Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with their first three albums Black Sabbath, Paranoid and Master of Reality (1971). Following Osbourne's departure in 1979, the band underwent multiple line-up changes, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout their history.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of the Nice, Greg Lake of King Crimson, and Carl Palmer of Atomic Rooster. With nine RIAA-certified gold record albums in the US, and an estimated 48 million records sold worldwide, they are one of the most popular and commercially successful progressive rock groups of the 1970s, with a musical sound including adaptations of classical music with jazz and symphonic rock elements, dominated by Emerson's flamboyant use of the Hammond organ, Moog synthesizer, and piano.
Keith Noel Emerson was an English keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became internationally famous for his work with the Nice, which included writing rock arrangements of classical music. After leaving the Nice in 1970, he was a founding member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), one of the early progressive rock supergroups.
Ronald James Padavona, known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell.
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal movement, and are cited as a formative influence on various heavy metal subgenres, notably speed metal, thrash metal, and power metal. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band had struggled with poor record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when their sixth studio album British Steel brought them notable mainstream attention.
Robert John Arthur Halford is an English heavy metal singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has been noted for his powerful and wide ranging operatic vocal style and trademark leather-and-studs image, both of which have become iconic in heavy metal. He has also been involved with several side projects, including Fight, Two, and Halford.
Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over five decades. He is considered one of the pioneers of heavy metal music and is responsible for inspiring numerous subgenres of metal, most notably doom metal. Iommi was ranked number 13 on Rolling Stone's 2023 list of the “250 Greatest Guitarists of all Time.
Gregory Stuart Lake was an English bassist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP).
Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer is an English drummer best known as a founding member of the supergroups Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Asia and sometimes Acoustic Alchemy. He has toured with his own bands since 2001, including Palmer, the Carl Palmer Band, and currently, Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy. He previously was a touring drummer for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and a founding member of Atomic Rooster.
Download Festival is a rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England ; in Paris, France ; at Parramatta Park, Sydney ; Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne and at the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Fozzy is an American heavy metal band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1999 by lead guitarist Rich Ward and drummer Frank Fontsere. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Chris Jericho, Ward, second guitarist Billy Grey, bassist P. J. Farley and drummer Grant Brooks. Jericho has characterized the band by saying, "If Metallica and Journey had a bastard child, it would be Fozzy." As of September 2022, the band has released eight studio albums and one live album. Their first two albums consist of primarily cover songs with some original material, while their albums since have made original material the primary focus.
Monsters of Rock is a hard rock and heavy metal music festival. It was originally held annually in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the United States, and Russia.
FM are a British rock band. They have released fourteen studio albums to date. Three of those, Indiscreet, Tough It Out and 2015's Heroes and Villains reached the UK Albums Chart, whilst five of the band's singles made inroads into the UK Singles Chart.
Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 years. Formed from a school band called Painted Lady, Girlschool enjoyed strong media exposure and commercial success in the UK in the early 1980s with three albums of "punk-tinged metal" and a few singles, but lost their momentum in the following years.
Heaven & Hell was a British-American heavy metal supergroup active from 2006 to 2010, featuring guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, vocalist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice.
Bjorn Englen is the bass player for Soul Sign and Dio Returns / Dio Disciples. Bjorn has also played bass for Yngwie Malmsteen, Quiet Riot, MSG/Survivor vocalist Robin McAuley, Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth and Tony MacAlpine.
The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It hosted heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Slayer, Judas Priest, Megadeth, Avenged Sevenfold and Babymetal.
Black Spiders are an English rock band based in Sheffield, England. Their third studio album entered the UK Rock Chart reaching No. 9. re-entering again at No. 28, after Record Store Day
The Union are a British rock band formed in 2009 by Luke Morley, guitarist for Thunder, and Peter Shoulder, formerly of Winterville.
Saint Jude were an English, London-based rock and soul band, fronted by the vocalist Lynne Jackaman.
