Death was an American death metal band formed in Altamonte Springs, Florida, in 1983 by guitarist Chuck Schuldiner, drummer/vocalist Kam Lee and guitarist Rick Rozz. Formed out of what would become the Florida death metal scene, Death is considered to be among the most influential bands in heavy metal music and a pioneering force in death metal. The band's 1987 debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, has been widely regarded as one of the first death metal records, alongside the first records from Possessed and Necrophagia.
Charles Michael Schuldiner was an American musician. He founded the pioneering Florida death metal band Death in 1983, in which he was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter and only continuous member until his death in 2001. His obituary in the January 5, 2002, issue of Kerrang! described him as "one of the most significant figures in the history of metal." Schuldiner was ranked No. 10 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists in 2009 and No. 20 in March 2004 Guitar World's "The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists". In 1987, Schuldiner founded the publishing company Mutilation Music, affiliated with performance rights organization BMI. Schuldiner died in 2001 of a brain tumor.
Possessed is an American death metal band, originally formed in 1982 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1979 in Richmond, California. Their current lineup consists of guitarists Gary Holt and Lee Altus, bassist Jack Gibson, drummer Tom Hunting, and lead vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza. There are no original members left in Exodus other than Hunting, who has departed from the band twice, in 1989 and 2004, but rejoined in 2007. Exodus is also notable for featuring a then-unknown Kirk Hammett, who was the band's lead guitarist from its inception until his departure in 1983, when he left to join fellow Bay Area thrash metal band Metallica as Dave Mustaine's replacement. Holt has been most consistent member throughout various lineup changes and breakups, and is the only member to appear on all of Exodus' recordings. Much of the band's career has also been affected by feuds between both band members and record companies, two extended hiatuses, deaths of former band members, and drug addictions.
BulletBoys is an American hard rock/glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1987. The group's original lineup was composed of singer Marq Torien, guitarist Mick Sweda, bassist Lonnie Vencent, and drummer Jimmy D'Anda. The group released two successful albums and had a number of singles featured on MTV between 1988 and 1991. From the 1990s onward, the group went through numerous lineup changes, with Torien as the only consistent member. Their most recent album From Out of the Skies was released in 2018. The original lineup reunited for one-off shows in 2011 and 2019.
Jag Panzer is an American power metal band from Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Leprosy is the second studio album by Florida death metal band Death, released on November 16, 1988 by Combat Records.
Barney Kamalani "Kam" Lee is an American death metal vocalist. He is best known for his vocal contributions to an early incarnation of Death from 1983 to 1984, and later joined Massacre in 1985.
Exhorder is an American heavy metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana. They are considered progenitors of the groove-oriented thrash sound later made famous by bands such as Pantera and Machine Head, and their music has been regarded as a large influence on the New Orleans metal scene. Initially active from 1985 to 1994 and reformed from 2008 to 2011, Exhorder has since reformed in 2017. To date, the band has released four studio albums: Slaughter in the Vatican (1990), The Law (1992), Mourn the Southern Skies (2019) and Defectum Omnium (2024).
Rick Rozz is an American guitarist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York and spent his formative years in Altamonte Springs, Florida, attending Lake Brantley High School. He is best known for his work with the death metal bands Death and Massacre. He still resides in Florida.
Heathen is an American thrash metal band originating from the San Francisco Bay Area, active from 1984 to 1993 and again from 2001 onwards. Despite never achieving commercial success, the band is often credited – alongside Exodus, Testament, Forbidden, Death Angel and Vio-lence – as one of the leaders of the Bay Area thrash metal scene of the mid-to-late 1980s, and they have gone through several lineup changes, leaving guitarist Lee Altus as the only constant member. To date, Heathen has released four studio albums: Breaking the Silence (1987), Victims of Deception (1991), The Evolution of Chaos (2009) and Empire of the Blind (2020).
From Beyond is the debut studio album by American death metal band Massacre, released in 1991 on Earache Records. The album was re-released with a different cover and the Inhuman Condition EP as bonus tracks.
The Absence is an American melodic death metal band from Tampa, Florida. Their style has been described as aggressive thrash metal with Scandinavian metal influences. They were previously signed to Metal Blade Records and are now signed to M-Theory Audio.
Inhuman Condition is an EP by the American death metal band Massacre. It was released in 1992 by Earache Records.
Zonaria is a melodic death metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formerly known as Seal Precious. The band is currently signed to Century Media Records.
Inked in Blood is the ninth studio album by American death metal band Obituary. It was crowdfunded via Kickstarter and then released on October 28, 2014 through Gibtown Music/Relapse Records. It is the first studio album with bassist Terry Butler and lead guitarist Kenny Andrews, making this the first Obituary album not to feature Frank Watkins on bass since 1989's Slowly We Rot. A deluxe edition of the album was also released containing two bonus tracks. It is their first album to appear on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 5,200 copies in its first week and peaking at 75.
Jeramie Kling is an American drummer, recording engineer, producer, and live sound engineer for the metal bands The Absence and Venom Inc. He is also a member of Ribspreader (drums), Goregäng, and Metal Blade act Necromancing the Stone. Kling was a member of death metal band Massacre from 2019 to 2020. In 2021, he formed the band Inhuman Condition with Massacre and Obituary bassist Terry Butler (ex-Death) and Taylor Nordberg. In August 2024, Kling joined thrash metal band Overkill as touring drummer.
Nervosa is a Brazilian-Greek thrash/death metal band originally from São Paulo. The band is signed to Napalm Records and has released five studio albums and one EP.
Promise is the second studio album by American death metal band Massacre, released on July 23, 1996, through Earache Records. Massacre vocalist Kam Lee rejoined the band in 1993 after leaving for a year during a tour in the United Kingdom when guitarist Rick Rozz approached him for a new album to record. Rozz wanted Lee to write a different type of lyrics and Rozz wrote the rest of the album. Lee wrote the lyrics and he recorded the vocals, but left Massacre during post-production due to dissatisfaction with the album. Lee said that the vocals are not his and he is wrongfully credited as the vocalist, and that an unknown person finished the vocals. After Lee left the band, Kenny Goodwin replaced him as the temporary vocalist and guitarist for Massacre.
