BLOG FULL OF MUSIC

Slipknot

2012-01-13T02:22:00.000-08:00

Kutumba-Nepali Band

2011-09-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

Members Of Kutumba

KIRAN NEPALI on Sarangi

PAVIT MAHARJAN on Percussion
RUBIN K SHRESTHA on Flute
RAJU MAHARJAN on Percussion
SIDDHARTHA MAHARJAN on Effects
ARUN MANANDHAR on Tungna & Arbajo

The word ‘Kutumba’ holds a special meaning in the Nepali language. It stands for a unique bond amongst community members. As their name, Kutumba is all about bringing together traditional folk tunes and instruments with new and improvised sounds and ideas.

Kutumba is a folk instrumental ensemble, group of six professionals from Kathmandu. Having come together for the preservation of their culture and art, Kutumba wishes to spread love and joy of Nepali folk music throughout the world. Self motivated and self driven, Kutumba is a group with their own unique sound and vision.The seven members have different roots and backgrounds in music. Kutumba is the harmony of traditional roots, culture and new sounds.

Kutumba is a folk instrumental ensemble from Nepal, committed to the research, preservation and celebration of the diversity that exists in indigenous Nepali music. Kutumba firmly believes that the richness in Nepali music is directly significant of the rich diversity that exists in the Nepali people.The music of Kutumba can make everyone feel like as if they are in paradise.They had already rock Nepal. Now they are rocking in America.

Further more:-www.kutumba.com.np

Living Colour

2011-09-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by free jazz,funk,hard rock and heavy metal. Their lyrics range from the personal to the political, in some of the latter cases attacking Eurocentrism and racism in America.

Living Colour rose to fame with their debut albumVivid in 1988. Although the band scored a number of hits, they are best remembered for their signature song "Cult of Personality", which won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1989. They were also named Best New Artist at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. After disbanding in 1995, Living Colour reunited in late 2000.

Some Metal Band Logos

2010-07-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

HammerFall Discography

2010-04-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

To give more exposure to their work and try for a professional recording deal, a short live performance was recorded and sent to the Dutch label, Vic Records.HammerFall soon received a deal and spent the whole of the following year writing the album Glory to the Brave. The album was initially released in the Netherlands and obtained positive feedback; it is also worthy of notice that the band'smascot, the knight Hector, first appeared on the cover of this album.

As HammerFall grew in popularity, the time available for members of the band to dedicate to other projects became limited. Jesper and Glenn were committed to In Flames and Fredrik was committed to the thrash metal band Beyond. Thus, the HammerFall's line-up soon underwent changes. Stefan Elmgren assumed the lead guitar and Patrik Räfling assumed the drums (they joined the band in the end of 1997 after the release of Glory to the Brave album) and Fredrik decided to remain in the band until a suitable replacement for him was found. This happened in May - 1998, when bassist magnus Rosen joined the band. Stefan Elmgren played some of the guitars on the Glory to the Brave album (like the acoustic guitars on "I Believe") but only as a guest performer, not a member of the band.

Aerosmith (An American Hard Rock Band)

2010-03-21T03:36:00.000-07:00

Aerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band. Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many subsequent rock artists. The band was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970. Guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, originally in a band together called the Jam Band, met up with singer Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarist Ray Tabano, and formed Aerosmith. In 1971, Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, and the band began developing a following in Boston.
They were signed to Columbia Records in 1972, and released a string of multi-platinum albums, beginning with their 1973 eponymous debut album. In 1975, the band broke into the mainstream with the album Toys in the Attic, and their 1976 follow-up Rocks cemented their status as hard rock superstars. By the end of the 1970s, they were among the most popular hard rock bands in the world and developed a loyal following of fans, often referred to as the "Blue Army". However, drug addiction and internal conflict took their toll on the band, which resulted in the departures of Perry and Whitford, in 1979 and 1981 respectively. They were replaced by Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay. The band did not fare well between 1980 and 1984, releasing a lone album, Rock in a Hard Place, which went gold but failed to match their previous successes.
Although Perry and Whitford returned in 1984 and the band signed a new deal with Geffen Records, it was not until the band sobered up and released 1987's Permanent Vacation that they regained the level of popularity they had experienced in the 1970s. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, the band scored several hits and won numerous awards for music from the multi-platinum albums Pump (1989), Get a Grip (1993), and Nine Lives (1997). Their comeback has been described as one of the most remarkable and spectacular in rock 'n' roll history. After 40 years of performing, the band continues to tour and record music.
Aerosmith is the best-selling American rock band of all time, having sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, including 66.5 million albums in the United States alone. They also hold the record for the most gold and multi-platinum albums by an American group. The band has scored 21 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, nine #1 Mainstream Rock hits, four Grammy Awards, and ten MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and in 2005 they were ranked #57 in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Guns N' Roses

2010-03-08T05:36:00.000-08:00

Background Information
Origin:-Los Angeles,California,USA
Genres:-Hard rock,heavy metal
Years active:-1985-present
Labels:-Geffen,UZI Suicide,Hollywood Rose
Associated:-L.A. Guns
acts:-Slash's Snakepit,VelvetRevolver

Members

Axl Rose
Dizzy Reed
Tommy Stinson
Chris Pitman
Richard Fortus
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal
Frank Ferrer
DJ Ashba

Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses (sometimes abbreviated as GN'R or GnR) is an American rock band. The band formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band, led by frontman and co-founder Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose), has gone through numerous line-up changes and controversies since its formation; the current lineup comprises vocalist Rose, guitarists Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, DJ Ashba and Richard Fortus, bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs and one live album during its career.

The band has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, including over 46 million in the United States.^[10] The band's 1987 major label debut album Appetite for Destruction has sold in excess of 28 million copies worldwide and reached number one on the United States Billboard 200. In addition, the album charted three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Sweet Child o' Mine" which reached number one. The 1991 albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II debuted on the two highest spots on the Billboard 200 and have sold a combined 14 million copies in the United States alone and 35 million worldwide. After over a decade of work, the band released their follow-up album, Chinese Democracy, in 2008.

Their mid-to-late eighties and early nineties years have been described by individuals in the music industry as the period in which "they brought forth a hedonistic rebelliousness and revived the punk attitude-driven hard rock scene, reminiscent of the early Rolling Stones."

Top 10 Metallica Black Album's Songs

2010-02-25T23:53:00.000-08:00

Metallica (Black Album) (1991)

1. Enter Sandman
2. Sad But true
3. Holier Than Thou
4. The Unforgiven
5. Whatever I May Roam
6. Don't Tread On Me
7. Though The Never
8. Nothing Else Matters
9. Of Wolf And Man
10. The God That Failed
11. My Friend Of Misery
12. The Struggle Within

Bon Jovi

2010-02-25T23:19:00.001-08:00

Background Information
Origin:-Sayreville, New Jersey, Unityd States
Genres:-Hard rock, Heavy Metal,Glam Metal
Years active:-1983 present
Labels:-Island, Mercury, Mercury Nashville

Bon Jovi Discography

The discography of American rock band Bon Jovi consists of eleven studio albums, three compilation albums, one live album, one box set, thirteen video releases and over 50 singles. This list does not include solo material of Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and David Bryan.

Bon Jovi's first commercial release was the single "Runaway" in 1983. It was taken from their 1984 self-titled debut album Bon Jovi which made a small impact in the US. Their second album 7800° Fahrenheit achieved even less success than it's predecessor, except in Japan where it reached the top 5 on the album charts.

The band's first major success came with the release of their third studio album Slippery When Wet. Released in 1986, the album became Bon Jovi's best-selling album worldwide selling over 25 million copies.. It reached number one in Australia, Canada and US where it spent 94 weeks in the Billboard 200 album chart, reaching 12× platinum status. The first two singles from the album, "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer", both reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The follow up album to Slippery When Wet was New Jersey which shared similar global success. The album produced five top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 giving Bon Jovi the record for the most top 10 singles spawned by a rock album. Two of the hits, "Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You", managed to reach number one.

Bon Jovi's fifth studio album Keep the Faith released in 1992 marked a change in the band's sound. The album proved to be a success, especially in Europe and Australia where it reached number one. It produced the top 10 hit "Bed of Roses" while the title track hit number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. In 1994, Bon Jovi released a 'greatest hits' album titled Cross Road, with two new tracks. The first single off the compilation, "Always", spent six months on the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, certified platinum in the United States and became Bon Jovi's highest selling single. The compilation album would be the last release to feature bass player Alec John Such. Despite the departure of Such, the band released their sixth studio album, These Days, a year later in 1995. The album fared better internationally than in the United States, but still managed to reach Platinum status by the RIAA. Following the tour of the album, the members of the band went their separate ways.

Bon Jovi regrouped in 2000 and released their seventh studio album Crush. Despite a nearly 5 year hiatus, the album was just as successful as their previous releases. It became the band's fifth and fourth consecutive number one album in Australia and UK respectively and reached double platinum in the United States. The success of the album was largely due to the lead single "It's My Life" which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group while the album itself was nominated for Best Rock Album.

The band soon returned with an eighth studio effort in 2002, Bounce. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, making it Bon Jovi's highest debut in the band's 20 year history. This record was beaten however with the band's ninth studio album Have a Nice Day in 2005. The title track was an international hit reaching the top 10 in Australia, Europe and UK. Another track, "Who Says You Can't Go Home", reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs after being remixed into a country duet with Jennifer Nettles. The duet earned Bon Jovi a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. The single gaveway to the band's tenth studio album in 2007, Lost Highway, which was a Nashville-influenced record. The album became the first Bon Jovi album to debut at number one in the United States, making it the band's first number one album in their home-country since the late eighties. Although the album achieved great success, winning them a Grammy nomination for best Pop Vocal Album, the band returned to their rock roots in 2009 with their eleventh studio album The Circle. The album also debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the band's fourth number one album in the United States. The lead singles from both Lost Highway and The Circle received Grammy Award nominations for Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The lead singles were "(You Want to) Make a Memory" and "We Weren't Born to Follow", respectively.

As of February 2010, Bon Jovi has sold more than 120 million records worldwide.

Band members

Current members

Jon Bon Jovi – lead vocals, guitar (1983–present)
Richie Sambora – guitar, backing vocals, talkbox (1983–present)
Tico Torres – drums, percussion (1983–present)
David Bryan – keyboards, piano, backing vocals (1983–present)
Hugh McDonald – bass, backing vocals - unofficial member (1994–present)

Touring musicians

Bobby Bandiera – guitar, backing vocals (2003–present – live only)
Jeff Kazee – organ, additional keyboards, backing vocals (2003–06 – live only)
Lorenza Ponce – violin, backing vocals (2007–09 – live)

Former members

Alec John Such – bass, backing vocals (1983–94). Alec made one live appearence in 2001 with Bon Jovi since his departure, in Giant Stadium for the song Wanted Dead or Alive.

Behemoth

2010-02-14T08:13:00.001-08:00

Background Information
Origin:-Gdansk,Poland
Genres:-Blackened death metal,black metal(early)
Years active:-1991-present
Labels:-Music Blade,Muclear Blast,Wild Rages,Pagan,AdvantragadeMusic,Regain,Century Media

Members
Adam Darski
Tomasz Wroblewski
Zbigniew Robert Prominski
Patryk Dominik Sztyber

Behemoth (band)

Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdansk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground, alongside bands such asVader, Decapitated,Vesania and Hate.

Until the late 1990s, the band played a traditional black metal style with heathen lyrical content, but soon changed to that of occult and thelemic themes written by their lead vocalist Nergal and Krzysztof Azarewicz. With the 1999 release of Satanica, the band showed their presence in the blackened death metal scene, while retaining their own signature style characterized by the drum work of Inferno, multi-layered vocals andNile-styleMiddle-Eastern influences. Even though Behemoth has been labeled as death metal, black metal or thrash influenced, Nergal has mentioned that he doesn't like the band to be labeled.

Controversy
In July 2007 the All-Polish Committee for Defense Against Sects distributed a list of bands that allegedly promote Satanism and murder to many Polish officials. Critics of this policy primarily see this as a violation of free speech, with the most scathing criticism generally emanating from within the metal community. As of present, the list has not gone into effect, and Behemoth is still allowed to play in Poland freely.

Current Members

Adam "Nergal" Darski – vocals, guitars, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, programming (1991–present) bass guitar (1991-1992, 1993-1997, 1999–present)
Tomasz "Orion" Worblewski – bass guitar, backing vocals (2004–present)
Zbigniew Robert "Inferno" Prominski– drums and percussion (1997–present)
Patryk "Seth" Sztyber – guitars, backing vocals (2004–present)

Former members

Guitar

Leszek "L.Kaos" Dziegielewski (1995–1996, 1998–1999)
Adam "Desecrator" Malinowski (1991–1992)
Mateusz "Havoc" Smierzchalski (2000–2004)

Bass

Rafał "Frost / Browar" Brauer (1992–1993)
Mefisto (–1998)
Orcus (1993)
Matcin "Novy" Nowak (2000–2003)

Drums

Adam "Baal" Ravenlock" Muraszko (1991–1997)

Session keyboard

Piotr Weltrowski
Maciej Niedzielski
Robert "Rob Darken" Fudali (1992–1994)

Discography

Studio albums

Seventevith (Stroming Near the Baltic)(1995)
Gorm (1996)
Pandemonic Incantations(1998)
Satanica(1999)
Thelema.6 (2000)
Zos Kia Cultus (Hera and Beyond) (2002)
Demigod (2004)
The Apostasy(2007)
Evangelion (2009)

The Top 10 Grestest Heavy Metal Album Covers Of All Time

2010-02-14T07:04:00.000-08:00

10.Mastodon, Leviathan (2004):-In an age where metal has become ludicrously heavy and challenging (and Mastodon is right up there with the best of them), Leviathan presented a bold and colorful image that was also literary and had nothing to do with tired metal clichés. This was nice art, and smart art, and, as a bonus, the lush, fresh beauty of the cover concept continued right on through the booklet.

9.Tool, Lateralus (2001):-Tool has always excelled with their packaging, and Lateralus demonstrates what you can do with CD packaging if you apply some gray matter. The booklet is simply all plastic — essentially, those cool overlay sheets of the human body in the medical texts you used to play with in school. Add a bit of psychedelia and a mysterious plastic overwrap, and you've got the perfect Mensa-mad visual for Tool's geometric metal movements.

8.Dimmu Borgir, Spiritual Black Dimensions (1999) :-Most of the modern Dimmu covers could have made this list, but this one strikes a nice balance between the swanky and the evil, exuding upscale black metal as well as a modern use of color and precision. Black metal's early covers were as crude as the recording values within, so to represent that genre, one arguably had to lean toward the classier bands working fully in the digital-art age. Cradle's covers are also quite fetching, and of course, both these bands are looked upon as far from kvlt.

7.Slayer, Reign in Blood (1986):-Signaling a sea change away from clichéd, air-brushed illustration, Reign in Blood used a chaotic cutout technique with rich, dark colors. The class and gravitas of the painting foretold the weight the record would carry, and many now call it the greatest thrash album of all time. Oddly, it didn't exactly match the music enclosed, being doomier and more claustrophobic than the freeing speed within. Call it an adjunct, an extra piece of art to a 28-minute-long record that needed it.

6.Poison, Look What the Cat Dragged In (1986) :-This is one of those "best of the worst" arguments. But it's here because Poison concocted the most shamelessly glam look out of anybody, then laughed all the way to the bank — a case of extreme going mainstream. Look What the Cat Dragged In has the band looking like hot chicks, and ushers in the big hair and spandex that only Kurt Cobain could crush years later. None of the manly bits of metal enter this four-square picture, leaving only the incongruous name of the band to dish belligerence. OK, OK — this entry is what they call a little light relief.

5.Judas Priest, Screaming for Vengeance (1982):-This was Priest's biggest album, but the shocking yellow commerciality of the cover art was a strong image that helped push the band to new heights on the backs of "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" and "Electric Eye." The cover, with its pleasingly sculpted bird, would spawn two more similar graphics, Defenders of the Faith and Turbo, completing a triptych of memorable and pliable shirt-ready images.

4.Iron Maiden, Killers (1981):-Eddie is the ultimate metal mascot, and Killers is his finest hour. Derek Riggs was astonishingly versatile with his colors over the years, but Killers makes lurid use of his trademark blacks and yellows, colors gleaned from the damp and mysterious streets around London in which he lurked at night, due to his insomnia. On the debut, Eddie was a bit stunned, but on Killers, he's a metal maniac out for vengeance.

3. Motorhead, Overkill (1979):-This had been the heaviest record ever to date, so right off the bat, the cover carried that significance. But Joe Petagno rose to the challenge, turning in the iconic version of the band's death mask, which to this day represents the band almost as much as Lemmy does. The colors were bright, the piece had motion and the expert use of text added to the unifying (and very heavy metal) feel of the whole.

2.Kiss, Alive! (1975):-Yeah, yeah, yeah: The Beatles and Elvis inspired guys to pick up guitars, but Kiss — and Kiss in the very act depicted on this front cover — were the ones to perform that function for the loads and loads of metalheads that ruled the '80s. Alive! showed Kiss trouncing Alice Cooper but good, and beyond the Oakland Raiders-on-acid look of it all, this was also a nicely composed and arranged picture. Alive! demonstrated the potential of metal graphically: simple, but with carnality.

1.Black Sabbath, Sabbath Bloddy Sabbath (1973) :-Sabbath's debut was quite an important original metal piece, but Sabbath Bloody Sabbath blew the doors off any sense of subtlety, with the band capitalizing on the satanic hysteria of the day already fanned by the arrival of The Exorcist and the exit of the Age of Aquarius. Full-on evil on the front, eerily serene on the back, this one's been the subject of involved conjecture since the day it arrived.

