Feature: Remembering Roger Martinez – The Voice, The Fire, The Legacy
By Seth Metoyer, Heaven’s Metal Magazine
I just found out today, like many of you, that Roger Martinez, original vocalist of Vengeance, passed away, according to a Facebook post by Pastor Bob Beeman and other sources. There are mixed feelings about the man, the myth, the legend—but mostly, we’re all just saddened by the news of the loss of someone who was so influential in the Christian metal community. I thought I’d write a few memories about Roger and his impact on my life.
No matter how the story unfolded, there’s no denying the lasting legacy of Roger Martinez and what Vengeance Rising meant to the Christian metal scene. Roger was more than a frontman, he was a firebrand, a preacher, a disrupter, and a lightning rod for spiritual awakenings during a time when metalheads of faith were desperate for something real, raw, and extreme.
I still remember the first time I put on Human Sacrifice. That album hit like a spiritual war hammer. It was a gamechanger. Brutal, relentless, and full of conviction, it cracked open the gates of heavier music for me. Vengeance wasn’t just a band; it was a mission. A ministry! For many of us, that record was the gateway to more extreme metal. It said, “Yes, you can love Jesus and still blow the speakers out of your car.” And let me tell you, I did just that. I remember peeling out of a youth group parking lot, windows down, cranking Once Dead as confused churchgoers stared like they’d just seen a demon. Yet to me, that was worship. That was joy.
Years later, after moving to Redondo Beach to be part of the Sanctuary movement, I had a chance encounter with Roger that I’ll never forget. It was sometime in ’93, and I was at the Sanctuary Office, home base for Pastor Bob Beeman’s ministry, the 800 prayer lines, merch, band mailboxes, and all things underground Kingdom metal.
He sifted through the stack and landed on an older metal magazine. After flipping through it, he shook his head and muttered something about a disappointing review of Released Upon the Earth. “What a bunch of nonsense,” he said, clearly frustrated by how misunderstood the record was. Then he saw a CD and was super stoked about an advanced copy of Carcass’ Heartwork that someone from Earache Records had sent him. He showed me the cover, had me throw it on the office “boom box,” eyes lit up, and said, “I want the next Vengeance album to sound this tough, man!” Then he bounced almost as fast as he came in. I’ll never forget his charisma. He was electric.
That moment stuck with me. Not just because I met someone whose music had helped shape my spiritual walk, but because I saw the passion was still burning in him. Say what you want about where his beliefs went in later years, but don’t ever forget how God used Roger Martinez to shake the gates and wake up a generation. As Philippians 2:12 says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” His journey was complicated. Most of ours are.
Roger’s voice may have been silenced today, but the echoes of his early ministry still resonate in speakers, in hearts, and in testimonies worldwide. I believe God’s love for Roger never wavered. I loved Roger. And I know many of you did too.
Rest in peace, Roger.
About Author
I loved Roger. His lyrics and vocal approach inspired my faith. “Beheaded” can make me cry , as that’s the faith and determination I want in my beliefs. I only spoke to him once as he called me, asking me to review some writing he had done. How he got my number, I have no idea, but looking back I’m glad I actually got to speak with him.
I hope he made it. Only Jesus knows.
Right on man. Glad you connected with him and his ministry. Thanks for sharing!
I remember Vengeance Rising’s peak in the 1990s (before they adopted the “Rising” part of the name) and “Before the Time” as part of an Intense Records video collection on VHS, and when he was pastor of The Sanctuary Hollywood. There was an interview on that video collection alongside the video and I found Roger to be immensely articulate about the Christian faith and the need for Christ in a messed-up world and in the metal scene in particular. I would always ask friends, “Hey, wanna hear the shortest metal song ever?” and then play “Receive Him” (8 second track, five of which is the actual song—a thrash riff followed by “RECEIVE HIM!” and that was the song).
Roger got bitter about the faith when the remainder of the band split off to form Die Happy, and after two albums on his own under the Vengeance Rising name he left for satanism and then atheism by the time HM contacted him in 1997. He started making tapes to counter the ones he had made while a follower and wanted to make a new Vengeance album with satanic-atheist themes that never made it to release; he also offered anti-Christian music to 9/11 first responders via his web site. The rest of the band did a show as “Once Dead” (because Roger had rights to the Vengeance name and refused to give them up), and then a reunion show in 2017 with a different lead vocalist. Truly an “intense” guy (no pun intended against the name of their record label) and truly a loss, as much now as it was back then.
Great article, Seth.
Thanks for reading!
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