Picture is one of the first Dutch heavy metal bands. Formed in 1979,[1] they were especially popular in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy for their live performances, and still have a fan base in South America, Mexico and Japan.
Picture supported AC/DC, Ted Nugent and Saxon in the Netherlands. With Saxon, they did a full European tour in 1981. Later on they toured with Rose Tattoo in Germany and headlined tours in Italy and Israel.
Early on in Picture's career they were produced by Cat Music.[2] They worked with manager Henk van Antwerpen and were signed to Warner Bros. Records. However, Picture felt their label were trying to steer them in a pop direction and quit the label to sign with Backdoor Records, a subsidiary of Phonogram Records.
The original line-up recorded their debut album, Picture 1 and their second effort, Heavy Metal Ears in 1980 and 1981 respectively. To begin with, they gigged throughout the Netherlands and nearby Germany and built a following. In the meantime, they started composing their own music. Bechtum would usually come up with the riffs, then the other members would contribute their parts. After hashing and rehashing the songs, they became the titles that would appear on the first album, Picture I.
As a bunch of young kids, they did not know much about the realities of recording. When the album came out, none of them liked the sound quality. As they grew in popularity, they returned to the studio to record Heavy Metal Ears and it was much of the same sound quality. It was not until they were a little older and wiser that they really got their sound in the studio with Diamond Dreamer. However, by this time, Ronald had left for personal reasons and they found Israeli singer Shmoulik Avigal. Not only was the recording done much better, but Shmoulik had a different, and some[who?] say, more powerful voice. Many[who?] consider Diamond Dreamer as the band's best album.
After recording and touring with Shmoluik for the Diamond Dreamer album, he suggested they add a second guitarist to fatten their live sound and Chriz Van Jaarsveld was brought in. Though he was a technically proficient guitarist, he did not gel with Bechtum and things went downhill. Then Shmoulik got in a petty argument with their manager and was fired from the band. About this time, Bechtum had had enough and quit for personal reasons. To fill in the gaps, a new singer, Pete Lovell, was recruited along with a second guitarist, Henry van Manen. They went into the studio to record Eternal Dark. This album was slicker than Diamond Dreamer and the two guitarists significantly altered the heavy sound of Jan Bechtum for a more technical groove that sort of worked, but started the trend for the final albums that veered away from the Picture sound. Around this time, Bakker could not take the rigors of touring or the stress of all their management troubles while supporting a wife and twins, so he left.
From that point on, the only remaining original member was Vreugdenhil. He continued for three more albums: Traitor, Marathon, and Every Story Needs Another Picture. Many[who?] described them as going into hair metal, with commercial and anonymous songs. Vreugdenhil was particularly disgusted with Every Story Needs Another Picture, as it was an album forced by the record contract, and it is rumored[by whom?] that the whole album was recorded by studio musicians with minimal[vague] participation from him.
Though Vreugdenhil continued long after the other original members had left, he was never able to steer the band back into a successful direction. He finally called it a day in 1987,[1] and got a "real" job. The original members tried a brief reunion in 1988.[1]
In 2007, the classic lineup reunited for rehearsals. They still had that spark, and planned to cut a CD in 2008 and play some gigs around the Netherlands and Germany. Though Ronald van Prooijen helped out, singer Shmoulik Avigal was asked to participate as well as Pete Lovell, the singer on the Eternal Dark album.
After the smoke cleared[vague] in 2008, a permanent lineup was established with Bechtum, Vreugdenhil, Bakker, Rob vanEnkhuizen, and Lovell. They are currently[when?] playing throughout Europe to very enthusiastic[vague] crowds. A limited edition live album was recorded at various venues and was released by the band. Plans were to release another album in 2009 with new songs, two of which have appeared on the limited edition CD.
The album Old Dogs, New Tricks was released on 1 October 2009, on the MarsMountains label. It contains 12 songs of all new material, released 30 years from when the band first formed.
On 18 December 2009, Bechtum announced his departure from the band. He was replaced by Peter Bourbon. In early 2010, van Enkhuizen decided to leave Picture. His replacement is Gert Nijboer. In 2011, Nijboer was replaced by American Mike Ferguson.