Song Similarities between Megadeth & Metallica

2010-02-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

Song Similarities
Megadeth Song:	Metallica Song:	Similarity:
Looking Down the Cross	Ride the Lighting	Riff
Mechanix	The Four Horsemen	Whole song
In My Darkest Hour	For Whom the Bell Tolls	Opening riff
Hangar 18	The Call of Ktulu	Riff
Dawn Patrol	The God That Failed	Riff
This Was My Life	Phantom Lord	Bass riff
She-wolf	Disposable Heroes	Opening riff
FFF	Motorbreath	Riff
When	The Call of Ktulu	Opening riff
Go to Hell	Enter Sandman	Riff and lyrics

Black Metal

2010-02-02T05:28:00.000-08:00

The first wave of black metal emerged in Europe in the early and mid-1980s, led by Britain's Venom, Denmark's Mercyful Fate, Switzerland's Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, and Sweden's Bathory. By the late 1980s, Norwegian bands such as Mayhem and Burzum were heading a second wave. Black metal varies considerably in style and production quality, although most bands emphasize shrieked and growled vocals, highly distorted guitars frequently played with rapid tremolo picking, a "dark" atmosphere and intentionally lo-fi production, with ambient noise and background hiss. Satanic themes are common in black metal, though many bands take inspiration from ancient paganism, promoting a return to pre-Christian values. Numerous black metal bands also "experiment with sounds from all possible forms of metal, folk, classical music, electronica and avant-garde." Darkthrone drummer Fenriz explains, "It had something to do with production, lyrics, the way they dressed and a commitment to making ugly, raw, grim stuff. There wasn't a generic sound."

By 1990, Mayhem was regularly wearing corpsepaint; many other black metal acts also adopted the look. Bathory inspired the Viking metal and folk metal movements and Immortal brought blast beats to the fore. Some bands in the Scandinavian black metal scene became associated with considerable violence in the early 1990s, with Mayhem and Burzum linked to church burnings. Growing commercial hype around death metal generated a backlash; beginning in Norway, much of the Scandinavian metal underground shifted to support a black metal scene that resisted being co-opted by the commercial metal industry. According to former Gorgoroth vocalist Gaahl, "Black Metal was never meant to reach an audience.... [We] had a common enemy which was, of course, Christianity, socialism and everything that democracy stands for."

By 1992, black metal scenes had begun to emerge in areas outside Scandinavia, including Germany, France, and Poland. The 1993 murder of Mayhem's Euronymous by Burzum's Varg Vikernes provoked intensive media coverage. Around 1996, when many in the scene felt the genre was stagnating, several key bands, including Burzum and Finland's Beherit, moved toward an ambient style, while symphonic black metal was explored by Sweden's Tiamat and Switzerland's Samael. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Norway's Dimmu Borgir brought black metal closer to the mainstream, as did Cradle of Filth, which Metal Hammer calls England's most successful metal band since Iron Maiden.

Heavy Metal

2010-02-02T05:09:00.000-08:00

Heavy metal (often referred to simply as metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are generally associated with masculinity and machismo.

The first heavy metal bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple attracted large audiences, though they were often critically reviled, a status common throughout the history of the genre. In the mid-1970s Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence; Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. Bands in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal such as Iron Maiden followed in a similar vein. Before the end of the decade, heavy metal had attracted a worldwide following of fans known as "metalheads" or "headbangers".

In the 1980s, glam metal became a major commercial force with groups like Mötley Crüe. Underground scenes produced an array of more extreme, aggressive styles: thrash metal broke into the mainstream with bands such as Metallica, while other styles like death metal and black metal remain subcultural phenomena. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles such as nu metal, which often incorporates elements of funk and hip hop; and metalcore, which blends extreme metal with hardcore punk, have further expanded the definition of the genre.

Top 20 Best Metal Band Of All Time

2010-01-26T06:53:00.001-08:00

1. Black Sabbath
The band that started heavy metal! Black Sabbath was slow, dark, morbid and heavy. They influenced almost every single metal band in this list, and many more that aren't.

2. Iron Maiden
If Black Sabbath started heavy metal, Iron Maiden were the best band since them. 'The Number of the Beast' is the ultimate metal anthem in my opinion

3. Metallica

In the last few years (in fact probably the last decade), it has become really trendy to hate Metallica. I guess I can sort of understand it, they don't make albums like Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning anymore, but in my opinion, they could be the best speed/thrash band ever, with the possible exception of Exodus.

4. Exodus

Did I say Metallica were a great thrash band? If Metallica are great, Exodus are godly!

5.Lacuna Coil

A killer Italian goth metal band. What Evanescence would sound like if they were good.

6.Type O Negative

Type O Negative are a band I have a lot of respect for. They are easily one of Roadrunner's best bands (along with Fear Factory and Cradle of Filth) and make some truely unique gothic/doom metal.

7. Fear Factory

Fear Factory join bands like Type O Negative and Cradle of Filth in the 'bands that are mainstream that don't suck' category. Especially early Fear Factory is some brilliant death metal (they may not be strictly death metal anymore).

8. Cannibal Corpse

Cannibal Corpse are just one of those bands I can't help laugh at. Nobody can honestly take them seriously, or even suspend their disbelief while listening to the music. That said, Cannibal Corpse make some great, if repetetive death metal.

9. Altar

An old school thrashy death metal band from Holland who formed with the intention of attacking all organised religion.

10. Napalm Death

One of the groups that began Grindcore. Napalm Death were influenced by both Hardcore Punk and Extreme Metal when they formed. Over the years they have turned more into a death metal band, but are still a brilliant band.

11. Opera IX

Black-y, doom-y, goth-y metal from Italy.

12. Cradle of Filth

My favourite metal band. I get a lot of shit for loving this band so much because so many people consider them to be sold out and not real black metal. They may have sold out, and they definitely aren't black metal, but I love Cradle of Filth.

13. Emperor

Easily the most respected symphonic extreme metal (at least within the mainstream underground) band, Emperor came out of the same scene as Immortal, Burzum, Mayhem and Darkthrone and have as many controvertial issues with Satanism, murder and church burning as any of the previously mentioned bands.

14. Aborym

Black Metal, unlike many other styles, often experiments alot. Whether it be with folk music and symphonics, ambient music or the gothic tendancies of bands like COF and Dimmu Borgir, Black Metal has never been afraid to think outside the square.
Italy's Aborym are probably the best and most effective band to mix black metal with industrial music.

15. Satyricon

Another brilliant Norwegian black metal band. Satyricon are one of those bands who experiment with some extremely varied styles but have never really 'sold-out', in my opinion.

16. Deströyer 666

A wise human once said "Destroyer 666 are the ultimate metal test. If you love Destroyer, you are metal as they come, if you don't, you just don't cut it". Wise words about this killer Australian old school black/thrash metal band.

17. Mayhem

Is it possible for a band with as much legend behind them as Mayhem to live up to expectations? FUCK YES! The band that started the extreme metal underground in Norway, amist the murder, suicide, church burnings and other such weirdness, make some of the best black metal around.

18. Burzum

I do not support the actions of Varg Vikernes in anyway. I hate fascism and any right wing, racist bullshit, but the fact is that Burzum makes some incredibly atmospheric black metal music.

19. Darkthrone

Another in the incredible list of brilliant Norwegian black metal bands. Darkthrone make some incredible primitive black metal.

20. Kampfar
Along with Falkenbach and Nachtfalke (which didn't quite make the list), Kampfar make some absolutely brillant viking metal music.

Megadeth vs. Metallica

2010-01-19T05:22:00.000-08:00

"To very very large degree, Megadeth and Metallica both are responsible for almost all of the great new metal bands out today." (Mustaine, 1998)

Dave and James
"I think that James and I are very much the same man. I think that we grabbed an angel, split him in half, and both of us are possessing that power." (Mustaine, 1983)

Dave and James, 1982 - friends

"Dave was all speed. He had no feeling, he had no pull-offs, he had no brilliant things. He tried to get brilliant sometimes, but it would sound awful." (Hetfield, 1983)

Dave Mustaine and James Hetfield, 1996 - enemies
How things have changed.

"I still love James very much. I respect his ability as a player and I miss him. But there was a reason why it ended. A lot of it had to do with drugs and alcohol on my part. He never did drugs. A lot of it had to do with the fact I was a violent asshole. He wasn't. He was a very gentle person when we were together although he enjoyed listening to very violent music. We would drive 60 miles an hour up and down the Pacific Coast Highway in the fog, drunk and listening to Venom." (Mustaine, 1998)

"James and I have always been the main thing in this band, and we always looked at Dave and Ron [McGovney] and thought, 'This is fine for now, but... ' We had a vision and these guys weren't gonna last. We weren't gonna kick them out, but if we happened to find someone who could fit in, we get'em in the band." (Ulrich, 1983)

In the Beginning

"I was convinced that I should be in the band and went to rehearsal. I was tuning up when all the other guys in the band went into another room. They weren't talking to me, so I went in and said, 'What the fuck? Am I in the band or not?' and they said, 'You've got the gig.' I couldn't believe how easy it had been and suggested that we get some beer to celebrate." (Mustaine)

"Dave came into the picture after the first 'Metal Massacre, ' after we fucking had that first song on vinyl and shit. We'd seen him in the 'Recycler, ' gave him a call and fuckin' tried him out. It was pretty interesting, pretty much the first lead guitarist in the band." (Hetfield, 1988)

"In the beginning, I was the guitar player in Metallica, Hetfield was the mastermind behind the lyrics and Lars was back there banging on his drum set. We gave this style of music a format and a direction - I'll always be proud of that. It was like the town wasn't big enough for the three of us [Mustaine, Hetfield, Ulrich]. There was just too much personality. It was like having three Dr. Frankensteins in one band. Anyway, it all came to a head one day when James kicked a dog of mine. We were all really plowed at the time - we always were. Anyway, one thing led to another and I hit James in the face. He told me to get my shit and get out. I told him that he couldn't fire me because I had already quit. In retrospect, James and Lars were really focused in their own way, and I wasn't. I begged to differ with almost everything just for the sake of being argumentative. But that's me. I'm a sarcastic fucker." (Mustaine, 1990)

"He had no idea about what our music's about, but he was very enthusiastic. It took him a rather short time to get to understand us, and that was even more cool since everybody else in LA at that time were nuts about doing a career, and imitating bands like Quiet Riot, Ratt and Motley Crue." (Ulrich)

Two Great Bands

"I miss them a lot. I comes and goes, and sometimes it's painful and sometimes it's very vindicating. I know there are two great bands now, but it makes me wonder if I was still in the band how much farther they would or would not have gone." (Mustaine)

"I think, though, aside from us [Megadeth], that Metallica are probably the best band at what they do. In the Eighties, we wrote a certain chapter - thrash/speed metal - but in the Nineties, it's the New Age of Heavy Metal. It's come full circle. It says in the Bible that a dog returns to its own vomit. Well, we're back to basic barf!" (Mustaine)

"Too much has been made of that shit. I told the truth - about how James ripped me off - but people didn't want to hear it. So I've learned to just forget it and move ahead. My attitude today is that two good bands emerged from that mess. Metallica are cool, but so are Megadeth. I think we can blow anyone away. We have a real commitment to our music, and that scares some people." (Mustaine)

"I really don't want to start anything with them, I don't think there's any way to win that one for me. If I say nice things about them, I'm Iying. If I say bad things, it looks like l'm trying to generate some sort of publicity. So what I've done is try to avoid the subject as much as possible - which isn't easy. When I'm asked about their album, I tell everyone that I really like it, that it's a great album. But if they ask me about them personally, that's another matter. They're dicks who really don't know as much as they think they do. You've got to remember, they gave it to me pretty bad when I left the group. It's one thing to part ways and just bury the hatchet, but they were trying to bury it in my head. I know how they felt about me and tell anyone who'll listen that I was a drunk who was holding the band back - that was a load of shit. Things weren't going fast enough for them, so they blamed me. The good part is that now I have the chance to make them eat their words. I feel sorry for them because of what they've had to go through recently, but that really doesn't change my feelings." (Mustaine, 1987)

"A lot of that was just me getting frustrated and putting it all out at the one time. It was blown way out of proportion. At interviews, the guy would ask a question that he knew would get an answer that would make it look like I was angry with Metallica and I hated that. A lot of it was one magazine that wouldn't give up the issue until I went out of my way to resolve the situation. Now Lars Ulrich and I are good friends and we drink together. It's great that we can be friends now because when I was in Metallica, we argued a lot and that led to me drinking excessively which made the situation worse. That's in the past now and I want to look towards good things in the future." (Mustaine)

"Lars and I talk, Kirk and I have spoken, Jason and I used to be really, really close, but I haven't talked to him much lately, and James knows how I feel about him. I respect him a lot as a singer/songwriter, and I wish them all continued success - not for much longer though. God, please, go away you guys!" (Mustaine)

"I figure that Metallica are such an integral part of me - what they do, how they think - because of how we all started, these three minds. Maybe I'm flattering myself by drawing the comparison, but I think there are a lot of similarities that people deny. The mannerisms that James and I have on-stage, some are identical. A lot of the things Lars says are things I used to say. In those days I used to handle all the interviews. When I watch them, it's like I see a part of me, and I'm so happy for them... I talk to Lars all the time. For whatever reason, James and I haven't really sat down and ironed out the past. I was so hurt by getting fired with no warning that I had a lot of resentment. I was very jealous as I watched my baby go away from me. I watched their success for so long, and for the longest time I was so bitter. But then I realized that I still get royalties from the songs I wrote, and people still make the connection between us." (Mustaine, 1993)

"I still make a lot of money off that band. And here's the catch: I owe a lot of my success to Metallica. A lot of people got to know who this ex-guitarist of Metallica is and they've opened so many doors for me and the other bands that are like-minded. I don't want to discredit my ability, I know the majority of our success is based solely on my songwriting, my hard work and the people I've chosen and their contributions. It doesn't bother me anymore. But for a long time it did. Like I said, not having closure made me wonder why [I was fired from Metallica] for a long time. But when I got over the whys and figured out what led to it, I understood and agreed that they did the right thing." (Mustaine, 1998)

"I keep comparing Megadeth to Metallica. I realized that often people hate the things, which they really love. I loved to play with Metallica. When they kicked me out I lost something which I loved and I started to hate them. Now every morning I fall to my knees and thank God for being able to finally see this truth." (Mustaine)

"Lars [Ulrich] himself has baited me by saying he wishes I would be more experimental. Now, does he want me experimental as in kissing and frenching my lead guitar player or my drummer? Is he talking about painting my nails, wearing makeup and cutting off all my hair? I don't know, and if he'd like to see me get more experimental, I welcome his ideas. Maybe the two of us should play together again." (Mustaine, 1998)

Metallica and Megadeth played a few concerts together in Europe in 1993, including the famous Milton Keynes Bowl in June with Diamond Head, where Dave proclaimed:

"The ten years of bullshit is over between Metallica and Megadeth!"

"I would love to play together with James and Lars again, and have said so in interviews. Me and David Ellefson, James and Lars, doing half mega/half meta, James singing my songs and me singing his. That would be a riot. It could suck, it could be great, but I know that it would be fun for us all to get back to the day when metal was a 'way of life' and people looked to us all as their leaders." (Mustaine, 2001)

"I did see Lars say something in our 'VH1 Behind the Music' that they would like to do something together again. I guess I am just dreaming of better days when we were all metal. I am going back, they may too, I hope. But, doing this would blow everyone away." (Mustaine, 2001)

Jason Newsted talks about Megadeth

On the break-up of Megadeth and Dave Mustaine's injury that was cited as the official reason for the split:

"That's sad, man, really sad. Because it was forced... it's just really, really sad for someone who was such a prolific writer. He [Mustaine] really came up with some great stuff, you know. The actual fluidity and ability that he had on the guitar, just out-and-out speed, was pretty amazing. My old band Flotsam and Jetsam opened a lot of shows for Megadeth back in the day, and we spent a lot of time together, so I'm just sorry to hear about the whole thing." (Newsted, 2002)

On referring to Megadeth as a "watered-down Metallica" in a other interview:

"I think I was talking about Echobrain [Jason's band] and people being surprised by the sound of the band, that they wanted something heavier but still liked it. The most common response was, 'Wow, we wanted something heavier, but we still like it.' So I was saying that it would have been so stupid to do something predictable like a watered-down or wannabe Metallica, or rap-rock record, or something like that. And in that context, I said something to the effect that Megadeth was always just behind Metallica and always wanted to be Metallica. So I won't back off that. I think it's an absolutely true statement. But it's not a disrespectful statement. Mustaine was, and maybe still is, quite bitter about that, and he always wanted to achieve what Metallica achieved. They wrote great songs, made great records, but were never quite able to get to that pinnacle." (Newsted, 2002)

On the rumors about ex-Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson replacing him in Metallica:

"That would be pretty weird. It would be a good fit but only musician-wise. Dave is one of the best bass players that has ever been in metal, no two ways about it. I still look up to him. And he's a good guy, which is why I wouldn't wish it upon him. He could definitely handle the gig as far as the playing and the interviews and all that, but dealing with the inner workings, I don't know." (Newsted, 2002)

Burzum

2010-01-11T22:39:00.000-08:00

Burzum is the musical project by Varg Vikernes (under the pseudonym "Count Grishnackh"). It began during 1991 in Bergen, Norway and quickly became prominent within the early Norwegian black metal scene. During 1992 and 1993, Burzum recorded four albums; however, in 1993 Vikernes was convicted and imprisoned for the murder of guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth and the arson of several churches. While imprisoned, Vikernes recorded two albums in the dark ambient style.

