Metal by genre

It typically employs heavily distorted and low tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking, deep growling vocals and screams.

In spring 2014 three good friends made the decision to start a metal band. During the subsequent band speed dating a singer was found quickly. Only the bassist joined the band one year later. Since they play pure metal in their own style - just out of there minds. On the lead guitar is Markus, rhythm guitar plays Dominik, the vocals takes over Christoph, bass Stefan and on drums is Thomas.

So, in this case the thread of the best-known and most iconic Black Metal band ever: Venom. The band was founded in the late seventies in England, when five young Englishman evil sounding pseudonyms ahhten risen and began heavy music with a satanic image making. The initial phase was characterized by some changes, but 1980 was the line-up, should write to the Venom story, namely: Cronos (vocals & bass), manta rays (guitar), Abaddon (Drums). The debut album "Welcome To Hell" hit like a bomb. While the Church and concerned parents have forbidden the band prefer, set in the Metal-movement a veritable Venom hype. Unbroken was the success with the second plate of the English, "Black Metal". On this album Venom also found the appropriate name for their music - a genre was born. The next album "At War With Satan" was an all time classic. But who flies high, may drop deep and that was also the case with Venom. "Possessed" could not keep up with its predecessors and Venom were overtaken by other bands. Gradually now left the band members all origin and the quality of musical output declined rapidly. 1992 lay Venom definitively adopted on ice. Four years later, the resumption of Bandtätigekeit in the original line-up. In 1997 published "Cast In Stone" was then again an official concoction. Also "Resurrection" was able to maintain this level, although Abaddon had gotten to that point again. But only two years later Mantas left the band again, and from then on it went downhill musically. The following albums were unconvincing and Venom resorted increasingly looking to flood the Mart with a variety of live and best-of albums. But Declared Dead and this year put the men with "From The Very Dephts" an album that had washed up and no doubt is the best piece of work the band since "Resurrection".

Bathory were founded anno '83. Quick started an occult textual alignment with brutal music to unite. Barely a year after founding the band got the chance, two songs for "Scandinavian Metal Attack" sampler to contribute to this and got good reviews. After this initial success Quorthon dismissed the remaining members and began working on debut album. The following story of the band was marked by ever-changing line-ups, Quorthon was the only constant. The self-titled debut album then appeared yet in 1984 and became a classic of the Extreme Metal scene. With "The Return ......" and "Under The Sign Of The Black Mark" Bathory consolidated its status as one of the leading black metal bands, before a change of style began. "Blood Fire Death" still sounded like the predecessor, but treated hardly statnistische issues but turned to Norse mythology. Musically the exchange was carried out on "Hammerheart", where you suddenly played a very epic Viking Metal, which Bathory are considered the inventors of the genre. Even "Twilight Of The Gods" continued this style, although the musical quality was not quite maintained. With "Requiem" and "Octagon" Bathory changed their style again, this time at a noisy thrash metal hammering, which is as it were joined to the early days of the band. Again, more then went "Blood On Ice" in an epic direction. Musically they had again strong material in luggage, with the highlight of the album was the ballad "Man of Iron". However, Bathory had meanwhile created by their style change is a problem, since one had quasi two Fanlager who wanted to hear both different music. With "Destroyer Of Worlds" an attempt was made to use both camps, but came out a boring album that never really liked. Upon this Quorthon devoted to the two "Nordland" albums again throughout the Viking Metal. Its end was the story of Bathory, as Quorthon was found dead. What remains are classic in different genres as well as the Viking scene that would probably never have developed without Bathory as they exist today. Rest in Peace, Thomas "Quorthon" Forsberg.

Hellhammer was founded by Tom G. Warrior and Hammerhead and played music the way Venom or Motörhead. However, Tom and the former bassist Martin Eric Ain of this style were tired and broke the group on. Then set up the two Celtic Frost. Musically they now developed his own style, which is difficult einornen and was then listed as either Black or Avantgarde Metal. Influences from thrash and death metal are also to recognize and even the corpse paint can be attributed to the Swiss. In 1985 the debut album "To Mega Therion". At this time the cast had changed several times, but this did nothing to cause, as Celtic Frost Tom only needed to operate. The style of the album had been refined and now there were also non-metallic elements. But it is precisely with this peculiar style was the disc to be a success. With "Into The Pandemonium" extended the Swiss their style again, Gothic elements were added and the success was once again a major. But the heyday of the band went to a close. On the following tour to problems that ultimately led to the dissolution of the band pile. However, the split did barely a year before, the group reformed again. As Tom the music at this time, however, was more matter, the comeback by guitarist Oliver Amberg was created, which resulted in a massive style and image exchange result. In "Cold Lake" was of black metal nothing to hear, instead releaste you a glam album that triggered the fans storms of indignation. "Vanity / Nemesis" then sound again after Celtic Frost as they knew; The disc represents the most underrated of the band, yet they contributed to their Auflösungd at. Only in 2001 the men met again and after five years you releaste "Monotheist", it sounded again as the Celtic Frost eighties. However, on the following tour, it began to kriseln in the band, so that Tom left Celtic Frost. Thus the troupe was clinically dead, what the remaining members realized so that they dissolved the band.

