Anthrax is an American thrash metal band from New York City, formed in 1981 by rhythm guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker. The group is considered one of the leaders of the thrash metal scene from the 1980s and is part of the "Big Four" of the genre, along with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. They were also one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast. The band's current lineup consists of Scott Ian, drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello, vocalist Joey Belladonna and lead guitarist Jonathan Donais. Anthrax's lineup has changed numerous times over their career, leaving Ian as the only constant member of the band. Ian and Benante are the only two members to appear on all of Anthrax's albums, while Bello has been a member of Anthrax since 1984, replacing Lilker.
Behemoth is a Polish extreme metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground.
Meshuggah is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1987. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer Tomas Haake and bassist Dick Lövgren. Since its formation, the band has released nine studio albums, six EPs and eight music videos. Their latest studio album, Immutable, was released in April 2022 via Atomic Fire Records.
Possessed is an American death metal band, originally formed in 1983. Noted for their fast style of playing and Jeff Becerra's growled vocals, they are often called the first band in the death metal genre, and paved the way for the 1980s Bay Area thrash metal scene, along with Metallica, Exodus, Testament and Death Angel. The band is also notable for featuring future Primus member Larry LaLonde, who was the guitarist for Possessed from 1984 to 1987.
Pestilence is a Dutch death metal band founded in Enschede in 1986. They have been through various membership changes throughout their existence, with guitarist-vocalist Patrick Mameli as the sole constant member. After disbanding in order to pursue other musical directions in 1994, Pestilence reunited in 2008, and was put on a "permanent hold" in July 2014. However, the band reunited once again in October 2016. To date, Pestilence has released nine studio albums, and they are apart of "progressive death metal's Big Four", alongside with Death, Atheist, and Cynic.
Testament is an American thrash metal band from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1983 under the name Legacy, the band's current lineup comprises rhythm guitarist Eric Peterson, lead vocalist Chuck Billy, lead guitarist Alex Skolnick, bassist Steve Di Giorgio and drummer Chris Dovas. Testament has experienced many lineup changes over the years, with Peterson being the only remaining original member, though they have since reunited with Skolnick, who had been out of the band from 1992 to 2005. Billy has been a member of Testament since 1986, when he replaced original singer Steve "Zetro" Souza, who had left to replace Paul Baloff in Exodus. He and Peterson are the only members to appear on all of Testament's studio albums, with the latter being the only constant member overall.
U.D.O. is a German heavy metal band founded by lead vocalist Udo Dirkschneider in 1987.
Dragonlord is an American symphonic black metal band that was formed in 2001 as a side project by Eric Peterson and Steve Di Giorgio of Testament, and Steve Smyth of Nevermore. The band is a result of Eric Peterson's interest in darker music, and not being able to do that with Testament he formed Dragonlord. The band combines elements of black metal with some thrash guitar influences. Lyrical themes vary, either about the rage of a dragon, death, war, lost love, Satanic or otherwise anti-religious themes, or combinations.
Testimony of the Ancients is the third album by the Dutch death metal band Pestilence, released in 1991 on Roadrunner Records. This was their first release with a new lineup, with Tony Choy replacing Martin van Drunen on bass, while guitarist Patrick Mameli filled in for the latter on vocals.
Malleus Maleficarum is the debut studio album by the Dutch death metal band Pestilence, released in 1988. Although the sound of this album is technically death metal, its direction is notably different from the band's subsequent work, leaning more towards the thrash metal genre with punk influences, known as crossover thrash. This is the only Pestilence album to include guitarist Randy Meinhard, who was replaced by Patrick Uterwijk prior to the making of their next album Consuming Impulse (1989).
Consuming Impulse is the second album by Dutch death metal band Pestilence, released in 1989. While retaining some of the thrash metal elements from its predecessor Malleus Maleficarum (1988), Consuming Impulse saw the band progress further towards the traditional death metal genre with progressive influences; this can be seen as one of the earliest examples of technical death metal, a subgenre that would be used and expanded on Pestilence's subsequent albums. Consuming Impulse was also their first release with then-new guitarist Patrick Uterwijk, and their last one to feature bassist and vocalist Martin van Drunen.
Spheres is the fourth album by Dutch death metal band Pestilence, released in 1993. It was their final album before a 14-year hiatus from 1994 to 2008. On this album, the band experimented with a more progressive sound, utilizing guitar synthesizers as well as some jazz influences.
Resurrection Macabre is the fifth studio album by Dutch death metal band Pestilence, which was released on 16 March 2009. It is the band's first album of original material in 16 years, since 1993's Spheres and this fact is referenced in the album's title; hence resurrection. Re-recordings of earlier Pestilence songs make appearances as bonus tracks on the record.
Obscura is a German technical death metal band from Landshut, founded by guitarist and vocalist Steffen Kummerer in 2002. The band have released six studio albums, a compilation album and twelve music videos since its formation. Their latest album A Valediction was released on 19 November 2021 via Nuclear Blast.
Doctrine is the sixth studio album by Dutch death metal band Pestilence, which was released on April 24, 2011. The album was recorded and mixed at Woodshed Studio in southern Germany with engineer Victor "V.Santura" Bullok. The artwork was designed by Marko Saarelainen. The album represents a second release by the reformed Pestilence, with two new members: Yuma van Eekelen and Jeroen Paul Thesseling, who was a member of the band during the Spheres era. Technically, the album is an experimentation with very low tunings, with Mameli and Uterwijk playing on 8-string guitars with standard tuning, and Thesseling playing a 7-string fretless bass tuned in F#.
Paradox is a German thrash metal/speed metal band formed in Würzburg in 1986.
Obsideo is the seventh studio album by Dutch death metal band Pestilence. It was released on October 21, 2013 via Candlelight Records. The album was produced by the vocalist/guitarist Patrick Mameli, and their last before their two-year hiatus from 2014 to 2016. According to Mameli, the album's overall lyrical theme is "the journey of the human soul." This is the final Pestilence album to feature lead and rhythm guitarist Patrick Uterwijk, who had been with the band since Consuming Impulse in 1989.
The Algorithm is the eighth studio album by American rock band Filter. It was released on August 25, 2023. Originally conceived in 2018 as a follow-up to the band's first album, Short Bus (1995), titled Rebus, the project changed course due to the collapse of the PledgeMusic crowd funding platform. Despite this, some material from the sessions still appears in the final release, while two other tracks were released in 2020 as singles. The Algorithm is the band's first album in seven years since Crazy Eyes (2016).
Exitivm is the ninth studio album by Dutch death metal band Pestilence. It was released on 25 June 2021, after having been signed to Agonia Records. Because Septimiu Hărşan had to leave the band due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, he was replaced by Michiel van der Plicht who has since become a full-time member. It is also the band's first album with bassist Joost van der Graaf and guitarist Rutger van Noordenburg.
