W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982. They emerged from the early 1980s Los Angeles heavy metal scene. The band's popularity peaked that decade, yet they continue to record and tour. W.A.S.P. gained notoriety for their shock rock-themed image, lyrics and live performances. They have sold over twelve million records worldwide, with their first two albums, W.A.S.P. (1984) and The Last Command (1985), being certified as gold by the RIAA.
George Lynch is an American guitarist, best known for his work with the hard rock/heavy metal band Dokken and his post-Dokken solo band Lynch Mob. He is considered one of the most famous and influential 1980s metal guitarists and is known for his unique playing style and sound. He is ranked No. 47 on "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" by Guitar World magazine and No. 10 on "Top 10 Metal Guitarists of All Time" by Gibson.
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 thirteen 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, political and social commentary.
David Lloyd Stewart is an English keyboardist and composer known for his work with the progressive rock bands Uriel, Egg, Khan, Hatfield and the North, National Health, and Bruford. Stewart is the author of two books on music theory and wrote a music column for Keyboard magazine (USA) for thirteen years. He has also composed music for TV, film and radio, much of it for Victor Lewis-Smith's ARTV production company. He has worked with singer Barbara Gaskin since 1981.
Scooter Ward is an American musician who is best known as a founding member and lead singer of the rock band Cold. He has also performed occasional guitar duties both in the studio and live. Ward has been ranked in the Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists by Hit Parader.
The Crimson Idol is the fifth studio album by heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released in June 1992 through Capitol Records, their last album for the label. It was the first album by W.A.S.P. since the band's temporary breakup in 1990; this was because vocalist and rhythm guitarist Blackie Lawless had intended to release The Crimson Idol as a solo album, until he decided to release it as a W.A.S.P. album. The album charted within the top 40 in five countries. The Crimson Idol is a rock opera, telling the story of the rise and fall of a fictional rock star named Jonathan Steel.
Glo is the third full studio album by the band Delirious?. It was released in 2000, just over a year after their previous album Mezzamorphis.
Keith Howland is an American guitarist and singer. He was the lead guitarist for the veteran pop-rock band Chicago from 1995-2021.
Christopher John Holmes is an American heavy metal guitarist. He started his musical career in the Pasadena, California area in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is best known as one of the lead guitarists of heavy metal band W.A.S.P. Holmes was a member of W.A.S.P. first from 1983 to 1990, and again from 1996 to 2001.
Stet Howland is an American drummer, best known as former drummer of W.A.S.P. and the current drummer of Metal Church.
Still Not Black Enough is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., first released in June 1995 in Japan and the UK. It was not released in the U.S. until August 1996 through Castle Records.
John Connelly is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of New York City thrash metal band Nuclear Assault.
Land of the Bottom Line is the second album by contemporary folk singer-songwriter John Gorka. The album was also Gorka's major label debut for High Street Records/Windham Hill Records. The album was highly acclaimed by critics at the time, and continues to be cited by some as Gorka's finest work. The album's fifteen tracks and near hour-long length also provided an unusually large amount of music for a recording of that era. As Sing Out! editor Mark Moss noted in a review, the topics covered run "the gamut of John's favorite subjects: love, hard luck, local characters, and more."
Cyril Havermans is a Dutch musician, best known for being in the progressive rock band Focus.
Michael Vescera is an American heavy metal singer for various bands and projects like Loudness, Obsession (Marshall Law, Scarred for Life, Methods of Madness, Carnival of Lies, Order of Chaos), Yngwie Malmsteen, Dr. Sin, Roland Grapow (Kaleidoscope) or his own band MVP.
Mike Dupke is an American drummer who has played with bands W.A.S.P. and John Mellencamp.
A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer. Another common formation is a vocalist who does not play an instrument, electric guitarist, bass guitarist, and a drummer. Sometimes, in addition to electric guitars, electric bass, and drums, also a keyboardist plays.
Melissa Ann VanFleet is an American singer-songwriter and musician from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In 2012, her piano covers of American heavy metal band W.A.S.P.'s ballad "Sleeping " and "Too Late" by Black Sabbath garnered attention from the heavy metal music community. VanFleet has since collaborated with Scott Rockenfield of Queensrÿche, Nick Douglas of DORO, Doug Blair of W.A.S.P., Italian symphonic death metal band Genus Ordinis Dei, and Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil.
Damned If You Do is the twelfth studio album by American heavy metal band Metal Church, released on December 7, 2018, through Rat Pak Records. It is their first release with former W.A.S.P. drummer Stet Howland, who replaced longtime member Jeff Plate in 2017, and their final album to feature vocalist Mike Howe before his suicide in 2021. Music videos were made for the songs "Damned If You Do" and "By the Numbers".
