Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in Meriden, West Midlands in 1981. None of the band's original members have been in the group since 1986, but since Utopia Banished (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris, drummer Danny Herrera and lead vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway has remained consistent through most of the band's career. From 1989 to 2004, Napalm Death were a five-piece band after they added Jesse Pintado and Mitch Harris as replacements for guitarist Bill Steer. Following Pintado's departure, the band reverted to a four-piece.
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles is an American crossover thrash band that formed in Houston in 1982 and would later relocate to San Francisco. The band is currently composed of two of its founding members, lead vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist Spike Cassidy, as well as bassist Greg Orr and drummer Rob Rampy.
GBH are an English punk rock band which was formed in 1978 by vocalist Colin Abrahall, guitarist Colin "Jock" Blyth, bassist Sean McCarthy and drummer Andy "Wilf" Williams.
Bolt Thrower was a British death metal band from Coventry. They formed in 1986 and released their first album with Vinyl Solution in 1988. The band then shifted to a new record label, Earache Records, soon becoming one of the best selling bands on that label. Their last label was Metal Blade Records. The band had a succession of members, and had toured Europe, the United States, and Australia. Over the course of their 30-year career, Bolt Thrower released eight studio albums, three EPs, one live album, three compilation albums and two demos. Their albums have sold over 100,000 copies in the United States as of 2005.
Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing early grindcore and death metal records between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. Its roster has since diversified into more mainstream guitar music, working with bands such as Rival Sons, the Temperance Movement, Blackberry Smoke, Scarlet Rebels and the White Buffalo. The company also hosted the 'Earache Express' stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2017 and 'The Earache Factory' at Boomtown 2018. The label's logo is a homage to Thrasher magazine, as Pearson was a skateboard culture enthusiast.
Sabbat were an English thrash metal band from Nottingham consisting of Martin Walkyier (vocals), Andy Sneap (guitars), Simon Jones (guitars), Frazer Craske (bass) and Simon Negus (drums). They are considered one of the "big four" of British thrash metal along with Acid Reign, Onslaught and Xentrix, who were all responsible for developing and popularizing the country's thrash metal scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Over their initial six-year run Sabbat released three studio albums, four demos, two split singles/compilation albums, two singles and a live VHS. In 1988, the band released their debut album History of a Time to Come, which earned them further recognition. Their next album, Dreamweaver (1989), was also critically acclaimed. Shortly after the release of Mourning Has Broken (1991), tensions with the band began to surface, most of them revolved around money and Sabbat disbanded as a result. After an attempted reunion in 2001 which was blocked by Sneap, the original Sabbat lineup reunited in 2006. In December of that year they performed together for the first time in sixteen years at five different venues in England. One was a warm-up gig in Nottingham, the other four in support of Cradle of Filth. The band has continued to perform live around the world but has not released any new material. In a January 2014 interview with Decibel magazine Andy Sneap confirmed that Sabbat had once again split-up.
The Accüsed is an American crossover thrash band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1981. The band was a progenitor of the crossover style that bridged the gap between thrashcore and thrash metal, later influencing grindcore and some crust punk bands; as well as an influential band in the Seattle area alternative scene. The band calls their music "splattercore", and their zombie mascot, Martha Splatterhead, appears on most of their albums. Common themes involve social issues and Martha Splatterhead coming back from the dead to slaughter rapists and child molesters.
U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. One of the first hardcore punk bands, elements of rhythm and blues music - including harmonica - also remained an occasional element of their work.
Blitzkrieg are an English punk rock band, based in Southport and formed in 1979. They made a distinct contribution to the UK hardcore punk scene and have strong underground following. Despite the Nazi connotations of the name Blitzkrieg, German for "Lightning-War", they took a fiercely anti-Nazi stance.
Sore Throat were a British crust punk band formed in Huddersfield in 1987. They are known for being one of the earliest exponents of the grindcore subgenre known as "noisecore", as well as for launching the careers of several prominent members of the British heavy metal community.
Sacrilege is a band from the Midlands region of England originally formed in 1984 by guitarist Damian Thompson and vocalist Lynda "Tam" Simpson and Tony May. Originally rooted in hardcore punk, their sound later changed to thrash metal and doom metal. Despite having played relatively few gigs during their original existence, Sacrilege is recognized as an important band, both as an influence on later crust punk, thrash metal and doom metal bands and as an example of the blending of hardcore punk, radical politics, and thrash/death metal that occurred during the mid-1980s, making Sacrilege one of the prototypical crust punk bands of the time.
The Freeze is an American punk rock band from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States, formed by a group of teenagers in 1978. They released the first single, "I Hate Tourists" in 1980 and contributed eight songs, including the title track to the 1982 hardcore punk compilation This Is Boston, Not L.A.
Concrete Sox are a British crust punk band. They are largely seen as an early crossover thrash band who incorporated many thrash metal-like riffs in the style of their earlier recordings.
The Destructors are an English punk rock band from Peterborough, England, originally existing between 1977 and 1979 and then 1980 until 1984. They reformed as Destructors 666 in 2006 and then changed to The Destructors in 2009. The Destructors continue releasing their own brand of punk / skuzz / garage to this day.
Great Adventure Cigar is the debut full-length by the band Janus Stark, released in 1998 on Earache Records. Its name comes from a line in the Wu Tang Clan song "The Projects".
Heresy were a hardcore punk band from Nottingham, England, formed in 1985 and active until late 1989. They released three albums and recorded three sessions for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show.
English Dogs were a British hardcore punk band that began life in the early eighties. Two versions of the band exist, the punk and metal crossover band featuring original drummer Andrew "Pinch" Pinching and second-era members Graham "Gizz" Butt and Adie Bailey and a punk-based one featuring original vocalist Pete "Wakey" Wakefield.
Damon DeLaPaz is an American drummer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the punk rock groups Fenix TX, 30footFALL, Demasiado, and Sing The Body Electric. He has also recorded an instrumental solo project called Sci-Fi/Horror. DeLaPaz has recorded, performed and toured with a variety of different bands and also toured as a fill in drummer for Blink-182, The Vandals, Good Charlotte, Pulley, Home Grown, Ape Machine, Trash Talk (band), and The Last Internationale.
Janus Stark are an English experimental punk rock band from Peterborough, England. Their album, Great Adventure Cigar, was highly rated by Foo Fighters and Die Toten Hosen and was a fusion of Punk rock, hard rock, heavy metal and alternative with influences from Helmet to The Ruts to The Beatles to The Clash. Formed by former English Dogs/UK Subs guitarist Gizz Butt, Janus Stark released their album Great Adventure Cigar in 1998 on Earache Records. Butt was also playing guitar for The Prodigy while they were touring on the back of Fat Of The Land. Their name comes from a character, Janus Stark, in the seventies comic books Smash and Valiant. They are also known for Butt's guitar playing. Ben Hughes commented on RPM online "The thing that sets Janus Stark apart from their contemporaries is the fact that Gizz is a shredder. While ‘Angel In The Flames’ is littered with turn of the Century pop punk sensibilities, buzzsaw guitars and full band harmonies, there is a more technical and aggressive element in place thanks to Gizz's guitar histrionics. Yet, while the lyrics are socially and politically aware, and the riffs crunchy, it's the melodies that always shine through, they are pure sugar for the soul."
Pulkas was an English nu metal band from London, United Kingdom which later changed its name to I:AM:I.
