Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considered one of the most influential bands in the genre and important in the transition of death metal from its thrash metal roots, they were one of the first bands to incorporate guttural vocals, up-tempo blast beats, multiple tempo changes and a dark atmosphere. They have been described as one of "the most influential and emulated bands in death metal", alongside Obituary, Death, Cynic, Autopsy and Deicide, and have been cited as an influence by many later bands. They were also the first death metal band to experience mainstream success in connection with being signed to Giant Records in 1992, heavy rotation of their music videos on MTV, and having the music video for the song "God of Emptiness" shown on an episode of Beavis and Butt-Head. Their first three albums – Altars of Madness (1989), Blessed Are the Sick (1991), and Covenant (1993) – are considered classics in the death metal genre.
Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band currently composed of only Jon Schaffer, formed in Tampa, Florida and based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist, main songwriter and bandleader Schaffer and original drummer Greg Seymour. Iced Earth released their debut album in 1990 and have since released twelve studio albums, four EPs, three compilations, three box sets, three live albums and eleven music videos.
Paradise Lost are an English gothic metal band. Formed in Halifax, West Yorkshire in 1988, they are considered to be among the pioneers of the death-doom genre and regarded as the main influence for the later gothic metal movement. Bands that have cited Paradise Lost as an influence, or have covered them, include My Dying Bride, Anathema, The Gathering, Amorphis, Cradle of Filth, Katatonia, Moonspell, Lacuna Coil, HIM, Nightwish and many others. As of 2005, Paradise Lost have sold over two million albums worldwide.
Testament is an American thrash metal band from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1983 under the name Legacy, the band's current lineup comprises rhythm guitarist Eric Peterson, lead vocalist Chuck Billy, lead guitarist Alex Skolnick, bassist Steve Di Giorgio and drummer Chris Dovas. Testament has experienced many lineup changes over the years, with Peterson being the only remaining original member, though they have since reunited with Skolnick, who had been out of the band from 1992 to 2005. Billy has been a member of Testament since 1986, when he replaced original singer Steve "Zetro" Souza, who had left to replace Paul Baloff in Exodus. He and Peterson are the only members to appear on all of Testament's studio albums, with the latter being the only constant member overall.
Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Yorba Linda, California, formed in 1998. The band currently consists of clean vocalist Brandon Saller, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist and unclean vocalist Marc "Porter" McKnight, and drummer Kyle Rosa.
Forbidden is an American thrash metal band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1985 as Forbidden Evil, but would change their name in 1987. Since their formation, Forbidden have broken up and reformed twice with numerous line-up changes. After breaking up for the first time in 1997, Forbidden reunited once again in 2007, went into an indefinite hiatus in 2012, but reformed in 2023. The current line-up of the band is Norman Skinner (vocals), Craig Locicero (guitar), Matt Camacho (bass), Steve Smyth (guitar) and Chris Kontos (drums).
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.
Into Eternity is a Canadian progressive death metal band from Regina, Saskatchewan, formed in 1997 by Tim Roth, Scott Krall and Jim Austin.
Shadows Are Security is the third studio album by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. The album was released on June 14, 2005 through Metal Blade Records, and was produced by Tim Lambesis, the band's vocalist, and Phil Sgrosso, one of the band's guitarists, along with Steve Russell. A Limited Edition was released on June 23, 2005 with a bonus DVD of a show filmed at the Substage Club in Karlsruhe, Germany on November 28, 2004. The CD was released again as a Special Edition on October 17, 2006 with a DVD on the making of the album and included videos of "Confined", "Through Struggle", and "The Darkest Nights". It also featured additional liner notes from vocalist Tim Lambesis on the concept of the record and little known facts on the making of the album.
The Absence is an American melodic death metal band from Tampa, Florida. Their style has been described as aggressive thrash metal with Scandinavian metal influences. They were previously signed to Metal Blade Records and are now signed to M-Theory Audio.
A Matter of Life and Death is the fourteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 25 August 2006 in Italy and Finland and 28 August worldwide—excluding the US, Canada and Japan, where it was released on 5 September. It is the first album in Iron Maiden's career to enter the US Billboard charts in the top 10, achieving significant chart success in many other countries as well.
The Scattering of Ashes is the fourth full-length studio album by Canadian progressive death metal band Into Eternity. It was released on October 3, 2006, by Century Media Records.
Stuart Block is a Canadian singer who is the lead vocalist of progressive death metal band Into Eternity and a former lead singer of heavy metal band Iced Earth. Before joining Into Eternity in 2005, he began his musical career singing for various bands in Vancouver. After two albums with Into Eternity, he joined Iced Earth in 2011 and recorded three albums during his ten-year tenure with the band: Dystopia (2011), Plagues of Babylon (2014) and Incorruptible (2017). He was the second-longest-tenured vocalist in Iced Earth after Matt Barlow.
Tim Roth is the guitarist, backing vocalist and only remaining founding member of Canadian melodic death metal and progressive metal band, Into Eternity. Roth is very much the mastermind of Into Eternity, plays the majority of their guitar solos and also was originally the lead vocalist. His primary guitar is an Ibanez S470, and has said that he does not use amplifiers in studio recordings, but uses instead a program called Amp Farm.
The Faceless are an American technical death metal band from the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. They released their debut album, Akeldama, in November 2006, and a follow-up, Planetary Duality, in November 2008. The band's third album, Autotheism, was released on August 14, 2012. On December 1, 2017, the band released their fourth album, In Becoming a Ghost.
Mr. Big is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1988. The band was originally composed of Eric Martin, Paul Gilbert (guitar), Billy Sheehan (bass), and Pat Torpey (drums). Though primarily a hard rock band, they are also known for softer songs. Their songs are often marked by strong vocals and vocal harmonies. Their hits include "To Be with You" and "Just Take My Heart". The band takes its name from a song by Free which it covered on the 1993 album Bump Ahead.
Polyphia is a primarily instrumental progressive rock band based in Plano, Texas, formed in 2010. The group consists of guitarists Tim Henson and Scott LePage, bassist Clay Gober, and drummer Clay Aeschliman.
Single Bullet Theory (SBT) is an American heavy metal band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band was founded in 2000 by guitarist Matt DiFabio after the disbanding of Cipher. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/guitarist Matt DiFabio, bassist Bill Mez, and guitarist Rich Gulczynski ; drummer Rob Gladden having died in March 2022. The band has released two EP's, five full-length studio albums, and one compilation album to date. The band released its fifth full-length studio album Divine Ways of Chaos on October 19, 2018.
The Sirens is the sixth full-length studio album by Canadian progressive metal band Into Eternity. It was originally planned to be released in late 2015, but after being delayed for a few years, the album was released on October 26, 2018, in Europe through Kolony Records, and in America through M-Theory Audio. This is their first album in a decade, since their 2008 album The Incurable Tragedy, and their first album with drummer Bryan Newbury, lead vocalist Amanda Kiernan, and guitarist Matt Cuthbertson.
