A list of notable bands and artists who emerged during the new wave of American heavy metal era of music in the early to mid-1990s:
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, and drummer Justin Foley. The band has released eight studio albums and three live performance albums. Their eighth studio album, Atonement, was released on August 16, 2019.
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994 as Burn the Priest, the group consists of bassist John Campbell, vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, and drummer Art Cruz. The band is considered a significant member of the new wave of American heavy metal movement.
Damageplan was an American heavy metal band from Dallas, Texas, formed in 2003. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Diesel Machine and Halford guitarist Patrick Lachman on vocals, and later Bob Zilla on bass. Damageplan released New Found Power, their only album, on February 10, 2004. New Found Power debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200, selling 44,676 copies in its first week.
Patrick "Pat" Lachman is an American heavy metal guitarist and vocalist, best known as the lead vocalist of Damageplan. He has also played guitar for Halford, Killswitch Engage, The Mercy Clinic and Burn It All. He currently performs with Diesel Machine.
David RandallBlythe is an American vocalist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of heavy metal band Lamb of God and Burn The Priest. He has also performed guest vocals for Cannabis Corpse, A Life Once Lost, Overkill, Gojira, Pitch Black Forecast, Eyehategod, Eluveitie, Bad Brains, Soulfly, Clutch, Body Count, DevilDriver, Suicide Silence, Doyle, Metal Allegiance, and Voodoo Glow Skulls, and is the lead singer of side-project band Halo of Locusts.
The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival was an annual festival held in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was a weekend-long concert of heavy metal and hardcore punk bands along with a merchandising and promotional area for record labels and other vendors. It had been held in the Worcester Palladium since its inception in 1999.
Groove metal, sometimes also called neo-thrash or post-thrash, is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. Heavily influenced by thrash metal, groove metal features raspy singing and screaming, down-tuned guitars, heavy guitar riffs, and syncopated rhythms. Groove metal is usually slower than thrash. Pantera are often considered the pioneers of groove metal, and the genre expanded in the 1990s with bands including White Zombie, Machine Head, and Sepultura. Successful groove metal acts of the 2000s include Lamb of God, DevilDriver, and Five Finger Death Punch.
God Forbid is an American metalcore band formed in East Brunswick, New Jersey in 1996.
Unearth is an American metalcore band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1998. The group consists of lead guitarist Buz McGrath, vocalist Trevor Phipps, drummer Mike Justian, bassist Chris O'Toole and rhythm guitarist Peter Layman. They are currently signed to Century Media Records and have released eight studio albums. Their most recent studio album, The Wretched; the Ruinous, was released on May 5, 2023.
Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. The band comprises vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy, guitarist Corey Beaulieu, bassist Paolo Gregoletto, and drummer Alex Bent.
Blood Has Been Shed was an American metalcore band based in Granby, Connecticut. The band came together in 1997 and has featured members of Killswitch Engage, Diecast, Light the Torch, Red Tide, Terror, Walls of Jericho, Bury Your Dead and The Acacia Strain. Blood Has Been Shed has released three full-length albums—I Dwell on Thoughts of You (1998), Novella of Uriel (2001) and Spirals (2003)—and was signed to Ferret Music and Roadrunner Records. The band was a frequent performer at metal festivals Hellfest and the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival.
As Daylight Dies is the fourth studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on November 21, 2006 through Roadrunner Records. It was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel.
This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2004.
"5 Minutes Alone" is a song by American heavy metal band Pantera from their 1994 album Far Beyond Driven. The song also appears on the band's live album. The song was released as downloadable content for Rock Revolution and Rock Band 3 and can be heard during a cut-scene in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.
"A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation", often referred to as "Gunshot", is a song by American heavy metal band Trivium. Written by Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu, both of whom perform vocals and guitars on the track, it was featured on the band's second studio album Ascendancy in 2005. The song was also released as a promotional single in May 2005, with an accompanying music video following in September.
Melodic metalcore is a fusion genre, incorporating elements of melodic death metal and metalcore; it has a heavy emphasis on melodic instrumentation, distorted guitar tones, palm muting, double bass drumming, blast beats, metalcore-stylized breakdowns, and vocals that range from aggressive screaming and death growls to clean singing. The genre has seen commercial success for employing a more accessible sound at times compared to other forms of extreme music. Many notable melodic metalcore bands have been influenced by At the Gates and In Flames.
Miss May I is an American metalcore band from Troy, Ohio. Formed in 2007, they signed to Rise Records in 2008 and released their debut album, Apologies Are for the Weak through the label while the members were still attending high school. The album reached 76 on the Billboard 200, No. 29 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers, and No. 66 on Top Independent Albums. The band has also had some of their material featured in big name productions; the song "Forgive and Forget" is featured on the Saw VI Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, and their song "Apologies Are for the Weak" is included in the video game Saints Row: The Third.
Rise to Remain was an English, London-based heavy metal band formed in 2006 and disbanded in 2015. The band made appearances at Download Festival, Sonisphere Festival and extensively toured the UK and Europe. The band released three EPs, the majority of which were "viral" releases, via their MySpace. On 16 March 2011 they signed their first major recording contract with EMI records, which was accompanied by the launch of their website and a free single download entitled "The Serpent". Their debut album, City of Vultures, was released on 5 September 2011, nearly a year after they had started work on recording the album. It was produced by revered metal producer Colin Richardson and Carl Bown. In 2014, the band released a new single entitled "Over and Over", which would be their last musical release.
Overcast was an American metalcore band that formed in Boston in 1990, and disbanded in 1998 after an unsuccessful tour. The band is often regarded as pioneers of metalcore.