Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horror and franchise films. Lee was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and received the BFI Fellowship in 2013.
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal movement, and are cited as a formative influence on various heavy metal subgenres, including speed metal, thrash metal, power metal, and the hard rock/glam metal scene of the 1980s. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band had struggled with poor record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when their sixth studio album British Steel brought them notable mainstream attention.
Kenneth Downing Jr. is an English guitarist and a founding member of the heavy metal bands Judas Priest and KK's Priest.
Frehley's Comet was an American rock band formed and led by ex-Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley. The group released two studio albums and one live EP before Frehley left the band to release his 1989 solo album, Trouble Walkin'.
A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written to be played on a classical, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular music such as blues, swing, jazz, jazz fusion, rock and heavy metal, guitar solos often contain virtuoso techniques and varying degrees of improvisation. Guitar solos on classical guitar, which are typically written in musical notation, are also used in classical music forms such as chamber music and concertos.
Grim Reaper were a British heavy metal band from the new wave of British heavy metal era. The band was formed in 1979 in Droitwich, England, by guitarist Nick Bowcott, and there have been numerous lineup changes over the years, with frontman Steve Grimmett being the longest running member, from 1982 to 1988, then 2006 until his death in 2022. They are best known for several of their 1980s songs, including the respective title tracks from their first three albums: See You in Hell (1983), Fear No Evil (1985) and Rock You to Hell (1987); each of those songs gained notoriety in the 1990s for appearing on Beavis and Butt-Head. After disbanding in 1988, the band reformed in 2006 around Grimmett, and due to legal issues surrounding the rights to the original band name, they went by Steve Grimmett's Grim Reaper. Two albums under that name – Walking in the Shadows (2016) and At the Gates (2019) – were released before Grimmett died in 2022, after which the band disbanded again.
Hardline is an American hard rock band. Originally formed in 1991 by brothers Johnny Gioeli and Joey Gioeli, the band consisted of five members, Johnny Gioeli, Joey Gioeli, Neal Schon, Todd Jensen and Deen Castronovo. The band's most recent album is Heart, Mind and Soul, which was released in 2021. Joey Gioeli has not appeared on a Hardline album since 2002's II after retiring from music to focus on the family business. Johnny Gioeli remains the only original member of the band.
The Sword is an American heavy metal band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2003, the band was composed of vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III for most of its tenure. Originally signed to Kemado Records, the group released their debut album Age of Winters in 2006, the material for which had been largely written by Cronise prior to the band's formation. Gods of the Earth was released two years later, giving the group its first entry on the US Billboard 200 chart when it reached number 102.
Vinnie Vincent Invasion is the first studio album by Vinnie Vincent Invasion, released in 1986 through Chrysalis Records.
Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross is a symphonic metal concept album by actor and singer Christopher Lee. It was released on 15 March 2010. This was Lee's first full-length album in the genre, having previously worked with such bands as Rhapsody of Fire and Manowar.
Richard Ian Faulkner is a British-American guitarist best known as one of the lead guitarists for the heavy metal band Judas Priest since 2011, replacing original member K. K. Downing. He has also performed with Lauren Harris, Christopher Lee, Voodoo Six, Deeds, and Ace Mafia.
Hedras David Ramos Velasquez is a Guatemalan multi-instrumentalist, specializing in guitar.
Redeemer of Souls is the seventeenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, which was released in the US on 8 July 2014, in Europe on 11 July, and in the UK on 14 July. It is their first album without founding guitarist K. K. Downing, who quit the band in 2011 and was replaced by new guitarist Richie Faulkner. It also marks the band's last album to be produced by Glenn Tipton. The album sold around 32,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to peak at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, marking the band's first top 10 album debut in the US. It has sold 110,000 copies in the US as of February 2016.
Low Country is a compilation album by American hard rock band The Sword. Recorded at The Bend in Austin, Texas and The Berry in Taylor, Texas, it was produced by the band's bassist Bryan Richie and released on September 23, 2016 by Razor & Tie. The album features stripped-down acoustic recordings of ten of the 15 songs from the band's 2015 fifth studio album High Country, which were recorded shortly before the album's release, between June and August 2015.
Firepower is the eighteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. Released in 2018, it was the band's first studio album since 1988's Ram It Down to be produced by Tom Allom and the first one with Andy Sneap as co-producer. The album sold around 49,000 copies in the United States within its first week of release, debuting at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's highest-charting album in the US. The album also reached No. 5 in the UK, making it their first top-ten album in the UK since British Steel. Music videos were made for "Lightning Strike", "Spectre" and "No Surrender". A lyric video was made for "Never the Heroes". The record also produced three singles.
Used Future is the sixth and final studio album by American heavy metal band the Sword. Recorded in late 2017 at Flora Recording & Playback in Portland, Oregon, it was produced by Tucker Martine and was released on March 23, 2018, by Razor & Tie.
Greetings From... is the first live album by American heavy metal band The Sword. Recorded at various dates between September and October 2016 during a North American tour supporting Swedish band Opeth, it was released on May 5, 2017 by Razor & Tie. The album was produced and mixed by the band's bassist Bryan Richie, who had previously produced the compilation album Low Country. The recording of "Maiden, Mother & Crone" was released as the only single from the album.
Benjamin David Christodoulou is an English rock musician, guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, lyricist and session musician, he is best known for his tenures with The Sisters of Mercy, Night By Night and Diamond Black.
Exile is the eleventh studio album by American Christian metal band Demon Hunter, released through their self-founded record label, Weapons MFG, and the band's first concept album. It was announced for release on September 9, 2022, then delayed to October 28, 2022, due to supply chain issues.
Elegant Weapons is a heavy metal supergroup composed of guitarist Richie Faulkner from Judas Priest, vocalist Ronnie Romero of Rainbow and MSG, drummer Christopher Williams from Accept, and bassist Dave Rimmer from Uriah Heep. The band announced their formation on 25 October 2022, originally with bassist Rex Brown of Pantera and drummer Scott Travis of Judas Priest.
