Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with their first three albums Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970) and Master of Reality (1971). Following Osbourne's departure in 1979 the band underwent multiple line-up changes, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout their history.
Motörhead were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precursor to the new wave of British heavy metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Though several guitarists and drummers have played in Motörhead, most of their best-selling albums and singles feature drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor and guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke.
Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup consisted of guitarists Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo, drummer Scott Rockenfield, bassist Eddie Jackson, and lead vocalist Geoff Tate.
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. It is said that the band is one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weikath and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. By the time Hansen quit Helloween in 1989 to form Gamma Ray, the band had evolved into a five-piece, with Michael Kiske taking over as lead vocalist. Schwichtenberg and Kiske both parted ways with Helloween in 1993; Schwichtenberg died two years later as the result of suicide. Between then and 2016, there had been numerous line-up changes, leaving Grosskopf and Weikath as the only remaining original members. As a septet, their current lineup includes four-fifths of the Keeper of the Seven Keys: Parts I and II-era (1987–1988) lineup, featuring three additional members, vocalist Andi Deris, guitarist Sascha Gerstner and drummer Daniel Löble.
OSI was an American progressive rock band, originally formed by Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos in 2002. Chroma Key keyboardist and vocalist Kevin Moore is the only other full-time member of the band. The collaboration may be considered a studio project, as its members and contributors write and track most of their material independently, sharing and developing tracks long-distance, only coming together at the end of the process for mixing and additional tracking. The band's name is a reference to the Office of Strategic Influence, a short-lived American government agency formed in 2001 to support the War on Terror through propaganda. The band has featured a number of guest musicians on its albums, including Sean Malone, Steven Wilson, Mikael Akerfeldt, Joey Vera and Gavin Harrison.
Metal Church is an American heavy metal band formed in 1980. Originally based in San Francisco, California, they relocated to Aberdeen, Washington the following year and briefly called themselves Shrapnel. Led by guitarist and songwriter Kurdt Vanderhoof, the band has released twelve studio albums and is considered to be an integral part of the Seattle heavy metal music scene of the 1980s. They achieved considerable popularity that decade, with two of their first three albums entering the Top 100 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The band's early lyrical topics such as conflict and paranoia later expanded into philosophical and social commentary.
Flotsam and Jetsam is an American thrash metal band that was formed in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1981. Before settling on its current name in 1984, the band had existed under three different names, Paradox, Dredlox and Dogz. Their current lineup includes vocalist Eric "A.K" Knutson, guitarists Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley, bassist Bill Bodily, and drummer Ken Mary. Flotsam and Jetsam went through several lineup changes over the years, leaving Knutson as the only constant member. They are also notable for featuring a then-unknown Jason Newsted, who was Flotsam and Jetsam's bassist from 1981 to 1986, when he left the band shortly after the release of their debut album to join Metallica as the late Cliff Burton's successor.
Rich Kids on LSD (RKL) was a Californian hardcore punk band formed in 1982 in Montecito, California, a suburb of Santa Barbara. They were associated with the "Nardcore" scene that evolved out of nearby Oxnard. Their music expanded over the years from West Coast hardcore to a mix of hardcore with rock and metal elements. This style, along with touring, made them very popular on the European scene, especially among skaters in the 1980s and 1990s. Guitarist Chris Rest was the band's only consistent member.
Born Again is the eleventh studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Released on 12 September 1983, it is the only album the group recorded with lead vocalist Ian Gillan, best known for his work with Deep Purple. It was also the last Black Sabbath album for nine years to feature original bassist Geezer Butler and the last to feature original drummer Bill Ward, though Ward did record a studio track with the band fifteen years later on their 1998 live album Reunion. The album has received mixed reviews from critics, but was a commercial success upon its 1983 release, reaching No. 4 in the UK charts. The album also hit the top 40 in the United States. In July 2021, guitarist and founding member Tony Iommi confirmed that the long lost original master tapes of the album had been finally located, and that he was considering remixing the album for a future re-release.
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in Langhus in 1984. They were one of the founders of the Norwegian black metal scene and their music has strongly influenced the black metal genre. Mayhem's early career was highly controversial, primarily due to their notorious live performances, the 1991 suicide of vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin ("Dead") and the 1993 murder of guitarist Øystein Aarseth ("Euronymous") by former member Varg Vikernes of Burzum.
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal.
William Thomas Ward is an English musician. He was a co-founder and the original drummer for the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Ward helped found Black Sabbath in 1968 alongside bandmates Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi (guitarist) and Geezer Butler (bass).
Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Yorba Linda, California, formed in 1998. The band currently consists of clean vocalist Brandon Saller, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist and unclean vocalist Marc "Porter" McKnight, and drummer Kyle Rosa.
Stone Sour was an American rock band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1992. The band performed for five years before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000 and since 2015, the group has consisted of Corey Taylor, Josh Rand (guitar), Christian Martucci (guitar), Johny Chow (bass) and Roy Mayorga (drums). Longtime members Joel Ekman and Shawn Economaki left the band in 2006 and 2011, respectively. Former lead guitarist Jim Root left in 2014. The band has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2020.
Paul Steven Bostaph is an American drummer, best known as a member of the thrash metal band Slayer, initially from 1992 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2019. His drumming career began in 1984, when he was 20 years old, and other than Slayer, he has worked with other bands such as Forbidden, Exodus, Systematic, Testament, and BlackGates. Metal-Rules.com describes Bostaph as "a true professional and one of the best drummers on today's metal music scene".
Krokus is a Swiss hard rock and heavy metal band formed in 1974. They were popular in North America during the 1980s.
Stuck Mojo is an American rap metal band from Atlanta, formed in 1989 by bassist Dwayne Fowler. The band is considered to be one of the pioneers of rap metal. They have toured alongside bands such as Machine Head and Slapshot. Stuck Mojo's most successful album, Rising, peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. The band disbanded in 2000, reforming five years later. In 2006, their original vocalist, Bonz, was replaced by rapper Lord Nelson. Stuck Mojo released their seventh studio album, Here Come the Infidels, via Pledge Music in 2016. In the press release, the band also announced the addition of two new members, Robby J. Fonts (vocals) and Len Sonnier (bassist). To date, they have released seven studio albums and one live album.
Richard Park Ward, also known by his stage name The Duke, is an American guitarist best known as a founding member of Stuck Mojo and as lead guitarist of heavy metal band Fozzy.
Pigwalk is the second full-length studio album by rap metal group Stuck Mojo. This album is considered to be a milestone in the rap metal genre. Stuck Mojo performed "(Here Comes) The Monster" and "Mental Meltdown" on MTV's 1996 Headbangers Ball. A music video for "Pigwalk" was also made. Despite this, the album found little mainstream success, much like the previous album, Snappin Necks. In 2006, the album was reissued, adding almost the entire Violated EP, the demo "Hate Must Be A Gift", and two covers of Iron Maiden's "Wrathchild" and Mötley Crüe's "Shout at the Devil".
Adrenaline Mob is an American heavy metal supergroup formed in early 2011 by singer Russell Allen, guitarist Mike Orlando and drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's current lineup consists of Allen, Orlando, and drummer Jordan Cannata.
