Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo, and bassist and 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. Drummer Jon Dette was also a member of the band.
Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo. The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead guitar work. The lyrical subject matter often deals with criticisms of The Establishment and concern over the destruction of the environment, and at times shares a disdain for Christian dogma resembling that of their black metal counterparts. The language is typically quite direct and denunciatory, an approach borrowed from hardcore punk.
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band from Buffalo, New York. Formed in December 1988, the band has released fourteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radio or television exposure throughout its career, although a cult following began to build with the releases of their early albums, including Butchered at Birth (1991) and Tomb of the Mutilated (1992). As of 2015, they achieved worldwide sales of two million units for combined sales of all their albums, making them the top-selling death metal band of all time.
William Henry Cosby Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and author who held an active career for over six decades before being convicted of a number of sex offenses in 2018.
Back in Black is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC. It was released on 25 July 1980 by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It is the band's first album to feature lead singer Brian Johnson, following the death of previous lead singer Bon Scott.
Venom are an English extreme metal band formed in Newcastle 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. Venom's second album proved influential enough that its title was used as the name of the black metal genre.
Philip Hansen Anselmo is an American heavy metal musician best known as the vocalist for Pantera, Down, and Superjoint Ritual, amongst other musical projects. He is the owner of Housecore Records.
Metalcore is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of breakdowns, slow, intense passages conducive to moshing. Other defining instrumental qualities include heavy riffs and stop-start rhythm guitar playing, occasional blast beats, and double bass drumming. Vocalists in the genre typically yell or scream. Some later metalcore bands combine this with clean singing, often during the chorus. Death growls and gang vocals are common. 1990s metalcore bands were inspired by hardcore while later metalcore bands were inspired by melodic death metal. Melodic death metal bands like At the Gates and In Flames influenced later metalcore bands.
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway. They were one of the founders of the Norwegian black metal scene and their music has strongly influenced the black metal genre. Mayhem's early career was highly controversial, primarily due to their notorious live performances, the 1991 suicide of vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin ("Dead") and the 1993 murder of guitarist Øystein Aarseth ("Euronymous") by former member Varg Vikernes of Burzum.
The Black Dahlia Murder is an American melodic death metal band from Waterford, Michigan, formed in 2001. Their name is derived from the 1947 unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, often referred to as Black Dahlia. The band currently comprises lead vocalist Trevor Strnad, rhythm guitarist Brian Eschbach, bassist Max Lavelle, drummer Alan Cassidy, and lead guitarist Brandon Ellis. Out of the eight studio albums they have released to date, the last seven have charted on the U.S. Billboard 200, with their fifth album Ritual peaking at No. 31 in 2011, marking them as one of the most popular contemporary American extreme metal bands. Their ninth and latest album Verminous was released on April 17, 2020.
Hedley is a Canadian pop rock group originating in Abbotsford, British Columbia, originally formed in 2003. They are named after the unincorporated community of Hedley, British Columbia, a name chosen after members heard that it was for sale for $346,000. After lead singer Jacob Hoggard placed third on the second season of Canadian Idol in 2004, the group signed with Universal Music Canada and released their self-titled debut studio album the following year. After signing an international recording contract with Capitol Records in 2006, which brought them an increased American following. Hedley saw commercial success with their subsequent studio albums, including Famous Last Words (2007), The Show Must Go (2009), Storms (2011), Wild Life (2013), and Hello (2015).
Shadows Fall is an American heavy metal band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. 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).
The Acacia Strain is an American metalcore band originally from Chicopee, Massachusetts.
Watain is a Swedish black metal band from Uppsala, formed in 1998. The band's name is taken from an early recording by the American black metal group Von. The band have become infamous for their Theistic Satanist views and for their live shows which involve pyrotechnics, candles, Satanic rituals, animal carcasses, and blood. At a now-notorious live performance in Brooklyn in 2014, they doused audience members in animal blood, allegedly causing some members of the audience to vomit. This was picked up and publicised by TMZ, generating controversy around the incident. To date they have released six full-length albums, as well as three live albums and a number of demos and EPs. Their most recent album Trident Wolf Eclipse was released on 5 January 2018 through Century Media Records. The band's core lineup has remained stable since their formation, consisting of Erik Danielsson, Pelle Forsberg, and Håkan Jonsson, though as of 2015 Jonsson no longer performs live, his live duties now being covered by Emil Svensson of fellow Uppsala Death metal band Degial.
In This Moment is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed by singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth in 2005. They found drummer Jeff Fabb and started the band as Dying Star. Unhappy with their musical direction, they changed their name to In This Moment and gained two band members, guitarist Blake Bunzel and bassist Josh Newell. In 2005, bassist Newell left the band and was replaced by Jesse Landry.
Young and in the Way was a blackened crust band from Charlotte, North Carolina, formed in 2009. Their music was described as "cold, hard and loud." They were formerly signed to Deathwish Inc.
Blood on the Dance Floor were an American electronic music group from Orlando, Florida, formed in 2006. The group's longest-standing lineup, from 2009 to 2016, consisted of Jesus David Torres also known as Dahvie Vanity and Jayy Von Monroe. The group released nine studio albums before breaking up in 2016 following Von Monroe's departure. It was reformed by Vanity the following year, initially with Fallon Vendetta. After Vendetta's departure, Vanity became the sole member of the group. Since 2019, Vanity has been releasing music under the monikers Kawaii Monster and, as of 2020, Vivid Nightmares.
The Orwells are an American rock band from Elmhurst, a suburb west of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The members include Mario Cuomo (vocals), Dominic Corso (guitar), Grant Brinner (bass), and Henry Brinner (drums). Their debut album Remember When was released in August 2012. Their first EP, Other Voices, was released in June 2013, followed by Who Needs You in September 2013. The group disbanded as a result of accusations of sexual misconduct by members. They have since reunited besides guitarist Matt O’Keefe.
Black Widow is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band In This Moment. It was released on November 17, 2014, by Atlantic Records, marking the band's major-label debut and first release away from longtime label Century Media Records. Black Widow is the second and last album to feature drummer Tom Hane, who left the band in March 2016 citing creative and artistic unhappiness.
James Kent, known by his stage name Perturbator, is a French synthwave musician from Paris.
