on hiatus or venturing to musical styles deemed more commercial or accessible at the time. Oakland thrash metal band Vio-lence would dissolve, leading guitarist Robb Flynn to form and front Machine Head, who would help popularize the groove metal genre. Flynn (who had also co-founded Forbidden) would be joined by drummer Chris Kontos (formerly of Attitude Adjustment) and later guitarist Phil Demmel, who played alongside Flynn in Vio-lence. Vocalist Steev Esquivel would take a similar direction to Flynn after the 1994 break-up of his thrash metal band, Defiance, when he formed groove metal/nu metal group, Skinlab, the following year. Possessed would disband in 1989 after vocalist/bassist Becerra was shot by two street thieves and left paralyzed from the waist down. In addition, personal and creative conflicts within the band had been described by former members. Mike Torrao would reform Possessed the following year with a different line-up; however, the group would fold once again in 1993. The 2008 documentary film Get Thrashed attributed thrash's disintegration to grunge's rise after the Clash of the Titans tour. While every band touring the 1990 European segment were veterans of 1980s thrash, a then-unknown Alice in Chains was the opening band on the North American segment in 1991. Death Angel were originally intended by promoters as the supporting act (for their album, Act III); however, in the previous year, a vehicle accident in Arizona left drummer Andy Galeon critically injured, and Geffen Records had dropped the group from their roster after a disagreement on who to replace him; subsequently, the band would dissolve. The same year, Geffen created a subsidiary label, DGC Records, which was responsible for signing Nirvana, who—along with Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden—epitomized the face of the Seattle grunge phenomena of the early 1990s. Nearly coinciding with Neverminds No. 1 spot on the Billboards, Exodus would be dropped from Capitol Records and the group would go on hiatus the same year. Despite line-up shifts and label changes, Testament managed to intercept thrash's slow period by touring Europe and building a new fan base abroad. Sadus bassist Steve DiGiorgio and Floridian guitarist James Murphy (both alums of Schuldiner's band Death) would join ranks with the band, in addition to former or session members of Forbidden, Exodus, and Slayer. However, Murphy would leave Testament after a brain tumor diagnosis in 1999. He had initially replaced founding guitarist Alex Skolnick, who had