A zoetrope is a pre-film animation device that produces the illusion of motion, by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. A zoetrope is a cylindrical variant of the phénakisticope, an apparatus suggested after the stroboscopic discs were introduced in 1833. The definitive version of the zoetrope, with replaceable film picture film strips, was introduced as a toy by Milton Bradley in 1866 and became very successful.
Bill Callahan is an American singer-songwriter, who has also recorded and performed under the band name Smog. Callahan began working in the lo-fi genre, with home-made tape-albums recorded on four-track tape recorders. Later he began releasing albums with the label Drag City, to which he remains signed today.
Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, Finland. Created as a hard rock band named Tricky Beans, they later changed to Tricky Means and finally to Sonata Arctica, when they shifted to power metal. The current lineup consists of drummer Tommy Portimo, lead singer Tony Kakko, keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg, guitarist Elias Viljanen and bassist Pasi Kauppinen. All the musicians of the band's history except Portimo also acted as backing vocalists.
Kee Marcello is a Swedish guitarist/vocalist, best known as the former guitarist in the hard rock bands Europe and Easy Action. He is currently pursuing his solo career.
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).
Rushton Moreve was an American bass guitarist best known for his work with the rock band Steppenwolf from 1967 to 1968 and again in 1978. According to singer John Kay, he was an intuitive bassist with a melodic style that brought a non-commercial sound to the band, a technique exemplified on the hit he co-wrote with Kay, "Magic Carpet Ride".
Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977 who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a lifestyle and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, advocating direct action, animal rights, feminism, anti-fascism and environmentalism. The band employed and advocated a DIY ethic in its albums, sound collages, leaflets and films.
While Heaven Wept was an American epic doom metal band based in Dale City, Virginia. The primary writer and overall engine of the band was mainman Tom Phillips. Their melodic, classically influenced style could be compared to bands such as Solitude Aeturnus and Solstice ; however, 2003's acclaimed Of Empires Forlorn saw the band branching out into a variety of metal and progressive styles. This trend continues on their 2009 album, Vast Oceans Lachrymose, and on their 2011 album, Fear of Infinity.
Don Mancuso is an American rock music guitarist and songwriter best known for his role as guitarist and co-writer for the rock band Black Sheep as well as The Lou Gramm Band and The Voice of Foreigner. He also has a successful solo career and continues to work with Phil Naro in DDrive. He is also working with Regi Hendrix on his first solo effort.
All That Remains is an American heavy metal band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1998. They have released nine studio albums, a live CD and DVD, and have sold over a million records worldwide.
Working for a Nuclear Free City was an indie nu gaze band from Manchester, England.
Eluveitie is a Swiss folk metal band from Winterthur, Zürich, founded in 2002 by Chrigel Glanzmann. The project's first demo, Vên, was released in 2003. Vên was a studio project of Glanzmann's, but its success led to the recruitment of a full band. The band then released a full-length album, Spirit, in June 2006. In November 2007, Eluveitie was signed by Nuclear Blast. The group rose to fame following the release of their first major-label album, Slania, in February 2008. The album peaked at number 35 in the Swiss charts and number 72 in the German charts.
World Under Blood is an American melodic death metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2006, the band originally featured vocalist and guitarist Deron Miller and drummer Tim Yeung, with bassist Risha Eryavac and guitarist Luke Jaeger completing the four-piece lineup in 2007. The group released its debut album Tactical in July 2011, which featured contributions from guitarist James Murphy.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin is an American musical film based on the famous poem of the same name by Robert Browning and using the music of Edvard Grieg, arranged by Pete King with new lyrics by Hal Stanley and Irving Taylor. It stars Van Johnson, Claude Rains, Lori Nelson, Jim Backus and Kay Starr. It was directed by Broadway veteran Bretaigne Windust. Nearly all of the dialogue in The Pied Piper of Hamelin is spoken in rhyme, much of it directly lifted from Browning's poem.
Working for a Nuclear Free City is the debut album by Manchester indie band Working for a Nuclear Free City. The album was not released in the United States but all its tracks were included on their next release, the double album Businessmen & Ghosts. Their song "Dead Fingers Talking" was used in the first episode of the show Breaking Bad.
Melodic Records is a British independent record label founded by David Cooper in 1999. Based in Manchester, England, the label have recently released their 132nd release as of October 2021 and celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019. The label also run a label management arm, Melodic European Labels, which distributes and promotes overseas labels in Europe.
Keith Grayson, professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, was an American disc jockey (DJ) from New York City. He is referred to by The New York Times as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He released four studio albums: The Streetsweeper, Vol. 1 (2003), The Streetsweeper, Vol. 2 (2004), The Champions: North Meets South, and More Than Just a DJ (2010). Known for extensive curation of prominent figures in East Coast hip hop, his albums were met with success in the regional market; his first two were released by Columbia Records. Grayson died from COVID-19 in 2022.
Jarekus Singleton is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Refuse To Lose was his first nationally and internationally distributed album. It was released on the Chicago-based independent blues record label Alligator Records on May 6, 2014. England's Blues & Rhythm called Singleton "a great, new blues talent...young, original, soulful and intense...superb, blistering guitar." According to Living Blues magazine, "Jarekus Singleton is making some serious blues noise...blending modern-day blues and emotionally intense soul with melodic, hot-toned lead guitar, funk-seasoned rhythms and hip-hop flavored lyrics." The Washington Post said, "Jarekus Singleton is an exciting new young blues guitarist with melody, hooks, swagger and a strong, original voice. His lyrics are modern, personal, acutely poetic and deeply mature." USA Today said of Singleton, "Stinging blues guitar and potent, original songs herald the emergence of a major new talent."
Narnia is a Swedish metal band founded by guitarist Carl Johan Grimmark and singer Christian Liljegren. The band formed in Sweden in 1996, disbanded in 2010, and reformed in 2014. Their music references The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.
Hykeem Jamaal Carter Jr., known professionally as Baby Keem, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Las Vegas, he gained recognition in the late 2010s with his contributions to Black Panther: The Album by his cousin Kendrick Lamar, as well as Redemption by Jay Rock, Crash Talk by Schoolboy Q, and The Lion King: The Gift by Beyoncé. As a lead artist, he first became known for his 2019 sleeper hit single "Orange Soda", which was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
