W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982. They emerged from the early 1980s Los Angeles heavy metal scene. The band's popularity peaked that decade, yet they continue to record and tour. W.A.S.P. gained notoriety for their shock rock-themed image, lyrics and live performances. They have sold over twelve million records worldwide, with their first two albums, W.A.S.P. (1984) and The Last Command (1985), being certified as gold by the RIAA.
Randall William Rhoads was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo albums Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981). Rhoads was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.
Steven Edward Duren, better known by his stage name Blackie Lawless, is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for heavy metal band W.A.S.P.
Superstrat is a name for an electric guitar design that resembles a Fender Stratocaster but with differences that clearly distinguish it from a standard Stratocaster, usually to cater to a different playing style. Differences typically include more pointed, aggressive-looking body and neck shapes with increased cutaways to facilitate access to the higher frets, an increased number of frets on the fingerboard, a contoured heel at the neck joint facilitating easier higher fret access, the usage of humbucking pickups, and locking vibrato systems, most commonly the Floyd Rose.
Richard Suligowski, better known as Rik Fox, is an American heavy metal bassist. He was active mainly during the 1970s and 1980s, in the New York City and Hollywood area rock and metal scenes.
Christopher Alan Broderick is an American musician, best known as a former guitarist of the thrash metal band Megadeth. He is also formerly the lead guitarist and keyboardist for Jag Panzer, appearing on four of the band's albums, The Age of Mastery, Thane to the Throne, Mechanized Warfare and Casting the Stones. Prior to joining Megadeth and while still in Jag Panzer, he served as a touring guitarist for Nevermore from 2001 to 2003, and again between 2006 and 2007. Following his departure from Megadeth, Broderick formed Act of Defiance in 2014. He joined Swedish metal band In Flames in 2019 as a touring guitarist, before becoming the band's permanent rhythm and lead guitarist in 2022.
Charvel is a brand of electric guitars founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and originally headquartered in Glendora, California. Since 2002, Charvel has been under the ownership of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
The King V is an electric guitar model made by Jackson Guitars.
Joe Holmes is an American heavy metal guitarist best known for his stint with Ozzy Osbourne between 1995 and 2001. He has also played with Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth and the L.A. band Lizzy Borden in addition to leading his own bands, Terriff, and currently, Farmikos.
Mickael Gordon "Mick" Thomson is an American musician. He is one of two guitarists for the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #7. Thomson originally met founding Slipknot members Anders Colsefni, Donnie Steele and Paul Gray through their mutual involvement in death metal band Body Pit, later joined in early 1996. Following the departure of bandmates drummer Joey Jordison in 2013 and sampler Craig Jones in 2023, Thomson is now the second longest-serving member of Slipknot.
The Last Command is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released on October 25, 1985. The album was produced by Spencer Proffer, who was perhaps best known for producing the six-time Platinum selling album Metal Health by Quiet Riot in 1983.
Stet Howland is an American drummer, best known as former drummer of W.A.S.P. and the current drummer of Metal Church.
The Frankenstrat, also known as "Frankie", is a guitar created by Eddie Van Halen. Its name is a portmanteau of Frankenstein, the fictional doctor who created a monster by combining body parts of the recently deceased, and the Stratocaster, a model of electric guitar made by Fender.
The Jackson Rhoads is a model of electric guitar, originally commissioned by guitarist Randy Rhoads and produced by Jackson Guitars.
The star is a body shape of solid body electric guitar, particularly favoured for heavy metal music. It blends some features of the Gibson Flying V and Gibson Explorer, both of them much older designs.
The Destroyer is an Ibanez brand electric guitar model (originally) manufactured at the FujiGen musical instrument factory for the Hoshino Gakki Company. The Destroyer model was first introduced by Hoshino Gakki in 1975 and was based on the Gibson Explorer design. The Destroyer has since undergone several design and line changes and has been available in both 6-string and bass versions.
The Razorback V is an electric guitar designed by Dimebag Darrell shortly before his death in December 2004. It is a more aggressive looking version of the Dean V, and similar to the Dean Razorback. Corey Beaulieu of Trivium is known for using this guitar It is the more pointy version of the Dean Guitar headstock and the body is an enlarged reversed image of the head. There is also a bass guitar version of the Razorback V shape.
