Raider formed in early 2017 and establishing Waterloo, Ontario as home base after Gabriel Rosa (lead guitar) and Kevin Withers (drums) got together. With the additions of Angelo Bonaccorso (vocals) and Brandon Sanders (bass) the band began playing shows around southern Ontario. In spring 2018, Raider dropped their first CD “Urge to Kill” and received great response around the local scene.
After gigging extensively the following year, Raider solidified its line up with Ira Lehtovaara on second guitars and headed to the studio fall of 2019 to record their debut full length record “Guardian of the Fire”. Raider was set to tour in support of the new album in 2020 only to be stopped by a global pandemic just weeks before. Despite the pandemic, “Guardian of the Fire” received awesome support after its release March 2020. With plans for a new album in 2021, it’s safe to say it’ll take a lot more than a global pandemic to stop the passion for marking thrash metal music.
