History
Early years, Trinity and Continuum (1994–2007)
In January 1994, Psychosis guitarists Vince Levalois and Kragen Lum shifted their focus to forming their own band, recruiting bassist Stephen Gambina and drummer Damion Ramirez, and named the band Prototype. The new band then began recording their debut release, a demo titled Seed, and released it later that year. The demo went on to receive praise and was referred to as the benchmark for modern aggressive/melodic progressive metal. The demo contained three songs: "Seed", "Shine", and "Dead of Jericho"; all three tracks later appeared on the band's first two studio albums. In 1996, Gambina and Ramirez left the band, and were replaced by bassist Mike Bear and drummer Pat Magrath. Gambina, however, remained with the band as a writer to help contribute material for their following release, and continued to do so thereafter. In 1997, the band began recording an EP, titled Cloned, and released it in 1998. The following year, bassist Kirk Scherer replaced Bear in the band, completing the line-up that has lasted nearly a decade.
The band began working on their first studio album, Trinity , in mid-2000, and the album was released on February 12, 2002. The band later appeared on Phantom Lords: A Tribute to Metallica, covering Metallica's song "Battery". Later that year, Magrath left Prototype, and the band decided to re-enlist their former drummer Damion Ramirez. In 2004, an instrumental version of the song "Probe" was featured in MTX Mototrax . In the same year, five songs from Trinity, including "Pure", "Trinity" and "Shine", were featured in True Crime: Streets of LA . After three years of touring and playing in shows throughout the United States, the band returned to the studio early 2005 to record their second studio album, Continuum , which was released on May 23, 2006. Ramirez recorded majority of the drum tracks for the album, while Magrath returned to play on the song "Heart Machine". In 2006, the song "Synthespian" appeared in Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam , and in 2007, the song "The Way It Ends" featured as a bonus playable song in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock ; the same song later appeared as a Rock Band Network downloadable content (DLC) song for Rock Band 3 in 2012, one year before the network's designer, Harmonix, announced that they would be discontinuing regular DLC updates for the Rock Band series. In 2007, Levalois, Lum and Scherer were endorsed by Jackson Guitars and appeared in the product catalogues; Lum's custom seven-string Soloist was featured in the catalogue's custom shop guitars. Later that year, Lum also joined thrash metal band Heathen.
Catalyst and other projects (2008–present)
In early 2008, Ramirez left Prototype for the second time and was replaced by drummer Nic Ritter, who had been performing with thrash metal band Warbringer at the time. However, due to Ritter's commitments with Warbringer, the band re-enlisted Pat Magrath in 2009, and began working on their third studio album later that year. Catalyst was released on September 11, 2012, and saw a change in the sound of the band's music to a more thrash metal-inspired sound. In November 2012, the band released the compilation album Retrospect, which featured music from all five of the band's demos, including Seed. On March 4, 2013, the band released their second EP, The Way It Ends - Video Game EP, which featured exclusive mixes of the band's songs that have previously been featured in video games.
To celebrate the band's 20th anniversary, on March 4, 2014, Prototype released the live album Live At The Whisky 1998 online. The live album is a recording of the band's performance at Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood on December 5, 1998, where it was supporting death metal band Death. In late 2014, Lum recorded himself playing guitar solos from several of the band's songs and posted the videos on Prototype's official YouTube channel. Levalois later collaborated with former Control Denied vocalist Tim Aymar, former Watchtower vocalist Jason McMaster and Holy Grail vocalist James Paul Luna on the Control/Resist EP, Gods By Design, which was released on February 22, 2015.
Voivod is a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Quebec. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger, guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour, drummer Michel "Away" Langevin and bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault. The band has had numerous members changes throughout its 42-year career, with Langevin as the only consistent member. Their current line-up includes Langevin, Bélanger, Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain (guitar) and Dominic "Rocky" Laroche (bass).
Blind Illusion is an American progressive thrash metal band from Richmond, California. Formed in 1978 by lead guitarist and main songwriter Mark Biedermann, the band has had several lineup changes, with Biedermann being the only constant member. Blind Illusion is also notable for featuring Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde, both later of Primus, who performed bass and guitar respectively on their 1988 debut album The Sane Asylum.
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 including a then-unknown Kirk Hammett, who was the band's lead guitarist from its inception to 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.