Early years (1991–1993)
From 1989, Vikernes had been playing in the short lived band Old Funeral which also consisted of members who would later form the band Immortal. He played guitar in the band until 1991 when he left to form his one man band, Burzum. Soon after recording two demo tapes, he became very involved with the Norwegian black metal scene, being both interested in its music and the ideology. With his demo tapes, he had attracted attention from Øystein Aarseth of Mayhem, who had just recently formed Deathlike Silence Productions. Aarseth then signed Burzum to the label, and shortly after, Burzum began to record for his self-titled debut album. According to Vikernes' autobiography on his website, he had intended to record the album in the worst recording quality possible (due to this being a typical trademark of the early Norwegian black metal scene), though still make it sound acceptable. Burzum's eponymous debut album was released in 1992, being the second album released on Deathlike Silence Productions. The song "War" from this album had a guest appearance from Euronymous of Mayhem, playing a guitar solo "just for fun", according to Vikernes.
Vikernes has stated that he had never played any live shows with Burzum, though at one point was interested in it so Samoth of Emperor joined the band as their bassist though only appeared on the Aske EP. Additionally, Erik Lancelot was hired to be the band's drummer, though did not record on any Burzum material, and along with Samoth did not play a live show. Vikernes had by then lost his interest in playing live concerts, and stated that he "didn't even need session musicians anymore". Therefore, Samoth and Lancelot had parted ways with Burzum. Burzum stayed as a solo project until 1993, when Vikernes was arrested for the murder of Euronymous and the burnings of several churches in Norway. Det som engang var was released as Burzum's second album in 1993, recorded in 1992, and was the first of the remaining albums to be released during his incarceration.

Imprisonment (1993–2009)
Vikernes was in prison for the murder of Euronymous, former guitarist of Mayhem, as well as the arson of several churches in Norway. During his time in prison, Vikernes has recorded two albums in a dark ambient style. They were released as Dauði baldrs (1997) and Hliðskjálf (1999).

Post-imprisonment (2009–present)
Vikernes has already written eleven new tracks, nine metal tracks and an ambient intro and outro for an upcoming Burzum album, which he hopes to release around March or April 2010. Vikernes mentions that several record companies are interested in releasing his first album in eleven years. He has stated about the new album, "I want to take my time, and make it the way I want it. It will be metal, and the fans can expect genuine Burzum." The album was going to be originally titled "Den hvite guden" (The White God), but he later decided to change it to "Belus", which will be released by "Byelobog productions".

Scariest Pictures Of Dani Filth

2010-01-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

Michael Angelo Discography

2010-01-11T22:10:00.000-08:00

Michael Angelo Batio is an American shred guitarist, currently consists of five studio albums, two compilation albums, one cover album and seven videos.
Before beginning his career as a solo artist, Batio was the guitarist for Holland (1984–1986), Jim Gillette (1987) and Nitro (1987–1993). Holland released one studio album and one compilation album, Gillette released one studio album before forming Nitro who released two studio albums and one compilation album. Batio began his solo career in 1993 after the breakup of Nitro, and released his debut album, No Boundaries, in 1995. Holiday Strings was released in 1996 before MAB's second studio album was released in the form of Planet Gemini in 1997. Tradition was released in 1999, followed by Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity in 2000.
In 2000, Batio set up a project under the name of C4. The band released one album, Call to Arms in 2001. Angelo's first compilation was released in 2004; Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity Part 2 comprised songs from Tradition and Lucid Intervals. A fifth studio album was released in 2005 entitled Hands Without Shadows, which features tributes and covers as well as MAB's own compositions. The guitarist also played bass on Katrina Johansson's debut EP, Guitarsongs Volume 1, in 2005. Batio's first two studio albums were remixed and remastered with additional drums from Joe Babiak in 2007 for the compilation release 2 X Again.

G3 biography

2010-01-11T02:05:00.000-08:00

G3 is an almost annual live music show and concert tour featuring three select guitarists of the generation; hence its name. It was created by guitarist Joe Satriani in 1996. Since its inception G3 has featured many guitarists, including Satriani's former student, Steve Vai, and others: Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, Robert Fripp, Paul Gilbert, Uli Jon Roth, Michael Schenker, Adrian Legg and many other special guests, including Tony MacAlpine, Johnny Hiland, Steve Lukather, Steve Morse, Chris Duarte, Andy Timmons, Neal Schon, Gary Hoey, Brian May, Billy Gibbons, Johnny A, George Lynch, Patrick Rondat, Herman Li, Michel Cusson, Alejandro Silva (Only in Chile) and Eric Sardinas.
The first tour took place in 1996. The North American G3 tour featured Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson. Performances were held from October 11, 1996 to November 8, 1996. Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Adrian Legg were theopening acts.
There were special guests on this tour, who included Neal Schon in San Francisco, Gary Hoey in San Diego, Chris Duarte in Austin and San Antonio, and Andy Timmons in Dallas.
Toured North America and Europe. Michel Cusson played a few shows in Quebec before Kenny Wayne Shepherd came aboard.
Uli Jon Roth was replaced by Patrick Rondat on the G3 Tour dates in France.
Toured Rentak Rhythm of Asia Festival (Bukit Jalil) - Kuala Lumpur, MY. Featured a reunion of the first G3 Tour lineup on October 21, 2000 at the Rhythm of Asia Festival - Kuala Lumpur, MY. Opening act was slide guitarist Eric Sardinas.
G3 2001 featured Joe Satriani and Steve Vai up with Dream Theater's John Petrucci, who wrote an entire set of new instrumental music for the tour, touring North America.
There were special guests on this tour, who included Steve Lukather & Paul Gilbert in Los Angeles, Billy Gibbons in Houston, Andy Timmons in Ft. Worth, Eric Johnson in Austin, Neal Schon in Detroit, Vinnie Moore in Washington, D.C. and Steve Morse in Orlando.
In 2003 G3 Toured North America
G3 toured Europe, Mexico and South America in 2004 with Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Robert Fripp
The 2005 G3 tour featured John Petrucci, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani touring Japan and the United States. It was recorded on May 8th at the Tokyo Forum, Japan.
The first 2006 G3 tour featured John Petrucci, Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani. Performances were held from October 16th, 2006 to October 29th, 2006 across Latin America.
The second 2006 G3 tour featured John Petrucci, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. Performances were held across Australia from November 29, 2006 to December 8, 2006.
The G3 2007 tour featured Paul Gilbert, John Petrucci and Joe Satriani. Shows were held from March 14 to April 14. At the last show of the tour during the song "Glasgow Kiss" Paul Gilbert's band came out wearing kilts and did a small dance.
The G3 Jam featured Johnny A. at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, MA.

F5

2010-01-11T01:59:00.000-08:00

Members:
Dale Steele-Vocals
Steve Conley-Guitars
John Davis-Guitars
Jimmy DeGrasso-Drums
David Ellefson-Bass

F5 Biography
Founded in 2003 F5 quickly realized their mission "to be heavy, but always melodic". With the creative flood gates wide open the group eagerly wrote scores of new songs and recorded their debut album “A Drug For All Seasons” with producer Ryan Greene. The eponymous debut record released worldwide in 2005 on JVC (Japan/Asia), Mascot (Europe) and Cleopatra Records (North America).
F5 toured the USA from 2005-2007 at which time they also recorded and released their first live DVD, entitled "LIVE! For All Seasons".
F5 have recently finished their highly anticipated sophomore album and enlisted the talents of veteran drummer Jimmy DeGrasso to round out the new recording and touring lineup. With producer Ryan Greene at the helm, the band's new album “The Reckoning” will be available shortly on OarFin Distribution (Koch).
Look for the band to be on tour at a city near you!

Band Members Of Megadeth

2010-01-11T01:54:00.001-08:00

Current line-up
Dave Mustaine – lead vocals, guitar (1983–present)
Shawn Drover – drums, percussion (2004–present)
James Lomenzo – bass, backing vocals (2006–present)
Chris Broderick – guitar, backing vocals (2008–present)

Band Members Of Metallica

2010-01-11T01:50:00.000-08:00

Current members
James Hetfield – rhythm guitar, lead vocals (1981–present)
Kirk Hammett – lead guitar, backing vocals (1983–present)
Robert Trujillo – bass, backing vocals (2003–present)
Lars Ulrich – drums, percussion (1981–present)

Former members
Jason Newsted – bass, backing vocals (1986–2001)
Cliff Burton – bass, backing vocals (1982–1986)
Dave Mustaine – lead guitar, backing vocals (1982–1983)
Ron McGovney – bass (1982)

Children Of Bodom

2010-01-11T01:39:00.000-08:00

Background Information
Also known as IneartheD
Origin Espoo, Finland
Genres Melodic death metal, power metal
Years active 1993-Present
Labels Nuclear Blast, Spinefarm, Century Media
Associated acts Sinergy, Kylähullut, Warmen, Stone, Timo Rautiainen, Nightwish, Sonata Arctica

Members
Alexi Laiho
Roope Latvala
Janne Wirman
Henkka Seppälä
Jaska Raatikainen

Former members
Alexander Kuoppala
Jani Pirisjoki
Samuli Miettinen
Erna Siikavirta
Kimberly Goss

Children of Bodom discography
Children of Bodom, a five-piece heavy metal band from Espoo, Finland. Throughout their career, the band has been known to incorporate many different musical styles, leading critics and fans to label them as everything from melodic death metal and black metal to thrash metal, progressive metal and even power metal. The current band line-up includes the founders Alexi Laiho (vocals/lead guitar) and Jaska Raatikainen (drums) along with Roope Latvala (rhythm guitar), Janne Wirman (keyboards) and Henkka Seppälä (bass). Children of Bodom have released six studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, seven singles, two EP's and two split singles. Moreover, in the period 1994 – 1996 they released three demos under their old moniker, "Inearthed". This list includes the material released as Inearthed.
Children of Bodom's first release under their new name was the split single Children of Bodom, released in January 1997. Their debut album Something Wild followed later the same year. 1999 saw the release of two Children of Bodom albums: their second studio album, Hatebreeder, and their first live album, titled Tokyo Warhearts. In 2001 they released their third studio album, Follow the Reaper, which had the very successful single Hate Me!. Follow the Reaper was the first Children of Bodom album to go gold in their home country of Finland.
After renewing their contract with Spinefarm Records, thereby gaining the support of the major recording company Universal Music Group, the band recorded their fourth studio album Hate Crew Deathroll, which was released in 2003 to considerable commercial success. Hate Crew Deathroll was the first Children of Bodom album to 'simplify' their heavy metal in order to have a broader appeal: the guitars used more heavy riffs than their earlier releases, it had emphasis on a clear musical structure and the instrumental virtuosity had been significantly reduced.
Rhythm guitarist Alexander Kuoppala left the band during the tours following Hate Crew Deathroll, and was replaced with Roope Latvala of Stone fame. On their fifth studio album, released in 2005 as Are You Dead Yet?, the band continued to explore the traits exhibited on Hate Crew Deathroll. The album got mixed reviews, with some critics praising the new sound, while others slammed it for being too "awesome for their close minded tastes". Their latest album, Blooddrunk, was released in April 2008.

Gaahl:Norwegian black metal vocalist

2010-01-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

Kristian Eivind Espedal (born August 7, 1975), better known by his stage name Gaahl, is a Norwegian black metal vocalist, best known as the former frontman of Norwegian bands Gorgoroth and God Seed. He is also the founder and frontman of Trelldom and Gaahlskagg. As of 2008, he has been involved in other projects such as Wardruna.

Personal life

During the trial in 2004, it was claimed that Gaahl is a vegetarian He himself discussed this in an interview in December 2005. However, some sources have claimed otherwise.

According to Gaahl, he and King ov Hell are friends with Martin Eric Ain and Thomas Gabriel Fischer of the influential extreme metal band Celtic Frost.^[22]

In July 2008, Gaahl revealed in an online interview that he was involved in the creation of Wynjo, an upcoming fashion collection for women, together with Norwegian modeling agent Dan De Vero and designer Sonja Wu.^[23]^[24] At the same time, it was also revealed that he had been involved in a close personal relationship with De Vero since 2006. It was stated that they were no longer a couple but remained as good friends. In an interview for the November 2008 issue of Rock Hard, Gaahl confirmed his homosexual orientation.

Shortly thereafter, De Vero stated that he had received threats from people within the black metal community, both at his door and by phone and email. It was also alleged that a fight had erupted backstage at Wacken Open Air, triggered by homophobic remarks. Allegedly, the person who made the remarks had to be hospitalised. However, Gaahl denied that anyone had ever "said anything derogatory to my face". When asked by the webzine FaceCulture if he thinks people will see him and his music differently now that he has publicly acknowledged his homosexuality, Gaahl replied:

Mankind is known to be narrow-minded, so... maybe some [will have a negative reaction]. But I guess it will even out the score in a way. I think it will be positive for some and negative for some. It's always good to have some negative as well. Otherwise you would end up with equality and equality is the worst thing in the world. Equality is stagnation. It doesn't let anything grow. It holds back.

Musical career

Gaahl became involved with black metal in 1993, when he co-formed the band Trelldom. During the mid and late 1990s he also become involved with the bands Gaahlskagg (with Gorgoroth live guitarist Skagg) and Sigfader (with Skagg and Kvitrafn). Gaahl joined Gorgoroth in 1998, and was first heard on their fourth album Destroyer; although he only sang on the title track. He made his live debut in May that year, when Gorgoroth played five dates in Germany on Cradle of Filth's European tour. Ten years later in the January 2009 issue of Terrorizer Magazine, Gaahl and Cradle of Filth frontman Dani Filth incorrectly alluded to have played thirty concerts together on this tour, including one in Toulouse, France when Gaahl did not first perform there until two years later.

The first Gorgoroth album to feature Gaahl as main vocalist was Incipit Satan. The album was recorded during July–October 1999, and was primarily written by Infernus. This was also the first Gorgoroth album to feature elements of industrial, dark ambient, and noise music. In May 2002, Gorgoroth began recording their album Twilight of the Idols. However, Gaahl was imprisoned for assault throughout that year, and was unable to record his vocals until January 2003.

In February 2004, Gorgoroth staged a concert in Kraków, Poland which featured impaled sheep heads, satanic symbols, and a mock-crucifixion performed by naked models doused in blood. A police investigation took place with allegations of religious offense (which is prosecutable under Polish law) and cruelty to animals. Though these charges were considered, the band was not charged as they were unaware that what they were doing was illegal. The controversy led to the band being dropped from the Nuclear Blast Tour and the footage of the concert being confiscated by the police. Subsequently, Gorgoroth terminated their contract with the label.

After the drums, bass and guitar parts had been recorded between January and May 2005, Gaahl arranged and recorded the vocals for Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam in March 2006, and the album was mastered in April. Although the title was conceived by Infernus, the lyrics and music of this album were written entirely by Gaahl and King ov Hell. Shortly thereafter, Gaahl was again imprisoned for nine months.

In April 2007, Gaahl was the focus of a five-part series entitled True Norwegian Black Metal. The series was produced by photographer Peter Beste and debuted on vbs.tv, the broadcast network of Vice Magazine. Gaahl offered Beste an interview and tour of his residence in Espedal.

In October 2007, Gaahl and bassist King ov Hell tried to remove founding member Infernus from Gorgoroth. In 2009 the Oslo City District Court found that by doing this, Gaahl and King ov Hell instead excluded themselves from the band in October 2007, thus ending Gaahl's time in Gorgoroth. Gaahl and King assumed the name God Seed in March 2009.

It was reported that Gaahl had been spending the winter of 2008-2009 in Spain, Gaahl later confirmed that in early 2009 he had been spending a two month vacation there with his boyfriend Robin. In February 2009, Nettavisen reported that he was helping Dan De Vero record a debut album, but within a day of the article's publication the article was revised with all references to Gaahl removed, although his name has been retained in tags. King also stated in an interview that Gaahl had been spending his time in Spain working on lyrics and vocal arrangements for the debut God Seed album. However, in an interview conducted with King in April 2009 - after Gaahl returned from Spain - he stated the following:

We have recorded everything in the studio and are just waiting for Gaahl to put on vocals on it. So we have only vocals and the final mix to go before it's all done. It's sometimes a nightmare to work with him in the studio because of the pride he puts into the smallest details. If he is not in the right mood or doesn't find the correct words we get nothing done. At times I've spent days in the studio counting seconds with nothing happening. It's the same way now, but I know in the end the result will be unique and powerful. We have to wait till Gaahl is done writing his lyrics to chose the title for the album. When the whole concept of this album is done lyrically we’ll decide which title to use.

After performing with God Seed at two concerts in summer 2009 Gaahl revealed that he had quit the band. His God Seed bandmate King later clarified that Gaahl had in fact chosen to retire from metal music, with King 'freezing' God Seed's activities as a result.

Anthrax:Thrash Metal Band

2010-01-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

Background Information

Origin :- New York City, New York, United States
Genres :- Heavy metal, thrash metal, speed metal
Years :- active 1981-present
Labels :- Megaforce, Island, Elektra, Ignition, Beyond, Sanctuary, Universal
Associated :- Stormtroopers of Death, Nuclear
Acts :- Assault, Damnocracy

Members

Scott Ian
Charlie Benante
Frank Bello
Rob Caggiano
John Bush

Band Discography

The following is a discography of Anthrax, an American thrash metal band based in New York. Anthrax has released nine studio albums, six EPs, four live albums, ten Videos, twenty-nine singles, and twenty-nine music videos. This list does not include material performed by members or former members of Anthrax that was recorded with side projects or as part of their solo work.
Anthrax was formed in 1981 by Scott Ian and Danny Lilker. They found the band's name in a biology textbook and claimed it because it sounded sufficiently evil to them. Anthrax started playing locally. In 1983 Anthrax signed to Megaforce Records. The band released Fistful of Metal in 1984, and the following year they released Spreading the Disease. After the album came out, by this time Anthrax had signed with Island Records. In March 1987, the band released its third studio album, Among the Living, which was Anthrax's first Gold certified album by the RIAA. Among the Living was released in March 1987 and peaked at number sixty-two on the Billboard 200.
Anthrax's fifth album was State of Euphoria which was released in 1988 and peaked at thirty-one on the Billboard 200. The band embarked on a tour in support of the album. Anthrax would later release Persistence of Time which peaked at 24. After the release of a video and a live album the band released Sound of White Noise which peaked at 7 which is their highest position to date on the Billboard 200. The band would continue to release albums but they would get weaker chart positions than before.
Anthrax's has sold over 6 and a half million copies in the United States alone.

