Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael Åkerfeldt has been Opeth's frontman and primary songwriter since Isberg's departure, and is the band's only constant member. Opeth has consistently incorporated progressive, folk, blues, classical, and jazz influences into its usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from death metal, especially in their early works. Many songs include acoustic guitar passages and strong dynamic shifts, as well as death growls. Opeth is also well known for their incorporation of Mellotrons in their work. The band rarely made live appearances supporting their first four albums, but since conducting their first world tour after the 2001 release of Blackwater Park, they have led several major world tours.
Fallen is the debut studio album by American rock band Evanescence, released on March 4, 2003 by Wind-up Records. Co-founders singer and pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody began writing and recording songs as Evanescence in 1995, and after releasing several EPs and a demo CD, Evanescence signed to Wind-up in January 2001. Several of the songs from their earlier independent releases feature on Fallen. The album was recorded between August and December 2002 in several studios in California. It is Evanescence's only studio album to feature Moody, who left the band in October 2003.
Angels Fall First is the debut studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, originally released by Spinefarm Records on 1 November 1997. The original 500-copy limited edition features seven tracks, two of which are not on the regular edition. This edition is highly sought after by collectors and in 2012 a copy was sold for $1137.23 on eBay. The album was released in the US by Century Media in March 2001.
Under My Skin is the second studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. It was released on May 19, 2004, by Arista Records and RCA Records. Lavigne wrote most of the album with singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, who invited her to a Malibu in-house recording studio shared by Kreviazuk and her husband Raine Maida, where Lavigne recorded many of the songs. The album was produced by Maida, Don Gilmore, and Butch Walker. It is Lavigne's final album to be released on Arista, as she departed the label after its release.
Edguy is a heavy metal band formed in Fulda, Germany in 1992.
Love at First Sting is the ninth studio album by German rock band Scorpions. It was released in March 1984 on Harvest/EMI in Europe and Mercury in the US. The album contains "Rock You Like a Hurricane", "Still Loving You", and "Big City Nights", three of the band's most famous songs.
Otep is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in November 2000 in Los Angeles, California, by frontwoman Otep Shamaya. The band is noted for their style of "art-house nu metal", and their strong political stances. Throughout the course of several lineup changes over the years, Shamaya has remained the only constant member in the band.
Satellite is the fourth studio album by American Christian metal band P.O.D.. The album was released on September 11, 2001 debuting at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart with over 133,000 copies sold. It spent five consecutive weeks in the top 10 of that chart.
"Bring Me to Life" is the debut single by American rock band Evanescence from their debut studio album, Fallen (2003). Wind-up released it as the album's lead single on April 7, 2003. The song was written by Amy Lee when she was 19, after an exchange with an acquaintance during a time she was in relationship turmoil; the song is about having been desensitized and realizing all the things she had been missing in life. Guitarist Ben Moody and David Hodges also have songwriting credits on the song, which features guest vocals from Paul McCoy of the band 12 Stones. Produced by Dave Fortman, "Bring Me to Life" is a nu metal and goth metal crossover song. The male vocal rap was forced by the label against Lee's wishes, in order to market it in the musical landscape of the time.
U.D.O. is a German heavy metal band founded by lead vocalist Udo Dirkschneider in 1987.
Eisbrecher is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band that consists primarily of Alexander Wesselsky (vocals) and Noel Pix, with live support from Jürgen Plangger (guitar), Rupert Keplinger (bass), and Achim Färber (drums). In the United States and Canada, their record label is currently Metropolis Records.
"City of Blinding Lights" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the fifth track on their eleventh studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), and was released as the album's fourth single on 6 June 2005. It was produced by Flood, with additional production by Chris Thomas and Jacknife Lee. The song reached number one in Spain, and peaked in the top ten in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. The music video was shot at the General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
"Going Under" is a song by American rock band Evanescence from their debut studio album, Fallen (2003). It was released by Wind-up Records as the album's second single on August 18, 2003. Lee wrote the song about coming out of a difficult relationship. Guitarist Ben Moody and David Hodges share songwriting credits on the song, produced by Dave Fortman. Musically, "Going Under" is primarily a nu metal song featuring electronic drum beats and a piano interlude.
Stuart Block is a Canadian singer best known as the former lead vocalist for progressive death metal band Into Eternity and American heavy metal band Iced Earth. Before joining Into Eternity in 2005, Block began his musical career singing for various bands in Vancouver. After two albums with Into Eternity, Block joined Iced Earth in 2011 and recorded three albums during his ten-year tenure with the band: Dystopia (2011), Plagues of Babylon (2014) and Incorruptible (2017). He was the second-longest-serving vocalist of Iced Earth, behind Matt Barlow.
Airbourne are an Australian hard rock band formed in Warrnambool, Victoria, in late 2001. Founding members are Joel O'Keeffe on lead vocals and lead guitar, his younger brother Ryan O'Keeffe on drums and David Roads on rhythm guitar and backing vocals. They were joined by Justin Street on bass guitar and backing vocals in mid-2004. Roads amicably left in 2017, Mathew Harrison joined in 2018 and after a short tenure was replaced by Jarrad Morrice on rhythm guitar and backing vocals in 2022.
Dorothee Pesch, known professionally as Doro Pesch or simply Doro, is a German heavy metal singer and the former frontwoman of heavy metal band Warlock. Dubbed the "Metal Queen", Doro's contributions to music and culture made her a global figure in metal culture for over three decades. The name Doro has also been associated with the touring band accompanying the singer, whose members have continuously changed in more than 20 years of uninterrupted activity, the most stable presences being those of bassist Nick Douglas and drummer Johnny Dee.
Battle Beast is a Finnish heavy/power metal band established in Helsinki in 2008 by Anton Kabanen, Juuso Soinio and Pyry Vikki. The initial line-up consisted of guitarists Soinio and Kabanen, and drummer Vikki, who were high school friends. The rest of the original lineup, bassist Eero Sipilä, keyboardist Janne Björkroth and lead singer Nitte Valo, joined the band after auditions.
Plagues of Babylon is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Iced Earth. Released in January 2014, the album is the group's first studio release with bassist Luke Appleton and the only with drummer Raphael Saini, who was a guest on the album. According to rhythm guitarist and band leader Jon Schaffer, half of the album is focused on his "Something Wicked" concept, while the other half are stand-alone songs.
Pallbearer is an American doom metal band from Little Rock, Arkansas, formed in 2008.
The discography of U.D.O., a German heavy metal band, consists of 17 studio albums, six live albums, three compilations, 17 singles, six video albums and 19 music videos. Formed in 1987 by eponymous vocalist Udo Dirkschneider following his departure from Accept, the group originally included guitarists Mathias Dieth and Peter Szigeti, bassist Frank Rittel and drummer Thomas Franke. Shortly after the release and promotion of their debut album Animal House, Dirkschneider dismissed all band members except Dieth, and rebuilt the group with guitarist Andy Susemihl, bassist Thomas Smuszynski, and future Accept drummer Stefan Schwarzmann. Mean Machine, released in 1989, reached number 31 on the German Albums Chart. Susemihl was subsequently replaced by Wolla Böhm.
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