Sam Taylor is an American rock record producer. Taylor got his start working as a video producer with ZZ Top. [1] He went on to produce and manage several Houston, Texas area rock bands, such as King's X, [1] [2] Galactic Cowboys, [1] and Atomic Opera. [3] After breaking off his relationship with those bands, he later returned to produce the Third Day album Conspiracy No. 5 , [4] and also to collaborate with longtime friend and cellist Max Dyer on a project called Moons of Jupiter. [3] [1]
Motörhead were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precursor to the new wave of British heavy metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Though several guitarists and drummers have played in Motörhead, most of their best-selling albums and singles feature drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor and guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke.
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1995 by percussionist Shawn Crahan, drummer Joey Jordison and bassist Paul Gray. After several lineup changes in its early years, the band settled on nine members for more than a decade: Crahan, Jordison, Gray, Craig Jones, Mick Thomson, Corey Taylor, Sid Wilson, Chris Fehn, and Jim Root. Bassist Gray died on May 24, 2010, and was replaced during 2011–2014 by Donnie Steele. Jordison was dismissed from the band on December 12, 2013. Steele left during the recording sessions for .5: The Gray Chapter. The band found replacements in Alessandro Venturella on bass and Jay Weinberg on drums. After the departure of Jordison, as of December 2013 the only founding member in the current lineup is percussionist Crahan. Fehn was also dismissed from the band in March 2019 prior to the writing of We Are Not Your Kind and was replaced by Michael Pfaff. The band parted ways with Jones in 2023.
King's X is an American rock band formed in Springfield, Missouri in 1979. They were first called the Edge and later became Sneak Preview before settling on their current name in 1985. The band's current lineup has remained intact for more than four decades, consisting of vocalist and bassist Doug Pinnick, drummer Jerry Gaskill and guitarist Ty Tabor. Their music combines progressive metal, funk and soul with vocal arrangements influenced by gospel, blues, and British Invasion rock groups. Despite a largely underground reputation as the "musician's musicians", King's X was pivotal in the early development of progressive metal, and produced a series of early records considered essential within the genre. The band's lyrics are largely based on the members' struggles with religion and self-acceptance. King's X was ranked No. 83 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.
Dogman is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal/hard rock trio King's X, released in 1994. It marks the band's second album under Atlantic and their first to not be produced by Sam Taylor; instead, the album was produced by Brendan O'Brien. Dogman signaled a heavier direction for King's X and, with strong approval from both critics and fans, is often considered one of their best works.
Brendan O'Brien is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician. He has worked with many groups and artists during his career, such as AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Dylan, Rage Against the Machine, and Bruce Springsteen. O’Brien was also credited on a plethora of nu metal albums with such artists as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Incubus, and more.
Frederick Jay Rubin is an American record executive and record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records.
Epica is a Dutch symphonic metal band, founded by guitarist and vocalist Mark Jansen after his departure from After Forever.
Stone Sour was an American rock band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1992. The band performed for five years before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000 and since 2015, the group has consisted of Corey Taylor, Josh Rand (guitar), Christian Martucci (guitar), Johny Chow (bass) and Roy Mayorga (drums). Longtime members Joel Ekman and Shawn Economaki left the band in 2006 and 2011, respectively. Former lead guitarist Jim Root left in 2014. The band has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2020.
Atomic Opera is an American hard rock band from Houston, Texas. Their style blends progressive rock, art rock, metal, medieval influences, and eastern music.
Out of the Silent Planet is the debut studio album by the American progressive metal band King's X, released in 1988. The title of the album comes from that of a book by C.S. Lewis, an author favored by band members Ty Tabor and Jerry Gaskill. "Out of the Silent Planet" is also the title of the first track from the follow-up album Gretchen Goes to Nebraska. The cover art features the skyline of Houston with the southern outline of the state of Texas. The album received widespread acclaim from music contemporaries. Pantera bassist Rex Brown commented of his and Dimebag Darrell's impressions, noting "Dime called me and said, ‘Dude, have you heard this? Have you checked out King’s X?'” He says. “We went on a long road trip, and we must have listened to that first record I don’t know how many times, and we couldn’t stop! This was the sound that Dime and I were always looking for.”
Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison was an American musician. He was the original drummer and co-founder of the nu-metal band Slipknot, in which he was designated #1, and the guitarist for the horror punk supergroup Murderdolls.
Samuel Joshua Watters is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. Watters was a member of the multi-platinum selling 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd and co-authored many of their hits including "I Adore Mi Amor", and "All 4 Love". Watters has also written and produced songs for Grammy-winning and nominated artists such as American Idol winners Fantasia, Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks, and other superstars such as Céline Dion, Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis, and Anastacia. Watters is a member of the production/songwriting team The Runaways including fellow hitmakers Rico Love, Wayne Wilkins, Ryan Tedder, and Louis Biancaniello.
Galactic Cowboys are an American heavy metal band based in Houston, Texas. They combine progressive metal with a vocal style influenced by The Beatles and the heavy playing style of thrash bands such as Anthrax. They have been described as "possibly the most melodic metal band ever to exist in Christian or general markets." Although the band members are Christians, they did not consider Galactic Cowboys to be a Christian band. The band has toured with prominent hard rock and metal acts such as Anthrax, Dream Theater, King's X and Overkill. Despite their general lack of commercial success, the band has garnered a cult following throughout its existence.
Conspiracy No. 5 is the second studio album of the Christian rock band Third Day. It was released on August 26, 1997, on Reunion Records.
"Before I Forget" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot, released as the third single from the band's third studio album, Vol. 3: (2004). It was cited by AOL as the top metal song of the decade. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2006.
"Wild Thing" is a song written by American songwriter Chip Taylor and popularized by the English rock band the Troggs. It was originally recorded and released by the American rock band the Wild Ones in 1965, but it did not chart. The Troggs' single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart in 1966. Their version of "Wild Thing" was ranked at number 257 on the Rolling Stone magazine's 2004 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It has also been performed by many other musicians.
Jason C. Slater was an American record producer and musician.
Cavalera Conspiracy is an American heavy metal supergroup from Phoenix, Arizona, founded by Brazilian brothers Max and Igor Cavalera. The band originally formed in 2007 as Inflikted but changed its name for legal reasons. The group's creation marked the end of a 10-year feud between the Cavalera brothers who founded Sepultura in the early 1980s. In 2022, they adopted the name Cavalera in order to release re-recorded editions of classic Sepultura albums. These albums were released in 2023.
Karl Johan Schuster, known professionally as Shellback, is a Swedish record producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Shellback was listed as the No. 1 producer of 2012 on Billboard magazine's year end chart, and he also topped the list of their "Top 10 Songwriters Airplay Chart" the same year; he has won four Grammy Awards.
Jack Michael Antonoff is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. Antonoff is the lead singer of rock band Bleachers, and is the guitarist and drummer in the pop rock band Fun. He was previously the lead singer of the indie rock band Steel Train. Aside from his work with Bleachers and Fun, Antonoff has worked as a songwriter and record producer with various artists, including Taylor Swift, the 1975, Lorde, St. Vincent, Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, Fifth Harmony, Kevin Abstract, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Chicks, Tegan and Sara and Clairo. Antonoff has often been credited with having a significant impact on the sound of contemporary popular music since the mid-2010s.