Angtoria Biography

2010-01-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

The story begins in November 2001 when singer Sarah Jezebel Deva (Cradle Of Filth, Therion, Mortiis etc), and composer Chris Rehn (Abyssos) met each other on a mutual tour. They soon became good friends and discovered they both had the same ideas about working with a completely orchestral project, which lead to them starting to work together. Chris composed the songs and Sarah wrote the lyrics and in november 2002 they recorded a 5 track demo at Virtual Symphony Studios in Sundsvall/Sweden, owned by Chris´brother Tommy.
In association with MtGrave Art and Graphics they produced a limited edition exclusive dvd box packaging for the demo to send out to record labels and press only. They got nothing but great respons all around the world, but finding the right record label interested in investing in them turned out to be very difficult since all their combined connections lay within the metal scene. They had to search from outside their connections in to for them unknown territory, which made the task very difficult.
Chris and Sarah started talking about forming a band together. A band that would be in the same orchestral movie score atmosphere, but more focused towards metal and with a proper line up to be able to tour.
So the two decided to start working on that project along side with their orchestral project. Chris wrote the songs and Sarah wrote the lyrics for a new demo. Chris recorded the songs once again at Virtual Symphony Studios, this time in association with his brother Tommy, and in early july 2004 Sarah went back to Sweden to record the vocals. During the recording Chris asked his brother Tommy to join the band, and Angtoria was born..
They sent out demos to record labels and press, and interest for the new formed band grew quickly resulting in several top rated reviews, awards and interviews for magazines all over the world. In July 2005 they signed an exclusive management deal with Fortress Music And Artist Development to represent Angtoria in their search for a record deal. In november 2005, as a result of their partnership with Fortress Music And Artist Management, they signed a record deal with french renouned metal label Listenable Records.
In november 2005 they started recording their debut album entitled "God Has A Plan For Us All" at Sidelake Studios Sundsvall in Sweden. For the recording they hired young and upcoming very talented drummer Andreas Brobjer to handle the drums for the album. To help out with the initial drum setup they worked with renouned producer, engineer and technician Daniel Bergstrand (In Flames, Soilwork, Strapping Young Lad, Behemoth, Meshuggah etc) who they also hired to help out in the initial stage of the mix.
Guest apperances from Dave Pybus (Cradle Of Filth), Aaron Stainthorpe (My Dying Bride), Rikard Andersson (Space Odyssey, Majestic, Time Requiem), Martin Häggström (Moahni Moahna/Zool can be found on the album which was released in the end of april 2006 on Listenable Records.
To further help promote the album they recorded a video for the title track "God Has A Plan For Us All" with upcoming and very talented director Måns Berthas and his crew in the end of april 2006.

List of Cradle of Filth band members

2010-01-08T20:34:00.000-08:00

Dani Filth – Vocals (1991- )
Paul Allender – Guitars (1992–1996, 2000- )
Dave Pybus – Bass (2002- )
Martin Skaroupka – Drums, Percussion (2006- )

Session / Live members:
Ashley Jurgemeyer – Keyboards, Vocals (2009- )
Charles Hedger – Guitars (2005- )

The Doors

2010-01-08T20:21:00.000-08:00

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California. Through the majority of its existence, the group consisted of vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger. At their time they were considered a controversial and influential band, due mostly to Morrison's wild, poetic lyrics and enthusiastic, yet chaotic stage persona. After Morrison's death in 1971, the remaining members continued as a threesome until disbanding in 1973.
Despite a career that barely totalled eight years, The Doors still have an enormous fanbase as well as status in the mainstream music industry as being hugely influential and original. According to the RIAA, they have sold over 32.5 million albums in the US alone.

Debut album
'The Doors' self-titled debut LP was released in the first week of January 1967. It featured most of the major songs from their set, including the nearly 12-minute musical drama "The End". The band recorded their first album at Sunset Sound Recording Studios from August 24 to 31, 1966, almost entirely live in the studio.
In November 1966, Mark Abramson directed a promotional film for the lead single "Break On Through (To the Other Side)."
To promote the single, the Doors made their television debut on a Los Angeles TV show called Boss City, circa 1966, possibly early 1967 and then on a Los Angeles TV show called Shebang, miming to "Break On Through," on New Years 1967. This clip has never been officially released by the Doors.
The second single, "Light My Fire," became a smash hit after its release in June 1967, selling 1 million copies and reaching #1 on the Billboard Charts on July 29, keeping the top spot for three weeks. It helped establish the group as one of America's counterculture bands. For AM radio airplay, the long middle organ and guitar solos were cut from the song making it 2:52 instead of the 7:06 original.

Early live recordings at The Matrix
From March 7 to March 11, 1967, The Doors performed at The Matrix Club in San Francisco, California. The March 7 and 10 shows were recorded by a co-owner of The Matrix, Peter Abram. These recordings are notable as they are among the earliest live recordings of the band to circulate. On November 18, 2008, The Doors published a compilation of these recordings, Live at the Matrix 1967, on the band's boutique Bright Midnight Archives label.

Early television performances
On August 25, 1967, The Doors appeared on American television, possibly for the first time. They guest starred on the variety TV series Malibu U performing "Light My Fire". They did not, however, appear live. The band is seen on a beach and are performing the song in play back. The music video did not gain any commercial success and the performance was more or less forgotten. It was not until they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show that they gained attention on television.
In September 1967 the Doors gave a memorable performance of "Light My Fire" on the Ed Sullivan Show. According to Ray Manzarek, network executives asked that the word 'higher' be removed in favor of 'better', as you couldn't say 'high' on national TV. The group initially agreed to this, but nonetheless performed the song in its original form, either because they had never intended to comply with the request, or Jim Morrison was nervous and forgot to make the change (Manzarek has given conflicting accounts). Either way, 'higher' was sung out on national TV, and a furious Ed Sullivan cancelled another six shows that had been planned, to which Jim Morrison reportedly said: "Hey man, so what? We just did the Ed Sullivan Show".
In May 1967, The Doors made their international television debut by recording a version of "The End" for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) at O'Keefe Centre in Toronto. It remained unreleased except in bootleg form since its initial broadcasts until the release of The Doors Soundstage Performances DVD in 2002.
On December 24, the Doors taped "Light My Fire" and "Moonlight Drive" live for the Jonathan Winters Show. From December 26 to December 28, the group played at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. An excerpt taken from Stephen Davis' book on Jim Morrison p. 219–220:
The next night at Winterland, a TV set was wheeled onstage during the Doors set so the band could see themselves on the Jonathan Winters Show. They stopped playing Back Door Man when their song came on. The audience watched the Doors watching themselves on TV. They finished the song when their bit was done, and Ray walked over and turned the TV off. The next night was their last ever in Winterland.
They played two more dates in Denver on December 30 and December 31, capping off a year of almost constant touring.

Logo:As Black As Black Metal

2010-01-08T00:42:00.000-08:00

Personal Life, Music Style & Equipment Of Steve Vai

2010-01-08T00:30:00.001-08:00

Personal Life

Vai is married to Pia Maiocco, former bass player of Vixen, who can be seen in Hardbodies. Vai and Maiocco have two children; Julian Angel and Fire. In his spare time Vai is an avid beekeeper - his bees regularly produce a crop of honey that Vai sells for his Make a Noise Foundation.

Equipment

Vai is an accomplished studio producer (he owns two: "The Mothership" and "The Harmony Hut" and his own recordings combine his signature guitar prowess with novel compositions and considerable use of studio and recording effects.
Vai also helped design his signature Ibanez JEM series of guitars. They feature a hand grip (fondly referred to as a "monkey grip") cut into the top of the body of the guitar, a humbucker-single coil-humbucker DiMarzio pickup configuration with several different types of pickup including Evolution, Breed and EVO 2. He also uses the Ibanez Edge and Lo-Pro Edge double-locking tremolo systems (the current production JEMs have the newer Edge Pro), as well as an elaborate and extensive "Tree of Life" inlay down the neck. However, the 555 model is widely criticized for being too expensive and finished poorly. Vai also equips many of his guitars with an Ibanez Backstop, a tremolo stabilizer that has been discontinued. Lately Vai has also equipped some of his guitars with True Temperament fretboards in order for his chords to sound completely in tune. Vai also has a 7-string model designed by him named Ibanez Universe. The Universe later influenced the 7-string guitars used by Korn and other bands to create nu metal sounds in the late 1990s. He also has a signature Ibanez acoustic, the Euphoria. Before Ibanez, he briefly endorsed Jackson guitars, but this relationship only lasted two years.
Steve Vai has also worked with Carvin Guitars and Pro Audio to develop the Carvin Legacy line of guitar amplifiers. Vai wanted to create an affordable amp that was unique, and equal in sound and versatility to any guitar amp he had previously used. Over his long musical career, Steve Vai has used and designed an array of guitars. He even had his DNA put into the swirl paint job on one of his signature JEM guitars, the JEM2KDNA, in the form of his blood. Only 300 of these were made. Nowadays he mainly uses his white "Evo", a JEM7V, and his "Flo", which is a customized Floral Jem 77FP painted white. They are both inscribed with their names in two places, mainly in order to allow him to distinguish between the guitars he uses onstage. "Flo" is equipped with a Fernandes sustainer system.
He also has a guitar named "Mojo" in which the dot inlays are blue LED lights. Additionally, he has a custom-made triple-neck guitar that has the same basic features as his JEM7V guitars. The top neck is a 12-string guitar, the middle is a 6-string, and the bottom is a 6-string fretless guitar with a Fernandes Sustainer pickup. This guitar was featured on the G3 2003 tour on the piece I Know You're Here. Vai's effects pedals include a modified Boss DS-1, Ibanez Tube Screamer, Morley Bad Horsie, Ibanez Jemini Twin Distortion Pedal, TC Electronics G-System, Morley Little Alligator Volume pedal, Digitech Whammy, and an MXR Phase 90/Phase 100 on the Passion and Warfare album. His flight cases are labeled "Mr. Vai", or latterly, "Dr. Vai". He used a number of rack effects units controlled via MIDI, but used a floor-based TC electronics G system instead for the Zappa Plays Zappa tour

Playing Style

Vai is widely recognized as a highly technically advanced rock guitarist and has been described as a virtuoso in the world of guitar music . His 1990 album Passion and Warfare and the ballad For the Love of God in particular received a significant amount of press and are often cited by critics and fans alike as amongst his best work to date .
Vai's playing style has been characterized as quirky and angular, owing to his technical ability with the instrument and deep knowledge of music theory. His playing can also be described as lyrical as if sung by a human voice. That is why his melodies are hard to duplicate as they are not strict tempo. In fact sometimes terribly close to off tempo, as if falling down a flight of stairs but landing on your feet. He often uses exotic guitars; he plays both double and triple neck guitars, and is regarded as the first to use the 7-string guitar in a rock context. Along with Ibanez, he designed a signature 7-string guitar, the Ibanez Universe in 1989, which provided the low-end rumble many guitarists were craving.

Steve Vai

2010-01-08T00:23:00.000-08:00

Steven Siro "Steve" Vai (born June 6, 1960 in Carle Place, New York) is an Italian American instrumental rock guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, producer, beekeeper, and actor. After starting his professional career as a music transcriptionist for Frank Zappa, Vai would also record and tour in Zappa's backing band starting in 1980. The guitarist began a solo career starting in 1984 and has released 13 solo albums as of 2008. Apart from his work with Frank Zappa, Vai has also recorded and toured with numerous musical artists including Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth and Whitesnake. Vai has been a regular touring member of the G3 Concert Tour which began in 1996. In 1999 Vai started his own record label Favored Nations with the intent to showcase, as Vai describes: "...artists that have attained the highest performance level on their chosen instruments.

Video games
"Juice" was featured on the 1996 video game "Formula One" for the PlayStation.
In 1998, "Erotic Nightmares" was featured as the menu music in the video game WCW/nWo Revenge for the Nintendo 64.
Two different songs featuring Steve Vai's guitar playing appeared in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Both Yankee Rose by David Lee Roth and God Blessed Video by Alcatrazz are featured on the game's soundtrack.
In 2004, Steve Vai was featured on Xbox's Halo 2 (a game by Bungie Studios) Volume 1 soundtrack, performing a heavy rock-guitar rendition of the Halo theme, known as Halo Theme (MJOLNIR Mix). He also performed on the track Never Surrender. He later featured in the second volume of the soundtrack, where he performed on the track Reclaimer.
In 2008, Steve Vai's For the Love of God and Halo Theme (MJOLNIR Mix) were featured as downloadable tracks for the game Guitar Hero 3.

Movies
Steve Vai's music has been featured in a number of feature films, including Dudes and Ghosts of Mars. He appeared onscreen in the 1986 Ralph Macchio movie Crossroads, playing the demonically-inspired Jack Butler. At the film's climax, Vai engages in a guitar duel with Macchio, whose guitar parts were dubbed by Vai and also Ry Cooder, who played the initial slide work in the duel and Macchio's earlier performances in the film. The fast-paced neo-classical track entitled Eugene's Trick Bag with which Macchio wins the competition was also composed by Vai. The body of the piece was heavily based on Paganini's Caprice #5. He later borrowed the opening riff from the track Head Cuttin' Duel for a song called Bad Horsie from his 1995 EP Alien Love Secrets. Later the Crossroads duel reappeared on the 2002 album The Elusive Light and Sound, volume 1.
In 1991's Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey the introductory riff to KISS' God Gave Rock 'N Roll To You II, as performed by the Wyld Stallyns in the Battle of the Bands was performed by Vai. He also composed and performed the soundtrack to PCU (1994), and made contributions in 2001 to the score for John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars, performing on the tracks Ghosts of Mars and Ghost Poppin. His track "I'm the Hell Outta Here" can be heard during 1992's Encino Man in the scene where Brendan Fraser is taking a driving lesson.
His guitar is starring in the animated short film "Live Music".

Agalloch:An American Black Metal

2010-01-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

Agalloch is an American metal band formed in 1995 in Portland, Oregon. The band is led by vocalist and guitarist John Haughm and so far have released four limited EPs, three full-length albums, two demos, one split album, one compilation album and one live DVD. A fourth full-length album is planned for future release.
Agalloch began as the creation of John Haughm and Shane Breyer, named after the resinous wood of the Agarwood (Aquilaria agallocha). In early 1996, the duo began producing songs and, during the summer, Don Anderson joined the band to further refine the material. These songs would later become the From Which of This Oak demo tape in the autumn of that year. This recording showed a large amount of black metal influence, with an amount of material which would later appear on subsequent albums in one form or another. Shortly after the recording, Jason William Walton was added to the line up as bassist.
In 1998, the three recorded a new promotional tape solely for labels. It caught the attention of The End Records, who offered them a record contract, resulting in the Pale Folklore album. The album features less of a black metal influence than before, many totally reworked demo songs, more folk elements and neoclassical interludes. The album was met with much critical acclaim. After the recording was complete, Breyer departed from the band line up due to lack of interest in music.
After a period of quiet, the band released an EP of unreleased material from 1998-2001 entitled Of Stone, Wind and Pillor, revealing more of a neoclassical and experimental element. The EP also includes a cover of Neofolk band Sol Invictus' "Kneel to the Cross" that would later be released on Sol Lucet Omnibus, French label Cynerfierrd's tribute compilation to Sol Invictus.
During the 2001 to early 2002 period, Agalloch recorded The Mantle, featuring more of a post-rock influence. The album sleeve art contains photographs of public statues and fountains found in downtown Portland. This album marked a change in media attention for Agalloch, landing them interviews with a few mainstream magazines.
Following the release of The Mantle, Agalloch played their first show on March 6, 2003 in Portland, Oregon. This was followed by a few shows in March and a US west coast tour in May.
In 2003 Tomorrow Will Never Come was released, and in 2004 The Grey was released. These EPs showcased an even more experimental side of Agalloch, featuring remixed and reworked versions of songs from The Mantle as well as a new post-rock-influenced title track on Tomorrow Will Never Come. Agalloch also performed a series of shows on the US and Canada east coast in 2004.
A nature-themed split 10" picture disc EP with the Finnish band Nest was also released in 2004, showcasing a collaborative, neofolk effort by Agalloch. The Nest track was a more electronic, percussion-heavy effort with vocals and guitar contributed by Haughm and Anderson.
2005 saw double vinyl re-releases of The Mantle and Pale Folklore in limited wooden boxes, complete with new artwork for both albums. It was only available to commemorate the band's single 2005 live performance at Day of the Equinox, a music festival held in Toronto on October 14, 2005.
Ashes Against the Grain was released on August 8, 2006 by The End Records, featuring less focus on The Mantle's prominent acoustic guitars and instead more emphasis on electric guitars and metal elements, giving the album a different sound from that of their previous releases.
On February 29, 2008, Agalloch released The White, the second half (and stylistic opposite) of their 2-part EP release for Vendlus Records. This was a collection of dark folk/ambient work from between the years 2004 and 2007. The sound had reverted away from the sound of their last release, Ashes Against the Grain, and is more akin to the acoustic guitar sound of The Mantle. The tracks "The Isle of Summer", "Sowilo Rune" and "Summerisle Reprise", are themed on The Wicker Man, the latter two utilizing samples from the film. Also, the track "Birch White" borrows its lyrics from a song by A.S.J. Tessimond titled "Birch Tree". The track "Sowilo Rune" was posted on their MySpace roughly two months before the album was released. As with The Grey, the album was limited to 2,000 copies.
On August 4, 2008, Agalloch released a compilation album called The Demonstration Archive. It was a compilation of material recorded in between 1996 and 1998 that came from From Which of This Oak, the then-unreleased Of Stone, Wind and Pillor, and their 1998 promo album. Ashes Against the Grain completed the band's contract with The End Records and in April, 2008 the band decided against renewing the contract. Currently, Agalloch is working on a fourth full-length album, which is planned to be released in 2010. The band is yet to announce on which label the album will be released through.
On August 12, 2009, the demo "From Which of This Oak" was re-released as a picture disk through the German label Eisenwald.
Agalloch has recorded a track with German artist Mathias Grassow for the upcoming compilation album, "Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer" (English: "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog"). The track is named "Nebelmeer".

