Pantera is an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas, formed in 1981. The group's best-known lineup consisted of the Abbott brothers, along with bassist Rex Brown and lead vocalist Phil Anselmo; the former, who joined in 1982, is the sole constant member of Pantera. In addition to their development and popularization of the groove metal subgenre, Pantera is credited for being part of the second wave of thrash metal scene from the late 1980s to early-to-mid 1990s. Pantera is regarded as one of the most successful and influential bands in heavy metal history, having sold around 20 million records worldwide and having received four Grammy nominations.
Hell Awaits is the second studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released in March 1985 by Metal Blade Records. The band's 1983 debut Show No Mercy became Metal Blade Records' highest-selling release, and as a result, producer Brian Slagel desired to release a second Slayer album. To that end, Slagel financed a recording budget and recruited several experienced producers to help in the studio.
Neurosis is an American avant-garde metal band from Oakland, California. It was formed in 1985 by guitarist Scott Kelly, bassist Dave Edwardson, and drummer Jason Roeder, initially as a hardcore punk band. Chad Salter joined as a second guitarist and appeared on the band's 1987 debut Pain of Mind before being replaced by Steve Von Till in 1989. The following year, the lineup further expanded to include a keyboardist and a visual artist. Beginning with their third album Souls at Zero (1992), Neurosis transformed their hardcore sound by incorporating diverse influences including doom metal and industrial music, becoming a major force in the emergence of the post-metal and sludge metal genres.
Witchfinder General was an English heavy metal band from Stourbridge. They were part of the new wave of British heavy metal scene and have been cited as a major influence on the doom metal genre. They were named after the 1968 British horror film Witchfinder General.
Fighting is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1975. Following the release of four studio albums, the band finally forged an identifiable sound featuring the twin guitars of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. This sound draws from hard rock, folk, pop and rhythm and blues. It set the stage for the big commercial breakthrough of the follow-up album, Jailbreak. The album was also their first album to chart in the UK, hitting No. 60.
Black Metal is the second album by English heavy metal band Venom. It was released in November 1982, during the great flourishing of metal music in the UK that was the new wave of British heavy metal, and is considered a major influence on the thrash metal, death metal and black metal scenes that emerged in the 1980s and early 1990s.
"Killed by Death" is a song by the English heavy metal band Motörhead. Released in 1984, in 7" and 12" vinyl pressings. It peaked at number 51 in the UK Singles Chart.
Persian Risk are a heavy metal band from the new wave of British heavy metal era formed in 1979 and hailing from Cardiff, Wales. The brainchild of ex-Stoned Soul Party guitarist Phil Campbell, he recruited vocalist Jon Deverill, second guitarist Dave Bell, bass player Nick Hughes, and drummer Razz. The group was active until 1986. In 2012, the band was re-activated by vocalist Carl Sentance albeit without the involvement of any other past members.
Under the Sign of the Black Mark is the third studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was recorded in September 1986 and released on 11 May 1987 through New Renaissance Records and Under One Flag. It was a key album in the development of the black metal genre, and greatly influenced the Norwegian black metal scene that emerged in the early 1990s.
Destiny is the ninth studio album by the heavy metal band Saxon released in 1988. It is also the only studio album to feature the rhythm section of drummer Nigel Durham and bassist Paul Johnson on it.
Wasted Youth is the second and final album released by the British glam rock band Girl. Bryson Graham replaced drummer Pete Barnacle during the recording of this album, and contributed to the songwriting process.
Death Penalty is the debut studio album by British heavy metal band Witchfinder General. It was released in 1982 on Heavy Metal Records. The album received some criticism for the cover photograph, which featured topless model Joanne Latham. The photograph had been taken in the yard of St Mary the Blessed Virgin Church in Enville, Staffordshire, without the permission of the local Reverend. The album was originally released on LP and picture disc and was later reissued on CD. Pictured on the cover is Phil Cope, Zeeb Parkes, Graham Ditchfield and a member of their road crew. While Peter Hinton is credited with producing this recording, the writers Phil Cope and Zeeb Parkes always felt the credit should have gone to the engineer Robin George.
Metal Rendez-vous is the fourth studio album by the Swiss hard rock band Krokus, released in June 1980. It is the first Krokus release to feature vocalist Marc Storace; Chris von Rohr had formerly served as the band's lead vocalist but appears on Metal Rendez-vous as the band's bassist. The track "Heatstrokes" charted number one in the British Heavy Metal Charts, and arguably opened up markets for Krokus in Britain and the United States, along with "Bedside Radio" and "Tokyo Nights". Strangely, the song "Tokyo Nights" features a reggae beat halfway through. The album sold more than 150,000 copies in Switzerland and was certified Triple Platinum.
Born Too Late is the third studio album by American doom metal band Saint Vitus, released in 1986. It was the first Saint Vitus album featuring The Obsessed singer Scott "Wino" Weinrich. It is generally cited as their greatest effort.
Martin Popoff is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, he has additionally written over twenty books that both critically evaluate heavy metal and document its history. He has been called "heavy metal's most widely recognized journalist" by his publisher. Popoff lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Soviet Invasion is the second release from British doom metal band Witchfinder General. It was released in 1982 on Heavy Metal Records. The EP was released on 12" vinyl. In 2004 it was reissued on 12" vinyl with "Soviet Invasion" and "Rabies" on the A-side and the "Burning a Sinner" single on the b-side. In 2007 it was released on CD for the first time on the compilation Buried Amongst the Ruins. The song was written by the Phillip Cope & Zeeb Parkes Partnership before the Berlin Wall came down and the end of the Cold War. The so-called 'live' track on the single 'Rabies' was not actually a live recording at all. It was in fact a studio production with crowd effects over-dubbed. The fake live recording was done at the request of Paul Birch Head of Heavy Metal Records.
Resurrected is the third and final full-length album by doom metal band Witchfinder General. It was released on 30 August 2008 in the U.S. on 2 September 2008 in the UK.
The Wreck-Age is the fifth studio album by British heavy metal band Tygers of Pan Tang, produced in 1985 on Music for Nations.
Larger Than Live is the fifth studio album by heavy metal band Keel. It was released in 1989 on Gold Mountain Records. The album consists of six new studio tracks and six of the band's previous songs recorded live at The Roxy in West Hollywood, CA. It was also the only album to feature future Dio keyboardist Scott Warren and guitarist Tony Palamucci.
Trip Advizer – The Very Best of Julian Cope 1999–2014 is a compilation album by Julian Cope, released in January 2015 on Cope's own Lord Yatesbury label.