The lineup solidified with the two new guitarists and they began working on their new album which was released in spring 2012. Warhorse, written by all band members, brought Picture back into the limelight. They began touring again. Due to logistical problems, Peter Bourbon had to leave, but that spot was soon filled by another Dutch guitarist, Len Ruygrok. After a few months he decided to leave and former member Andre Wullems came back. The band continues to tour and solidify their reputation in the world of heavy rock and metal.
On 23 March 2016, Pete Lovell announced by Facebook his departure from the band to form his new band Lovell's Blade. Also, Andre Wullems and Mike Ferguson will join the new band. But all the so-far-planned gigs of Picture in 2016 were to be respected and performed by Pete, Andre, Rinus, Laurens and Mike. Nearly a day later, Rinus and Laurens announced that Picture would continue with the original members of the first line-up ever.
With Jan Bechtum and Ronald van Prooijen they start a classic line-up tour in 2017 and will celebrate the 40th year in existence in 2018! Guitarist Appie de Gelder is added as second guitarist to the line-up to make a richer live sound. They played the Sweden Rock Festival in 2017 for the second time since 2008. The 40th year in existence is celebrated with a live CD, 40 years Heavy Metal Ears.
In 2019, a new studio album Wings is released worldwide through Pure Steel Records. It contains ten new songs and is the tenth studio album of the band. In February 2020 has been announced that a new singer, the Italian Phoenix Reborn took Ronald's place.
In 2020, the Corona pandemic limits the future of the band. Shows that will hopefully be done end of 2021 will be done by vocalist and old friend of the band Peter Strykes.
After a considerable period as a substitute guitarist, it appears during the corona pandemic that Jan Bechtum's hand is causing too many problems, even after surgery. Jan Bechtum has to resign from the band but stays musically active, writing new songs and recording at home. This marks the official return of Len Ruygrok as a band member. April 9, 2021 Len Ruygrok will play his first gig at Blast From the Past @ Kuurne (BE) as an official band member.
The new line-up is strong and that will not go unnoticed. The powerful vocals of Peter Strykes and the new (old school) sound of Len Ruygrok ensure that the band is touring again. In the period 2021 - 2023, the band will visit European countries such as Greece, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain and Poland and 2023 will also end with a 14-day tour through the cities of Sau Paulo, Limeira, Curitiba and Londrina in Brazil.
Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy and mythology, as well as numerous songs celebrating the genre and its core audience. The band is also known for a loud and emphatic sound. In an interview for MTV in February 2007, bassist Joey DeMaio lamented that "these days, there's a real lack of big, epic metal that is drenched with crushing guitars and choirs and orchestras... so it's nice to be one of the few bands that's actually doing that". In 1984, the band was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for delivering the loudest performance, a record which they have since broken on two occasions. They also hold the world record for the longest heavy metal concert after playing for five hours and 1 minute in Bulgaria in 2008. They also have been known for their slogan "Death to false metal".
Ronald James Padavona, known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell.
UFO were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the new wave of British heavy metal. The band's final lineup consisted of vocalist Phil Mogg, lead guitarist Vinnie Moore, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Neil Carter, bass guitarist Rob De Luca, and drummer Andy Parker. They had gone through several line-up changes, leaving Mogg as the only constant member, and had disbanded three times. The band also featured former Scorpions guitarist and Michael Schenker Group (MSG) founder Michael Schenker, who was a member of UFO from 1973 to 1978 and rejoined the band sporadically between 1993 and 2003, when Moore replaced him. In May 2018, Mogg announced that he would retire from UFO after one last tour as a member of the band in 2019; however, their farewell tour was set to conclude in 2022 before it was cancelled, due to Mogg's health issues. Mogg confirmed UFO's third disbandment in April 2024.
Darrell Lance Abbott, best known by his stage name Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founded alongside his brother Vinnie Paul. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest metal guitarists of all time.
Daron Malakian is an Armenian-American musician. He is the guitarist, songwriter, and second vocalist of the metal band System of a Down, and the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter of Scars on Broadway.
