Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a thick, monumental sound characterized by distorted guitars, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats and loudness.
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine, who formed Megadeth after being fired from Metallica, and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1995 by percussionist Shawn Crahan, former vocalist Anders Colsefni and bassist Paul Gray. After several lineup changes in its early years, the band settled on nine members for more than a decade: Crahan, Gray, Joey Jordison, Craig Jones, Mick Thomson, Corey Taylor, Sid Wilson, Chris Fehn, and Jim Root. Slipknot is well known for its attention-grabbing image, aggressive style of music, and energetic and chaotic live shows.
Iowa is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Produced by the band and Ross Robinson, it was released on August 28, 2001, by Roadrunner Records. The title derives from the band's home state, Iowa, which members have stated is one of their greatest sources of inspiration. With much anticipation for the album following the success of their 1999 self-titled debut, pressures on the band were high. Their relationships with each other suffered and this was later described as the darkest time of their career. It was also the first full album to feature guitarist Jim Root after only appearing on one song from their previous album. Despite troubles within the band and with Iowa's development, Slipknot promoted it for almost a year.
Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics are intended to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom. The genre is strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath, who formed a prototype for doom metal. During the first half of the 1980s, a number of bands such as Witchfinder General and Pagan Altar from England, American bands Pentagram, Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Trouble, and Cirith Ungol, and Swedish band Candlemass defined doom metal as a distinct genre. Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Trouble and Candlemass have been referred to as "the Big Four of Doom Metal".
Clifford Lee Burton was an American musician who served as the bassist for the metal band Metallica. He is renowned for his musicianship and influence.
Reign in Blood is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on October 7, 1986, by Def Jam Recordings. The album was the band's first collaboration with producer Rick Rubin, whose input helped the band's sound evolve. The release date of the album was delayed because of concerns regarding the lyrical subject matter of the opening track "Angel of Death", which refers to Josef Mengele and describes acts such as human experimentation that he committed at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The band's members stated that they did not condone Nazism and were merely interested in the subject.
Metalcore is a fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, that originated in the late 1980s. Metalcore is noted for its use of breakdowns, which are slow, intense passages conducive to moshing, while other defining instrumentation includes heavy guitar riffs often utilizing percussive pedal tones and double bass drumming. Vocalists in the genre typically perform screaming, more popular bands often combine this with the use of standard singing, usually during the bridge or chorus of a song. However, the death growl is also a popular technique within the genre.
Discharge are an English hardcore punk band formed in 1977 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. The band is known for influencing several sub-genres of extreme music and their songs have been covered by some of the biggest names in heavy metal and other genres. The musical sub-genre of D-beat is named after Discharge and the band's distinctive drumbeat.
Stuck Mojo is an American rap metal band from Atlanta, formed in 1989 by bassist Dwayne Fowler. The band is considered to be one of the pioneers of rap metal. They have toured alongside bands such as Machine Head and Slapshot. Stuck Mojo's most successful album, Rising, peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. The band disbanded in 2000, reforming five years later. In 2006, their original vocalist, Bonz, was replaced by rapper Lord Nelson. Stuck Mojo released their seventh studio album, Here Come the Infidels, via Pledge Music in 2016. In the press release, the band also announced the addition of two new members, Robby J. Fonts (vocals) and Len Sonnier (bassist). To date, they have released seven studio albums and one live album.
Wings of Tomorrow is the second studio album by the Swedish rock band Europe. It was released on 24 February 1984, by Hot Records in Sweden, and by Epic Records in the United States. Wings of Tomorrow is the last album to feature drummer Tony Reno.
Heaven Up Here is the second album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, released on 29 May 1981. In June 1981, Heaven Up Here became Echo & the Bunnymen's first Top 10 release when it reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also the band's first entry into the United States album charts when it reached number 184 of the Billboard 200. The songs "A Promise" and "Over the Wall" were released as singles.
James Joseph Woolley was an American keyboard and synthesizer player, best known for performing with industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from 1991 to 1994, participating in the Pretty Hate Machine Tour Series and the Self Destruct Tour. Woolley appeared in the band's music videos for "Wish" and "March of the Pigs", and the video album Closure. Together with Nine Inch Nails, Woolley won a Grammy Award in 1996 for "Best Metal Performance" for their Woodstock '94 performance of "Happiness in Slavery".
Richard Park Ward, also known by his stage name The Duke, is an American guitarist best known as a founding member of Stuck Mojo and as lead guitarist of heavy metal band Fozzy.
Pigwalk is the second full-length studio album by rap metal group Stuck Mojo. This album is considered to be a milestone in the rap metal genre. Stuck Mojo performed "(Here Comes) The Monster" and "Mental Meltdown" on MTV's 1996 Headbangers Ball. A music video for "Pigwalk" was also made. Despite this, the album found little mainstream success, much like the previous album, Snappin Necks. In 2006, the album was reissued, adding almost the entire Violated EP, the demo "Hate Must Be A Gift", and two covers of Iron Maiden's "Wrathchild" and Mötley Crüe's "Shout at the Devil".
HVY1 is the only live album by rap metal group Stuck Mojo. Most of the songs are taken from the band's performance in 1998 at the Masquerade Club in Atlanta, however some of the songs are from a performance in Spain. The album included two new studio tracks, "My Will" and "Reborn", as well as an untitled bonus track.
Melodic metalcore is a fusion genre, incorporating elements of melodic death metal and metalcore; it has a heavy emphasis on melodic instrumentation, distorted guitar tones, palm muting, double bass drumming, blast beats, metalcore-stylized breakdowns, and vocals that range from aggressive screaming and death growls to clean singing. The genre has seen commercial success for employing a more accessible sound at times compared to other forms of extreme music. Many notable melodic metalcore bands have been influenced by At the Gates and In Flames.
Bury Tomorrow are a British metalcore band formed in 2006 in Southampton, Hampshire, England. The band is composed of six members; lead vocalist Daniel Winter-Bates, bassist Davyd Winter-Bates, drummer Adam Jackson, lead guitarist Kristan Dawson, who replaced founding guitarist Mehdi Vismara in 2013, rhythm guitarist Ed Hartwell, and keyboardist and vocalist Tom Prendergast, who both replaced Jason Cameron in 2021. Bury Tomorrow have released seven studio albums, their most recent being The Seventh Sun, released on 31 March 2023.
Battlecross was an American extreme metal band from Canton, Michigan. The band has described their sound as "Blue Collar Thrash Metal". To date, they have released four albums through their label, Metal Blade Records.
Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998. Founded by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme (drums), the band also includes a wide range of other musicians who perform both on the band's studio albums and at live shows. Hughes and Homme are the only permanent members of the band, with Homme rarely performing at live shows due to commitment to his other band, Queens of the Stone Age. The band's current touring lineup includes Hughes alongside Leah Bluestein (drums), Scott Shiflett (guitar), Jennie Vee (bass) and Rex Roulette (guitar).
