Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991 Darkthrone embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and became one of the leading bands in the Norwegian black metal scene.
National Socialist black metal is a political movement within the black metal music scene that promotes neo-Nazism, neo-fascism, and white supremacist ideologies. NSBM artists typically combine neo-Nazi imagery and ideology with ethnic European paganism, Satanism, or Nazi occultism, or a combination thereof, and vehemently oppose Christianity, Islam and Judaism from a racialist viewpoint. NSBM is not seen as a distinct genre, but as a völkisch movement within black metal. According to Mattias Gardell, NSBM musicians see this ideology as "a logical extension of the political and spiritual dissidence inherent in black metal".
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) movement, and are cited as a formative influence on various heavy metal subgenres, including speed metal, thrash metal, power metal, and the hard rock/glam metal scene of the 1980s. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band had struggled with poor record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when their sixth studio album British Steel brought them notable mainstream attention.
Celtic Frost was a Swiss heavy metal band from Zürich. They are remembered for their strong influence on the development of several varieties of extreme metal and for their avant-garde approach to music more generally.
Robert John Arthur Halford is an English heavy metal singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has been noted for his powerful and wide ranging operatic vocal style and trademark leather-and-studs image, both of which have become iconic in heavy metal. He has also been involved with several side projects, including Fight, Two, and Halford.
Timothy S. "Ripper" Owens is an American heavy metal singer who currently performs with KK's Priest, Spirits of Fire, the Three Tremors and A New Revenge. He first gained attention as the lead singer of Judas Priest and then Iced Earth. He took the nickname "Ripper" from the Judas Priest song "The Ripper" during his time in the tribute band British Steel.
Graveland are a Polish neo-Nazi pagan black metal band which was formed in 1991 by Rob Darken. They began as a black metal band before adopting a pagan and Viking metal style. The lyrics and imagery of Graveland are strongly inspired by European mythology, nature, winter and war. Their early work focused on Celtic and Slavic mythology, while their later work focuses on Norse mythology and Wotanism.
Roy Z Ramirez is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Bruce Dickinson, Halford, and Judas Priest. He also is the founder of Tribe of Gypsies, a Latin-influenced hard rock band. Roy also helped write and produce the band Life After Death in 1996.
Rocka Rolla is the debut studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 6 September 1974 by Gull Records. It was produced by Rodger Bain, who had made a name for himself as the producer of Black Sabbath's first three albums. It is the only album to feature drummer John Hinch.
Absu was an American black/thrash metal band from Dallas, Texas. Their demos and first album leaned towards death metal, but later adapted to the thrash/black sound the group would become recognized for. Their lyrical themes are esoteric, including themes of Celtic, Sumerian and Mesopotamian myths and legends, alchemy, numerology, magick, and sorcery.
Nargaroth is a German black metal band led by René "Ash" Wagner, formerly known as “Kanwulf”.
Judas Iscariot was an American black metal band. It began in 1992 as the solo-project of Andrew Harris, who performed under the pseudonym Akhenaten.
Walls of Jericho is the debut studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1985 on LP by Noise Records. It is the only album featuring Kai Hansen as lead vocalist until 2021's Helloween, although he would continue to act as guitarist on the two following albums.
Fight was a heavy metal band formed in Phoenix, Arizona by British vocalist Rob Halford following his departure from Judas Priest in 1992.
Robert Fudali, better known as Rob Darken, is a Polish musician and singer, best known for being the frontman for black metal band Graveland.
Krieg is an American black metal band originally from Somers Point, New Jersey.
Christopher Caffery is an American heavy metal guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Caffery has been releasing solo records singing and playing guitar for almost 20 years, releasing nine albums and many singles since 2004.
Xasthur is the project of American musician Scott "Malefic" Conner. Conner formed Xasthur in 1995 and released eight studio albums of black metal by 2010, when he announced the end of the project. However, he began using the name once again in 2015 to instead perform acoustic neofolk music. The first album with this new style was entitled Subject to Change, released in 2016.
Aeternus is a Norwegian blackened death metal band from Bergen. It was formed in 1993 as an idea of Ronny Hovland, calling himself Ares, and Erik Heggernes, a.k.a. Vrolok. Later in 1996 Nicola Trier, a.k.a. Morrigan, joined the duo as a bass player, forming the core trio that created the band's first two albums. Morrigan also created the logo picture of ravens and axes that still exists as one of the band's trademarks.
No Colours Records is a German mail order and record label from Mügeln specialised in black metal.