Watchtower is an American progressive metal band based in Austin, Texas, active from 1982 to 1993 and they have reunited occasionally since 1999. The band has released two studio albums―Energetic Disassembly (1985) and Control and Resistance (1989)―as well as one compilation album, four digital singles, one EP and three demo cassettes, and has been featured on numerous compilation albums. They are also notable for featuring vocalist Jason McMaster, who left Watchtower after the release of Energetic Disassembly to form Dangerous Toys, and was replaced by Alan Tecchio, who appeared on Control and Resistance and the band's 2016 EP Concepts of Math: Book One. After leaving the band once again in 2010, McMaster returned to Watchtower for the second time in 2023.
Byzantine is an American heavy metal band from Charleston, West Virginia, that was formed in 2000. As of March 2016, the band consists of frontman and co-founder Chris "OJ" Ojeda, Brian Henderson (guitar), Matt Bowles (drums) and Ryan Postlethwait (bass). The band has released three studio albums on Prosthetic Records along with two independent albums. Byzantine is known for its unique sound and modern, "forward thinking" musical style which explores different musical territories and song structures.
Conception is a Norwegian power/progressive metal band from Raufoss, originally active from 1989 to 1997, during which they released four studio albums. The band reunited in 2018, twenty years after originally disbanding with a new single and EP.
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).
Cynic is an American progressive metal band formed in Miami, Florida by Paul Masvidal in 1987. Masvidal original served solely as the band's guitarist, but later took over as lead vocalist and chief songwriter. Cynic incorporates elements of progressive rock, alternative, and metal.
Defiance is an American thrash metal band from Oakland, California. They played a technical style of thrash originally evoking bands like Testament, though they would later move on to playing in their own unique, more progressive thrash style. After dissolving in 1995, they reformed in 2005 and released their fourth studio album The Prophecy in late 2009. They broke up once again in 2012, but announced yet another reunion in September 2019.
Steel Prophet is an American power metal band led by the founder and main writer Steve Kachinsky.
Seventh Angel are an English Christian metal band that formed in 1987 in Halesowen, West Midlands. The band was known for its combination of doom metal and thrash metal. The band initially released two albums, The Torment (1990) and Lament for the Weary (1992), before disbanding; these records achieved mainstream distribution through the Music for Nations label, making Seventh Angel label mates with such groups as Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. The Daily Telegraph called Seventh Angel "one of the leading Christian thrash metal bands in Great Britain."
Warbringer is an American thrash metal band formed in 2004. Century Media Records signed Warbringer after seeing them at a local show in LA. Originally, a Century Media rep was at the show to see another LA thrash metal band but decided to sign Warbringer instead. Warbringer's second album Waking into Nightmares was released on May 19, 2009. The album reached No. 14 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Despite numerous line-up changes, Warbringer has released six full-length studio albums, and along with Bonded by Blood, Evile, Hatchet and Havok, they are notable for being part of the late 2000s and early 2010s "thrash metal revival" scene.
Trinity is the debut studio album by American progressive metal band Prototype. The album was released on February 12, 2002 via WWIII Music/AMC. The album was also released in Europe via Massacre Records; this version featured two bonus tracks that were not on the American version and were later included on the digital re-release.
Bonded by Blood is an American thrash metal band, named after Exodus' debut album Bonded by Blood. Like its labelmates Evile, Gama Bomb, and Municipal Waste, Bonded by Blood is part of the thrash metal revival movement. The band was founded in mid-2005 by vocalist Jose Barrales, who with the help of friends completed the band's original lineup with guitarist Alex Lee, guitarist Juan Juarez, bassist Ruben Dominguez, and drummer Carlos Regalado.
Catalyst is the third and most recent studio album by American progressive metal band Prototype. The album was released on September 11, 2012 via Nightmare Records. It was their first studio album to feature drummer Pat Magrath as a permanent member of the band since Trinity (2002). The band's first conceptual album, the album tells a story depicting events and the symbiotic relationship between humankind and an alien race. Upon release, the album received mixed to positive reviews.
Trials was an American metal band who formed in Chicago in 2008. They played a blend of groove metal, thrash metal and metalcore and their music also has melodic and progressive elements.
Astronoid is a post-metal band from Lowell, Massachusetts, formed in 2012. Started by vocalist Brett Boland and bassist Daniel Schwartz, the current lineup includes Boland, Schwartz, guitarist Casey Aylward, and drummer Matt St. Jean. They have released two extended plays, November (2012) and Stargazer (2013), and three studio albums, Air (2016), the eponymous Astronoid (2019) and Radiant Bloom (2022).
Nervosa is a thrash/death metal band originally from São Paulo, Brazil. The band is signed to Napalm Records and has released four studio albums and one EP.
