Down is an American heavy metal supergroup that formed in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1991. The current lineup consists of vocalist Phil Anselmo, drummer Jimmy Bower, guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein (Crowbar), and bassist Pat Bruders (Goatwhore).
Disturbed is an American heavy metal band from Chicago, formed in 1994. The band includes guitarist Dan Donegan, drummer Mike Wengren, lead vocalist David Draiman and bassist John Moyer. Donegan and Wengren have been involved in the band since its inception, with Draiman replacing original lead vocalist Erich Awalt in 1996 and Moyer replacing original bassist Steve "Fuzz" Kmak in 2004.
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial metal. Over the years, Fear Factory has seen frequent changes in its lineup, with lead vocalist Burton C. Bell being the only consistent member for 31 years until his departure in 2020. Guitarist Dino Cazares is the only original member still in the band. The band went on hiatus in March 2002 following some internal disputes, but resumed activity a year later without founding member Cazares. Previous bassist Christian Olde Wolbers replaced him on guitarist, while Byron Stroud handled bass duties. After a second hiatus in 2006, Fear Factory reunited in April 2009 with a new lineup that featured a returning Cazares, Gene Hoglan as the replacement of original drummer Raymond Herrera, and Bell and Stroud reprising their respective roles; this lineup recorded the band's seventh studio album titled Mechanize (2010). Wolbers and Herrera — together comprising 50% of the band's legal ownership — disputed the legitimacy of the reunited band, and a legal battle from both parties had begun. Despite this, Fear Factory has since released three more albums: The Industrialist (2012), Genexus (2015) and Aggression Continuum (2021).
Century Media Records is a German heavy metal record label with offices in Germany, the United States and London. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million.
Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City.
Strapping Young Lad (SYL) was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. By 1997, he had recruited permanent members; this line-up, which consisted of Townsend on vocals and guitar, Jed Simon on guitar, Byron Stroud on bass, and Gene Hoglan on drums, lasted until the band's dissolution.
Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of progressive metal band Opeth. A former vocalist of death metal supergroup Bloodbath, he was also guitarist for the "one-off" band Steel, and part of the collaboration Storm Corrosion with Steven Wilson.
Machine Head is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Robb Flynn, who remains the only original member of the band. Machine Head's aggressive musicianship made it one of the pioneering bands in the new wave of American heavy metal. Its current lineup comprises Flynn, bassist Jared MacEachern and drummer Matt Alston. Bassist Adam Duce, lead guitarists Logan Mader, Ahrue Luster and Phil Demmel, and drummers Tony Costanza, Chris Kontos and Dave McClain are former members of the band; Mader and Kontos toured with the band in 2019 and 2020 as part of the 25th anniversary tour for its first album, Burn My Eyes (1994).
Pestilence is a Dutch death metal band founded in Enschede in 1986. They have been through various membership changes throughout their existence, with guitarist-vocalist Patrick Mameli as the sole constant member. After disbanding in order to pursue other musical directions in 1994, Pestilence reunited in 2008, and was put on a "permanent hold" in July 2014. However, the band reunited once again in October 2016. To date, Pestilence has released ten studio albums, and they are one of "progressive death metal's Big Four", along with Death, Atheist, and Cynic.
3 Inches of Blood is a Canadian heavy metal band formed in 1999 in Victoria, British Columbia, reunited in 2024 after disbanding in 2015. Returning with Cam Pipes, Justin Hagberg, Shane Clark, Nick Cates, and Ash Pearson. Their music was strongly influenced by the new wave of British heavy metal movement.
Ghost Reveries is the eighth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on 29 August 2005. It was their first album after signing with Roadrunner Records, and first album since Still Life (1999) to not be produced by Steven Wilson.
Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing is the debut studio album by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on April 4, 1995. Century Media Europe released a remastered version of the album on June 12, 2006, which includes the video for "S.Y.L.", several bonus tracks, and a 12-page booklet containing extended liner notes.
Wages of Sin is the fourth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. It is the first Arch Enemy album to feature the vocals of Angela Gossow, and their first to feature a female vocalist. It is also their first album recorded in C tuning, starting a trend which continues across their discography. Wages of Sin was released on 25 April 2001 in Japan, but the European and American releases were delayed until 18 March 2002.
Physicist is the fourth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. The album was released on June 26, 2000, on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Tenth Dimension is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Blaze Bayley, then known as Blaze, released in 2002. It is a concept album.
America's Volume Dealer is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Corrosion of Conformity, released on September 26, 2000. It was the last album to feature longtime drummer Reed Mullin for nine years until his return in 2010.
Monte Conner is an American music executive and artists and repertoire (A&R) representative. He was the former senior vice president of A&R for Roadrunner Records from 1988 until 2012, and is currently the head of A&R at Nuclear Blast Records. MetalSucks has called him "the most successful A&R dude in the history of metal."
Killswitch Engage is the fifth studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on June 30, 2009 through Roadrunner Records. It is the band's second album to be self-titled, the first being their debut album. It was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz and Brendan O'Brien. The album's reception from critics and fans has been mixed, with praise for Howard Jones's vocals and criticism of Dutkiewicz's and O'Brien's production and the album's reliance on formula.
Mutiny Within is the debut studio album by New Jersey heavy metal band, Mutiny Within, released on February 23, 2010 in the US, and on April 26, 2010 in the UK, both through Roadrunner Records. The album was recorded at Bieler Bros. Studios in Pompano Beach, Florida, produced by Jason Bieler, and mixed by Martyn "Ginge" Ford and Jeff Rose at Not-In-Pill Studios, Newport, Wales. This album was released in two different versions: the standard edition, which was released as a CD and included eleven tracks and a small illustrated booklet with lyrics; and the special edition, which was digitally released and included the eleven album tracks plus four bonus tracks. The self-titled debut album sold around 900 copies in the US in its first week of release, landing at position No. 41 on the "Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers)" chart.
Call To Arms is the nineteenth studio album by British heavy metal band Saxon. Call to Arms was released 3 June in Europe; 6 June in Denmark, Finland, and the UK; 8 June in Greece and Poland; 10 June in France. Previously, it was due to be released on 23 May 2011. The album was released on 27 September in North America by EMI. Current Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey made a guest appearance on the album.
