Blue Öyster Cult is an American hard rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967. The band has sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. The band's fusion of hard rock with psychedelia, and penchant for occult, fantastical and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, had a major influence on heavy metal music. They developed a cult following and, while achieving mainstream hits like "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (1976) and "Burnin' for You" (1981), their commercial success was limited. Both songs, and others such as "Godzilla" (1977), remain classic rock radio staples. The band were early adopters of the music video format, and their videos received heavy rotation on MTV in its early period.
Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. Grindcore is considered a more noise-filled style of hardcore punk while using hardcore's trademark characteristics such as heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, grinding overdriven bass, high-speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consist of growls, shouts and high-pitched shrieks. Early groups like Napalm Death are credited with laying the groundwork for the style. It is most prevalent today in North America and Europe, with popular contributors such as Brutal Truth and Nasum. Lyrical themes range from a primary focus on social and political concerns, to gory subject matter and black humor.
Linkin Park is an American rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, and drummer Rob Bourdon, with vocalist Chester Bennington also part of the band until his death in 2017. Categorized as alternative rock, Linkin Park's earlier music spanned a fusion of heavy metal and hip hop, while their later music features more electronica and pop elements.
Show No Mercy is the debut studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released in December 1983 by Metal Blade Records. Brian Slagel signed the band to the label after watching them perform an Iron Maiden cover. The band self-financed their full-length debut, combining the savings of vocalist Tom Araya, who was employed as a respiratory therapist, and money borrowed from guitarist Kerry King's father. Touring extensively promoting the album, the band brought close friends and family members along the trip, who helped backstage with lighting and sound.
Alternative metal is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by heavily downtuned, mid-paced guitar riffs, a mixture of accessible melodic vocals and harsh vocals and sometimes sounds that are unconventional within other heavy metal styles. The term has been in use since the 1980s, although it came into prominence in the 1990s.
Noise rock is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extreme levels of distortion through the use of electric guitars and, less frequently, electronic instrumentation, either to provide percussive sounds or to contribute to the overall arrangement.
John Joseph Theodore Rzeznik is an American singer-songwriter, best known as the founder, guitarist and frontman of the American rock band Goo Goo Dolls, with whom he has recorded 14 studio albums.
Lizzy Borden is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. To date, the band has charted on the Billboard 200 four times. Lizzy Borden is eponymous of the band's lead vocalist.
3 Inches of Blood is a Canadian heavy metal band formed in 1999 in Victoria, British Columbia, reunited in 2024 after disbanding in 2015. Returning with Cam Pipes, Justin Hagberg, Shane Clark, Nick Cates, and Ash Pearson. Their music was strongly influenced by the new wave of British heavy metal movement.
Trouble is an American doom metal band from Aurora, Illinois, formed in 1981. They are often considered one of the pioneers of doom metal, and have been referred to as one of the genre's "big four" alongside Candlemass, Pentagram and Saint Vitus. The band created a distinct style, taking influences of the British heavy metal bands Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, and psychedelic rock of the 1960s.
3, also known as Three, is an American progressive rock band formed in Woodstock, New York, United States, in the early 1990s.
Wake Pig is 3's third studio album. It was released on October 26, 2004, by Planet Noise Records. It was re-released on November 1, 2005, by Metal Blade Records. The album contains tracks that were previously featured on the band's 2003 album, Summercamp Nightmare. A music video was released for "Alien Angel" on August 10, 2006.
Fire Deuce is a band created as a side-project by Travis Stever, the lead guitarist of Coheed and Cambria. The band features members of other bands, such as Joey Eppard, Billy Riker, Chris Gartmann, and Joe Stote from the band 3, Claudio Sanchez from the band Coheed and Cambria, and Josh Eppard.
Tommy Giles Rogers is an American musician, most notable for being the lead vocalist, keyboardist and lyricist of the progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me, which he co-founded in 2000. His vocal style combines death growls and screams with peaceful clean singing melodies, sometimes including falsetto. In 2005, Stylus Magazine named Rogers one of the three most versatile rock singers at the time.
America Must Be Destroyed is American heavy metal band Gwar’s third album, released in 1992 as their second album on Metal Blade Records. The album’s lyrical content was inspired by controversy over obscenity charges against the band and an incident in Charlotte, North Carolina, in which frontman Dave Brockie’s prosthetic penile attachment, "The Cuttlefish of Cthulhu", was confiscated by police officers.
Colin Edwin Balch is an Australian musician, specialising in fretted and fretless bass guitar, double bass and guimbri.
Joey Eppard is a music writer, recording artist, and the lead vocalist and guitarist for the experimental/progressive rock band, 3. He is also the brother of Josh Eppard, the drummer for Coheed and Cambria and former drummer of 3.
The End Is Begun, released on July 24, 2007, is 3's fourth full-length studio album, and the second to be released by Metal Blade Records. On February 19, 2008, a special edition was released with one extra track and a bonus DVD.
Martin Popoff is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, he has written over twenty books that both critically evaluate heavy metal and document its history. He has been called "heavy metal's most widely recognized journalist" by his publisher.
Breach was a Swedish post-hardcore band formed in Luleå in 1993. The band, which included a large line-up near the end of its existence, is noted for its highly distinctive style, combining elements of hardcore punk, extreme metal, indie-rock, noise rock, and post-punk in a way that set it appart from many of its peers and was greatly influential in underground music circles.