Mercyful Fate were founded in 1981 by King Diamond and Hank Sherman. After a restless beginning phase appeared 1983, the debut album "Melissa", which represents one of the strongest of the band and gave her a place among the leading black metal bands. At the time, the Danes were known for their satanic image that was reflected in the stage show. In addition, the trademark of the band's musical style, the metal of the NWOBHM were represented, however, was influenced by progressive rock and relatively elaborated for a former black metal band and the falsetto vocals of Kings. The following year appeared "Do not Break The Oath". The album was able to increase the quality of its predecessor and once again one of the most famous Black Metal albums. But soon there were tensions in the tape, which led to its dissolution and establishing of King Diamond. These published 1986 "Fatal Portrait", on which the King for the first time his penchant for living out concept, what he would do from then on almost every album the group. Even more is presented on "Abigail". The following album "" Them "" ushered in a storyline that dealt with the King himself. The album was commercially the most successful of King Diamond, although the Hitdichte was lower than both the previous and the subsequent "Conspiracy", which vortsetzte the storyline. "The Eye" was the last album for the time being with King Diamond are, as reformed in 1992 Mercyful Fate. While both combos and 1999 there were at the same time, there were frequent line-up changes in both formations, or from one to the other. In this time appeared five Mercyful Fate albums, the last of which most came, and three with King Diamond, among which "The Spider's Lullabye" for the first time in ages and found a non-concept album. 1999, Mercyful Fate disbanded permanently. The next album of King Diamond "Voodoo" included a guest appearance by Dimebag Darrel from Pantera. Shortly after, left up to Andy (and of course the king himself) all the band members, so that "Abigail II: The Revenge" was recorded in almost all new formation that still unchanged the next albums "The Puppet Master" and "Gimme Your Soul ... Please "experienced. After 2010 looked bleak for the future of the band, the Danes now touring again through history and is supposed to be even a new album in preparation.

Death was founded in 1983 by guitarist Chuck Schuldiner and his friends Rick Rozz (guitar) and Kam Lee (drums) as Mantas. A year after the band received its final name, left up to Chuck all members the band, prompting selbiger 1987 (except the drums) recorded the debut album "Scream Bloody Gore" all alone. The album received rave reviews and is still regarded as one of death metal art par excellence. Death laid a foundation for today's Death Metal by they provided the music of bands like Motörhead or Exodus consistently radicalized and growled vocals. For the following "Leprosy", with the high level of its predecessor could be maintained, then stood again a real band available, the uner including Rick belonged. However, it was the outside, than in 1990 "Spiritual Healing" was released again. On the album you hit slightly more progressive sounds, which the hardness hurt anything, but nevertheless it was a great album. Lyrically it began to change. Worst then ended the following European tour that Chuck does not mitbestritt after an argument with the other what goutierte the rest of the band with the addition of two guest vocalists and "Fuck Chuck" -Chören. Then Chuck dismissed all all the band members, searching for "human" a new occupation. The album, das1991 appeared, continued to "Spiritual Healing" Unopened development, increased but also the downward trend of the band that got more and more into the progressive climes. Little Friends of Chuck went well when he ablästerte about his older albums quite. On the following "Individual Thought Patterns" then was an almost kmplett other occupation at work, among other things had been committed as drummer Gene Hoglan. The summit was also the only band member besides Chuck, still mispielte also in 1995 published "Symbolic". Unfortunately, found himself on two albums barely Death Metal, for that you had a Power Metal-list drawn what singing was reflected in Chucks. As the last album of the band then released "The Sound Of Preservance" In 1998, again with completely different line on which Chuck though better sound, the musical performance, however, remained poor and it got caught in the projects, to pack as much claim to his music , A year later, a brain tumor was diagnosed with Chuck. After it had been the same in the treatment complications, the therapy was so much the money that Chuck could not tribes. Since he had no health insurance and therefore could not hope for government help, he had to rely on donations from fans and although there got together a considerable sum and also several bands played benefit concerts, enough money only until 13.12.2001. After Chuck was therefore discharged from the hospital, he succumbed to the cancer. Rest in Peace, Charles Michael "Chuck" Schuldiner.

The group was founded in 1983 by drummer Mike Sus and Mike Torrao guitarist. Torrao took over at the very beginning and the singing, but the decision was made quickly, to commit its own members for the job. The choice fell on Barry Fisk, who was replaced by Jeff Becerra in the same year. This missed the band by his extreme vocals that should be regarded as the beginning of the Grow Lings, an extreme paint. With Brian Montana still joined a second guitarist to the troops, Jeff got a bass in his hand pressed and began to play an extreme metal style, which was influenced by bands like Motörhead or Venom Exodus with one shot. Took on the guitar is in more a line-up change, Larry LaLonde replaced Brian before after two years the debut "Seven Churches" appeared. Even the extremely provocative presentation revealed where the musical journey should go: in the deepest depths of hell. The disc was extremely clear and produced the band went with a brutality to works as it should be typical for Death. It was the tenth track on the album, which should give the music of Possessed her name and should establish the most influential metal subcultures: Death Metal. However, the crash followed already with "Beyond The Gates". The album was produced worse than the debut and also the songwriting ago the boys had lost the old class. Possessed Thus adopted after just one album once and for all from the top flight of the Death Metal bands and while Death, Obituary or Morbid Angel shaped the genre, was the resolution in the Amis 1987. Early nineties then tried Mike Torrao the band neuzugründen new cast, the project was on but after three years. Next, in 2007, attempted a reunion with new musicians, Jeff was also being not so far around a lot countable, even if a new album in the pipeline is.

