Skinlab was a groove metal band formed in 1994 in San Francisco, California by vocalist/bassist Steev Esquivel (who used to sing in the Bay Area thrash metal band Defiance) and guitarist Mike Roberts, now with San Francisco Bay Areas RAZE the STRAY, guitarist Gary Wendt (who played for the Bay Area thrash band Sacrilege B.C. and currently fronts alt/metal band The Ghost Next Door), and drummer Paul Hopkins (the lineup having since been altered).