Death was an American death metal band formed in Altamonte Springs, Florida, in 1984 by guitarist Chuck Schuldiner, drummer/vocalist Kam Lee and guitarist Rick Rozz. Death is considered to be among the most influential bands in heavy metal music and a pioneering force in death metal. The band's 1987 debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, has been widely regarded as one of the first death metal records, alongside the first records from Possessed and Necrophagia.
Dark Angel is an American thrash metal band from Downey, California, formed in 1981. The band's current lineup includes drummer Gene Hoglan, guitarists Eric Meyer and Laura Christine, frontman Ron Rinehart and bassist Mike Gonzalez. In its history, they have gone through many lineup changes, and as of guitarist Jim Durkin's death in March 8, 2023, there are no original members left in the current lineup of Dark Angel, although Meyer is the only member to appear on all of their studio albums.
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).
Eugene Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his playing style is very technically demanding, he retains high accuracy at extreme tempos, earning him the nicknames "The Atomic Clock" and "Human Drum Machine".
Haunting the Chapel is an extended play (EP) released by American thrash metal band Slayer in 1984 through Metal Blade and Enigma Records. Slayer's debut album Show No Mercy became Metal Blade's highest-selling, leading to producer Brian Slagel wanting to release an EP. Recorded in Hollywood, the recording process proved difficult when recording drums in a studio without carpet, although it resulted in drummer Dave Lombardo meeting Gene Hoglan who was to become an influence in his drumming style and speed. It was during the recording of this session that Lombardo first had the double bass added to his kit. Hoglan, working for Slayer at the time, sat at the kit and played a double bass for the first time. Lombardo was impressed and although Hoglan never gave him lessons, he did give him tips regarding the use of the double kick drum.
Iniquity was a Danish death metal group. Established in 1989, the band released three full-length albums before parting ways in 2004.
Hirax is an American thrash metal band from Cypress, California. Starting in 1984 under the leadership of vocalist Katon W. De Pena, the band played in Los Angeles and San Francisco with several of their thrash metal peers such as Metallica, Exodus, and Slayer. The band was an early example of thrash metal, speed metal and crossover thrash, yet inspired by cross-genre influences including blues vocalist Sam Cooke, who De Pena once cited as "the greatest vocalist [De Pena] has ever heard."
Into the Moat is an American mathcore band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It achieved national acclaim when profiled in Alternative Press magazine in November 2003. The band signed with Metal Blade Records, which released both of their full-length albums, and completed four national tours during 2004 and 2005.
Ron Rinehart is an American thrash metal vocalist. He was the lead singer for the American thrash metal band Dark Angel from 1987 until the band's dissolution in 1992, and again from 2002 to 2005, when they were reunited. In October 2013, Dark Angel announced another reunion, again featuring Rinehart.
Leave Scars is the third studio album released by the American thrash metal band, Dark Angel, released on January 24, 1989. It was their first album with vocalist Ron Rinehart and bassist Mike Gonzalez, and the last to feature guitarist Jim Durkin. Leave Scars was Dark Angel's most successful release, peaking at number 159 on the Billboard 200.
Time Does Not Heal is the fourth studio album by Dark Angel, released in 1991. This was Dark Angel's final album before their break up in 1992. Work on a follow-up album, under the name Atrocity Exhibition, was prepared, but never advanced past a few demos. Time Does Not Heal was also Dark Angel's only album with former Viking guitarist Brett Eriksen, who replaced Jim Durkin two years earlier.
The Skull is the second studio album by the American doom metal band Trouble, released by Combat and Metal Blade Records on April 15, 1985.
Run to the Light is the third studio album by American doom metal band Trouble, released by Metal Blade Records on July 15, 1987, being the band's last release on that label. It was the band's first album to have Ron Holzner on bass guitar and the only Trouble album with Dennis Lesh on drums. Jeff Olson, who left the band in 1986, played the Hammond organ on the song "The Beginning". Ted Kirkpatrick, who later formed the Christian metal band Tourniquet in 1990, played drums during Trouble's tour for the album. A music video was made for the title track.
Defiance is an American thrash metal band from Oakland, California. They played a technical style of thrash originally evoking bands like Testament, though they would later move on to playing in their own unique, more progressive thrash style. After dissolving in 1995, they reformed in 2005 and released their fourth studio album The Prophecy in late 2009. They broke up once again in 2012, but announced yet another reunion in September 2019.
Phantasm was an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, active between 1986 and 1988. The supergroup included several notable members, including early Metallica bassist Ron McGovney, Hirax singer Katon W. De Pena, and prolific drummer Gene Hoglan. The band did not record an album during its period of activity, but issued live and demo material on the 2001 CD Wreckage.
Do or Die is the first studio album by the American thrash metal band Viking. It was released on February 1, 1988 through Metal Blade Records and executive produced by the label's founder Brian Slagel. There has never been an official CD release of this album, although bootleg copies have been available.
Man of Straw is the second studio album by the American thrash metal band Viking. It was released on August 8, 1989 through Metal Blade/Caroline Records, and was the band's last album before their 21-year breakup from 1990 to 2011. Man of Straw was produced by Viking's lead singer and guitarist Ron Eriksen, and like their previous album Do or Die, it was executive produced by Metal Blade founder Brian Slagel.
No Child Left Behind is the third and most recent studio album by American thrash metal band Viking. It was released on March 4, 2015, and is the band's first studio album in 26 years, and their first release with Justin Zych from Zephaniah on guitar and Mike Gonzalez from Dark Angel on bass. Viking did not have an official drummer when they began work on the album in 2011, but the drum studio tracks on this album were played by Gene Hoglan.
Live Scars is a live album by thrash metal band Dark Angel, which was released in 1990. it was recorded at the Country Club live in Reseda, California on April 22, 1989.
Glenn Rogers is an American guitarist who performs mainly thrash metal. He has most notably performed with Hirax, Deliverance, Vengeance Rising and Once Dead.