Morbid Angel were founded in 1984 by guitarist Trey Azagthoth, Basser Dallas Ward and drummer Mike Browning as Heretic, but designated by in Morbid Angel. "Abominations Of Desolation" was to appear in 1986, but was not realized. In 1989, "Altars Of Madness" was published, played alongside Trey David Vincent (vocals & bass), Richard Brunelle (guitar) and Pete Sandoval (drums). The album avanchierte as the successor "Blessed Are The Sick" become a classic, and set new standards in the Death Metal. This performance was also reflected in the success and brought Morbid Angel in the top league of subgenres. In the same year appeared "Abominatons Of Desolation". Richard Prior had already dropped out of the band, therefore was "Convenant" recorded with only one guitarist. After allowing Erik Rutan committed as second guitarist, released in 1995 "Domination". After David had to leave the band. For him, Steve Tucker was taken, who made his debut on "Formulas Fatal To The Flesh" on which Erik was no longer there. However, to want the quality of the songs on the album was poor. As a result, co-wrote "Gateways To Annihilation" Steve and Erik was back in the band. Shortly after Steve left the troupe, but rose against "Heretic" again. He then returned the tape back, but David was there again. After being occupied by Destructhor the second guitar, published one "Illud Divinum Insanus", on the addition Pete was replaced by Tim Yeung. However, the album was a flop. Recently, the Americans ensured the headlines when it was published, Tim and David had left the band, which the latter but did not know about. He had to last and putting up his post for Steve rooms who returned. Almost simultaneously gave Destructhor announced that he was leaving the band.

Obituary was gegrüdet 1984 under the name of John Tardy Executioner (vocals) and his brother Donald (Drums). Early named one around in Xecutioner and a little later in Obituary. To debut album "Slowly We Rot" was a line-up, in addition to the Tardy brothers from Allen West and Trebor Peres (guitar) and John Tucker (bass) was. The latter rose but it left the band. The album received rave reviews and became a stylistic masterpiece. Stylistically you walked in the footsteps of Possessed, Death or Slayer, also in the tradition of Celtic Frost can see the band, although they used a simpler style, which was influenced by John, because this growlte no texts, but only single words , Before "Cause Of Death" Frank Watkins came as a bass player in the band, but you had to neuzubesetzen also the post of guitarist, as Allen had gotten out. To this end, they found James Murphy of Death. The album was a great success, was even better produced and more complex and slower than its predecessor. With "The End Complete" on which Allen held James back was there, the Americans succeeded to increase its high level, the album contains massive hits and one of the best that has ever been published in the sausage scene. "World Demise" could not hold the success; Obituary seemed totzulaufen. It was quiet around the men, published in 1997 "Back From The Dead", which contained good material with "Bullituary" but also a failure. 1998 Obituary disbanded. It took six years before the Americans returned and so was released in 2005, "Frozen In Time", which was evaluated positively. After the album Allen left the band again, but returned in 2006 back. On "Xecutioner's Return" but he was not going back, because he was in prison, which represented his final exit from the band. Instead, Ralph Santolla was heard. The album was like "Darkest Day" a solid album. As a result, guitar changed hands (Kenny Andrews for Ralph) and Bass (Terry Butler for Frank) before with "Inked In Blood" was republished a typical Obituary album.

Suffocation was founded in 1990 by vocalist Frank Mullen, guitarists Terrance Hobbs and Guy Marchais, bassist and drummer Josh Barohn Mike Smith. Quick lock you into a contract with Relapse Records and released a year later from "Effigy Of The Forgotten". The album with the most horrible sound was a success and revolutionized the Death Metal. Up to now, the most brutal and most evil Cannibal Corpse was what was known as Suffocation had outstripped them and contributed to the establishment of the Brutal Death Metal in. Hardness and speed were increased to the extreme. Prompt the men were then also a new record deal with Roadrunner Records and had for the first time a professional label on the side. At the same time Josh left the band and was replaced by Chris Richards. On "Breeding The Spawn", which was released two years after the debut, sounded Suffocation clear, in which case "shit" improving on "bad" meant. This improvement came at the expense of hardness, but only to a small extent. In addition, they had packed more technical skill in the plate, Meshugga bonds were recognizable. After the new album Mike man got out, behind the drums was Doug Bohn and made his debut on "Pierced From Within". The work was the predecessor surpass, the musical potential of the band has been fully exploited and enhanced production again, without that you would be less decreased compared to "Breeding The Spawn" hard to the point. Shortly after, again joined the cast of drums, Doug went and gave his place to Dave Culross. But who worked on any album with more before the band broke up after eight years of existence. 2003 Suffocation found together again, in the cast, as it had existed also for Bandgruendung, except for the bass, which initially remained vacant and the drums that were beaten again by Dave. In this line-up year all "Souls To Deny" appeared later. On this output is made up where you left off before the dissolution, up to the sound that was slightly worse again. A short time later they had with Derek Boyer again a bassist on board, who was also listen to the self-titled album from 2006 as well as the followers of "Blood Oath" (2009) and "Pinnacle Of Bedlam" (2013). On these albums, the men played again their famous boots with high technical skill and hardness, they have never really changed and with which they have helped the Death Metal scene of New York to their size.