Reception and musical style Of Creed

2010-01-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

Reception and musical style
Creed was one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the late 90s and early 2000s, having sold an estimated 35 million records worldwide. Their first three studio albums, My Own Prison, Human Clay, and Weathered, have all gone multi-platinum in the United States, selling 6 million, 11 million, and 6 million copies respectively. The band won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for the song "With Arms Wide Open" in 2001. For many years, Creed collaborated with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), allowing many of their songs to be played for promotions. In addition, many of the band's songs have been featured in film and television soundtracks.
Despite enormous commercial success, Creed was poorly received by professional critics such as Robert Christgau, Rolling Stone magazine, and Allmusic. The band is often criticized for being too derivative of the band Pearl Jam. Rolling Stone stated, "Creed resembled a ham-handed version of early Pearl Jam", while SPIN magazine stated that "Creed was an unremarkable, plodding muscle-bound reworking of Pearl Jam, with all of that older band's warmth and psychological intensity replaced by chest-beating bravado and blandly messianic lyrics". Apparently fed up with these comparisons, bassist Brian Marshall angrily attacked Eddie Vedder, claiming Scott Stapp is a better songwriter, and criticized Pearl Jam's recent albums for "having songs without hooks". Stapp later distanced the band from Marshall's comments, and stated, "Yes, we get tired of the PJ question, but there is no excuse for the arrogance and stupidity [of Marshall]. I ask you all not to judge Creed as a band, because the statements made were not the band's feelings, they were Brian's. I'm sorry if Brian offended anyone, and he has already apologized for his comments". Marshall was fired from Creed soon after the controversy, however Stapp has stated his firing was unrelated to the incident. Other sources state that Marshall left the band on his own free will due to personal issues with Stapp.[citation needed]
In an interview with PopMatters, Jerry Cantrell, guitarist for the band Alice in Chains, described being on tour with Creed as "stale". Cantrell stated, "I was on tour with them for fuckin' ever and I still hadn't even met 'em. When you spend two months together, you generally find some time to fuckin' say hello or whatever. It was really kinda weird in that respect. I'd never been on a tour that was that fuckin' stale on a personal level." Interviewer Michael Christopher derided Creed's neglect of Cantrell throughout the tour, stating that "the arena rockers owe a major part of their existence to the influence of Alice in Chains."
Due to the influence of Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam, Creed's music is generally considered to be post-grunge. Ann Powers of Rolling Stone magazine notes guitarist Mark Tremonti's delicate, minimal technique is influenced by Jerry Cantrell's style. Allison Stewart describes singer Scott Stapp as having Eddie Vedder-like mannerisms such as "the great, emotive growl, and the hair-tossing solemnity". Stewart also notes Creed's music has "Zeppelin-style riffage married to melodic Top 40 hooks". In addition to Eddie Vedder, Scott Stapp's vocals have also been influenced by the late Jim Morrison of The Doors. Andrew Leahey and Steve Huey of Allmusic describe Creeds music as hard rock, alternative pop/rock, and post-grunge.
Creed is sometimes labeled a Christian rock band due to the fact that their first three albums focus on questions of faith, Christianity, and eternity. The band was never signed to a contemporary Christian music label, nor did it perform in Christian music venues or get any widespread regular play on Christian radio. However, the band's name itself denotes a popular Christian theological concept, of absolute individual belief, usually monotheistic. Also, themes within their musical titles such as "Higher", "My Sacrifice", "What's This Life For", "My Own Prison", "With Arms Wide Open", and "One Last Breath" contain allusion to Christian theology, though it hasn't been confirmed that the songs were meant to be Christian songs. The band, however, has stated that while members may be Christians, they are not a Christian band.
Creed was sued in 2003 by four concert goers who claimed Scott Stapp "was so intoxicated and/or medicated that he was unable to sing the lyrics of a single Creed song" at a December 29, 2002, concert in Chicago.[citation needed] The lawsuit was later dismissed.[citation needed]
Scott Stapp contemplated committing suicide sometime in 2003 after drinking a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey. According to Rolling Stone he was convinced that anyone involved with Creed wanted him dead so he would become a "Kurt Cobain martyr-type" and increase record sales. "I had crazy thoughts going through my head," he said.
In a 2004 Guitar World reader's poll, Creed was voted second worst band of the year.

Band Members Of Creed

2010-01-07T23:57:00.000-08:00

Current members
* Scott Stapp – lead vocals, occasional rhythm guitar (1995–2004, 2009–present)
* Mark Tremonti – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals, bass on Weathered (1995–2004, 2009–present)
* Scott Phillips – drums, percussion, keyboards (1995–2004, 2009–present)
* Brian Marshall – bass (1995–2000, 2009–present)

Touring members
* Eric Friedman – rhythm guitar & backing vocals (2009–present)
* Brett Hestla – bass & backing vocals (2000–2004)
* Brian Brasher – rhythm guitar (1995)

Session members
* John Kurzweg – keyboards on My Own Prison (1997 — multiple tracks)
* Aimee Stapp – backing vocals on Weathered (2001 — track "Don't Stop Dancing")
* Robby Krieger – guitars on Stoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors (2000 — track "Riders on the Storm")
* Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards on Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors (2000 — track "Riders on the Storm")

Creed

2010-01-07T23:48:00.000-08:00

Creed formed after Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti, friends at Florida State University and high school classmates at Orlando's Lake Highland Preparatory School, decided to form a band, recruiting Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips to complete the quartet in late 1994. The band was originally called Naked Toddler, Marshall later suggested the name Creed after the band he played in named Maddox Creed.
The four members had already written and collaborated three of the songs that would go on to become tracks on their chart-topping debut album My Own Prison. The songs were "One", "Sister" and "What's This Life For".
Creed's debut album, My Own Prison, was independently released in 1997 and only cost them $6,000 to produce,[citation needed] and distributed to Florida radio stations. This drew the attention of several labels that agreed to see the band, only to pass. Rejected, Creed was playing a small gig when Diana Meltzer from Wind-Up Records heard the group. She had heard their independent album, and after hearing them live, signed the band to her label. After a remix to make it more radio friendly, My Own Prison was re-released by Wind-up Records across the country. The album was a surprise success, reaching the Top 40 on the Billboard Top 200, and spinning off several singles ("My Own Prison", "Torn", "What's This Life For", and "One") that topped the rock radio charts. The band's hit song "My Own Prison" was also featured as a live performance on the charity album Live in the X Lounge. The band covered Alice Cooper's song "I'm Eighteen" for The Faculty soundtrack in 1998.
Their second album, Human Clay, was released in 1999 and debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart at number one, based on the strength of its first single, "Higher", which spent several weeks on the top of the rock radio charts. It wasn't until early 2000 that the single crossed over onto pop radio going to the Top Ten on the Billboard Pop Chart, and Creed became a household name. The follow-up single, "With Arms Wide Open," also hit number one that fall.
Meanwhile, Brian Marshall quit the band, and Brett Hestla (Virgos Merlot, Dark New Day) took over on the Human Clay tour, and subsequent tours. Around that time, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit bad-mouthed Stapp at New York's Krock 92.3 "Dysfunctional Family Picnic Concert" where they were both performing. In response to this, Scott Stapp invited Fred Durst to an open boxing match.
In the fall of 2001, "My Sacrifice", the first single off Creed's third album Weathered, was used in a series of promotional tribute videos made by World Wrestling Entertainment. The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on February 9, 2002, and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 9 consecutive weeks, starting in December 2001. In early 2002, "Bullets" was released as a single, along with a costly, special effects-laden video. The song and video were possibly Creed's least successful since achieving mainstream success. However, Creed rebounded quickly, with one of the summer's biggest hits, "One Last Breath". Weathered was also Creed's first and only album without bassist Brian Marshall. The bass on the album was performed by Tremonti.
Stapp was involved in a car accident in April 2002 and it had seemed that the tour they had planned was not going to happen. However, Stapp recovered in time to appear in the last few shows. "Don't Stop Dancing" was a minor hit for Creed in late 2002/early 2003.
On June 4, 2004, Creed officially announced their break-up. Stapp began recording his debut solo album, The Great Divide with Roadrunner Records recording artist Goneblind. The other band members (including former bassist Brian Marshall) formed a new band, Alter Bridge, with Myles Kennedy. Touring bassist Brett Hestla has since joined the band Dark New Day. On November 22, 2004, Creed released a greatest hits album.
In 2008, Mark Tremonti, along with Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy, appeared as guests on two separate tracks on Sevendust's album Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow. The two also appeared on Fozzy's album All That Remains, and Tremonti later released a guitar instructional DVD titled Mark Tremonti: The Sound & The Story in late 2008. In 2007, Alter Bridge released their second studio album, Blackbird, which included the hits "Rise Today" and "Watch Over You".
In 2009, Creed's song "Higher" from Human Clay was listed at #95 in VH1's list of "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs".
On November 3, 2008, Blabbermouth.net reported that a Creed reunion could materialize in 2009. According to Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy was rumored to replace Robert Plant for a Led Zeppelin reunion tour in 2009.[citation needed] Blabbermouth states that "if Kennedy should take the job with the Zeppelin offshoot, the sources have indicated that there are already "significant dollars" on the table for a Creed reunion." On December 2, Rolling Stone reported that an announcement of a Creed reunion was "imminent". However, Kennedy himself denied the rumor that he would be fronting "Led Zeppelin or any offshoot of Led Zeppelin," but also said that he did indeed jam with the instrumental members of the band. It was later stated by Jimmy Page's manager that there will be no Led Zeppelin reunion and that Myles Kennedy will remain in Alter Bridge to record the band's third album. Because of this, a Creed reunion appeared unlikely. However, on March 17, 2009, a teaser trailer for a possible tour was leaked, pulled, and then on April 2 re-published on the re-launched Creed website, Creed.com, which states "coming summer 2009".
Meanwhile, Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips, Brian Marshall, and Alter Bridge's publicist, Mark Tremonti's brother Michael, all stress that Creed's reunion will not affect Alter Bridge in any way and that they will go back into the studio after the Creed tour to record their upcoming third album. Tremonti also stated that, in spite of this, both bands will co-exist, so it is expected that Tremonti, Phillips, and Marshall will "switch off" between the two bands while Scott Stapp and Myles Kennedy work on solo material while the other band is touring and recording. A blog was posted on Alter Bridge's MySpace page stating that Alter Bridge by no means has plans of breaking up as a band.
During June 2009, Stapp, Tremonti, Marshall, and Phillips performed together for the first time in 10 years on AOL Sessions, showing the band playing "Higher", "With Arms Wide Open", "My Own Prison", and "My Sacrifice". In addition, the band performed live on Fox & Friends on June 26, 2009.
The new album entitled Full Circle came out on October 27, 2009.
The first single from Full Circle, "Overcome", was posted on the band's official website on August 19, the same day the radio premiere started along with its release as a digital download on August 25. The second single, "Rain", hit radio on September 23 and became available on October 6 as another digital download.
The Creed 2009 Reunion Tour kicked off on August 6, 2009, and concluded on October 20, one week before the release of the album. However, on October 24, it was confirmed by Scott Phillips that Creed was to go on a World Tour in March 2010, starting with another US tour, followed by Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South America, and Europe. This will be a tour in support of the new album. It was also confirmed that Creed has more albums to come after Full Circle.

Music style & Controversy Of DragonForce

2010-01-06T05:58:00.000-08:00

Musical style

The band have frequently referred to their style not just as power metal, but as extreme power metal. Herman Li commented on descriptions of the band's style in an interview with Guitar World: "'Nintendo metal', 'extreme power metal', 'Bon Jovi on speed', 'Journey meets Slayer', ... people are always coming up with weird labels for us."^[8] The band has sometimes been mislabeled as a speed metal band^[9]^[10]^[11] due to the fast tempos present in their songs, but always as a supplement to other types of metal descriptors. Spring 2009 Issue of Broken Records Magazine calls the band "Equal parts grandeur and Debauchery, Dragonforce doesn't do anything in less than over-the-top fashion."

Controversy

Controversy occurred in late 2006 shortly after the Inhuman Rampage tour went into full swing. The band performed at Graspop Metal Meeting in the summer of 2006 under the influence of alcohol.^{[citation needed]} On top of that, the band had many technical difficulties with the guitars, which at the time was the most "stand-out feature" in their music. The band also drop-tuned their instruments to E flat tuning for the first time. Herman Li stated, "Graspop Metal Meeting of 2006 was [a] total disaster. The technician we had back then didn't even tune the guitar, and no monitoring was done properly. We didn't hear anything...". He also said that most of the Inhuman Rampage tour was bad overall due to technical difficulties. Due to all this, the Graspop 2006 performance is considered the band's worst performance and was enough to convince many DragonForce fans that they couldn't play live. Many rumors circulated around the internet that DragonForce faked their music in the studio and the guitar solos were sped up. Although it has since been proven untrue, the band still lost many fans due to these rumors. The gig also earned the band the nickname "Studioforce", meaning they relied on production for their full sound and couldn't play their own songs live.

Gothic Black Metal

2010-01-04T05:10:00.000-08:00

The Portuguese band Moonspell debuted in 1994 with Under the Moonspell, "one of the more worthy black metal releases of the early '90s". The music on this EP was "atmospheric with folk and Middle Eastern influences", drawing inspiration from Dead Can Dance through the use of guest musicians on the flute, violin, timpani, gongs and Arabic vocals. On the strength of this EP, the band became "the frontrunners" in the Portuguese metal scene and were offered a recording deal by the "major German independent label Century Media Records". It was through this label that they released their first full length album Wolfheart in 1995, making a transition into gothic metal[citation needed] by "incorporating the genre's trademark elements" of "morbid lyrical schemes, dreary and melancholy riffs, ambient keyboards" and "demonic chorales". While the music of Moonspell has "always flirted between Metal music and Darkwave and Gothic", the inspiration for this first album was still black metal groups like Celtic Frost and Bathory. Their next album Irreligious in 1996 was inspired instead by the goth pioneers Type O Negative, a group that they soon toured with.[113] Other influences that Moonspell has recognized include the goth rock acts Mission U.K., the Sisters of Mercy and "especially" Fields of the Nephilim. Wolfheart had "caused a minor sensation on the European underground with its epic metallic hymns" while Irreligious had "reinforced their position as heralds of the Gothic metal movement". By the time of their fourth album Butterfly Effect in 1999, Moonspell had "quickly evolved into one of the major players of the European goth-metal scene". In the process however, the band has strayed from their black metal roots.
The English outfit Cradle of Filth has combined black metal's "distinctive angry guitars and tortured vocals" with "strong, although sometimes cliched, Gothic imagery, ever since their 1994 debut album The Principle of Evil Made Flesh".[16] While other groups "tried to use goth flourishes in their music", Cradle of Filth made "goth conform to heavy metal, not the other way around". The "blatant goth influence" came in the form of "lengthy keyboard intros, intermittent operatic female vocals, and Dani Filth's black 'n' blood take on romantic poetry". They also added "a Sisters of Mercy style of melody to the singing". The debut album received a mixed reception but nonetheless "made waves in the early black metal scene, putting Cradle of Filth on the tips of metalheads' tongues, whether in praise of the band's brazen attempts to break the black metal mold, or in derision for its 'commercialization' of an underground phenomenon that was proud of its grimy heritage". The band then went through some changes in their line-up as members departed the group to form another gothic metal act The Blood Divine with former Anathema vocalist Darren White. Cradle of Filth's second album Dusk... and Her Embrace arrived in 1996 as a "gothic epic of bloodcurdling proporptions" and the group subsequently "enjoyed a streak of notoriety through the late '90s into the turn of the century that would be hard for a music fan to miss".

