Master of Puppets is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it is the band's final album to feature bassist Cliff Burton. While touring in support of Master of Puppets, he died on September 27, 1986 after the band's tour bus was involved in an accident in Dörarp, Sweden.
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine, who formed Megadeth after being fired from Metallica, and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.
David Scott Mustaine is an American musician. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, primary songwriter and sole consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth and for his time as the lead guitarist of Metallica. Mustaine has released sixteen studio albums with Megadeth, sold over 38 million records worldwide, with six albums platinum-certified, and won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2017 at the 59th Grammy Awards, for the title track of their fifteenth studio album, Dystopia.
Overkill is an American thrash metal band, formed in 1980 in New Jersey. They have gone through many lineup changes, leaving bassist D.D. Verni and lead vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth as the only remaining original members. The band's current lineup includes Verni, Ellsworth, Dave Linsk on lead guitar, Derek Tailer on rhythm guitar, and Jeramie Kling as a touring drummer. Along with Nuclear Assault and Anthrax, the latter of whom would feature one-time Overkill lead guitarist Dan Spitz, the band is one of the most successful East Coast thrash metal bands, and they are often called "the Motörhead of thrash metal", based on their unique playing style, which was influenced by punk rock and the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM). The band has a notable mascot named "Chaly" who has appeared on many of their album covers.
Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo. The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead guitar work.
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual transgression".
Corrosion of Conformity is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina, formed in 1982. The band has undergone multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with lead guitarist Woody Weatherman as the sole constant member. Weatherman, founding bassist Mike Dean, founding drummer Reed Mullin and vocalist/rhythm guitarist Pepper Keenan are widely regarded as its "classic" lineup. After a hiatus in 2006, Corrosion of Conformity returned in 2010 without Keenan, who had been busy touring and recording with Down, but announced their reunion with him in December 2014. More lineup changes have happened since then, with John Green replacing Mullin after his death in 2020 and Dean departing from the band once again in 2024.
Discharge are an English hardcore punk band formed in 1977 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The band is known for influencing several sub-genres of extreme music and their songs have been covered by some of the biggest names in heavy metal and other genres. The musical sub-genre of D-beat is named after Discharge and the band's distinctive drumbeat.
Extol is an extreme metal band from Bekkestua, Norway that was formed in 1993. The band is known for playing a variety of different styles of metal which include progressive metal, death metal, black metal and thrash metal.
Tourniquet was an American Christian metal band that formed in Los Angeles in 1990. It was founded by Ted Kirkpatrick, Guy Ritter, and Gary Lenaire. Tourniquet primarily played a mixture of thrash and progressive metal and was influenced by additional, non-rock forms of music such as classical and world music. The band earned six GMA Dove Award nominations and won multiple recognitions from the readers of HM Magazine, including "Favorite Band of the 1990s" and "Favorite Album of the 1990s" for Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance (1992). They released ten studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, one EP, and several video releases. The last Tourniquet lineup consisted of Ted Kirkpatrick (drums) and Aaron Guerra. The band disbanded after Kirkpatrick's death in 2022.
Hirax is an American thrash metal band from Cypress, California. Starting in 1984 under the leadership of vocalist Katon W. De Pena, the band played in Los Angeles and San Francisco with several of their thrash metal peers such as Metallica, Exodus, and Slayer. The band was an early example of thrash metal, speed metal and crossover thrash, yet inspired by cross-genre influences including blues vocalist Sam Cooke, who De Pena once cited as "the greatest vocalist [De Pena] has ever heard."
Vengeance Rising was an American Christian thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Fronted by vocalist Roger Martinez, they originally formed as Vengeance in 1987, but changed their name in 1989 to avoid conflict with another band from the Netherlands. Band members Larry Farkas, Doug Thieme, Roger Dale Martin, and Glen Mancaruso left following Once Dead and formed the band Die Happy. Roger Martinez stayed on to record two more studio albums, but aside from him, Vengeance Rising's lineup changed for each subsequent album. While the group was a ground breaking Christian metal band, today Vengeance Rising is known for vocalist Martinez's turning from Christianity to Satanism to atheism. AllMusic describes Vengeance Rising's history as "one of the most entertaining and bizarre stories in the realm of heavy metal."
Excel is a crossover thrash band from Venice, California, founded by singer Dan Clements and guitarist Adam Siegel in 1983. They were influenced by early punk rock bands like the Germs and Black Flag, as well as heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath, Trouble, Slayer, Corrosion of Conformity and Cryptic Slaughter. Being influenced by street art, Excel is also known for spray painting on the streets of the cities where they make their tours, hence why there are many different logos of the band.
Deliverance is the 1989 debut album by the Christian speed/thrash metal band Deliverance. The original Intense Records pressing is now considered a valuable collectable. It was reissued, minus 2 songs in 1998 on KMG Records as a two-disc set along with the 1990 album Weapons of Our Warfare. It was officially re-released late 2008 with two bonus tracks on Retroactive Records. The album was ranked at No. 44 on Metal Hammer's top 50 thrash metal albums of all-time list. In 2010, HM Magazine listed Deliverance No. 31 on its Top 100 Christian Rock Albums of All Time list stating that "'If You Will' into 'The Call' is almost as good as metal gets " and that "this record would forever change and impact me and the Christian metal music scene as we knew it!"(-Bill Balford). Heaven's Metal fanzine ranked it No. 3 on its Top 100 Christian metal albums of all-time list. About.com writer Dan Marsicano wrote "Metal with a religious concept is not for everybody, and Deliverance doesn’t try to pander to the secular crowd. So, if you don’t mind a little preaching, their music is straight-to-the-gut thrash metal at a time where the genre was getting more expansive with its themes and sound. For giving Christian metal a thrash hero to rally behind, Deliverance gets the nod for this week’s Retro Recommendation."
Stryper is an American Christian metal and heavy metal band from La Mirada, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet, Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass), and Robert Sweet (drums).
Jim Chaffin is an American musician. He is the original drummer for the Crucified and Fasedown and has played with many other acts, such as Deliverance, the Blamed and Left Out.
Larry Farkas is an American guitarist who primarily performs thrash metal. He was a member of Christian bands Vengeance Rising, Deliverance, Holy Soldier, and Once Dead, many of which he started.
Glenn Rogers is an American guitarist who performs mainly thrash metal. He has most notably performed with Hirax, Deliverance, Vengeance Rising and Once Dead.
The Beckoning is an extreme progressive metal band that originated in Canada.
The Subversive Kind is the eleventh studio album by the metal band, Deliverance, released in 2018. It was originally not supposed to exist, as the band announced in 2013 that Hear What I Say! would be the final album.