Cannibal Corpse in 1988 by Chris Barnes (vocals), Jack Owen, Bob Rusay (guitar), Alex Webster (bass) and Paul founded Mazurkiewicz (drums). A year later, the men were given a recording contract and could start working on an album, which a year later appeared under the title "Eaten Back To Life". Then gave the quintet demanding, complex shape Death Metal, also you could for a song Glen Benton of Deicide as host get "Singer" on board. Has graced the album of a nice splatter cover, which the censors, however, saw things differently and prohibited the part. The same happened to "Butchered At Birth", on which the band - again for a song with Glen Benton - her style evolved and from on the debut remaining thrash bonds away genuine Death Metal turning. Through their musical skills, but certainly by the campaign against the band the cannibals had achieved a remarkable reputation. The final breakthrough came with "Tomb Of The Mutilated". The cover was censored again, however, the musical output was even better than its predecessors - crowned "Hammer Smashed Face" - and made the Americans finally to an institution in Death Metal. After the album Bob climbed out, his place was occupied by Rob Barrett. In 1994 published "The Bleeding" deviated from previously known Cannibal Corpse style. The album was slower and groove emphasized, but technically very demanding. In addition, Chris, who go to this album and should be replaced by the Corpse Grinder sounded here more moderate than in previous albums, but what the rising success of the Americans did not diminish. The Corpse Grinder brought new life into the band, as can be seen on "Vile", the sound varied and to then most successful Death Metal album became ever. Then again there was a line-up change to, Rob left band replacement was found in Pat O'Brien. With this lineup the cannibals released their best album with "Gallery Of Suicide". The success of its predecessor could not hold true, however, should the successor "Bloodthirst" in 1999 and "Gore Obsessed" can link back to the best days of the band in 2002 in this regard. After "The Wretched Spawn" then gave Jack announced that he was leaving the band. It succeeded the other band members but, to fill this gap by Rob reactivated. This could also be heard on "Kill", which stormed the charts again. A surprise was the cover, which was the first ever contested in the discography of the band neither self nor foreign censorship. Meanwhile the band got to play well at gigs in Germany all the songs that had been previously denied them. "Evisceration Plague" is not landed on the index, but because of the cover, but because of the lyrics. Musically the Americans still had risen as compared to "Kill", sounded even harder and more to the point, which was also due to the successful production and had the title track and a real over-Kracher here. Gutklassig turned out well "Torture" before Cannibal Corpse with "A Skeletal domain" 2014 smashing an altered, gloomy direction without refrain really let it add long.

In 1989 Robert Sennebäck (guitar & vocals), Fredrik Lindgren (guitar), Johnny Hedlund (bass & vocals) and Anders Schultz (Drums) Unleashed. Robert was after a year out and was replaced Tomas Olsson. Another year later appeared "Where No Life Dwells". A sensation of tape lettering reversing the Cross, but also musically delivered Unleashed simple Death Metal, who renounced external influences or mechanization and resembled a tougher version of Venom. The album was well reviewed and gave the band notoriety. "Shadows In The Deep" showed more facets of the band received good reviews. It brought the band a breakthrough and led to tours with the top names in the scene. "Across The Open Sea" focused lyrically more on Norse mythology, who had introduced Unleashed in the Death Metal. The album was more successful than its predecessor, but also one-sided, almost boring. Stronger fell "Victory" from 1995, which represented a departure from Fredrik Lindgren, who was replaced by Fredrik Foltare. Financially, the band remained successful until you publish the weakest album of his career with "Warrior". The plate was boring and sounded depressurized. There was a pause, came up in the rumors, the band had broken up before we returned in 2002 with "Hell's Unleashed". The album was musically the strongest what the band had been published, only the vocals sounded very modern and did not know how to please. Better two years later made it there with "Sworn Allegiance". The album introduced the abwechslungseichste since sophomore represent and surpassed this in the quality of the songs and the financial success. With "Midvinterblot" kept the men the level of its predecessor and the sales figures remained high. Also "Hammer Battalion" was a typical Unleashed album, which knew how to appeal to the Death Metal-Addicts. Later, the band label SPV went bankrupt, which is why you finished a contract with Nuclear Blast. Under this label, released "As Yggrrasil Trembles", "Odalheim" and "Dawn Of The Nine".

