Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981 by rhythm guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker. The group is considered one of the leaders of the thrash metal scene from the 1980s and is part of the "Big Four" of the genre, along with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. They were also one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast. The band has released 11 studio albums, several other albums, and 26 singles, including collaborating on a single with American hip hop group Public Enemy. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Anthrax sold 2.5 million records in the United States from 1991 to 2004, with worldwide sales of 10 million. Four of the band's studio albums have also achieved gold certifications by the RIAA, including their third full-length record Among the Living (1987), which cemented Anthrax's reputation as one of the most successful thrash metal bands.
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, and drummer Justin Foley. The band has released eight studio albums and two live performance albums. Their eighth studio album, Atonement, was released on August 16, 2019.
The End of Heartache is the third studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on May 11, 2004 through Roadrunner Records. It is the first album to feature lead vocalist Howard Jones and drummer Justin Foley. The album received acclaim from critics.
Ashes of the Wake is the fourth studio album and first major label release by American heavy metal band Lamb of God, released in 2004 via Epic Records. The album debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200, selling 35,000 copies in its first week and was rated by Guitar World as the 49th greatest Guitar Album of all Time. This album also was rated by Metal Hammer as the 5th greatest Metal Album of The 21st Century. The album was inspired by the events that took place during the war in Iraq, with songs such as "Ashes of the Wake", "Now You've Got Something to Die For", "One Gun" and "The Faded Line". The quote at the beginning of "Omerta" is a paraphrase of the Sicilian Mafia's code of silence. As of August 2010, Ashes of the Wake has sold 398,000 copies in the United States. Ten years after its release, as of 2014, sales have topped 400,000 copies sold and is Lamb of God’s best-selling record. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in February 2016.
Handful of Rain is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1994. This is the first album since the death of the band's founding member and lead guitarist Criss Oliva who in turn had contributed to writing on two of its songs before his passing, namely "Taunting Cobras" and "Nothing's Going On".
Christian Olde Wolbers is a Belgian musician, songwriter, and producer who is the guitarist and backing vocalist of the heavy metal band Powerflo. He is the former bassist, guitarist and backing vocalist of the heavy metal band Fear Factory, and the hardcore punk/crossover thrash band Beowülf. He is also current the bass player in the thrash metal band Vio-lence.
Fight for the Rock is the third full-length album by the American heavy metal band Savatage. It is their first album with new bass player Johnny Lee Middleton, who has since become the only member to appear on each subsequent Savatage album.
Shred guitar or shredding is a virtuoso lead guitar solo playing style for the guitar, based on various advanced and complex playing techniques, particularly rapid passages and advanced performance effects. Shred guitar includes "fast alternate picking, sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic scales, finger-tapping and whammy-bar abuse", It is commonly used in heavy metal guitar playing, where it is includes rapid tapping solos, fast scale and arpeggio runs and special effects such as whammy bar "dive bombs". Metal guitarists playing in a "shred" style use the electric guitar with a guitar amplifier and a range of electronic effects such as distortion, which create a more sustained guitar tone and facilitate guitar feedback effects.
Jedson Louis Simon is a Canadian musician. He was a member of supergroup Scar the Martyr and has been a member of numerous metal bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, and TENET. He is currently a member of VIMIC.
Threat Signal is a Canadian metalcore band from the city of Hamilton. The band has had numerous lineup changes, with only Jon Howard remaining from the original incarnation.
Arkaea is a heavy metal band formed in 2008 featuring members from Fear Factory and Threat Signal.
Years in the Darkness is the first album by metal band Arkaea. It was released on July 14, 2009. A music video for the track "Locust" was made. The album charted 39th on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart with approximately 980 copies sold in its first week.
Vigilance is the second official full-length studio album by the Canadian melodic death metal band Threat Signal, released three years after their first album Under Reprisal. It was produced by Jon Howard. The album shifted some 1,100 copies in its first week of sale in the US.
Brush-fires of the Mind is the only album by Jon Schaffer's heavy metal solo-project Sons of Liberty. The album was released on the project's website on December 18, 2009, to download for free if you sign up for the Sons of Liberty newsletter. It is also available as a high quality download, however, this one is not for free. All music and lyrics were written by Schaffer himself, he also plays all guitars and sings lead vocals.
Angels Never Die is the fourth solo album of the German female hard rock singer Doro Pesch. The album was released in February 1993 and was produced by Jack Ponti and Vic Pepe. The two producers had worked with Alice Cooper on the hit single "Hey Stoopid" and had produced minor glam metal bands like Surgin’ and Baton Rouge. The sound and musical style of Angels Never Die is very similar to what can be heard on the second Doro solo album, alternating heavy rock tracks with large choruses and power ballads, in the vein of the declining glam metal that had dominated the American rock charts for the first part of the decade.
Mutiny Within is a metal band from Edison, New Jersey. The band was formed in 2002 by bassist Andrew Jacobs.
Festival is the fourth release by the band Jon Oliva's Pain. Released in February 2010 in Europe, it peaked at #87 in the German MRC Radio Charts.
Ankaa is the fourth studio album by the French metal band Eths, released on 22 April 2016 via Season of Mist. It is the first full album to feature vocalist Rachel Aspe, as well as the first without second guitarist Grégory "Greg" Rouvière and Guillaume "Yom" Dupré since Yom rejoined the band in 2011. For this album, Dirk Verbeuren was hired to perform drum duties despite new drummer RUL joining Eths in 2015. The album's track list and first single "Alnilam" were first announced on February 18. On 2 March they released their second song, "Nihil Sine Causa", which features additional vocals from Sarah Layssac (Arkan) and Jon Howard.
"The Signal Fire" is a song by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. The song was released as the third single from the album in August 2019. The song features guest vocals from Howard Jones, who was the band's lead vocalist from 2002 to 2012.
