The Hunger is an industrial rock band from Houston, Texas formed by brothers Jeff and Thomas Wilson along with Brian Albritton. During the initial year of putting the band together and working on new material the band wrote and independently released the single, "Shock" in 1991 which rose to the top of the dance charts. Industrial dance music ruled the charts in Europe along with strong ties to Chicago, Wax Trax Records, and Houston. Subsequent releases of "Cut the Skin" and "Shoot to Kill" gained national exposure on the dance charts and club scene. "Never Again" was self-released as a radio single and quickly rose to the top of Houston Radio Station's 93Q and 96.5 attracting the attention of independent record label Alpha International. Stephen Bogle produced the single of "Never Again" and signed on to become the groups guitarist and producer. The band wrote and produced the album "Leave Me Alone" but due to the bankruptcy of Alpha International the record sat idle. The following years were spent in litigation with Alpha International as the band sought to be released from its contract and secure their publishing. Along with the three founders and newest member Stephen Bogle the band sought out drummer Max Schuldberg to complete the line up. The band recorded and produced "Grip" under their own start up label, Gut Records. "Grip" went on to sell 30,000 units with the help of a crafty rework of Bad Company's "Feel like Makin Love". Universal Records, at the time a brand new start up label, heard of the success of "Grip" and signed the band as their second artist ever, and work began on "Devil Thumbs a Ride". The Hunger had a hit song in 1996, "Vanishing Cream", from the Devil Thumbs a Ride CD, which received heavy airplay on rock stations and reached No. 4 on the Mainstream Rock charts. After two years of constant touring, the band finally stopped to record their second release with Universal Records, "Cinematic Superthug". After only moderate success with the single, "Moderation", the band was released from Universal Records. Two songs, "Shoot to Kill", also from Devil Thumbs a Ride, and "If", from Grip, reached No. 42 on Billboard's Dance/Club Play chart. The band has released five albums: two on Universal Records and three on independent labels. Former drummer (1991-2003) Max Schuldberg (voted 2002's Best Drummer by the Houston Press Music Awards) parted with the band after the five albums in 2003 and moved to Los Angeles. Former guitarist and two time Grammy Award nominee (remixer, for his work with D.J. Cubanito) Stephen Bogle now Produces artists in the Metal, Electronic, and Pop genres. In 2013, guitarist Raf Rivera joined the lineup, and the band is currently in the process of recording their first new material in over 8 years.