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.
Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 27, 1984, by the independent record label Megaforce Records. The album was recorded in three weeks with producer Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. The artwork, based on a concept by the band, depicts an electric chair being struck by lightning flowing from the band logo. The title was taken from a passage in Stephen King's novel The Stand, in which a character uses the phrase to refer to execution by electric chair.
The Obsessed is an American heavy metal band from Potomac, Maryland, led by Scott "Wino" Weinrich. The band combines elements of doom metal, stoner rock, and punk rock. Formed in 1980, they recorded a few demos and played a handful of live shows until they first split up in 1986 when Weinrich joined as lead vocalist for Saint Vitus, but reformed four years later. After releasing three albums, the Obsessed broke up for a second time in 1995. After briefly reuniting for some shows in 2012 and 2013, the Obsessed announced their third reunion in March 2016.
Cinderella was an American rock band formed in the suburbs of Philadelphia in 1983. The band emerged in the mid-1980s with a series of multi-platinum studio albums and hit singles whose music videos received heavy MTV rotation and popularity. Cinderella initially had a glam metal sound throughout the late 1980s before shifting into a more blues rock-based sound during the early to mid 1990s.
Warlock were a German heavy metal band founded in 1982 in Düsseldorf by members of the underground bands Snakebite and Beast. The band gained popularity and some commercial success in Europe in the mid-1980s, due to the personality and stage presence of lead vocalist Doro Pesch. Warlock supported successful heavy metal bands on tour, such as W.A.S.P., Judas Priest, Dio and Megadeth.
Tooth and Nail is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Dokken, released on September 14, 1984 through Elektra Records. After the unsuccessful US release of the band's 1983 debut album, Breaking the Chains, the record label was reluctant to give credit to Dokken for a follow-up. Dokken's management struggled to convince the label's executives to give the band another chance and this fight for recognition is reflected in the album's title. This album was the group's first with bassist Jeff Pilson following Juan Croucier's departure to join Ratt.
Jørn Marumsrud Lande is a Norwegian hard rock and heavy metal singer. He is known for his work with the bands Ark, Beyond Twilight, Millenium, Vagabond, The Snakes, and most notably with power metal band Masterplan. He is also the most recurrent guest singer of the international supergroup Avantasia, and has worked as lead and guest singer in several projects. Currently, he is focusing his activities on his solo project Jorn. In 2014, Lande was hired by Riot Games to be the voice of the character Karthus, of the fictional heavy metal band Pentakill.
Music For Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment.
Donald Roeser, known by his stage name Buck Dharma, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the sole constant member of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967. He wrote and sang vocals on several of the band's best-known hits, including "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Godzilla" and "Burnin' for You".
My Sister's Machine was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1989. Its members were Nick Pollock, Owen Wright (guitar), Chris Ivanovich, and Chris Gohde (drums).
Metal Church is the debut album by American heavy metal band Metal Church. The album was originally released by the independent record label Ground Zero in 1984. Based on the success of the album, the band was signed to a recording contract by Elektra Records, who reissued it in 1985. The cover art depicts a cruciform Gibson Explorer hidden in shadows and smoke.
Real to Real Cacophony is the second studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds. It was released on 23 November 1979 through record labels Zoom and Arista.
Unstoppable Force is the second album by American heavy metal band Agent Steel. It was recorded at Morrisound Recording Studios in Tampa, Florida from March - June 1986, and was digitally mastered in July 1986 at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida. The album was released by Combat Records in March 1987. The 1999 reissue by Century Media Records contains the Mad Locust Rising EP, which some later reissues excludes the cover version of the Judas Priest song "The Ripper". It was the last album before the band split up in 1988, only to reform in 1998 for the release of the 1999 album Omega Conspiracy.
Rogues Gallery is the twelfth studio album by the British rock group Slade. It was released by RCA on 29 March 1985 and reached number 60 in the UK charts. The album was largely produced by John Punter, with bassist Jim Lea producing "Harmony", "I Win, You Lose" and "Time to Rock". For this release, the band set out to create an album of radio-friendly, potential hit singles which would be released as singles somewhere across the world.
Blessing in Disguise is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Metal Church, released on February 7, 1989.
Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward.
Fight to Survive is the debut album by the American-Danish glam metal band White Lion, released by Victor Records in Japan in 1985. The album charted at number 151 on the Billboard 200.
Fire Down Under is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Riot, released in 1981, it's the last album to feature original vocalist Guy Speranza. The song "Flashbacks" is dedicated to Neal Kay, a British DJ who supported heavy metal in the UK during the new wave of British heavy metal.
The Tearjerkers are a five piece power pop band from Northern Ireland. Formed at the height of the punk rock boom in Ulster in the late 1970s, the band were composed of members from other Northern Irish groups namely Cobra, Midnight Cruiser and The Detonators.
Q5 is an American hard rock/heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, who formed in 1983. Their first studio album, titled Steel the Light, came out in 1984. Picking up some critical praise, the outfit toured with the likes of Lita Ford and Twisted Sister. However, the group faced internal divisions that ultimately ended the project before the 1980s came to a close. In 2014, Q5 re-formed to perform at the Sweden Rock Festival, and the band members involved found that the one-off event was not enough, deciding to continue on with the revamped version of the group.