At The Gates were founded in 1990 by Jonas (bass) and Anders Björler (guitar) with Tomas Lindberg (vocals), Adrian Erlandsson (drums) and Alf Svensson (guitar). Two years later, the Swedes had not only a record contract, but also their first album "The Red In The Sky Is Ours" outside. The album offered chaotic, from black metal influenced death metal, but also influences from thrash metal and hardcore could be recognized. Despite the muddy production enjoyed the music very popular. "With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness" haute a year later in the same line, the big drawback was again the production, otherwise you remained true to himself, sounded at this time a little early Carcass. Shortly thereafter, Alf got out of the band, which was replaced by Martin Larsson. In this line-up then came the final breakthrough with "Terminal Spirit Disease". The board sounded punchier than the previous two, partly almost brutal, although one had even returned from songwriting forth the hardness, but good state of the band to face. Further increase was possible with "Slaughter Of Soul" included the hit song "Blinded By Fear", for which Sweden would even creamed off almost a Grammy. The melodiousness was further increased, so that the band made a significant contribution to the establishment of schedischen Death Metal scene, respectively for the establishment of the Melo Death Metal. Shortly thereafter, however, the Björler brothers and Adrian got out what led to the dissolution of At The Gates. Eleven years went by before the band neugründete ultimately. Nevertheless, you need to wait until 2014 "At War With Reality" was released a further seven years. The comeback album also presented the first concept album of the Swedes what these but unlike many bands hinbekamen well and managed to write strong material.

In 1990, also Jesper Strömblad (drums, guitar, keyboard) with Johan Larsson (bass) and Anders Iwers (guitar) In Flames. Before the band drew attention to himself, was already out Anders, was replaced by Carl Näslund and then by Glenn Ljungström, also had been briefly a singer in the band, but adopted again soon. In 1994, "Lunar Strains" was released, got this neat reviews and In Flames, it brought the Underground to fame. It made it now, with Anders Friden a singer and to undertake a new drummer Daniel Erlandsson in. The latter, however, was quickly gone and the place was occupied with Björn Gelotte. In this formation the troupe with "The Jester Race" gained worldwide attention and wrote a real classic which catapulted the band to the top of Melo Death genre. And since the guys were so good at driving, there was the following year a second helping in the form of a further concept album called "Whoracle". From here the band plunged into a crisis, as both Johan and Glenn left the band. The former was replaced by Peter Ivers, Niclas Engelin but who had been brought in as a replacement for the latter, shortly thereafter jumped off again. Finally caught you from this by Björn his post at Daniel Svensson ceded here in order to take even the second Sechssaiters. After they had a reasonably stable occupation found, they took on the next album "Colony". This sounded more aggressive than "Whoracle", even if you used more often quiet Parts and "The Jester Race" is no longer rankam. Into the new millennium, the Swedes started with "Clayman". Although the album was the most successful of recent avanchieren band history, a break with the previous work showed that songs were very melodic but mostly what the use of synthesizers (!) Was reinforced. Even the clean vocals did not seem advantageous and the weaknesses that you could already see the "Colony", now were evident. The majority of the trade press saw it differently and in a time when Slipknot and KoЯn by launched, the album was glorified, which meant that one with - made the same mistake "Reroute To Remain 14 Songs Of Conscious Insanity". Even with "Soundtrack To Your Escape" came in no improvement. Only a faint glimmer of hope brought 2006 "Come Clarity" and two years later, "A Sense Of Purpose", where there was light and shadow. Two more years later, left with Jesper the last member of the early days the band, what Niclas returned. Jesper's absence arose following the "Sounds Of A Playground Fading" noticeable, the songs lacked compositional finesse and the album made the hopes for a rehabilitation of the tape destroyed. The nadir was reached with "Siren Charms", which pop rock Gedudel delivered and lacked any connection to metal.

