Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. It is said that the band is one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weikath and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. By the time Hansen left Helloween in 1989 to form Gamma Ray, the band had evolved into a five-piece, with Michael Kiske taking over as lead vocalist. Schwichtenberg and Kiske both parted ways with Helloween in 1993; Schwichtenberg died two years later as the result of suicide. Between then and 2016, there had been numerous line-up changes, leaving Grosskopf and Weikath as the only remaining original members. As a septet, their current lineup includes four-fifths of the Keeper of the Seven Keys: Parts I and II-era (1987–1988) lineup, featuring three additional members, vocalist Andi Deris, guitarist Sascha Gerstner and drummer Daniel Löble.
Mortification is an Australian Christian death metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mortification with the line-up of Rowe, Michael Carlisle on guitar and Jayson Sherlock on drums. Mortification has released fourteen studio albums, three compilation albums, three extended plays, six live discs, one demo album, one box set, and several videos on major record labels such as Nuclear Blast. As one of the earliest internationally successful Christian death metal bands from Australia, they served as an inspiration for later similar groups.
Myles Richard Bass, known professionally as Myles Kennedy, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge and of Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators alongside guitarist Slash. A former guitar instructor from Spokane, Washington, Kennedy has worked as a session musician and songwriter, making both studio and live appearances with several artists, and has been involved with several projects throughout his career.
Alter Bridge is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2004 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. After their former band Creed became inactive in 2003, Tremonti and Phillips formed a new band with former bandmate Marshall and new member Kennedy; Alter Bridge was formally unveiled in January 2004, months before Creed's official breakup in June.
Coroner is a Swiss thrash metal band from Zürich formed in 1983, better known for the lineup formed in 1985. They garnered relatively little attention outside of Europe. The band broke up in 1996, but reformed 14 years later. The band has performed at multiple live venues and festivals around worldwide since 2011, and as of 2023, they are working on their first studio album in more than three decades.
Alex Skolnick is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Savatage and the heavy metal supergroup Metal Allegiance.
Mark Thomas Tremonti is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over the years. He formed his own band Tremonti in 2011 and has released five albums with them, including A Dying Machine, which was adapted by Tremonti and science fiction novelist John Shirley.
Tourniquet was an American Christian metal band that formed in Los Angeles in 1990. It was founded by Ted Kirkpatrick, Guy Ritter, and Gary Lenaire. Tourniquet primarily played a mixture of thrash and progressive metal and was influenced by additional, non-rock forms of music such as classical and world music. The band earned six GMA Dove Award nominations and won multiple recognitions from the readers of HM Magazine, including "Favorite Band of the 1990s" and "Favorite Album of the 1990s" for Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance (1992). They released ten studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, one EP, and several video releases. The last Tourniquet lineup consisted of Ted Kirkpatrick (drums) and Aaron Guerra. The band disbanded after Kirkpatrick's death in 2022.
William Peck is a guitarist from Orlando, Florida. Peck is best known for being a close friend with musician Mark Tremonti and for being featured in Guitar One Magazine several times.
Aeriel Stiles is an American first guitarist from Hollywood, California.
Eric Charles "Erock" Friedman is an American musician, best known as the current guitarist for the rock band Tremonti and touring guitarist and backing vocalist for Creed. He is the former lead guitarist for the band Submersed and also the former lead guitarist for Daughters of Mara. Submersed and Daughters of Mara both disbanded in 2008.
Dale Stetina is an American former racing cyclist, who competed in the late 1970s through the 1980s. He is a two-time U.S. National Road Champion and two-time winner of one of the Coors Classic held in Boulder, Colorado. He also won the Mount Washington Hillclimb in 1980.
"Isolation" is a song by American rock band Alter Bridge, released as the first single from its third album, AB III. The song was made available as a digital download on September 26, 2010, in the United Kingdom by Roadrunner Records and October 25, 2010, in the United States by the band's own vanity label. Musically, "Isolation" is heavy and aggressive, featuring the band's style while retaining a melodic chorus and incorporating elements of alternative metal and modern heavy metal. The lyrics explore metaphorically isolating oneself from faith and belief, a common theme throughout the record. A music video for the song was released on December 6, 2010. The song was included in the racing video game Dirt 3 in 2011.
"Blackbird" is a song by American rock band Alter Bridge from their album of the same name, which was released on October 8, 2007, by Universal Republic. At nearly eight minutes long, it was the band's longest song until overtaken by "Fable of the Silent Son" 15 years later. It has received critical acclaim since its release, often cited as the crowning point of both the album and the band's career by critics, fans, and the band members themselves. In March 2011, Guitarist magazine listed the song's guitar solo, which is performed by both Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti, as the greatest guitar solo of all time.
Tremonti is an American heavy metal band founded and fronted by lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Tremonti, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. The band also consists of rhythm guitarist Eric Friedman, bassist Tanner Keegan and drummer Ryan Bennett. Bassist Wolfgang Van Halen and drummer Garrett Whitlock are former members of the band. Mark Tremonti's Creed and Alter Bridge bandmate Brian Marshall was also a touring member in 2012.
All I Was is the debut studio album by Tremonti, a band formed by the lead guitarist for the American rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge, Mark Tremonti. Produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette, the album shows prominent thrash metal influences. It showcases the debut of Tremonti as a lead vocalist and features guitarist, bassist, and backing vocalist Eric Friedman and drummer Garrett Whitlock, both former members of Submersed. The album was released to critical acclaim on July 17, 2012, by FRET12 Records.
"You Waste Your Time" is a song by Tremonti that was released by FRET12 Records as the debut single from his debut solo album All I Was on May 7, 2012. It is also the first song to be released by Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti as a solo singer-songwriter. The song received positive reviews and its live music video premiered on May 17, 2012.
Plagues of Babylon is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Iced Earth. Released in January 2014, the album is the group's first studio release with bassist Luke Appleton and the only with drummer Raphael Saini, who was a guest on the album. According to rhythm guitarist and band leader Jon Schaffer, half of the album is focused on his "Something Wicked" concept, while the other half are stand-alone songs.
Wayne Douglas Stetina is a former American cyclist. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics and 1976 Summer Olympics.
Cauterize is the second studio album by Tremonti, a band fronted by Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti. In addition to Tremonti, who provides both lead vocals and guitar, the album features rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Eric Friedman and drummer Garrett Whitlock. It is the first Tremonti album to feature Wolfgang Van Halen, who replaced Brian Marshall as the band's bassist after the release of the band's first album, All I Was, in 2012. Cauterize was released on June 9, 2015 in the United States. The album was set to release in Australia on June 5 but saw an earlier release by a day, thus being released on June 4, 2015.