Heavy Metal

2010-01-04T04:51:00.000-08:00

Heavy metal music is perceived by many members of the goth subculture as the "crass, crude macho antithesis of everything that their music represents". In contrast to the "softer" and "more feminine" character of gothic music, the heavy metal genre is typically associated with aggression, sexism and masculinity. Despite this difference, "a few bold souls have identified Black Sabbath’s eponymous 1970 debut album as the first ever 'Goth-rock' record". The author Gavin Baddeley notes that the title track of the album "describes a satanic rite, complete with driving-rain and tolling bell sound effects, while the cover focuses on a black-cloaked, spectral-looking girl in a graveyard, shot through a sickly pale ochre filter". Other commentators have described Black Sabbath as the "absolute prototype gothic heavies" and observed that by separating the band's music "from their heavy metallic connotations", one "could cull a killer Goth album from their first five LP's, with every future reference point and requirement intact".
The "vaguely medieval, minor-key sounds" of Rainbow, Dio and Judas Priest has also been described as "gothic" prior to "the emergence of goth rock as a post-punk genre". The bands Blue Öyster Cult and Iron Maiden have featured some gothic lyrics in their music on songs such as "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and "Phantom of the Opera". Deep Purple's song "Stormbringer" has been called a "goth metal treasure". The Danish metal band Mercyful Fate had also demonstrated "a Gothic obsession with evil and the occult". Frontman King Diamond continued exploring his interest in gothic storytelling after establishing a solo career under his own moniker, issuing "a series of concept albums which told Gothic horror tales with sound effects and song". During the 1980s, the former Misfits frontman Glenn Danzig also "occupied the no man's land between Goth and heavy metal". With the dissolution of his second band Samhain in 1988 and the creation of his own eponymous act, Danzig went on to combine heavy metal riffs with "a heavily romanticized, brooding, gothic sensibility".
The Swiss group Celtic Frost was another precursor to gothic metal, translating the influence they drew from gothic rock acts Bauhaus and Siouxsie & the Banshees into their own albums. The band's "radical fusion of violent black metal and elements of classical music" was dubbed "avant-garde" and had a huge impact "on the evolution of European heavy metal". Christofer Johnsson of the symphonic metal band Therion cites Celtic Frost's 1987 album Into the Pandemonium in particular for playing a key role in the development of the "gothic and symphonic wave of bands" in the 1990s, noting further that neither his group Therion nor Paradise Lost "would have sounded the way we did without Celtic Frost".

Gothic Metal

2010-01-04T04:33:00.000-08:00

Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music. What is and isn't gothic metal is subject of much controversy. Sometimes gothic metal combines the aggression of heavy metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The genre originated during the early 1990s in Europe as an outgrowth of death/doom, a fusion of death metal and doom metal. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music. Lyrics are generally melodramatic and mournful with inspiration from gothic fiction as well as personal experiences.
Pioneers of gothic metal include Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema, all from the north of England. Other pioneers from the first half of the 1990s include Type O Negative from the United States, Tiamat from Sweden, and The Gathering from the Netherlands. Norwegian band Theatre of Tragedy developed the "beauty and the beast" aesthetic of combining aggressive male vocals with clean female vocals, a contrast that has since been adopted by many gothic metal groups. During the mid-1990s, Moonspell, Theatres des Vampires and Cradle of Filth brought the gothic approach to black metal. By the end of the decade, a symphonic metal variant of gothic metal had been developed by Tristania and Within Temptation.
In the 21st century, gothic metal has moved towards the mainstream in Europe, particularly in Finland where groups such as The 69 Eyes, Entwine, HIM, Lullacry, Poisonblack and Sentenced have released hit singles or chart-topping albums. In the US, however, only a few bands such as Lacuna Coil, Evanescence have found commercial success.

Scariest Metal

2010-01-03T05:18:00.000-08:00

John Winston Ono Lenon

2010-01-01T19:40:00.001-08:00

John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles. With Paul McCartney, Lennon formed one of the most influential and successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century and "wrote some of the most popular music in rock and roll history". He is ranked the second most successful songwriter in UK singles chart history after McCartney.

Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and biting wit in his music, on film, in books, and at press conferences and interviews. He was controversial through his work as a peace activist and visual artist. After The Beatles, Lennon enjoyed a successful solo career with such acclaimed albums as John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine and iconic songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine". After a self-imposed "retirement" to raise his son Sean, Lennon reemerged with a comeback album, Double Fantasy, but was murdered less than one month after its release. The album would go on to win the 1981 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

In 2002, respondents to a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted Lennon eighth. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Lennon number 38 on its list of "The Immortals: The Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time" (The Beatles being number one). He was also ranked fifth greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2008. He was posthumously inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

The Beatles

2010-01-01T19:17:00.000-08:00

The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960 and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. From 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, the group later worked in many genres ranging from folk rock to psychedelic pop, often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways. The nature of their enormous popularity, which first emerged as the "Beatlemania" fad, transformed as their songwriting grew in sophistication. The group came to be perceived as the embodiment of progressive ideals, seeing their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.
With an early five-piece line-up of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe (bass) and Pete Best (drums), The Beatles built their reputation in Liverpool and Hamburg clubs over a three-year period from 1960. Sutcliffe left the group in 1961, and Best was replaced by Starr the following year. Moulded into a professional outfit by music store owner Brian Epstein after he offered to act as the group's manager, and with their musical potential enhanced by the hands-on creativity of producer George Martin, The Beatles achieved UK mainstream success in late 1962 with their first single, "Love Me Do". Gaining international popularity over the course of the next year, they toured extensively until 1966, then retreated to the recording studio until their breakup in 1970. Each then found success in an independent musical career. McCartney and Starr remain active; Lennon was shot and killed in 1980, and Harrison died of cancer in 2001.
During their studio years, The Beatles produced what critics consider some of their finest material, including the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), widely regarded as a masterpiece. Nearly four decades after their breakup, The Beatles' music continues to be popular. The Beatles have had more number one albums on the UK charts, and held down the top spot longer, than any other musical act. According to RIAA certifications, they have sold more albums in the US than any other artist. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the all-time top-selling Hot 100 artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, with The Beatles at number one.[4] They have been honoured with 7 Grammy Awards, and they have received 15 Ivor Novello Awards from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. The Beatles were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most important and influential people.

Band Members Of Pantera

2010-01-01T01:39:00.000-08:00

Final lineup

Phil Anselmo – lead vocals, occasionally live rhythm guitar (1987–2003)
Dimebag Darrell – lead guitar, backing vocals, occasionally live lead vocals or bass (1981–2003)
Rex Brown – bass, backing vocals, occasionally live lead guitar (1982–2003)
Vinnie Paul – drums, percussion (1981–2003)

Previous members

Terry Glaze – rhythm guitar (1981–1982), lead vocals (1982–1986)

Session musicians

Kerry King – from Slayer outro guitar on Goddamn Electric from Reinventing the Steel (2000)
Seth Putnam – from Anal Cunt voices on The Great Southern Trendkill (1996)
Marc Ferrari – backing vocals, rhythm guitar on Power Metal (1988) [track 3, "We'll Meet Again" and track 5, "Proud to Be Loud"]

Equipment Of Yngwie Malmsteen

2010-01-01T01:18:00.000-08:00

Malmsteen uses Fender Stratocasters, especially vintage instruments from 1968 through 1972. His Strats tend to feature scalloped fingerboards. In the 1980s Malmsteen briefly used Schecter Guitars, who built him Stratocaster-style guitars similar to his Fenders. One particular guitar of his, nicknamed the "The Duck" has been used since the start of his career and is the instrument that he has been most photographed with.

For his acoustic sets, Malmsteen uses a nylon strung electro-acoustic black or white Ovation Viper. Prior to the Ovations, Malmsteen used Aria, Alvarez and Gibson classical acoustics on stage. Malmsteen regularly performs onstage with a Dean Markley custom light top, heavy bottom string gauge ranging from .008 through .048 gauge. Malmsteen's picks are Jim Dunlop Delrin 1.5 white.

Malmsteen uses vintage Marshall JTM45 amplifiers for his live performances, connected to vintage 4x12 cabinets with Celestion G12T-75 (75 watt) speakers. His effect pedals include a Dunlop Cry Baby, DOD 250 and YJM308 Overdrive Preamp, BOSS NS-2 Noise Suppressor (which he claims has "saved his life, many times"), BOSS CH-1 Super Chorus, BOSS PS-5 Super Shifter, and Roland DC-10 Echo.

Technique and style

Malmsteen is best known for his extremely fast shred guitar solos and Neo-classical style of playing. He favors the harmonic minor scale, and often uses diminished arpeggios and phrygian scales and draws an influence from Bach and Beethoven. In an interview, Malmsteen confessed that his regular use of harmonic minor was because in the 1980s he was trying to move away from the blues-based pentatonic scales that "everybody else was using".

Yngwie Malmsteen

2010-01-01T01:10:00.000-08:00

Yngwie Johann Malmsteen (pronounced ING-vay MAALM-steen in English) (born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck on June 30, 1963) is a Swedish guitarist, composer, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader. Malmsteen became notable in the mid-1980s for his technical fluency and neo-classical metal compositions, often incorporating high speed picking with harmonic minor scales, diminished scales and sweep picked arpeggios. Four of his albums, from 1984 to 1988, Rising Force, Marching Out, Trilogy, and Odyssey, ranked in the top 100 for sales.

Early life

Malmsteen was born in Stockholm, Sweden, as the third child of a musically-inclined family. At age seven, he saw a television news report on the death of Jimi Hendrix, an event which had a profound impact on his musical path. To quote his official website, "The day Jimi Hendrix died, the guitar-playing Malmsteen was born". At the age of 10 he took his mother's maiden name Malmsten as his surname, slightly changed it to Malmsteen, and Anglicised his given name Yngve to "Yngwie". Yngwie also created his first band "Track On Earth" at the age of 10, consisting of himself and a friend from school on drums(Armin) . Malmsteen was a teenager when he first encountered the music of the 19th century violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, whom he cites as his biggest classical music influence.

Through his emulation of Paganini concerto pieces on guitar, Malmsteen developed a prodigious technical fluency. Malmsteen's guitar style includes a wide, violin-like vibrato inspired by classical violinists, and use of such minor scales as the Harmonic minor, and minor modes such as Phrygian, and Aeolian. Malmsteen also cites Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, Brian May of Queen, Steve Hackett of Genesis, Uli Jon Roth, and Alex Lifeson of Rush as influences.

Slipknot (band)

2009-12-31T08:37:00.000-08:00

Slipknot is an American nu metal band from Des Moines, Iowa, formed in 1995. Slipknot consists of nine members, the current band members are Sid Wilson, Joey Jordison, Paul Gray, Chris Fehn, Jim Root, Craig Jones, Shawn Crahan, Mick Thomson, and Corey Taylor. Each member of the band wears a unique mask.

Slipknot formed in 1995 and underwent several line-up changes following the independent release of their first demo Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. in 1996. That album featured original lead vocalist, Anders Colsefini. Their self-titled, major label debut, Slipknot, was released in 1999, featuring permanent new lead vocalist, Corey Taylor, and was followed by Iowa in 2001 and Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) in 2004. On August 25, 2008, the band returned to release their fourth studio album, All Hope Is Gone, which debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 charts. The band has released three DVDs, including Disasterpieces, which was certified quadruple-platinum in the United States.

James Hetfield

2009-12-31T08:15:00.000-08:00

James Alan Hetfield (born August, 3, 1963) is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the American heavy metal band Metallica.

Birth

James Hetfield was born on August 3rd, 1963 in Downey, Los Angeles County, California. He is of English, German, Swedish and Irish descent.
Hetfield's father, Virgil (a truck driver who later left the family) and mother, Cynthia (a light opera singer) were strict adherents to Christian Science, and accordingly, much of James' young life revolved around Christian Science.
In accordance with their beliefs, Hetfield's parents strongly disapproved of medicine or any other medical treatment and remained loyal to their faith even as Cynthia was dying from cancer.

Personal life

When he is not writing, singing or playing, Hetfield enjoys a variety of outdoor activities including hunting, skateboarding, snowboarding, water and jet-skiing; sketching, working in his garage customizing cars and motorcycles, watching his favorite football team the Oakland Raiders, and going to hot-rod shows. He also collects vintage guitars—particularly those from 1963—and enjoys working on classic automobiles. Among his favorites are a '74 Chevy Nova, which he helped restore, and "The Beast", an all-terrain four wheel drive Blazer. He put his 1967 Chevrolet Camaro up for sale on eBay, with the proceeds going to a Music for Schools program. The car was used in the video for "I Disappear" and was given to him as a gift upon the video's completion. Years later, James donated the car to the Hard Rock Cafe which is featured in the movie Hard Rock Treasures. Hetfield has several tattoos, including one which shows flames encasing four cards, - ace (1), 9, 6 and 3 - representing the year of his birth, and the words "Carpe Diem" ("seize the day", also part of the title of the track "Carpe Diem Baby" off ReLoad). The flames from the tattoo are reportedly[citation needed] in reference to the pyrotechnic accident from which he suffered in 1992. He has also tattooed an 'M' on his right hand which stands for Metallica and 'F' on his left hand which stands for his wife Francesca. Aside from these pursuits, Hetfield says he is often happiest spending time with his wife Francesca and their three children: Cali (June 13, 1998), Castor (May 18, 2000), and Marcella (January 17, 2002). Hetfield married his wife Francesca Tomasi on August 17, 1997. During an interview[citation needed] on NPR's Fresh Air, Hetfield stated that his wife had helped him to mature and learn to deal with his anger issues more constructively, explaining that after they met, his destructive tendencies embarrassed both of them. The Hetfield family currently resides in Marin County, CA.

Band members of DragonForce

2009-12-31T08:08:00.000-08:00

Current members

* ZP Theart – lead vocals (1999–present)
* Herman Li – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1999–present)
* Sam Totman – rhythm guitar, lead guitar, backing vocals (1999–present)
* Frederic Leclercq – bass, guitars, backing vocals (2005–present)
* Vadim Pruzhanov – keyboards, backing vocals, keytar, theremin (2001–present)
* Dave Mackintosh – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2004–present)

Former members

* Adrian Lambert – bass, backing vocals (2004–2005)
* Didier Almouzni – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1999–2003)
* Diccon Harper – bass, backing vocals (2001–2003)
* Steve Williams – keyboards, backing vocals (1999–2000)
* Steve Scott – bass, backing vocals (1999–2000)

DragonForce discography

2009-12-31T07:44:00.000-08:00

The discography of DragonForce, an English power metal band, currently consists of one demo album, four studio albums and four singles.
DragonForce formed in London, England in 1999, under the name of "DragonHeart", and released their first and only demo, Valley of the Damned, independently in 2000. This earned them a record deal with Noise Records with whom they released their début studio album Valley of the Damned in 2003, after renaming to "DragonForce", and their second studio album Sonic Firestorm in 2004 followed by their first single "Fury of the Storm" in 2005. They then signed to Roadrunner Records and released their first charting album and single, Inhuman Rampage and "Through the Fire and Flames", in 2006 followed by "Operation Ground and Pound" later that year. Their remixed and remastered version of Valley of the Damned was set for release in October 2007, but has since been postponed while their fourth studio album Ultra Beatdown and its preceding single, "Heroes of Our Time", were released on 25 August 2008 and 4 July 2008 respectively.

Wallpapers

2009-12-29T08:29:00.000-08:00

Wallpaper Logo Of Metallica

Wallpaper Cradle Of Filth

Dark Wallpaper Of Nightwish

Chuck Schuldiner

2009-12-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

Charles Michael "Chuck" Schuldiner (May 13, 1967 – December 13, 2001) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and musical genre innovator.
Schuldiner was the singer, songwriter, rhythm and lead guitarist of the band Death, which he founded in 1983, initially under the name Mantas. He is often referred to as "The Father of Death Metal", and his obituary in the January 5, 2002 issue of UK's Kerrang! magazine stated that "Chuck Schuldiner was one of the most significant figures in the history of metal." Schuldiner himself was modest about his part in the history of death metal, noting 'I don’t think I should take the credits for this death metal stuff. I’m just a guy from a band, and I think Death is a metal band'."

Early Life Of Chuck Schuldiner

2009-12-29T08:22:00.000-08:00

Chuck Schuldiner was born on May 13, 1967 on Long Island, New York to a Jewish father of Austrian descent and a mother from the American South, a convert to Judaism; both his parents were teachers. In 1968, his family moved to Florida. Chuck was the youngest of three children. He had an older brother named Frank and an older sister named Bethann.
Schuldiner started playing guitar at the age of 9. His 16 year old brother had just been killed in an accident and his parents bought him a guitar, thinking it would help with his grief. He took classical lessons for less than a year in which his teacher taught him "Mary had a Little Lamb", which he didn't like very much, and almost stopped completely, until his parents saw an electric guitar at a yard sale and bought it for him. The young Schuldiner immediately took to the instrument. After getting amps, he never stopped playing, writing and teaching himself. Schuldiner was known to spend the weekend in the garage or his room playing his guitar, but was limited to three hours on weekdays when school was in session. Schuldiner first played in public in his early teens.
Schuldiner was originally inspired by Iron Maiden, Kiss and Billy Idol, among others. He was particularly interested in the metal movement known as NWOBHM - New Wave of British Heavy Metal - and cited bands of that genre among his favorites. He frequently cited French band Sortilège as his personal favorite metal group[2]. Slayer, Possessed, Mercyful Fate/King Diamond and Metallica were later influences he would apply more to his own band. Later in his career, Schuldiner frequently cited progressive metal bands such as Watchtower and Queensrÿche as influences. Official Schuldiner website, Empty Words, quotes Chuck's mother making the claim that he enjoyed all forms of music except country and rap. He also apparently particularly enjoyed jazz and classical music in addition to metal and British alternative acts such as Lush.
Schuldiner performed well in school, however, he became bored with education and eventually dropped out. He later regretted this decision.
Schuldiner was not afraid to take on controversial lyrical subjects such as the anti-drug sentiments of "Living Monstrosity" and abortion in "Altering the Future"

Death (metal band)

2009-12-29T08:15:00.000-08:00

Death was an American death metal band founded in 1983. The band's founder, Chuck Schuldiner, is considered a "pioneering death metal vocalist/guitarist." The band split up after Schuldiner died of brain cancer in 2001.
Death is considered one of the most influential groups in death metal. The band's debut, Scream Bloody Gore, has been described as "death metal's first archetypal document".One music biographer has referred to Schuldiner as the "Father of Death Metal" while another has claimed that Schuldiner is "readily acknowledged as the true founder of the U.S. death metal scene". Music biographer Garry Sharpe-Young considers Death "a genre breaking band...centred upon frontman Chuck Schuldiner" and that the band "would become one of the prime instigators of the death metal movement".
However, Schuldiner dismissed such attributions by stating, in an interview with Metal-Rules.com, "I don’t think I should take the credits for this death metal stuff. I’m just a guy from a band, and I think Death is a metal band".
As of 2008, Death have sold over 2 million albums worldwide, with over 500,000 copies sold by December 2009 in the US alone (excluding the numerous sales before the SoundScan era) making them one of the top-selling death metal bands.

