OSI was an American progressive rock band, originally formed by Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos in 2002. Chroma Key keyboardist and vocalist Kevin Moore is the only other full-time member of the band. The collaboration may be considered a studio project, as its members and contributors write and track most of their material independently, sharing and developing tracks long-distance, only coming together at the end of the process for mixing and additional tracking. The band's name is a reference to the Office of Strategic Influence, a short-lived American government agency formed in 2001 to support the War on Terror through propaganda. The band has featured a number of guest musicians on its albums, including Sean Malone, Steven Wilson, Mikael Akerfeldt, Joey Vera and Gavin Harrison.
Skyforger is a heavy metal band from Latvia which was formed in 1995 out of the remains of doom metal band Grindmaster Dead.
Falconer was a Swedish power metal band from Mjölby, formed in 1999 by the former guitarist of Mithotyn, Stefan Weinerhall. Falconer carried on many of the traditions set by Weinerhall's previous band and played a fusion style of power metal that utilizes folk instrumentation and melody to create a more medieval sound.
Amon Amarth is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and history, and so they have been sometimes erroneously labeled "Viking metal", although the band insists they play melodic death metal.
Helstar is an American heavy metal band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1982 by guitarist Larry Barragan. They were an influential force in the American power metal genre emerging in the mid-1980s.
Jim Matheos is an American guitarist and the primary songwriter for the progressive metal band Fates Warning, in which he has been the only consistent member since the group's beginning. Matheos also plays in OSI alongside Kevin Moore, as well as making other appearances with many different bands and artists.
Taken by Force is the fifth studio album by German band Scorpions, released by RCA Records in 1977. This was the first Scorpions album to feature drummer Herman Rarebell and the final studio album to feature guitarist Uli Jon Roth. Roth left the band in 1978 following the end of the album's tour, and was at first replaced by Michael Schenker and later by Matthias Jabs.
Nosferatu is the fourth album by American heavy metal band Helstar, released by Metal Blade Records in November 1989. The first half of the album follows a storyline based on the Bram Stoker novel Dracula and includes audio samples of Frank Langella's performance in John Badham's film adaptation of Dracula. It was the last album recorded by the band before going on hiatus, until reforming in 1995.
Vomitory is a Swedish death metal band formed in 1989 by guitarist Urban Gustafsson and bassist Ronnie Olson. The band released a total of eight albums, all released on Metal Blade Records. After breaking up in 2013 and reuniting for a one-off show in 2017, Vomitory officially reformed in 2018.
James Rivera is an American singer, best known as the frontman for the heavy metal band Helstar. He was also the singer for Seven Witches between 2002 and 2005.
Distant Thunder may refer to:
Burning Star is the debut album by American heavy metal band Helstar, released by Combat Records in March 1984. Recorded at Sunrise Studios in the band's hometown of Houston, the original cover features a grim reaper-type of figure in a red robe holding a fireball and scythe. European and subsequent re-releases of the album feature a different cover with a spacecraft exploding.
Malice is an American heavy metal band formed in 1981, best known for their appearance on the first Metal Massacre compilation and the release of a pair of albums on Atlantic Records. Their heavily-European-influenced style elicited comparisons to Judas Priest.
Viking is an American thrash metal band in Los Angeles, California, which had existed for four years, between 1986 and 1990. However, they reformed in 2011. To date, Viking has released three studio albums, Do or Die (1988), Man of Straw (1989) and No Child Left Behind (2015).
Majesty was a German heavy metal band.
Remnants of War is the second album by American heavy metal band Helstar, released by Combat Records and Noise Records in August 1986, and the final by the former. It was recorded following a lineup change and a change of studio to Mad Dog Studios in California. The sound of the album was a gradual progression from the traditional heavy metal style of the band's debut album, Burning Star towards the power-thrash sound that the band forged throughout the 1980s.
Sacred Steel is a German heavy metal band.
Intruder is an American thrash metal band from Nashville, Tennessee. Formerly known as "Transgresser", the group began as a four-piece cover band. They saw the addition of rhythm guitarist Greg Messick after signing with Metal Blade Records.
Fire Make Thunder is the fourth studio album by American progressive rock band OSI, released by Metal Blade Records on March 27, 2012 in Europe and North America.
Hatchet is an American thrash metal band from San Francisco, California, formed in January 2005 by guitarist and vocalist Julz Ramos, the band's only remaining original member. To date, they have released four studio albums, two demos and one EP, and are now notable for being part of the thrash metal revival movement in the late 2000s. Influenced by the new wave of British heavy metal and Bay Area thrash metal scenes of the 1980s, Hatchet's music has been described as "old-school thrash metal".
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