Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédéric Leclercq. The band's lineup has changed multiple times over its 42-year career, most noticeably with their bassists and lead guitarists. Petrozza and Reil are the only two original members left in Kreator, although the latter took a break from the band from 1994 to 1996. Yli-Sirniö has been the lead guitarist of Kreator since 2001, while Leclercq joined in 2019 as the replacement of Christian "Speesy" Giesler, who had been a member of the band since 1994.
Sodom is a German thrash metal band from Gelsenkirchen, formed in 1981. They have gone through many lineup changes, leaving bassist/vocalist Tom Angelripper as the only constant member. The band is currently composed of Angelripper, guitarists Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik and Yorck Segatz, and drummer Toni Merkel. Along with Kreator, Destruction and Tankard, Sodom has been referred to as one of the "Big Four" of Teutonic thrash metal. Sodom heavily influenced the German black metal scene. In addition, the band is regarded as a pioneer of early death metal. Mike McPadden wrote that the most Venom-blackened of German "Three Kings", Sodom further merged thrash and death metal into a "wicked and decadent sound".
Destruction is a German thrash metal band formed in 1982. They have been credited as one of the "Big Four" of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom and Tankard. In addition to helping pioneer black metal, Destruction was part of the second wave of thrash metal in the mid-to-late 1980s, along with American bands like Testament, Sacred Reich, Death Angel and Dark Angel. For most of the 1990s, the band was not signed to a record label and was forced to self-produce their albums until they signed a contract with Nuclear Blast in the early 2000s.
Another Perfect Day is the sixth studio album by British rock band Motörhead. It was released in May 1983 by Bronze Records, which would be the band's last full-length original album with the label. It is the band's only studio album to feature lead guitarist Brian "Robbo" Robertson, best known for his work with Thin Lizzy.
M-16 is the tenth studio album by German thrash metal band Sodom, released on 22 October 2001 by Steamhammer Records. The album is a concept album about the Vietnam War and is named after the rifle used by many U.S. soldiers during the war.
Code Red is the ninth studio album by German thrash metal band Sodom, released on 31 May 1999 via Drakkar Entertainment. On this album, Sodom returned to classic thrash metal which pleased many fans. It was also released as a two-disc limited edition with a Sodom tribute album called Homage to the Gods and as a two-disc edition with an Onkel Tom Angelripper's album called Ich glaub' nicht an den Weihnachtsmann.
'Til Death Do Us Unite is the eighth studio album by German thrash metal band Sodom, released on 24 February 1997 by Steamhammer/SPV. It had a controversial album cover, showing the bellies of a naked pregnant woman and an obese man pressing a human skull together. It is the first Sodom album with guitarist Bernermann and drummer Bobby Schottkowski.
Extreme Aggression is the fourth studio album by German thrash metal band Kreator released in 1989. While the band had already gained a sizeable following in the US due to their 1988 tour with the crossover thrash band D.R.I., this album introduced many American fans to Kreator, primarily through heavy rotation of the "Betrayer" music video on MTV's Headbangers Ball, which was partly shot at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The beginning of the song "Love Us or Hate Us" was used in an early 1990s promo ad by the Los Angeles radio station KNAC. This was their first album issued in the US by Epic Records. The album was also available on picture disc vinyl.
Sodom is the eleventh album by German thrash metal band Sodom, released on 21 April 2006. The first pressing was in a slipcase and includes a full-colour poster of the artwork. "The album is self-titled," Tom Angelripper explains, "because every band needs a self-titled album."
Despair is a thrash metal band from Dortmund, Germany.
In War and Pieces is the thirteenth album by the German thrash metal band Sodom. It was released on 19 November 2010 in Germany, 22 November 2010 in Europe, and 11 January 2011 in the United States.
Repentless is the twelfth and final studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on September 11, 2015. This is the band's only album recorded without guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who died from liver cirrhosis in 2013 and was replaced by Gary Holt, and the first to feature drummer Paul Bostaph since God Hates Us All (2001). Repentless is also the only album the band released on Nuclear Blast and was produced by Terry Date, replacing Rick Rubin after twenty-nine years and nine studio albums as their producer or executive producer. The six-year gap between World Painted Blood (2009) and Repentless was the longest between two Slayer albums in their career, and it would be the band's last studio album before disbanding in 2019, following the conclusion of their final world tour.
30 Years Sodomized: 1982–2012 is a three-disc, two-LP box set by German thrash metal band Sodom, released on 25 June 2012. The set includes the albums Official Bootleg: The Witchhunter Decade, a collection of live recordings and unreleased demos, and 30 Years' War, a retrospective selection of studio tracks personally compiled by Tom Angelripper.
Epitome of Torture is the fourteenth album by the German thrash metal band Sodom. The album debuted on the Billboard Heatseakers Chart at 25, their highest Billboard Debut ever.
Dystopia is the fifteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was released on frontman and guitarist Dave Mustaine's Tradecraft label via Universal on January 22, 2016. It is the first Megadeth album to feature guitarist Kiko Loureiro and their last album with bassist David Ellefson. The album was produced by Mustaine and Chris Rakestraw and features cover artwork by Brent Elliot White.
Sacred Warpath is an EP by German thrash metal band Sodom, released in 2014. It contains one original studio track and live versions of three previously released songs. "Sacred Warpath" was re-recorded two years later on the band's fifth studio album, Decision Day (2016).
Suicide Society is the fifteenth album by the Canadian heavy metal band Annihilator. It was released on September 18, 2015, by UDR Music, and is the first album to feature guitarist and bandleader Jeff Waters performing lead vocals on all tracks since 1997's Remains due to the departure of Dave Padden in December 2014. It also marks the return of bassist Cam Dixon, who toured with the band from 1994 to 1995, as well as the addition of new guitarist Aaron Homma, both of whom are credited with providing backing vocals in the liner notes.
Atoma is the eleventh studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. It was released on 4 November 2016 through Century Media Records. Atoma is the band's first studio album with bassist Anders Iwers, who replaced founding member Martin Henriksson, after Henriksson left the band in early 2016 due to loss of passion for playing music. Atoma is the last release to feature founding lead guitarist Niklas Sundin, who would depart from the band in March 2020.
The Rise of Chaos is the 15th studio album by German heavy metal band Accept, released on 4 August 2017. This is the first Accept album with guitarist Uwe Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams, replacing Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively. It is also their final studio album to feature bassist Peter Baltes, who left Accept in November 2018. Like their previous three studio albums, The Rise of Chaos was produced by Andy Sneap, making it the band's fourth collaboration with him. Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann has stated that the album's title refers to the human-caused chaos in the world.
Genesis XIX is the sixteenth studio album by the German thrash metal band Sodom, released on 27 November 2020. It is the first studio album to feature returning guitarist Frank Blackfire since 1989's Agent Orange, as well as new members, guitarist Yorck Segatz and drummer Toni Merkel. As such, this album marks the first time in Sodom's history that they had recorded an album as a quartet rather than a trio.