Dark Tranquillity have been founded in 1989 by vocalist Anders Friden, the Klampfern Niklas Sundin and Mikael Stanne, drummer and bassist Martin Henriksson Anders Jivarp, then still under the name Septic Broiler. As one a year later a change of style from Thrash to Melo Death Metal took, was felt inappropriate and the name its name to Dark Tranquillity. The musical style kalng unusual, what the band itself admitted, by relying on bands like Blind Guardian, Kreator or Running Wild, support, on the other hand, for example Morbid Angel named as an influence. This style was reflected three years later in "Skydancer" down. The album was a foretaste of the later style of the band, but was confusing and lacked a central theme. This was also Anders, who left the band after this output in order to join In Flames. The part behind the mic took Mikael then why you looking for a new guitar wizard and those found in Fredrik Johansson. With this line appeared in 1995 "The Gallery", which sounded more conventional than its predecessor, but strong sat on keyboards and clean vocals. Nevertheless, the album became a classic in the nascent Melo Death scene, whose founders included the Swedes and enlarged beyond their fame beyond the borders of Sweden. Was readjusted the style 1997 to "The Mind's I", which put in contrast to the two previous albums technical simple song structures, without being easily accessible. This step in the right direction, however, was offset by the superfluous addition of electronic elements with which the band of Death Metal remote. This development culminated ultimately in the fact that we recorded with Martin Brändström one-budgetary keyboardist in the band. Even otherwise, exchanged a few posts in the band. Fredrik left the band. Again an internal musical chairs now took place, Martin switched from bass to guitar and for the job at Langholz Michael Niklasson was committed. In the same year appeared "projector". Here Dark Tranquillity parted definitively from its roots. The album contained clean vocals, piano parts and electrical gadgets, what you had to fast track completely waived, and consistent with its nihilistic attitude more than to Gothic to Metal. Also "Haven" brought little improvement. Although the song sounded again afterMetal that eltektronischen and keyboard parts were but remained, making the album in most death metallers still rather caused toothache than enthusiasm. Then in 2002 came with "Damage Done" a strong album of Dark Tranquillity. The gentlemen recollected to its roots, attracted the screws in terms of heaviness again and delivered from their best piece of work, with which it was possible to regain a lot of old fans. By "character" it schfften the Swedes even to be further enhanced. Harder, faster, more aggressive album came out of the speakers at the same time you had your technical side rediscovered and let this be included with, but without embarrassment to mere demonstrate his skills. Down it went, unfortunately, again with "Fiction" on which the musical style was neat that made available again clean vocals but again some broken. Shortly after, Michael left the band and was replaced by Daniel Antonsson. The following 2010 "We Are The Void" was again drowned by keyboards. Three years later, Daniel left the band, so they stood there from now on no real bass. Before appearing in the same year "Construct" the band found itself in a crisis, as it was divided, in what direction you should go and this was reflected clearly the product again. Cool Kracher alternated with average gloomy numbers and ghastly gothic whine. Although all in all the metalheads were not entirely disappointed wäer to talk about a good album but exaggerated.

Children Of Bodom were founded in 1992 by Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho (vocals & guitar) and Jaska Raatikainen (drums), then wore the band's name Inearthed. The two amplified with Samuli Miettinen (bass), who soon left the band again and was replaced by Henkka "T. Blacksmith" Seppälä, Alexander Kuoppala (guitars) and Jani Pirisjoki (Keyboard), but the admitted his post even before debut what Janne "Warman" Wirman was brought. Now changed the style of the band. Had the first demos of Finns still (Melo) Death Metal contain one now played an unusual mix, which can be described as Melo Black Metal most, wherein the characteristic keyboard sound and the interaction of the same with the guitar a unique feature represented. At the same time it was renamed in Children Of Bodom. "Something Wild" was released in 1997 and had, in spite of the new style, the next black metal also Melo Death elements and classical Parts and bonds from the power metal contained, great success, got into the album charts and made the band in Finland known. The successor "Hatebreeder" then brought the worldwide breakthrough, although one could not build on the predecessor. Too much the keyboards were at the forefront, making the disc to one of the weakest of the Finns. Even weaker is presented the boys in 2000, when "Follow The Reaper" was released, the developments of its predecessor strengthened. Nevertheless, the album surpassed the success of "Hatebreeder", particularly in the US. Improvement brought two years later "Hate Crew Deathroll" on which the keyboards receded into the background, the hardness was increased and the Finns are generally more presented than ever. After the album then left the band Alexander, who was replaced by Roope Latvala. On style changed these changes little, "Are You Dead Yet?" sounded like the powerful predecessor and the individual songs were able to maintain the level. On "Blooddrunk" the Finns then went harder to the point, one went towards thrash metal, also liked the dry production and also songwiritibngtechnisch one was at the height. However, since the keyboard took a lot of space and one went progressively down to business, they did not reach the quality of its predecessors, but remained at a high level. With "Relentless Reckless Forever" is the Children ran then dead, the album was not bad, but you had to know the feeling of the songs already on the tape. "Halo Of Blood" then fell from gloomy, but could not connect to the best days of the band. 2015 veriließ Roope the band, so selbige stood without second guitarist. Nevertheless, to "I Worship Chaos" released in October, which you will already get to hear the ninth studio album of the Finns.

