Drummer Ray Hartmann's first claim to fame came with Assault. Apparently formed in Europe in 1985, Assault relocated to Vancouver shortly thereafter and recruited Hartmann



After releasing one demo called 'Heavy Justice', the band issued their official debut album, "Survival of the Streets", released in Canada by Music Line and Gama in Europe.



Hartmann break-trough came when he was featured on Annihilator's classic gold-selling debut album "Alice in Hell" and sophomore release "Never, Neverland".



For the recording of Annihilator's third full-length album, Hartmann was replaced by Mike Mangini.



In 1999 Ray Hartmann was featured on Speeed's debut album "Powertrip Pigs". Speeed was a project that linked up Seven Witches guitarist Jack Frost with two former Annihilator members and German bassist Bernie Altman.



In 2001 the drummer rejoined Annihilator as their touring drummer but was forced to step down. Hartmann commented:

"My decision to leave Annihilator has been a difficult one. (...) I had to make a decision based on my love for drumming and playing with Annihilator vs quitting my day job of ten years. My 9-year old son has moved in with me, and I feel he should have a full-time father. Financially, I cannot survive with the money generated from drumming. Up until now, I've been able to tour during my holidays, but I cannot get any more time off, so I am reluctantly stepping down."

The Canadian meallers continued their tour using drummer Randy Black.



In the spring of 2005 Ray Hartmann showed up in Stress Factor 9.