Darkthrone is a black metal band from Kolbotn, Norway, formed in 1986 as a death metal band under the name Black Death. In 1991, the band embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and became one of the leading bands in the Norwegian black metal scene.
Overkill is an American thrash metal band, formed in 1980 in New Jersey. They have gone through many line-up changes, leaving bassist D. D. Verni and lead vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth as the only constant members. In addition to Verni and Ellsworth, Overkill's current lineup includes Dave Linsk on lead guitar, Derek Tailer on rhythm guitar and Jason Bittner on drums. Along with Nuclear Assault and Anthrax, whose one-time lead guitarist Dan Spitz was also an early member of Overkill, the band is one of the most successful East Coast thrash metal bands, and they are often called "the Motörhead of thrash metal", based on their unique playing style, which was influenced by punk rock and the new wave of British heavy metal. The band has a notable mascot named "Chaly", a skeletal bat with a skull-like face, horns, bony wings and green eyes, who has appeared on most of their album covers.
Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo. The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead guitar work. The lyrical subject matter often deals with criticisms of The Establishment and concern over the destruction of the environment, and at times shares a disdain for Christian dogma resembling that of their black metal counterparts. The language is typically direct and denunciatory, an approach borrowed from hardcore punk.
Lightning to the Nations is the debut album by British heavy metal band Diamond Head. The album was recorded in 1979 and released in 1980 through Happy Face Records, a label owned by the producer Muff Murfin of The Old Smithy studio of Worcester, due to lack of interest from major labels and the band feeling that they needed to get the ball rolling as other bands from the same era, such as Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, were already becoming big names. It was originally released in a plain white sleeve with no title or track listing, and was subsequently named after the first track on the album. Metal Blade Records re-released it on CD in 1992. In 2001, it was re-issued in its original "White Album" form by Sanctuary Records, featuring seven bonus tracks that were featured on singles and EPs from this era.
"Night of the Living Dead" is the fourth single by the horror punk band the Misfits. It was released on October 31, 1979, on singer Glenn Danzig's label Plan 9 Records. 2,000 copies of the single were pressed on black 7" vinyl. The night of its release the band performed at Irving Plaza in New York City and sold the single at the door.
Clutch is an American rock band from Germantown, Maryland. Since its formation in 1991, the band line-up has included Tim Sult, Dan Maines (bass), Jean-Paul Gaster (drums), and Neil Fallon. To date, Clutch has released twelve studio albums, and several rarities and live albums. Since 2008, the band have been signed to their own record label, Weathermaker.
Probot was a heavy metal side project of ex-Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters rhythm guitarist and lead-singer Dave Grohl. Described by Grohl as "a death metal Supernatural", the album mixes instrumentals recorded by Grohl himself with various metal singers whom the musician admired. The album was released in February 2004 by Southern Lord Records. It featured one single entitled "Centuries of Sin"/"The Emerald Law".
Michael Amott is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter, founding member of the bands Arch Enemy, Spiritual Beggars, and Carnage, as well as a former member of the extreme metal band Carcass. He is the older brother of Christopher Amott. Some major influences in his music have been Tony Iommi, Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth and Dave Mustaine.
Graveland are a Polish pagan metal band which was formed in 1991 by Rob Darken. They began as a black metal band before adopting a pagan and Viking metal style. The lyrics and imagery of Graveland are strongly inspired by European mythology, far-right politics, neo-Nazism, nature, winter and war. Their early work focused on Celtic and Slavic mythology, while their later work focuses on Norse mythology and Wotanism.
Sad Wings of Destiny is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 23 March 1976 by Gull Records. It is considered the album on which Judas Priest consolidated their sound and image, and songs from it such as "Victim of Changes" and "The Ripper" have since become live standards. It was the band's only album to feature drummer Alan Moore.
Jag Panzer is an American power metal band from Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States.
Burzum is the debut studio album by the Norwegian black metal solo project Burzum. It was released in March 1992, through Euronymous's label Deathlike Silence Productions. Six of the songs were later re-recorded in 2010 and released on the album From the Depths of Darkness, as Varg Vikernes was dissatisfied with some of the original vocals and production.
Obsessed by Cruelty is the debut full-length studio album and the second release by German thrash metal band Sodom, released in 1986. Two different versions of this album exist, the European and the American, which were released by Steamhammer and Metal Blade Records, respectively.
The Savage Poetry, released in 2000, is a re-recording of the album Savage Poetry, originally launched in 1995 as a demo by German power metal band Edguy. This version is also seen and referred to as their fourth official studio album. The album was originally self-produced and released initially as a demo before the band were signed by AFM. The re-recorded tracks are also slightly re-arranged. Some versions of the album also features the original recording as a bonus disc.
Lord is a heavy metal band from Wollongong, Australia. The group began as a solo project for "Lord Tim" Grose of Dungeon in 2003 and expanded into a complete band when Dungeon broke up in 2005. LORD has appeared with major acts that include Queensrÿche, Nightwish, Nevermore, Saxon and Gamma Ray. The band's name is usually stylised in all capital letters.
Wrath of the Tyrant is the first demo album by the Norwegian black metal band Emperor. It was recorded in May 1992 and self-released by the band shortly after.
Nightfall is a Greek extreme metal band from Athens. Formed by vocalist/bassist Efthimis Karadimas in 1991, the group is currently signed to Metal Blade Records. They are widely considered the forerunners to a "mediterranean way to black metal" together with Inchiuvatu and Moonspell.
Sho' Nuff: The Complete Black Crowes is a five-disc box set from The Black Crowes. It contains their first four studio albums and a bonus live EP. The studio albums were remastered, contain bonus tracks and each include a screen saver and music videos presented in multimedia format. The Sho' Nuff edition of Amorica includes neither 'Tied Up and Swallowed' nor 'Chevrolet'.
Strength and Honour is an album by Finnish black metal band Satanic Warmaster. It was released in November 2001 through Northern Heritage. It was reissued twice by Northern Heritage in 2003 and 2004, both pressings limited to 1000 copies. The original LP version comes with a bonus track, officially untitled, also referred to as "Legion Werewolf". The keyboard outro to "Night of Retribution" was originally intended to be the intro for Satanic Warmaster's unreleased "Black Metal Kommando" debut album. The album intro is an uncredited piece taken from the SPK album Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers. The album cover features the “Spirit of Wolf” emblem by the band Black Draugwath. Satanic Warmaster apologized years later for the mistake.
Tyrant is a Japanese symphonic black metal band.