Napalm Death was founded in 1991 by singer and bassist Nik Bullen and drummer Miles The Rat. Among other change even Miles was quick out and was replaced by Mick Harris, to be found in Justin Broadrick a guitarist. This occupation nahm14 songs, including "You Suffer" with a second season. Since the other songs were short, you could print on one side of the LP so. Then there were armed, which meant that on the second page of a year later published "Scum" from the old line was only Mick doing. Otherwise, could be heard on the album Lee Dorrian (Growling), Bill Steer (guitar) and Jimmy Whiteley (Bass). When the work was published, it defined the Grindcore and became the most important and best-known work at all, the more radical and hardness everything had before seen fade and in the future should be second to none and one of the hardest albums. Also lyrically it was dealing with a typical Napalm Death album, the lyrics were politically left-wing, which should be a hallmark of the band and also a part of the Bekanntgheit and the success contributed to the English reaped with "Scum". In "From Enslavement To Obliteration" was a year later, Shane Embury as this bass player, who had replaced Jimmy. Otherwise, the album went a similar style as its predecessor, became another classic and brought the band commercially forward. After the album climbed to Shane and Mick from all members, so that they had to "Harmony Corruption", a new line-up up what they were doing by signing up with Mark Greenway (vocals), Mitch Harris and Jesse Pintado (both guitar ) increased. Unfortunately, these changes left their mark on the tape over, the album was death metal heavy and lacked the typical punk flip side, what the success of the panel did not detract from the fans but despite good songs like "Suffer the Children" with was subdued. The band took the criticism seriously and re-released with "Utopia Banished" a typical Napalm Death album, the commercially most successful band ever was, until 2015 topped this achievement. This is followed Mick was not involved, he had left the band and was replaced by Danny Herrera. "Fear, Emptiness, Despair" went in a similar direction, but was experimental and was achieved despite the hits "Twist The Knife (Slowly)" hardly convincing, which also affects "Diatribes" that its peak was in "Greed Killing" only slightly changed. Before 1997 'Inside The Torn Apart "was released, Mark was just outside, but came back. Nevertheless remained the album, as well as the successor, with the possible exception of the 2002 work "Order Of The Leech", pale, and you have to keep the band benefited, in a time when the Grindcore was clinically dead, to have maintained their style and not to be followed as nearly all bands in the genre, irgednwelchen trends. Shortly after Jesse left the band, which he succumbed two years later due to a diabetic disease. The remaining members not occupied in his honor, the second guitar, so Napalm Death since then are a quartet. Unfortunately, Jesse's absence was felt in the musical direction of the 2005 album "The Code Is Red ... Long Live The Code". This had recorded many experiments and counts despite high-profile guest musicians (including Jeffrey Walker of Carcass) to the weakest of the band. Also on a year later published "Smear Campaign", which was a concept album against religion, the Englishman could support. Had notable financial success is, as strong in the three-year clock "Time Waits For No Slave", the extremely weak "Utilitarian" as well as the high-interposed moved "Apex Predator - Easy Meat" appeared.

Disattack were established in 1985. Bill Steer (vocals and guitar) and Ken Owen (drums and vocals) in England. Only after the band in 1987 with Sanjiv (lead vocals) and Jeff Walker (bass and vocals) had strengthened the name was then changed to Carcass. Sanjiv was quickly back out, so that Bill and Jeff again shared the lead vocals. With this line in 1988 appeared "Reek Of Putrefication". The album was a hit, got rave reviews and was an essential part in the development of grindcore. Also "Symphonies Of Sickness" went in the same direction and was also better produced than its predecessor, but could not quite keep up with this stuff in Hitdichte. Yet it was also at this album is a great moment of grindcore and one of the biggest albums of this genre at all. Shortly thereafter, Carcass reinforced with a second guitarist, Michael Amott. This seemed to "Necroticism - Descanting The Insalubrious" with the left but recognized a significant deterioration compared to the previous albums. Although it had even more effort to contemporary production and also technically the album was strong, but it turned out more melodic than had been previously known Carcass, rather headed towards deathcore and could hardly convince with this orientation. Even more extreme, this development was to "Heartwork", was extremely focused on commercial success and sometimes completely removed from the extreme music, which was reflected also in the production. Although the album was the most successful to date the Englishman prevailed in the band resignation, it had still hoped for more success. Even before the release of the album Michael left the band because he could not make friends with the new roadmap. This was followed by several line-up changes on the guitar items before the band broke up in 1995. A year later appeared later the album "Swansong", the completed previously, was however not published by the record label. The album was almost as successful as its predecessor, but was also considered to be disappointment. They found no more real hard songs and even the level of "Heartwork" could not be maintained. It took twelve years to Carcass came together again. Bill and Jeff were again going as Michael. Ken had to fit, because he had suffered a brain haemorrhage in 1999 and since then nurmehr was very limited playing drums. Even Michael was quickly back out there and on drums joined the cast also still before 2013, "Surgical Steel" with Ben Ash (guitar) and Daniel Wilding (drums) appeared.

Insomnium is a Finnish melodic death metal band from Joensuu, Finland. The sound and lyrical themes of their music portray darkness, sorrow, loss, pain, and nature. Although they are primarily a melodic death metal band, their tracks could be seen as reminiscent of doom metal and progressive metal.

Bolt Thrower were formed in 1986 in England by Barry Thompson (guitar) and Gavin Ward (bass). The latter rose rapidly also on the guitar to, also completed after changing games on the site of the vocalists and bassists Karl Willetts (vocals), Jo Bench (guitar) and Andrew Whale (drums) the band. Quick went one to the studio and recorded "In The Battle There Is No Law!" on. Although the album contained a high-class grindcore / death metal mix so terrible breakthrough, probably because of weak production of the disc. On "Realm Of Chaos" is then moved hardness and aggressiveness significantly and improved high again, but left a popularity boost further in coming. Only with "War Master" the band managed to cause a stir, which represented a certain irony, the album was not only the far softest of Englishmen, but also qualitatively not on a level with the previous. Nevertheless, the stylistic changes and the loss of quality songwriting were marginal and so was "War Master" a strong drive, which earned the deserved appreciation of the band. Weaker presented one on "The IVth Crusade", the leisurely and a little tired sound, which you drove the grindcore shares that had previously been in the forefront back. With "... For Victory" was presented again in the usual form. After the album was then concluded for Charles and Andrew, at two positions members began to enter the jack in hand, 1998, was, however, a line-up with Alex Thomas on drums and David Ingram on vocals. Thus, they were ready to take up with "Mercenary" his eighth album, which also made it into the charts managed, for the first time what the band from now on should always succeed. A little later, then took off his hat and Alex Martin Kearns returned, who had previously been an intermezzo. Into the new millennium started with the English "Honour - Valour - Pride". After the album David left the band for health reasons and Karl came back. This was "Those Once Loyal" was added, the Bolt Thrower was even more typical.

