)", "Pag-hihintay (The Waiting)", and "Sa Gitna Ng Lahat (In the Midst of it All)". "Voodoo, Who Do?" would later on become part of the soundtrack of "Stone", a comic book by Filipino artist Whilce Portacio

Whilce Portacio

William "Whilce" Portacio is a Filipino-American comic book writer and artist. Noted for his work on such titles as The Punisher, X-Factor, and the Uncanny X-Men. Portacio was also one of the seven co-founders of Image Comics, though he did not become a partner in the company.-Early life:Portacio...

 - along with tracks by such artists as Korn

Korn

Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...

, Our Lady Peace

Our Lady Peace

Our Lady Peace is a Canadian alternative rock band that formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Headed by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band additionally consists of Jeremy Taggart on percussion, Duncan Coutts on bass, and Steve Mazur as lead guitarist...

, Incubus

Incubus (band)

Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in high school and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell;...

, as well as Filipino artists Chill

Chill

Chill may refer to:* Chills that occur during high fevers as a result of immune response to disease* Shivering, a bodily function in response to early hypothermia in warm-blooded animals...

 and Wolfgang

Wolfgang (Filipino band)

Wolfgang is a Filipino heavy metal, hard rock and grunge band formed around 1992 in Manila, Philippines. Wolfgang is notable for being the only Filipino rock band to release albums in Japan and the United States and for realizing Platinum record sales in their home country...

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Some time after Star was released, David Aguirre went on hiatus, prompting some speculation that he was quitting the band for good. He returned in late 2000, to the delight of fans.

Present status

In 2002, the band embarked on an ambitious project - an eponymously-titled double CD album. Razorback dispelled rumours that this is their final album, much to the relief of fans who have been on the receiving end of this anxiety-inducing piece of false information. The album starts out with "Minsan Lang (Not Often)". Diversity is evident, with songs ranging from classic rock, ("Minsan Lang", "Wakasan (End It)", "Dagat ng Pag-asa (Sea of Hope)"), to Pink Floydesque tracks ("Puerto Jam", "Earthen Drum") and acoustic love songs ("Ditty", "Sixteen Days").

David Aguirre effectively left the band around 2003, after accepting an invitation by Wolf Gemora (formerly of Wolfgang) to play guitar for his new Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

-based band, Lokomotiv

Lokomotiv (band)

Lokomotiv was a Southern California-based rock band which counted among its line-up, the key members of some of the most successful hard rock bands in the Philippines during the 1990s -- Wolfgang and Razorback.-History:...

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On January 6 and January 12, 2007, various members of Razorback and Wolfgang got together for a reunion concert at the Music Museum. On hand were Basti Artadi, Tirso Ripoll, Louie Talan, Kevin Roy, Mon Legaspi, Brian Velasco, Miguel Ortigas and Manuel Legarda. Wolf Gemora and David Aguirre, however, were unable to join this gig, as their commitments for the moment lie with Lokomotiv

Lokomotiv (band)

Lokomotiv was a Southern California-based rock band which counted among its line-up, the key members of some of the most successful hard rock bands in the Philippines during the 1990s -- Wolfgang and Razorback.-History:...

.

They released their first studio album in 6 years, entitled "Three Minutes of Glory". The songs "Daan-Daang Dahilan", "Ayon sa Kanya", and "Atin-Atin Lang" from this album are staples at their live performances. As of 2011, the band frequently tours the USA and Philippines along with Wolfgang and as part of Tanduay's events.

Discography

• Hebigat Sounds Vol.1 - 1995
• Beggar's Moon - 1997
• Star - 1998
• Soundcheck: The Live Recordings - 2000
• Razorback - 2003
• D' Greytest Hithits - 2004
• ALIVE 2007 - 2009
• Three Minutes of Glory - 2011