Blue Öyster Cult is an American 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), rarely experienced commercial success. 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.
Omnium Gatherum is a six-piece melodic death metal band from Finland, founded in the autumn of 1996. Although the band mainly follows the path of the melodic death metal genre, much of their work shows strong influences from progressive metal, especially their later albums. Their music is influenced by Gothenburg-style bands such as At the Gates, In Flames, Dissection, Dark Tranquillity, but also Iron Maiden, Death, Anathema and Megadeth among others.
Scream Bloody Gore is the debut studio album by American death metal band Death, released on May 25, 1987, by Combat Records. It is considered by many to be "the first true death metal record". Chuck Schuldiner, the band’s founder and leader, performed guitar, bass and vocals, and composed all tracks on the album.
Sabbat is a Japanese black metal band formed in the early 1980s. On some releases, they showcase a more thrash- and heavy metal-influenced sound.
Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation is the third full-length studio album by American melodic death metal band Darkest Hour. It was released in 2003, and contains nine tracks on the regular release and ten for the Japanese release and the limited edition DVD. "For The Soul of the Savior" includes a solo by Kris Norris which replaces the last part of the original song. It is also the first Darkest Hour album to feature Kris Norris on lead guitar.
Barry Graham Purkis, more commonly known as Thunderstick, is an English drummer who wore various masks and used to perform on-stage closed in a cage. He was in the cult-band Samson, with whom his name is most associated.
Earthtone9 is an English metal band from Nottingham, England.
Infernal Poetry is an Italian death metal band from Ancona, who formed in 1996 and disbanded in 2014. The band started as a death metal act mixing US brutality and Scandinavian melody, adding new elements during 17 years of activities and creating a style that was self-defined as 'Schizo Metal'. The band released four albums, 2 EPs and one split release with Dark Lunacy.
Dark Lunacy is an Italian melodic death metal band with symphonic metal influences.
Sadist is a death metal band from Genoa, Italy, founded in January 1991. They made their debut with a Black Screams EP in 1991, followed by three albums. The band went on a hiatus after releasing the album Lego in 2000. They reunited in 2005 and released their self-titled album in 2007, followed by the release of a further three albums since then. In total, the band has released nine albums and one EP. They are currently signed to Scarlet Records. Guitarist and keyboardist, Tommy Talamanca, has been a constant feature throughout the band's existence, as the main composer and co-producer of their musical output. Trevor Nadir has been the main vocalist of the band since 1996.
Marseille were a British heavy metal band from Liverpool, England, formed in 1976 by Neil Buchanan, Andy Charters and Keith Knowles. Marseille were the first band to win the "UK Battle of the Bands" competition at Wembley Arena in 1977. Marseille were the first new wave of British heavy metal band to secure a major recording contract and to tour in the United States, as well as the first NWOBHM band to release an album there.
Called to Arms is a progressive metal band started in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2003. They are currently signed to Tragic Hero Records and they recorded their most recent album with Jamie King, which was released digitally August 10, 2010. The album is based on The Screwtape Letters written by C. S. Lewis.
White Wizzard is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 2007. They have released one EP and four albums: Over the Top released in 2010, Flying Tigers released in 2011, The Devil's Cut released in 2013, and Infernal Overdrive released 2018. Throughout the band's history, it has undergone numerous lineup changes, with only Jon Leon remaining a stable member of the band. The end of the band was announced by Jon Leon in April 2018, however, he announced that he was reassembling the band in March 2019.
Daedalus is an Italian progressive metal band. Their music contains influences from different musical genres, among them rock, progressive rock, heavy metal, classical music, jazz, electronic music, ambient.
Grenouer is a Russian rock and metal band, formed in late 1992 in Perm. Their name is an intentional misspelling of grimoire, a magic textbook.
Headkase was an Australian avant-garde metal band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in 2001. Headkase consisted of six members, and are known for theatrical and energetic stage shows, circus-themed masks and facepaint. Often compared to acts like Mr. Bungle, the band combined many musical styles such as metal, jazz, techno, salsa, swing, and circus music.
Pier Gonella is an Italian guitarist, composer, arranger, producer and founding member of the heavy metal band Mastercastle and the black metal band Necrodeath.
Creation's Tears are an Irish heavy metal/gothic metal band based in Northern Ireland, with some members based in England.
In His Infernal Majesty's Service is the sixth full-length studio album by the Swedish thrash metal band Witchery and their third since signing with Century Media Records. The album was released on 25 November 2016.
Nightlord is a British thrash metal band, based in London, England. In 2011, following the band's reformation, Powerplay Magazine proclaimed, "The future is looking very good indeed for this now legendary band".