Black Metal Sacrifice

2009-12-29T08:08:00.000-08:00

Black Metal Sacrifice is the second release by the black metal band Watain. It was recorded as a live album and was independently released in 1999. It was re-released on CD format in 2007.
Track listing
1.The Walls of Life Ruptured - 4:17
2.On Horns Impaled - 2:41
3.Midnight Possession - 4:01
4.Angelrape - 3:52
5.Sons of Fucking Hell - 2:07
6.Essence of Black Purity - 4:08
7.The Mightiest of Maledictions - 5:52

Live Performances Of Dream Theater

2009-12-28T08:33:00.000-08:00

Throughout their career, Dream Theater's live shows have gradually become bigger, longer, and more diverse. The most obvious example of this is their rotational set list policy. That is, every single night of every tour has its set list devised by Portnoy using a meticulous process that ensures its uniqueness. Factors such as set lists from previous cities are taken into account to ensure that people who see Dream Theater multiple times within the same area will not see the same songs performed twice, and even the set list from the last time the band was in a particular city is taken into account for the benefit of fans who see the band on successive tours.
For this to be possible, the band prepares to play the majority of its catalogue at any performance, depending on what Portnoy decides to program for that night. This process also requires the employment of a complex lighting system to load pre-configured lighting cues based on the individual songs.
Some of Dream Theater's more notable touring partners include Deep Purple, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Iron Maiden, Joe Satriani, King's X, Marillion, Megadeth, In Flames, Pain of Salvation, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Queensrÿche, Riverside, Spock's Beard, Fear Factory, Enchant, Symphony X, and Yes. In 2005, Dream Theater toured North America with the Gigantour festival, co-headlining with Megadeth, and have played with Megadeth and Iron Maiden physically on stage.
The band's full world tours, since Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, have predominantly been so-called "Evening with..." tours, in which the band performs for at least three hours with an intermission and no opening act. The show that was recorded for Live Scenes From New York was nearly four hours in length, and resulted in Portnoy almost being hospitalized after acquiring severe food poisoning from the food he ate before the show.
There is also a significant amount of humor, casualness, and improvisation attached to a Dream Theater concert. In the midst of "A Change of Seasons" it is quite common for themes such as those for Major League Baseball and The Simpsons to be quoted, and Rudess routinely modifies his solo section in the song and others, often playing the ragtime section of "When the Water Breaks" from Liquid Tension Experiment 2. Several songs included on Once in a LIVETime include snippets of others' pieces, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" and Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee." Other quotations include "Mary Had a Little Lamb" during "Endless Sacrifice" on the Gigantour, a calliope-inspired break between verses of "Under a Glass Moon", a quote of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina"'s main melody played by Petrucci while performing the intro solo of "Through Her Eyes" in Buenos Aires, the Turkish March at a concert in Istanbul, and the opening riff of Rush's "A Passage to Bangkok" at a show in Bangkok, Thailand. On the most recent "20th Anniversary World Tour" Rudess has even thrown in a short "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" theme in a break during "Endless Sacrifice", and during a concert in Israel he started a spontaneous "Hava-Nagilla" later accompanied by the rest of the band.
Occasionally, a member of the audience is picked at random to perform on stage, an example of which can be seen during Portnoy's drum solo on the Live at Budokan DVD. There have also been many impromptu renditions of "Happy Birthday" when a member of the band or crew has a birthday corresponding to a tour date, which normally results in a birthday cake being thrown at the subject.
Perhaps the best example of Dream Theater's unpredictable concert structure is that during Derek Sherinian's time with the band. At selected shows the band members all swapped instruments and performed an encore as the fictitious band dubbed Nightmare Cinema. They usually performed a cover of Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers", and, on one occasion, Ozzy Osbourne's "Suicide Solution". At some shows, Sherinian, Petrucci and Portnoy would take the stage together under the name "Nicky Lemons and the Migraine Brothers". Sherinian, wearing a feather boa and novelty sunglasses, would perform a pop-punk song entitled "I Don't Like You" with Petrucci and Portnoy backing. In Chaos in Motion tour, in several concerts before "Trial of Tears", Portnoy and Petrucci would change positions and play Van Halen's "Eruption".
Dream Theater's largest audience as a headlining act was 20,000 in Santiago, Chile on December 6, 2005. This was during their first tour of South American countries other than Brazil (which they had visited in 1997 and 1998). The show was released on DVD through Portnoy's YtseJam Records.
In the Score and Chaos in Motion DVDs, an animation has accompanied certain parts of the songs, showing the band playing along to the music as cartoon characters. On the Score DVD, during the song Octavarium, the band is seen performing in an octagonal shaped maze. As the animation continues Jordan Rudess spontaneously turns into Santa Claus and John Petrucci catches fire. In "The Dark Eternal Night" from the Chaos in Motion DVD, the band battles against a monster by shooting fireballs from guitars, throwing drum sticks, and screaming.
In 2008 Dream Theater started the "Progressive Nation '08" tour, along with Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, and 3. The tour is the brainchild of Mike Portnoy, who stated, "I've been wanting to assemble a package tour like this for many years now. With all of the festivals and package tours that go through America, I've been talking with our manager and agent for over 10 years now about doing something that focuses on the more progressive, musician-oriented side of hard rock and metal. I decided it was time to stop talking the talk, lace up and finally walk the walk."
On February 13, 2009, Dream Theater announced the official line up for their Progressive Nation 2009 tour. The tour was originally set to feature bands including Swedish bands Beardfish and Pain of Salvation, as well as Zappa plays Zappa. On June 22, 2009, Mike Portnoy announced that Pain of Salvation and Beardfish would not be touring the North American leg of the Progressive Nation 2009 tour due to record label complications. In the same announcement, Portnoy stated that the bands Scale the Summit and Bigelf would replace Pain of Salvation and Beardfish on the tour. This lineup change has put Bigelf on both the North American and European legs of the Progressive Nation 2009 tour. The tour's North American leg ran throughout July and August 2009. On March 26, 2009 it was announced that Dream Theater would take the Progressive Nation tour to Europe for the first time alongside Opeth, Bigelf and Unexpect. The tour ran throughout September and October 2009.

Dream Theater

2009-12-28T08:29:00.000-08:00

Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Myung, John Petrucci, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, before they dropped out to support the band. Though a number of lineup changes followed, the three original members remain today along with James LaBrie and Jordan Rudess.
Dream Theater has become a successful progressive metal band. Although the band has had one successful hit ("Pull Me Under" in 1992, which received extensive MTV rotation), they have remained relatively out of the mainstream.
The band is well known for the technical proficiency of its instrumentalists, who have won many awards from music instruction magazines. Dream Theater's members have collaborated with many other notable musicians. Guitarist John Petrucci has been named as the third player on the G3 tour six times, more than any other invited guitarist, following in the footsteps of Eric Johnson and Robert Fripp. Drummer Mike Portnoy has won 23 awards from Modern Drummer Magazine and is also the second youngest person (at the age of 37) to be inducted into the Rock Drummer Hall of Fame.
The band's highest selling album is the gold selling Images and Words (1992), which reached #61 on the Billboard 200 charts. Both the 1994 release Awake and their 2002 release Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence also entered the charts at #32 and #46 respectively and received mostly positive reviews. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence also led to Dream Theater becoming the initial band reviewed in the Music Section of Entertainment Weekly during its opening week of release, despite the magazine generally preferring more mainstream music. In 2007, Systematic Chaos entered US Billboard 200 at #19.[1] Dream Theater has sold over two million albums in the U.S., and over 8 million records worldwide. The band's tenth studio album, Black Clouds & Silver Linings, was released on June 23, 2009. It entered the US Billboard 200 at #6 and Eurochart Hot 100 at #1, marking their highest entry on either chart.

Early Years Of Nirvana

2009-12-28T08:17:00.000-08:00

Cobain and Novoselic met in 1985. Both were fans of the Melvins, and frequented the band's practice space. After a couple of false starts at forming their own band, the duo recruited drummer Aaron Burckhard, creating the first incarnation of what would eventually become Nirvana. Cobain later described the sound of the band when they first started as "a Gang of Four and Scratch Acid ripoff." Within a few months, Burckhard was fired from the band. He was temporarily replaced by Dale Crover of the Melvins, who played on the band's first demos. Dave Foster then began a brief tenure as the band's drummer.
During its initial months, the band went through a series of names, including Skid Row, Pen Cap Chew, and Ted Ed Fred. The band finally settled on Nirvana in early 1988, which Cobain said was chosen because "I wanted a name that was kind of beautiful or nice and pretty instead of a mean, raunchy punk rock name like the Angry Samoans." Nirvana played their first show under the name that March. A couple of months later, the band finally settled on a drummer, Chad Channing.
Nirvana's first release was the single "Love Buzz/Big Cheese" in 1988 on Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. The following year, the band released its first album, Bleach. To record Bleach, the band turned to noted local producer Jack Endino, who had recorded the band's first studio demos. Bleach was highly influenced by the Melvins, by the heavy dirge-rock of Mudhoney, 1980s punk rock, the Pixies, and by the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. Novoselic noted in a 2001 interview with Rolling Stone that the band had played a tape in their van while on tour that had an album by The Smithereens on one side and an album by the black metal band Celtic Frost on the other, and noted that the combination probably played an influence as well. Bleach became a favorite of college radio stations nationally, but gave few hints of where the band would find itself two years later.
The money for the recording sessions for Bleach, listed as $606.17 on the album sleeve, was supplied by Jason Everman. Everman was introduced to Cobain by Dylan Carlson, but had known Channing since the fifth grade. Everman began hanging out with the band, and offered to lend the money to them for the recording. Though Everman did not actually play on the album, he was credited for playing guitar on Bleach because, according to Novoselic, they "wanted to make him feel more at home in the band." After the album was completed, Everman had a brief stay with the band as a second guitar player, but was fired following their first US tour.

In a late 1989 interview, Cobain noted that the band's music was changing. He said, "The early songs were really angry ... But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings." In April 1990, the band began working with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin on recordings for the follow-up to Bleach. During the sessions, Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with Channing's drumming, and Channing expressed frustration at not being actively involved in songwriting. Not long after the sessions were complete, Channing left the band. After a few weeks with Dale Crover of the Melvins filling in, Nirvana hired Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters, with whom they recorded the song "Sliver". A few weeks later, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced them to Dave Grohl, who was looking for a new band following the sudden break-up of D.C. hardcore punks Scream. A few days after arriving in Seattle, Novoselic and Cobain auditioned Grohl, with Novoselic later stating, "We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer."

Gothic Guitars

2009-12-28T08:07:00.000-08:00

Nirvana

2009-12-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting being Dave Grohl, who joined the band in 1990.
With the lead single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from the band's second album Nevermind (1991), Nirvana entered into the mainstream, bringing along with it a subgenre of alternative rock called grunge. Other Seattle grunge bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden had also gained popularity, and as a result, alternative rock in general became a dominant genre on radio and music television in the United States during the early-to-mid-1990s. As Nirvana's frontman, Kurt Cobain found himself referred to in the media as the "spokesman of a generation," with Nirvana being considered the "flagship band" of Generation X. Cobain was uncomfortable with the attention and placed his focus on the band's music, believing the band's message and artistic vision to have been misinterpreted by the public, challenging the band's audience with its third studio album In Utero (1993).
Nirvana's brief run ended with Cobain's death in April 1994, but the band's popularity continued in the years that followed. In 2002, "You Know You're Right," an unfinished demo from the band's final recording session, topped radio playlists around the world. Since their debut, the band has sold over twenty-five million albums in the US alone, and over fifty million worldwide.

Adrian Smith

2009-12-26T07:43:00.000-08:00

Biography

While at school, Adrian befriended Dave Murray and formed his first band Urchin as lead singer and lead guitarist. Adrian had bought his first guitar from Murray, a Woolworths' Top 20, for five quid (later he painted it silver and sold it again for 12 quid, as he states in the Early Days DVD). Murray left Urchin to join Iron Maiden, the new band of another local musician, Steve Harris. Smith continued to front Urchin, with limited success, until joining Maiden in early 1980 for the Killers album (released in 1981), replacing Dennis Stratton. Smith first wrote songs for Maiden on the 1982 album The Number of the Beast, and was the band's secondary songwriter from then on (often in co-operation with Bruce Dickinson). Smith and Dave Murray combined playing dual lead guitars helping to forge the trademark sound of Iron Maiden. Some notable lead duets are "The Duellists", "2 Minutes to Midnight", "The Trooper", "Alexander the Great" and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Notable solos include "Wasted Years", "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "The Wicker Man".

Adrian's solos are usually composed rather than improvised. His legato playing is very smooth and fast and typically even his very fast passages have a musical function and relationship to the chord structure behind the solo, drawing from modes and arpeggios which are more often from blues licks.

Smith released a solo LP with the band ASAP (Adrian Smith And Project) titled Silver and Gold in 1989. Following its release, Smith departed from Iron Maiden in 1990 when recordings for the No Prayer for the Dying album were about to start, and was replaced by Janick Gers. After releasing the experimental Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son albums, Steve Harris had decided to take the band back to a more traditional hard rock direction which can clearly be heard on the No Prayer for the Dying album. This album featured one last song co-penned by Adrian with Bruce Dickinson, "Hooks in You".

Bruce Dickinson's comment on Adrian:

"When he left the band in 1990, I think everybody was a bit surprised at how much we missed him and certainly, I don’t think anybody had realized how much the fans would miss him - big time. I wouldn’t have rejoined Iron Maiden if he wasn’t in the band. I just don’t think it would have been complete without Adrian, and now, it’s great having three guitarists."

In 1996, Adrian joined forces with former Helloween vocalist, Michael Kiske on Kiske's solo album Instant Clarity. He plays guitar on a few tracks and co-wrote a few songs.

Later, Adrian formed his alternative rock-influenced band Psycho Motel. This band was a progression from an earlier music project of his, The Untouchables, which had featured some of the members from ASAP and Jamie Stewart (former bassist of the rock group The Cult). The band recorded two albums, State of Mind (1996) and Welcome to the World (1997). Smith would also play on Bruce Dickinson's Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding albums. The influence of this more progressive direction, as well as Adrian's heavier rhythm guitar playing, on Iron Maiden's own performances since he rejoined the band is clear.

On 22 August 1992 Smith made a brief appearance onstage with Maiden to play "Running Free" during the Castle Donington 'Monsters Of Rock' Festival.

In 1999, Smith re-joined Iron Maiden for the "Ed Hunter tour", a tour in support of the video game of the same name. Since then, Iron Maiden have released 3 studio albums, Brave New World in 2000, Dance of Death in 2003 and A Matter of Life and Death in 2006. He remains with the band to this day.

Black Sabbath

2009-12-21T08:06:00.000-08:00

Black Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne (lead vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Terry "Geezer" Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums and percussion). The band has since experienced multiple lineup changes, with a total of twenty-two former members. Originally formed as a heavy blues-rock band named Earth, the band began incorporating occult- and horror-inspired lyrics with tuned-down guitars, changing their name to Black Sabbath and achieving multiple gold and platinum records in the 1970s.
As one of the first and most influential heavy metal bands of all time, Black Sabbath helped define the genre with releases such as quadruple-platinum Paranoid, released in 1970. They were ranked by MTV as the "Greatest Metal Band" of all time, and placed second in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" list, behind Led Zeppelin. They have sold over fifteen million records in the United States alone. Rolling Stone has identified the band as 'the heavy-metal kings of the '70s'.
Vocalist Ozzy Osbourne's drinking led to his firing from the band in 1979. He was replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. After a few albums with Dio's vocals and his songwriting collaborations, Black Sabbath endured a revolving lineup in the 1980s and 1990s that included vocalists Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen and Tony Martin. In 1992, Iommi and Butler rejoined Dio and drummer Vinny Appice to record Dehumanizer. The original lineup reunited with Osbourne in 1997 and released a live album, Reunion. The early/mid 1980s line-up featuring Iommi, Butler, Dio, and Appice reformed in 2006 under the title, Heaven & Hell.

