Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by the 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.
John Bush is an American heavy metal singer. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the lead singer and lyricist of Armored Saint, a heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. In 1992, he joined thrash metal band Anthrax, with whom he remained until 2005 and briefly rejoined in 2009–2010. Bush has also been active with the reformed Armored Saint intermittently from 1999 to the present, and involved with other projects such as Metal Allegiance and Category 7.
Fates Warning is an American progressive metal band, formed in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1982 by vocalist John Arch, guitarists Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini, bassist Joe DiBiase, and drummer Steve Zimmerman. There have been numerous lineup changes over the course of their 42-year career, and Matheos is the only constant member. As of 2020, the band consists of Matheos, vocalist Ray Alder, bassist Joey Vera, drummer Bobby Jarzombek and guitarist Michael Abdow. Fates Warning also had a revolving cast of drummers and guitarists by the time Jarzombek and Abdow joined the band in 2007 and 2020 respectively.
Mortification is an Australian Christian death metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mortification with the line-up of Rowe, Michael Carlisle on guitar and Jayson Sherlock on drums. Mortification has released fourteen studio albums, three compilation albums, three extended plays, six live discs, one demo album, one box set, and several videos on major record labels such as Nuclear Blast. As one of the earliest internationally successful Christian death metal bands from Australia, they served as an inspiration for later similar groups.
Terrorizer is an American grindcore band from Los Angeles, California. It was originally formed in 1985 as Unknown Death by vocalist Oscar Garcia and guitarist Jesse Pintado. They would rename themselves Terrorizer after recruiting drummer Pete Sandoval, who remains the band's sole constant member throughout their discography, in 1986. The band's current lineup consists of Sandoval, bassist David Vincent, vocalist Brian Werner and guitarist Richie Brown. They are currently signed to Earache Records.
Armored Saint is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1982. Since 1990, the band has consisted of John Bush on lead vocals, Joey Vera on bass, Jeff Duncan on guitar and the Sandoval brothers on drums and guitar, respectively. Of the current lineup, Bush and Vera are the two constant members. To date, the band has released eight studio albums, one EP, two live albums and one compilation album.
L.A.P.D. was an American funk metal band formed in 1989 in Bakersfield, California. From 1989 to 1992, the member line-up was James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, David Silveria and Richard Morrill. The group has released one studio album, one extended play, and one compilation album.
Poison's Greatest Hits: 1986–1996 is the first greatest hits compilation CD from the glam metal band Poison. The album was released on November 26, 1996, by Capitol Records. The album contains 16 tracks from the band's first four studio albums and also the live double-album Swallow This Live.
Symbol of Salvation is the fourth album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint, released in 1991 on Metal Blade Records. It was their first release with rhythm guitarist Jeff Duncan and their last album before going on an extended hiatus that would last until 1999. The songs on this album were written and demoed in 1988 and 1989 with original lead guitarist Dave Prichard, who died of leukemia in 1990 prior to recording. The first guitar solo on "Tainted Past" was lifted from a 1989 4-track demo recorded by Prichard. The album was produced by Dave Jerden, who had produced Alice in Chains and Jane's Addiction albums beforehand. Jerden would go on to produce vocalist John Bush's first album with Anthrax, Sound of White Noise in 1993.
March of the Saint is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1984 by Chrysalis Records and recorded with producer Michael James Jackson who previously worked for Kiss. The debut album yielded a minor MTV hit with "Can U Deliver", but Joey Vera and John Bush later recalled the album's recording as a frustrating and disappointing experience, explaining that Jackson's approach was much more commercial than the heavy metal sound the band had wanted. As Vera recalled in 2006: "At the end of the record we were very unhappy with the production, the mix, the way we worked and who we worked with. And the producer and our manager let us spend over ($)300,000 on our first record. To this day we are still in debt for that one."
Bitch is an American heavy metal band, formed in Los Angeles in December 1980. They gained notoriety as a result of their theatrical live performances inspired by Alice Cooper, which featured sadomasochistic themes. Bitch was the first artist ever signed to Metal Blade Records.
Raising Fear is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1987 via Chrysalis Records. The band recorded the album as a four-piece as guitarist Phil Sandoval had left Armored Saint during the recording of its previous album, Delirious Nomad, although he rejoined the band a few years later.
Delirious Nomad is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1985 via Chrysalis Records and recorded with producer Max Norman who previously worked for Ozzy Osbourne. While recording the album, guitarist Phil Sandoval left the band.
Armored Saint (EP) is the first studio effort by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1983 on Metal Blade Records. Chrysalis Records signed the band in 1984 after listening to the EP. Opening track "Lesson Well Learned" was previously featured on Metal Blade's compilation Metal Massacre II in 1982. The EP is featured on the 2001 compilation Nod to the Old School.
Revelation is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 2000 on Metal Blade Records. Armored Saint reformed in the entire Symbol of Salvation lineup to record Revelation in 1999 after six years of being disbanded. The result is a traditional heavy metal record and a natural sequel of their previous effort. The limited edition came with a bonus CD including the complete A Trip Thru Red Times video.
Nod to the Old School is a compilation album by the American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 2001 on Metal Blade Records. The album features some new tracks, live versions of two Revelation album tracks, the entire 1983 demo plus other rarities from their past.
La Raza is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint, released on March 16, 2010 via Metal Blade Records. Armored Saint reformed the entire Symbol of Salvation lineup to record La Raza in 2009 after an eight-year hiatus.
The Very Beast of Dio Vol. 2 is a posthumous compilation album by American heavy metal band Dio. It is a followup to The Very Beast of Dio, a compilation album released in 2000 featuring tracks from Dio's first six studio albums and live EP. Vol. 2 picks up where the previous album left off, including tracks from the band's seventh through tenth studio albums.
Win Hands Down is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released on June 2, 2015. The vocals were recorded at Bridge Recording in Los Angeles, guitars and bass were recorded at Travis Dickerson Studios in Chatsworth and drums were recorded at Clearlake Audio in Burbank.
Punching the Sky is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released on October 23, 2020. The album was produced by Bill Metoyer and bassist Joey Vera, and mixed by Jay Ruston. The track "End of the Attention Span" was the first single and was released on August 12, 2020, along with a music video. A music video was also made for the next single "Lone Wolf" on June 29, 2021.
