Black Sabbath were an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968, by guitarist and main songwriter Tony Iommi, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward, and singer Ozzy Osbourne. Black Sabbath are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), and Master of Reality (1971). The band had multiple line-up changes, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout its history.
Darkthrone is a black metal band from Kolbotn, Norway. It formed in 1986 as a death metal band under the name Black Death. In 1991, the band embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and became one of the leading bands in the Norwegian black metal scene.
Stone Temple Pilots are an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland, brothers Dean DeLeo (guitar) and Robert DeLeo, and Eric Kretz (drums). From the band's formation in 1989, its line-up remained unchanged until the firing of Weiland in February 2013. Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington joined the band in May 2013. In November 2015, Bennington left the band to focus solely on Linkin Park. On December 3, 2015, Weiland was found dead on his tour bus before a performance with his band The Wildabouts. In 2016, the band launched an online audition for a new lead vocalist.On November 14, 2017, Jeff Gutt became the new singer of the band.
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow is the first studio album by British rock band Rainbow, released in 1975.
Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics intend to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom. The genre is strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath, who formed a prototype for doom metal with songs such as "Black Sabbath", "Children of the Grave", "Electric Funeral" and "Into the Void". During the first half of the 1980s, a number of bands from England, the United States and Sweden defined doom metal as a distinct genre.
Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables.
Venom are an English extreme metal band formed in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the new wave of British heavy metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982)—are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general. Venom's second album proved influential enough that its title was used as the name of the extreme metal subgenre of black metal.
Kalmah is a melodic death metal band from Oulu, Finland that formed in 1998. In less than a year after its formation, Kalmah was signed by Spinefarm Records. The word "kalmah" is Karelian and could be translated as "to the grave" or "to the death".
Live at Last is a 1980 live album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Despite its wide distribution and success, the album was released without the permission or knowledge of the band, and is thus regarded in some quarters as an unofficial bootleg live album. The album was, however, released legally by the band's former manager Patrick Meehan who owned the rights to the recording. The album was re-released with the approval of the band on 27 September 2010.
Blackened death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that fuses elements of black metal and death metal.
"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It appeared on their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). It was written by Roger Waters and features a drum part by Nick Mason played with timpani mallets. The track was planned for release as a single, with "Scream Thy Last Scream", on 8 September, before it was vetoed by the band's record company, EMI. The song was regularly performed between 1967 and 1973 and can be heard on the live disc of the 1969 album Ummagumma and seen in the 1972 movie Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii. The song is one of two songs from A Saucerful of Secrets that appears on the 2001 compilation album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd and is the only song recorded by Pink Floyd to feature material from all five band members, as there are several different guitar parts recorded by both David Gilmour and Syd Barrett.
Today Is the Day is an American noise rock / experimental metal band originally formed in Nashville, Tennessee. The band's violent and diverse sound combines influences from areas such as noise music, avant-garde metal, grindcore, and alternative rock among other genres. Most of the band's recordings make extensive use of dissonance and sampling, as well as unusual production techniques and psychedelic overtones. Lyrical themes include depression, warfare, violence, altered states of consciousness, and mental disorders.
Post-metal is a style of music that is rooted in heavy metal but explores approaches beyond the genre's conventions. It emerged in the 1990s through the work of bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. Associated with and inspired by post-rock and post-hardcore, the genre employs the darkness and intensity of extreme metal but emphasizes atmosphere, emotion, and even "revelation", drawing on a wide range of sources including ambient, noise, psychedelic, progressive, and classical music to develop an expansive but introspective sound. Post-metal songs are typically long, with loose and layered structures that discard the verse–chorus form in favor of crescendos and repeating themes. The sound centres on guitars and drums; any vocals are usually screamed or growled and resemble an additional instrument.
Life Among the Ruins is the fifth full-length studio album by US heavy metal band Virgin Steele. It was released in 1993, after almost five years of inactivity. The song "Snakeskin Voodoo Man" was present only in the American release and was instead released as a single in 1992 in Europe, at the same time of the VHS Tale of the Snakeskin Voodoo Man. The VHS featured videos for "Snakeskin Voodoo Man", "Love Is Pain", "Invitation-I Dress in Black" and "Cage of Angels-Never Believed in Good-Bye", interviews and backstage footage. The music of this album is bluesy hard rock and melodic metal, more similar to early Whitesnake's recordings than the epic power metal of albums like Noble Savage and the following The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part I. This is the first album with bassist Rob DeMartino, who replaced Joe O'Reilly, retired from the scene.
Holy Dio: A Tribute to Ronnie James Dio is a compilation album, released on January 25, 2000. It is a tribute album to Ronnie James Dio, featuring covers of several songs he had sung during his time with Rainbow, Black Sabbath and his own band Dio. The covers done on this tribute album were recorded by mostly power metal bands.
The Waste Lands is the eighth studio album by British heavy metal band Venom. It is the last with bassist/singer Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan and also the last before the reunion of the classic Venom line-up from their first four albums, Welcome to Hell, Black Metal, At War with Satan and Possessed. Like the previous album, Temples of Ice, the album was originally supposed to be produced by ex-Child's Play producer Howard Benson, however he was once again unavailable so the band decided to stay with Kevin Ridley. The working title for this album was Kissing the Beast, but the band changed it when they saw the cover.
Black Veil Brides is an American rock band based in Hollywood, California. The group formed in 2006 in Cincinnati, Ohio and is currently composed of Andy Biersack, Ashley Purdy, Jake Pitts, Jinxx and Christian "CC" Coma (drums). Black Veil Brides are known for their use of black makeup, body paint, tight black studded clothing, and long hair, which were all inspired by the stage personas of KISS and Mötley Crüe, as well as other 1980s glam metal acts.
Hammer and Anvil is the third full-length album by British progressive rock band Pure Reason Revolution, released by Superball Music on 15 October 2010 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, 18 October in the rest of Europe, and October 25 in the United States. According to Rock Sound, in Hammer and Anvil, "the band have retained most of their heavy hooks to create a great crossover record. A track like 'Last Man Last Round' will fit into many Pendulum fans' heads, whereas their progressive elements are still prevalent in 'Open Insurrection'". The album was new for the band in that all songs were co-written and co-produced by Tom Bellamy, an ex-member of the band The Cooper Temple Clause. Bellamy has full writing credit for the first track, 'Fight Fire'. Jon Courtney shares credit on all other tracks.
Black Laden Crown is the eleventh studio album, and the tenth of all-new original material, by the American heavy metal band Danzig, released on May 26, 2017.