Cradle of Filth

2009-12-21T08:03:00.000-08:00

Cradle of Filth are an extreme metal band from Suffolk, England formed in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily influenced by gothic literature, poetry, mythology and horror films. The band has successfully broken free from its original niche by courting mainstream publicity (often to the chagrin of its early fanbase), and this increased accessibility has brought coverage by the likes of Kerrang! and MTV, frequent main stage appearances at major festivals such as Ozzfest, Download and even the mainstream Sziget Festival, and in turn a more "commercial" image. They have sometimes been perceived as Satanic by casual observers, although their outright lyrical references to Satanism are few and far between, and use of Satanic imagery has arguably always had more to do with the shock value than any seriously-held beliefs.
Cradle of Filth's first three years saw three demos and a rehearsal tape recorded amidst the sort of rapid line-up fluctuations that have continued ever since (Cradle has generally had around half a dozen members at any one time, but can boast more than twenty musicians in its history). The band also recorded an unreleased album entitled Goetia prior to the third demo and their style shift. Goetia was set for release on Tombstone records, but all tracks were wiped when Tombstone went out of business and could not afford to buy the recordings from the studio. The band eventually signed to Cacophonous Records and their debut album, The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, was also Cacophonous's first release in 1994. A step up in terms of production from the rehearsal quality of most of their demos, the album was still nevertheless a sparse and embryonic version of what was to come, with lead singer Dani Filth's vocals in particular bearing little similarity to the style he was later to develop. The album was well-received however, and as recently as June 2006 found its way into Metal Hammer's list of the top ten black metal albums of the last twenty years.
Cradle's relationship with Cacophonous soon soured; the band accusing the label of contractual and financial mismanagement. Acrimonious legal proceedings took up most of 1995, and the band finally signed to Music for Nations in 1996 after only one more contractually obligated Cacophonous recording: the EP Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein which, it has since been conceded, was hastily written as a Cacophonous escape-plan. Despite the circumstances of its release however, its handful of tracks are staples of the band's live sets to this day, and "Queen of Winter, Throned" was listed among twenty-five "essential extreme metal anthems" in a 2006 issue of Kerrang! magazine. The EP also marked Sarah Jezebel Deva's debut with the band, replacing Andrea Meyer, Cradle's first female vocalist and self-styled "satanic advisor". Deva has appeared on every subsequent Cradle release and tour, but has never been considered a full band member, having also performed with The Kovenant, Therion and Mortiis, and fronted her own Angtoria project along with Cradle's current bass player, Dave Pybus.
2004's Nymphetamine was the band's first full album since The Principle of Evil Made Flesh to not be based around any sort of overarching concept (although references to the works of H. P. Lovecraft are made more than once). Thornography, was released in October 2006. According to Dani Filth, the title "represents mankind's obsession with sin and self... An addiction to self-punishment or something equally poisonous... A mania." On the subject of the album's musical direction, Filth told Revolver magazine, "I'm not saying it's 'experimental', but we're definitely testing the limits of what we can do... A lot of the songs are really rhythmical - thrashy, almost - but they're all also really catchy." A flurry of pre-release controversy saw Samuel Araya's original cover artwork scrapped and replaced in May 2006, although numerous CD booklets had already been printed with the original image. Thornography received a similar reception to Nymphetamine, garnering generally positive reviews, but raising a few eyebrows with the inclusion of a cover of Heaven 17's "Temptation" (featuring guest vocals from Dirty Harry), which was released as a digital single and accompanying video shortly before the album. According to a 2006 issue of Metal Hammer magazine, they are the most successful British heavy metal band since Iron Maiden.
Long-term drummer Adrian Erlandsson departed the band in November 2006. According to an official Roadrunner press release, Erlandsson left with the intention of devoting his energies to his two side projects Needleye and the now-defunct Nemhain: "I have enjoyed my time with Cradle but it is now time to move on. I feel I am going out on a high as Thornography is definitely our best album to date". He was replaced on the 2007 world tour by Martin Škaroupka.
Cradle of Filth announced in early 2008 that their eighth studio album was underway: "The world tour for the Thornography album, which last saw COF in Russia, Ukraine, UK, Romania, Slovakia and North America with GWAR is now complete [and] the band has returned home to start writing for a new record over the dark months in the rehearsal room.
The band's official message boards revealed parts of an interview with Paul Allender, the lead guitarist, conducted by MédiaMatinQuébec: "We already have four new songs ready and I have to say that they are... much faster than the songs on Thornography. [They] sound like old Cradle of Filth... A mixture of Midian and Dusk. . ." and the album was released on October 27, 2008. Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder is a concept album about the legendary 15th Century murderer Gilles De Rais, a French nobleman who fought alongside Joan of Arc and accumulated great wealth before becoming a satanist, sexual deviant and serial killer. In an interview published in February 2009, Dani talked about Gilles De Rais, and how his story manifests on Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder':
In an interview with Metal Hammer, Dani Filth confirmed that a new album was in the early stages of development. A couple of songs are ready to go and the band will begin recording in November 2009, with a release planned in May or June 2010. Its sound is described as "creepily melodic, like Mercyful Fate or a dark Iron Maiden

Opeth

2009-12-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. While the band has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force since joining promptly after its inception.
Isberg and Åkerfeldt recruited drummer Anders Nordin, bassist Nick Döring, and guitarist Andreas Dimeo. Unsatisfied with the band's slow progress, Döring and Dimeo left the band after their first performance, and were replaced by guitarist Kim Pettersson and bassist Johan DeFarfalla. After the next show, DeFarfalla left Opeth to spend time with his girlfriend in Germany, and was replaced by Åkerfeldt's friend, bassist Peter Lindgren. Lead guitarist Pettersson left following the band's next performance, and Lindgren switched to guitar. After losing interest in the band, Isberg quit in 1992 too because of creative differences.
With three members in the band, Åkerfeldt took over vocal duties, and the trio spent the next year writing and rehearsing new material. The group began to rely less on the blast beats and aggression typical of death metal, and incorporated acoustic guitars and guitar harmonies into their music; developing the core sound of Opeth. Stefan Guteklint joined on bass in 1993, but was dismissed by the band after signing its first record deal with Candlelight records in 1994. The band initially employed former member DeFarfalla as a session bassist for the recording, and he went on to join on a full-time basis following the release of Opeth's debut album in 1995.
After a few live shows in the United Kingdom, Opeth returned to the studio in March 1996 to begin work on a second album, again produced by Dan Swanö. Morningrise was released in Europe on June 24, 1996. With only five songs and lasting 66 minutes, the album featured Opeth's longest song, the twenty-minute "Black Rose Immortal". Morningrise was a huge success, with Allmusic giving the album four stars. Opeth toured the UK in support of Morningrise, followed by a 26-date Scandinavian tour with Cradle of Filth. While on tour, Opeth attracted the attention of Century Media records, who signed the band and released the first two albums internationally in 1997.
The band added bassist Martin Mendez shortly before recording, but due to time constraints, Åkerfeldt played bass on the album. My Arms, Your Hearse was released on August 18, 1998, to critical acclaim. As Opeth's first international release, the album exposed the band to a wider global audience. My Arms, Your Hearse marked the beginning of a shift in the band's sound, focusing less on guitar harmonies and more heavily on progressive metal riffs.
In 1999, the ownership of Candlelight Records changed hands, with owner and friend of the band Lee Barrett leaving the company. Opeth signed with UK label Peaceville Records in Europe, which was distributed by Music For Nations. Opeth reserved time at Studio Fredman to begin work on its next album, but recording was postponed while the studio was relocated. Due to time constraints, the band was able to rehearse only twice before entering the studio. Delays with the album's artwork pushed the release back an additional month, and Still Life was released on October 18, 1999.
Opeth released its fifth studio album, Blackwater Park, on February 21, 2001. Allmusic called Blackwater Park "astounding, a work of breathtaking creative breadth", noting that the album "keeps with Opeth's tradition by transcending the limits of death/black metal and repeatedly shattering the foundations of conventional songwriting". In support of Blackwater Park, Opeth embarked on its first world tour, headlined Europe for the first time, and made an appearance at the 2001 Wacken Open Air festival in Germany, playing to a crowd of 60,000.
Deliverance was released on November 4, 2002, and debuted at number 19 on the US Top Independent Albums chart, marking the band's first US chart appearance. Allmusic stated, "Deliverance is altogether more subtle than any of its predecessors, approaching listeners with haunting nuances and masterful dynamics rather than overwhelming them with sheer mass and complexity."
Opeth was scheduled to perform in Jordan without a crew due to the fear of terrorist attacks in the Middle East. Opeth's tour manager distributed 6,000 tickets for the concert, but before the band left for Jordan, drummer Lopez called Åkerfeldt stating he was having a anxiety attack and could not perform, forcing the band to cancel the show. In early 2004, Lopez was sent home from Canada after more anxiety attacks on tour. Opeth decided against cancelling the remainder of the tour, and Lopez's drum technician filled in for two concerts. Lopez promised that he would return to the tour as soon as he could, but two shows later Opeth asked Strapping Young Lad drummer Gene Hoglan to fill in. Lopez eventually returned to Opeth for the Seattle show on the final leg of the Deliverance and Damnation tour. Per Wiberg also joined the band on tour to perform keyboards, and after more than a year on tour, Opeth returned home to start writing new material in 2004.
After nearly 200 performances in support of Ghost Reveries, Opeth entered Fascination Street Studios with Åkerfeldt producing, in November 2007. By January 2008, Opeth had recorded 13 songs, including three cover songs. The finished album, Watershed, features seven tracks, with cover songs used as bonus tracks on different versions of the album. Watershed was released on June 3, 2008. Åkerfeldt described the songs on the album as "a bit more energetic". Opeth has planned tours in support of Watershed, including headlining the UK tour Defenders of the Faith with Arch Enemy, an appearance at Wacken Open Air and the Progressive Nation tour with headliner Dream Theater.
Opeth are currently on a worldwide tour in support of the album. However, gigs in Spain and Portugal had to be cancelled due to the Burning Live Festival being cancelled, and four concerts from June 26 to June 29 had to be cancelled due to Mikael Åkerfeldt having chicken pox. Two of the festivals Opeth were supposed to play at were Hovefestivalen and Metaltown in Sweden. Their replacement for both the absences was Satyricon. From September to October, Opeth toured North America again backed by High on Fire, Baroness, and Nachtmystium. They recently returned to tour Europe for the rest of the year with Cynic and The Ocean..
On 25 January 2009, Opeth played their first show in India at IIT Madras's cultural festival Saarang. On March 6, 2009 the band played in the Middle East at the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival in Dubai. On March 26, 2009 it was announced that Opeth would take part in the first European Progressive Nation tour alongside Dream Theater, Bigelf and Unexpect. On 24 April 2009, Opeth will headline the first day of Metal Hammer Magazine's first UK metal music festival HammerFest. As of May 2009, the band was touring North America with Enslaved. On May 16, Åkerfeldt (at a show in Hollywood) stated that the band will continue touring until the end of 2009, take a little break, and then start working on a new album.
During a show on November 25th 2009, at the Palace Theater Melbourne Australia, Åkerfeldt, whilst conversing with the crowd, discussed that the band had been around for 20 years in 2010, and that they wouldn't be returning to Australia for 2-3 years, as they had an album to record in 2010.
From March 30th through April 9th 2010, Opeth is doing a 6 show, worldwide 20th anniversary tour called "Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology." They will play the Blackwater Park album in its entirety, and a number of other songs; said Mikael Akerfeldt: "It seems like we’ll pull out a few songs we’ve never played before, some of which fans all over the world have been demanding to hear for years and years."

Paul Bruce Dickinson

2009-12-19T08:32:00.000-08:00

Paul Bruce Dickinson was born in the small mining town of Worksop, Nottinghamshire(born 7 August 1958).Paul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, TV presenter, airline pilot, radio show host, record producer, fencer, author, and songwriter best known as the vocalist of the metal band Iron Maiden.
Dickinson performed for some local bands including Styx (not the American band of the same name) in 1976, Speed, (1977-1978), and Shots in early 1979. He then joined hard rock band Samson later in 1979, where he gained some popularity. In this band he went by the name of "Bruce Bruce." He left Samson in 1981, citing musical differences. Shortly afterwards, in 1981, Dickinson was hired as Iron Maiden's new vocalist, debuting for that band with the 1982 album The Number of the Beast.[1] During his time in that band, they issued a series of high impact releases,resulting in Dickinson gaining worldwide fame, and becoming one of the most acclaimed heavy metal vocalists of all time.
Dickinson quit Iron Maiden in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career, being replaced by Blaze Bayley. Dickinson's solo work ranged a wide variety of heavy metal and rock styles. Dickinson rejoined Maiden in 1999 along with guitarist Adrian Smith. Since then, Dickinson has only released one more solo album, Tyranny of Souls. He is the older cousin of Rob Dickinson, lead singer of British alternative rock band Catherine Wheel. In his personal life, he is known for his strict abstinence from drug use.

Dani Flith

2009-12-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

Dani was born to Susan Janet Moore and Lawrence John Davey in Hertford and is the oldest child of four. Dani has two sisters; Amanda (b. 1975) and Rachel (b. 1978); and a brother, Phillip (b.1981).[1] He married his girlfriend Toni, on October 31, 2005 in Ipswich. The two have a daughter, Luna Scarlett (b. February 8, 1999), the couple lives in Suffolk, England.
His earliest bands were Carnival Fruitcake, The Lemon Grove Kids, PDA and Feast on Excrement, and he named Judas Priest, Venom, Emperor, Destruction, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Sabbat, The Misfits, Paradise Lost and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas among his major influences. At the age of eighteen, Filth took up a job at a Chinese restaurant. He later chose his career in music over an internship at a newspaper, although his "Dani's Inferno" column ran for two years in Metal Hammer during the late 1990s.
He has last working on co-writing The Gospel of Filth with Gavin Baddeley. The book, which Dani describes as an "occult study", features contributions from Clive Barker, Christopher Lee, and Ingrid Pierson[4]. He'd been accused many times of being a Satanist, but has denounced such rumors, claiming instead to being "more of a Luciferian."
Away from Cradle, Dani appeared on the Roadrunner United CD in 2005 (contributing vocals to "Dawn of a Golden Age"), and his high profile has also led to a handful of film and television roles. In 2003 he provided the voice of the eponymous main character in the feature-length animation Dominator.
He was ranked 95 in the Hit Parade's Top 100 Metal Vocalist of All Time.
Filth recorded a song with Claudio Simonetti and Simonetti's band Daemonia, the song "(She's) The Mother of Tears (Mater Lacrimarum)", is on the soundtrack of the film The Mother of Tears.
In 2000 he appeared in the movie Cradle of Fear as The Man - a deranged psychopath taking revenge on his father's persecutors. The film also starred David McEwen, Edmund Dehn, Emily Booth, Eileen Daly, Rebecca Eden and Emma Rice. A homage to the cult Amicus anthology Asylum, Cradle of Fear unfolds four stories all linked by the thread of an incarcerated child killer wreaking vengeance on those responsible for his imprisonment. The movie's tagline on some posters was, "It's not if they die... It's how!"

Pantera

2009-12-19T07:59:00.000-08:00

Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas, formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul (drums) and "Dimebag" Darrell (guitar), then known as Diamond Darrell, in 1981.Bassist Rex Brown then known as Rex Rocker would join in 1982, with vocalist Terry Glaze. In 1987 Phil Anselmo would become the group's lead vocalist, completing the band's most successful lineup that would remain together for 16 years.
Pantera's style changed by the late 1980s. The band subsequently became a key formulator of the post-thrash metal subgenre of groove metal. It would not be until nine years after forming that the band saw its first piece of commercial success in its 1990 major label debut, Cowboys from Hell. From there, Pantera became one of the most celebrated heavy metal bands of the 1990s.
Despite the generally cold reception of the band's first four albums from the 1980s, critics have lauded Pantera's style thereafter; Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic.com states that "there was no greater metal band during the early to mid-1990s than Pantera." The band has received accolades such as ranking 45th on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and fifth on MTV's "Top 10 Greatest Heavy Metal Bands of All-Time."
Pantera began to suffer from mounting tensions between band members in the mid-1990s, largely due to Phil Anselmo's rampant drug abuse. Anselmo had had a back injury for several years and decided, instead of getting proper treatment, to begin using heroin as a painkiller. As a result his behavior became erratic and volatile, his performances suffered and he began to distance himself from his bandmates, who were initially unaware of his addiction.
In 2001, the band went on hiatus and was never able to successfully reunite, with the Abbott brothers unable to communicate with Anselmo, who was immersed in several side-projects, chiefly Down and Superjoint Ritual. Pantera officially disbanded in 2003 and a war of words ensued, with Phil and Vinnie Paul trading inflammatory comments and blaming one another for the break-up of Pantera via the media. Any hope of the band members ever reconciling their differences and possibly reuniting was lost in 2004, when "Dimebag" Darrell was shot and killed on-stage at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio by a mentally ill gunman named Nathan Gale while performing with Vinnie and his new band, Damageplan.

Some European Power Metal Bands

2009-12-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

Originating from New Wave of British Heavy Metal, European branch of power metal emerged in 1980s with Germany's Helloween and Finland's Stratovarius in the 1990s, with a strong focus on melody and uplifting, positive themes. Helloween mixed fast palm muted speed metal riffs with high-pitched clean vocals and guitar. The album Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 was an album that made a staple for the birth of power metal. Stratovarius further developed this melodic direction by making heavy use of keyboards and neo-classical guitar solo duels which are now prevalent in almost all power metal. This genre branched and spread over Europe and into most of power metal's subgenres, incorporating further influences from classical and folk music and reinforcing the high fantasy imagery as well as sometimes developing a more emotional, romantic edge. The style has become one of the largest metal subgenres and its popularity is far from waning. The United States also has its share of European style power metal bands, an example of which is Kamelot. It should be noted that some other power metal bands put less emphasis on speed.

Pantera

2009-12-19T07:47:00.000-08:00

Power Metal is the fourth studio album by heavy metal band Pantera, released in 1988 on Metal Magic Records. The album showcases a style closer to thrash metal rather than hard rock, which formed the basis of the band's previous three albums; although traces of glam metal can still be heard.
Notably, Phil Anselmo makes his first appearance on vocals (having replaced former vocalist Terry Glaze), as well as guitarist Diamond Darrell, who performs vocals on "P·S·T·88" (he later provided vocals for the songs "Caged in a Rage" and "Heard It on the X", from the soundtracks to Supercop and ECW: Extreme Music, respectively).
"Proud to Be Loud" was written and produced by Keel guitarist Marc Ferrari and was originally intended to appear on that group's self-titled album, Keel (1987); however, Keel would not record a version of the song until 1998. Pantera's version was used as the party song in the theatrical cut of the 2001 film, Donnie Darko, credited to "The Dead Green Mummies". Glaze also helped to co-write "Down Below", with an earlier recording of the song appearing on Pantera's third album, I Am the Night (1985).
Like that of their previous albums, having not been reissued by the band since its original release on CD, vinyl and cassette, official non-bootlegged editions of the album have become rare collectors items, with any that exist often being circulated through online auction websites such as eBay.