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Paul Andrews, better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, is an English heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981. In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno has issued numerous albums over the years, as both a solo artist and as a member of such bands as Gogmagog, Di'Anno's Battlezone, Killers, Rockfellas, and more recently, Warhorse. Together with fellow Iron Maiden member Dennis Stratton, he joined Praying Mantis for the recording of their 1990 live album Live at Last.
Sunk Loto are an Australian alternative metal band formed in Gold Coast, Queensland in 1997. The band's founding members are Dane Brown on drums, his brother Jason Brown on vocals, Luke McDonald on lead guitar and song writing and Sean Van Gennip on bass guitar. Sunk Loto signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia when the members' average age was 16 years. They released two studio albums, Big Picture Lies and Between Birth and Death ; both reached the ARIA Albums Chart top 50. The group disbanded in December 2007, and after a 15-year hiatus the original members re-formed the band in 2022 with Luke McDonald convincing the band members, who were not speaking to each other because of disputes between the brothers and Sean, to reform and tour. Sean only agreeing on the proviso his brother was made the band's manager. Fan favourite Luke's interviews on metal podcasts and web based media disclosing his mental health issues, past addiction and now sober journey endeared the talented lead guitarist and song writer to the lifelong fans, many of whom could relate and were on their own sober journeys, as revealed in the many messages of support on social media posts. The band embarked on a successful sold-out East Coast tour. In 2023, the band announced an album tour of 'Between Birth and Death' to mark the 20 year debut of the album co-written by Luke McDonald. On 22 August 2023 Luke McDonald stated in a social media post that he had been fired by the band several months previous and had been in negotiations with the band to receive payment from the previous tour, which was not forthcoming. In retaliation the band put up a notice on their social media that they had fired Luke and accused Luke of behaviour which has since been rescinded, due to defamation laws, and announced that, despite not informing fans for 5 months, who had purchased tickets, including 'VIP' meet and greets, for the upcoming tour on the basis the original band would be playing, that they had hired and were rehearsing with a new guitarist. The band later announced that mega fan of the band and friend of Jason's, Rohan Stevenson would replace Luke. The announcement being made mere months to the first show of the tour. Subsequently, partially due to fan backlash, none of the Between Birth and Death 20th Anniversary Tour shows were sold out. In October 2023 the band released their first single in 20 years, “The Gallows Wait” a song which Luke McDonald co-wrote but was not credited. The band have announced they intend to release a new album due 2024. The band have no tours announced for 2024 and no festival appearances.
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Ultraspank was an American nu metal band from Santa Barbara, California. They released two albums, a self-titled album in 1998, and a follow-up, Progress, in 2000. The band disbanded shortly after the release of Progress in 2001 due to being dropped by their label due to poor sales of both albums.
Calm Before the Storm is the fifth studio album by British heavy metal band Venom. The original title of the album would have been Deadline, but the title was changed when guitarist Jeffrey "Mantas" Dunn left the band and was replaced by Jimi Clare and Mike Hickey. Both were to follow bassist Conrad "Cronos" Lant in his later solo career and the latter would also return on the 2006 album Metal Black.
Jan Bechtum is a Dutch guitarist and composer.
Laurens Bakker is the original drummer for the Dutch heavy metal band Picture.
Rinus Vreugdenhil is the bass player and longest standing member of the Dutch heavy metal band Picture.
Ronald van Prooijen was the original singer of the Dutch heavy metal band Picture.
Vengeance is a Hard rock band from the Netherlands formed in 1983 in Waalwijk. Arjen Anthony Lucassen, the head of Ayreon and other progressive metal projects, played in the band from its formation until 1992 when the band split up, after which he left to pursue a solo career. They later reformed on 1997.
Rinus is a male given name, usually short for Marinus and popular in the Netherlands, and may refer to:
Bill Hudson is a Brazilian-American heavy metal guitarist, currently serving as the main composer, lead guitarist and founder for power metal supergroup NorthTale. He worked with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra as well German heavy metal bands U.D.O. and Dirkschneider, both fronted by former Accept vocalist Udo Dirkschneider and American death metal band I Am Morbid, featuring former Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent and drummer Pete Sandoval. As of 2021, he is the guitarist for German heavy metal legend Doro Pesch, after acting as a fill in guitarist since 2017.
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