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.
Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them one of the "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax. Slayer's final lineup comprised King, Araya, drummer Paul Bostaph and guitarist Gary Holt, who initially joined as a touring member in 2011 before joining the band permanently after Hanneman's death in 2013. Drummer Jon Dette was also a member of the band.
Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédéric Leclercq. The band's lineup has changed multiple times over its 41-year career, most noticeably with their bassists and lead guitarists. Petrozza and Reil are the only two original members left in Kreator, although the latter took a break from the band from 1994 to 1996. Yli-Sirniö has been the lead guitarist of Kreator since 2001, while Leclercq joined in 2019 as the replacement of Christian "Speesy" Giesler, who had been a member of the band since 1994.
Nile is an American death metal band from Greenville, South Carolina, formed in 1993. The band's current lineup consists of founding member Karl Sanders, George Kollias (drums), and Brian Kingsland. The band is known for their dedicated lyrical and musical style, which is inspired by Egyptology and works of H. P. Lovecraft. Since its formation, the band has released nine studio albums, two compilations, three extended plays, two demos, three singles, and five music videos. Their latest studio album, Vile Nilotic Rites, was released on November 1, 2019, through Nuclear Blast.
Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five years, the band's lineup changed several times, but stabilized in 1993 when Cunningham rejoined after his departure in 1990; by this time, Chi Cheng was bassist. The lineup remained stable for fifteen years, with the exception of keyboardist and turntablist Frank Delgado being added in 1999. The band's experimental nature has led some critics to describe them as "the Radiohead of metal".
The Bouncing Souls are an American punk rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 1989. By the time of their acknowledgment by the national punk rock scene, they had reignited a "pogo" element to New Jersey punk rock by playing fast light-hearted songs, a model followed by various other local bands.
Behemoth is a Polish extreme metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground.
Meshuggah is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1987. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer Tomas Haake and bassist Dick Lövgren. Since its formation, the band has released nine studio albums, six EPs and eight music videos. Their latest studio album, Immutable, was released in April 2022 via Atomic Fire Records.
Falconer was a Swedish power metal band from Mjölby, formed in 1999 by the former guitarist of Mithotyn, Stefan Weinerhall. Falconer carried on many of the traditions set by Weinerhall's previous band and played a fusion style of power metal that utilizes folk instrumentation and melody to create a more medieval sound.
Skyfire is a Swedish melodic death metal band, from Höör, Sweden.
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal.
Esoteric is an English funeral doom metal band from Birmingham founded in 1992. Releasing seven studio albums, and a demo, the band is widely regarded as among the first groups to develop the funeral doom style. The band has named a variety of groups as influences, such as metal bands Morbid Angel and My Dying Bride, more "trippy" artists such as Pink Floyd, Spacemen 3, and King Crimson, and the industrial and dark ambient genres.
The Pernicious Enigma is the second studio album by the British doom metal band Esoteric. It was released in 1997 through Aesthetic Death Records. The Pernicious Enigma comprises two discs with a total running time of an hour and 55 minutes.
Shadows Fall is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1996. Although Shadows Fall has experienced several line-up changes, for most of its recording career, Shadows Fall has been composed of Jon Donais, Matt Bachand, Paul Romanko (bass), Brian Fair, and Jason Bittner (drums).
Sweet Savage are a heavy metal band from Belfast, Northern Ireland, formed in 1979. Future Dio and Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell was an early member. Since forming in 1979, Sweet Savage have released three studio albums, three singles and one demo. Their latest album, Regeneration, was released in 2011.
Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. The band comprises vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy, guitarist Corey Beaulieu, bassist Paolo Gregoletto, and drummer Alex Bent.
The Way of All Flesh is the fourth studio album by French heavy metal band Gojira. The album was released on 13 October 2008 in Europe via Listenable Records and on 14 October in the US through Prosthetic Records. It sold around 4,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at number 138 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also reached no. 1 on the Top Heatseekers chart and no. 21 on the Top Independent Albums chart. The album was recorded at the band's home studio while Joe Duplantier produced it. The drums were recorded in Los Angeles and engineered by Logan Mader, who also mixed and mastered the album. The cover features artwork created by vocalist Joe Duplantier, who was responsible for the artwork on past albums.
Alloy is the fourth studio album by the Finnish funeral doom band Skepticism.
Esoteric Warfare is the fifth full-length studio album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. It was released by Season of Mist on 6 June 2014 in Europe and Asia, and on 10 June 2014 in North America. It is the band's first album with Teloch on guitar since Blasphemer's departure from the band in 2008.
Morten Bergeton Iversen, better known by his stage name Teloch, is a Norwegian musician and composer. He is currently guitarist for black metal bands Mayhem and Nidingr, and fronts the eponymous electronic solo project Bergeton. Iversen is a former touring and session member of Gorgoroth, God Seed and 1349.
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