Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and are also credited as being some of the earliest pioneers of heavy metal, with their cover of "Summertime Blues" sometimes cited as the first in the genre. They have also been noted as influential in the development of genres as disparate as punk rock, stoner rock, doom metal, experimental rock, and grunge.
Venom are an English heavy metal band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978. Coming to prominence towards the end of the new wave of British heavy metal, Venom's first two albums, Welcome to Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982), are considered major influences on thrash metal and extreme metal in general. Their second album proved influential enough that its title was used as the name of the black metal genre; as a result, Venom were part of the early wave of the genre, along with Mercyful Fate and Bathory.
Peace, Love, Death Metal is the debut studio album by Eagles of Death Metal, released by AntAcidAudio on March 23, 2004.
Vader is a Polish death metal band from Olsztyn. Formed in 1983, the group was founded by then-bassist Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek and guitarist Zbigniew "Vika" Wróblewski. Vader went through several lineup changes over the years, with Wiwczarek as the only constant member. Since 2022, the band has comprised Wiwczarek on guitars and vocals, guitarist Marek "Spider" Pająk, bassist Tomasz "Hal" Halicki, and drummer Michał Andrzejczyk.
Paul Steven Bostaph is an American heavy metal drummer, best known as a member of the thrash metal band Slayer, initially from 1992 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2019. His drumming career began in 1984, when he was 20 years old, and other than Slayer, he has worked with other bands such as Forbidden, Exodus, Systematic, Testament, and BlackGates. Metal-Rules.com describes Bostaph as "a true professional and one of the best drummers on today's metal music scene."
Forbidden was an American thrash metal band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1985 as Forbidden Evil, the group was founded by Jim Pittman and guitarist Robb Flynn. Since their formation, Forbidden have broken up and reformed twice with numerous line-up changes. The most recent line-up of the band was Russ Anderson (vocals), Craig Locicero (guitar), Matt Camacho (bass), Steve Smyth (guitar) and Sasha Horn (drums). After breaking up for the first time in 1997 and briefly returning in 2001, Forbidden reunited once again in 2007 but has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2012.
Deus is a rock band based in Antwerp, Belgium, whose only continuous members up to the present day are Tom Barman and Klaas Janzoons. The rest of the band's line-up currently consists of drummer Stéphane Misseghers, bassist Alan Gevaert, and guitarist/backing vocalist Mauro Pawlowski.
High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1999. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for doom metal band Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance with their song "Electric Messiah".
James Owen Sullivan, also known by his stage name the Rev, was an American musician, best known as a member of the heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, where he played drums and provided backing and co-lead vocals. He was also the lead vocalist/pianist in the avant-garde metal band Pinkly Smooth and drummed for the ska punk band Suburban Legends from 1998 to 1999.
Joseph William Castillo is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the drummer of the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age from 2002 to 2012. He is currently a member of Circle Jerks, The Bronx and Zakk Sabbath, with former bands including Danzig, Wasted Youth, Eagles of Death Metal, California Breed, Sugartooth, Zilch, and Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts.
Evil Superstars was a Belgian indie rock band led by Mauro Pawlowski. Among its members was Millionaire and Eagles of Death Metal guitarist Tim Vanhamel.
Millionaire is a Belgian indie rock band led by Tim Vanhamel, drawing on influences from stoner rock, indie and industrial rock music.
Jimmy DeGrasso is an American heavy metal drummer.
Evil Masquerade is a Scandinavian band formed in 2003. Their wide range of musical influences make them difficult to categorize. Evil Masquerade themselves claim to be playing 'Devilish Rock'n'Roll'. But since that is a self-invented genre they are usually filed under heavy metal by the music industry.
Pocket Revolution is the fourth studio album by dEUS, released in 2005. The cover art is based on The Von Neumann-Machine, a story from Don Lawrence's Storm series of graphic novels.
Deus ex machina is a Latin term meaning "god from a device", and is used to indicate a person or event which provides a sudden, unexpected solution to a story.
Creature with the Atom Brain is a Belgian alternative rock band consisting of Millionaire keyboardist Aldo Struyf (Guitar/Keys/Vocals), Dave Schroyen (Drums), Jan Wygers (Bass) and Michiel Van Cleuvenbergen (Guitar). The band have been said to make "fuzzy stripped-back rock'n'roll noise with a generous helping of weird." The band's name is taken from the Roky Erickson & The Aliens song, with Struyf citing Erickson's former band The 13th Floor Elevators and the man himself as influencing Creature with the Atom Brain's sound.
Ex Drummer is a 2007 Belgian black comedy and rock music film directed by Koen Mortier, whose previous work was limited to television commercials. It is based on the 1994 book by Herman Brusselmans of the same name. While receiving mixed reviews at the time, it went on to become a cult film.
Azarath is a Polish death metal band from Tczew, formed in 1998.
Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998. Founded by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme (drums), the band also includes a wide range of other musicians who perform both on the band's studio albums and at live shows. Hughes and Homme are the only permanent members of the band, with Homme rarely performing at live shows due to commitment to his other band, Queens of the Stone Age. The band's current touring line-up includes Hughes alongside Josh Jove (guitar), Eden Galindo (guitar), Jennie Vee (bass) and Jorma Vik (drums).
