CRIMINAL was formed in Santiago, Chile, in late 1991 by Anton Reisenegger (guitar and vocals) and Rodrigo Contreras (lead guitar). Reisenegger had previously fronted PENTAGRAM, one of the most important bands of the South American underground, whose influence is acknowledged until today by the likes of NAPALM DEATH and DISMEMBER. Weeks later they were joined by J.J. Vallejo (drums), who had played in an earlier band with Contreras, and Juan Francisco Cueto (bass). CRIMINAL's live debut was supporting KREATOR in front of 4,000 people in April 1992. Two demos that were recorded that same year started circulating in the local scene, and especially the second, entitled "Forked", gained very good reviews from international magazines such as Terrorizer (U.K.) and Aardshok/Metal Hammer (Holland).
The following year CRIMINAL played an intense show schedule, and in 1994 the band independently recorded their first album "Victimized". Soon after, the group opened two shows for SEPULTURA in Santiago, with a total audience of 8,000. "Victimized" sold 1,000 copies in three weeks after its release, which attracted the attention of the major label BMG, who bought the rights to the record and signed the band. The album was released in Argentina, Mexico and Japan, and the videoclips for "New Disorder" and "Self Destruction" went into heavy rotation on MTV Latino's "Headbangers" show. That same year CRIMINAL did their first shows outside of Chile, playing in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Montevideo (Uruguay). In 1995 the group went to Mexico to take part in a Latin Metal festival in Mexico City and Guadalajara. Just having returned from that trip, Vallejo was asked to leave CRIMINAL, quickly being replaced by Jimmy Ponce (ex-SLAVERY).

In 1996 the band supported MOTORHEAD and BRUCE DICKINSON at their shows in Santiago, and released a live EP named "Live Disorder". CRIMINAL's second album "Dead Soul" (1997) was produced by Vincent Wojno, who had worked with MACHINE HEAD and KREATOR, among many others. This record sold over 10,000 copies in Chile alone, and was licensed by Metal Blade Records for the North American and European markets, getting excellent reviews from the world's most important metal publications like Rock Hard (Germany) and Metal Maniacs (U.S.A.). The videoclip for "Collide" was nominated for "Best Rock Video Of The Year" by MTV Latino.

"Dead Soul" was released at a show in Santiago where the band co-headlined with NAPALM DEATH. The show was aired on national TV, and CRIMINAL were joined on stage by Mitch Harris (N.D.) to play the PENTAGRAM song "Demoniac Possession". (Later NAPALM DEATH recorded this song and released it on the EP "Leaders Not Followers".) The tour for "Dead Soul" included countries like Perú, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Colombia, where CRIMINAL played in front of 50,000 people at the "Rock Al Parque" festival. The band also supported EXODUS in Santiago and Buenos Aires, where they came on stage to shout the chorus of "Brain Dead".

In late 1998 the compilation "Slave Master Live" was released, with studio and live songs plus the "Forked" demo. That year was ended with a show at the "Monsters Of Rock" festival in Santiago, with 15,000 fans in attendance. The bill was topped by SLAYER, HELLOWEEN and ANTHRAX. In 1999 the band did a 15-date U.S. tour, including an appearance at the "Milwaukee Metalfest" and support shows with TESTAMENT and OVERKILL. CRIMINAL's third album, this time produced by Contreras and Reisenegger, was recorded in early 2000

In early 2002 the band relocated to England and changed their line-up almost completely.

Official biography