Sirens is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released on April 11, 1983. The music on this album is heavier than in later Savatage albums, where the band developed their own style of progressive metal. It has also been cited as a key inspiration for the then-burgeoning thrash metal scene.
In the Nightside Eclipse is the debut studio album by Norwegian black metal band Emperor, released in 1994 through Candlelight Records. It was their only album to feature drummer Faust and one-time bassist Tchort. Considered a landmark in the black metal scene, the album has been ranked by critics as one of the most influential albums of the genre. It also contains some of Emperor's best known tracks, "I Am the Black Wizards" and "Inno a Satana".
Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco formed in 1979 that gained popularity during the 1980s with a series of albums and singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy have been the band's only constant members, though bassist Jack Blades performed on all but one of their albums. Other current members of the band include guitarist Keri Kelli and keyboardist Eric Levy.
Amon Amarth is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and history, and so they have been sometimes erroneously labeled "Viking metal", although the band insists they play melodic death metal.
Soul of a New Machine is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Fear Factory, released on August 25, 1992, by Roadrunner Records. Although this record was Fear Factory's first studio album to be released, it was actually their second album to be recorded, after Concrete, which was recorded earlier but not released until 11 years later. The album's sound mixes together many elements of metal music, described by AllMusic as an early example of alternative metal. German magazine Rock Hard described it as death metal with many other elements such as industrial metal.
Under the Blade is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released on Secret Records in September 1982. It was produced by UFO/Waysted bassist Pete Way and featured an aggressive and hard-hitting sound, which was eventually ignored on a remixed re-release by Atlantic Records on June 13, 1985. The re-release also added a remixed version of the song "I'll Never Grow Up, Now!", the band's long-forgotten 1979 single. The Atlantic Records release was both an attempt to cash in on the commercial success of Stay Hungry and, by then, the only official way to get the album as Secret Records was no more. However, bootlegs with the original mix were still in circulation. On May 31, 2016, Eagle Records re-released Under the Blade in a digital remastered form with the original mix finally restored. Under the Blade has sold over two million copies worldwide.
3, also known as Three, is an American progressive rock band formed in Woodstock, New York, United States, in the early 1990s.
Manic Moonlight is the ninth studio album by American rock band King's X, released in 2001 via Metal Blade Records. The album was notable for its inclusion of electronic loops.
Ray Alder is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist of the progressive metal band Fates Warning since their 1988 release No Exit. He is of Mexican descent.
With Oden on Our Side is the sixth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth, and their first album to enter the Billboard charts, the Top Heatseekers and the Independent Albums chart, peaking at number 15 and number 26 respectively.
Fear No Evil is the third album by the American band Slaughter. The record was completed while the band was still signed to Chrysalis Records. It was released May 2, 1995 through CMC International.
Psycho Café is the first full-length album by American rock band Bang Tango. It was released in 1989.
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call is the (double-LP) fourth album by Scottish post-punk band Simple Minds. It was released in September 1981 and was their first to reach a wide international audience. It includes the singles "The American", "Love Song" and "Sweat in Bullet".
Flower of Disease is an album by American doom metal band Goatsnake, released in 2000. The LP version was released by Southern Lord Records.
Martin Popoff is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, he has additionally written over twenty books that both critically evaluate heavy metal and document its history. He has been called "heavy metal's most widely recognized journalist" by his publisher. Popoff lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Hammers of Misfortune is an American heavy metal band from San Francisco, California. The band's style has varied from album to album, at times incorporating different elements of folk metal, doom metal, NWOBHM, black metal, 1970s rock, and thrash metal. It is the brainchild of guitarist John Cobbett, who serves as the band's producer and primary songwriter.
Freakshow is the second album by American glam metal band BulletBoys. It was released in 1991 by Warner Bros. Records. It is the follow-up to their successful self-titled debut.
Dynamite Monster Boogie Concert is a studio album by American hard rock band Raging Slab, released in 1993. It was released digitally in 2009.
Engine was an American progressive metal band. Engine's lead singer is Fates Warning's Ray Alder. In addition to Ray, the outfit also included the former Agent Steel guitarist Bernie Versailles, Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera plus Face to Face drummer Pete Parada. Their debut self-titled album was released in September 1999. Superholic was the follow-up, which was issued in May 2002.
Methods to End It All is the debut album by heavy metal band Creation's Tears who are based in Northern Ireland, with some members based in England. Methods To End It All has been referred to by journalist Malcolm Dome and producer Jens Bogren as belonging to the Gothic metal genre while others have drawn comparisons to Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation, Opeth, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema.