Enslaved is a Norwegian extreme metal band formed in Haugesund in June 1991. They are currently based in Bergen, Norway. Enslaved was formed in July 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson (also known as Kjetil Grutle) when they were 13 and 17 years old, respectively. The band name was inspired by an Immortal demo track, "Enslaved in Rot." After many line-up changes throughout their career, Bjørnson and Kjellson are the only remaining original members. By 2004 the line-up solidified with guitarist Arve "Ice Dale" Isdal, drummer Cato Bekkevold, and keyboardist/vocalist Herbrand Larsen. Prior to forming Enslaved, Bjørnson and Kjellson had been playing in a death metal band called Phobia, but like many in the burgeoning extreme metal movement, they were looking for new sources of inspiration and expression. Though Enslaved began as a prototypical Norwegian black metal band in 1991, by 1993 they were incorporating song structures unusual for the genre; several of their earlier songs reach the ten-minute mark (their debut album, Vikingligr Veldi, has only one song that is under ten minutes). As such, the band has rejected the black metal label and prefers the term "extreme metal." Mardraum (2000) contained several multi-part epics such as "Større enn tid - Tyngre enn natt" and "Entrance - Escape." Several of the band's tracks (most prominently, "As Fire Swept Clean the Earth" from Below the Lights) have used mellotron. Mardraum, Monumension (2001), and Below the Lights (2003) can be regarded as having somewhat similar styles. Isa (2004) and Ruun (2006) show a marked departure from previous sounds, most notably with the inclusion of sharp dynamic shifts.

Amon Amarth is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, founded in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien′s Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Vikings, their mythology and their history, leading to the band often being labeled as Viking metal. The band comprises vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg and bassist Ted Lundström. Amon Amarth has released nine studio albums, one compilation album, one EP, one video album, and eight music videos. Their first studio album, Once Sent from the Golden Hall, debuted in 1998. Four more studio releases followed, before the band saw their breakthrough with the 2008 album Twilight of the Thunder God, which debuted at No. 11 on the Swedish album charts and No. 50 on the US Billboard 200. Two more albums, Surtur Rising and Deceiver of the Gods followed in 2011 and 2013, respectively. On March 19, 2015, Amon Amarth posted on their Facebook page that they had parted ways with drummer Fredrik Andersson after 17 years of collaboration.

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter is a Weimar, Germany based heavy metal band signed to Nuclear Blast in Europe and The End Records in North America. Their name translates to The Apocalyptic Horsemen.

Ereb Altor is a supplement to the Swedish fantasy role-playing game Drakar och Demoner. The Band was founded in 2003 by Mats and Ragnar of the doom metal band Isole. Ereb Altor is mainly influenced by Bathory.

Abyss is a Blackened Death Metal band from Dorfen (Germany), which is active since 2009. Singer is the Sepp, 1 + 2. guitarist + singer is Andrew, 2nd guitarist is called Sebi, Maxi (Lulu) on bass and Gratzl on drums. Influences are Naglfar, Dark Fortress and Hypocrisy.

Nothgard is a melodic death metal band based in Deggendorf, Lower Germany, with Folk Metal and Pagan Metal influences. Singer and lead guitar is Dom R. Crey, rhythm guitar Skaahl, bass guitar and back vocals Nico Kolja and the drummer is called Dominik.

Merger of Metal with elements of classical music. A metal band is supported by an orchestra, individual classical musical instrument or a keyboardist.

One of Germany's biggest metal bands, Helloween were founded in 1984 by Kai Hansen (vocals and guitar), Weiki Weikath (guitar), Markus Grosskopf (Bass) and Ingo Schwichtenberg (Drums). "Walls Of Jericho" was released quickly, and knew how to please. But when Kai no longer wanted to do both vocals and guitar, one made the mistake to get involved as Fronter Michi Kiske. In "Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part 1", it was found that this constituted a miscast. However, the albumin was the phase in which the Power Metal-wave broke, so it was praised to the skies. "Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part 2" hit the same line and was cheered up again. Now recognized Kai, that what the band played with than what it was intended at establishing, barely fit together and got out to establish Gamma Ray. Helloween found replacement in Roland Grapow. There was a pause before 1991 "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" was released. The album represented a new low point in the work of the band and was even panned by specialized press and fans. Nevertheless, the band went on the course by "Chameleon", a pop album published. In order for the credit with fans and press was depleted. Man standing in front of the resolution, as Ingo left the band, who suffered from schizophrenia. He threw himself under a train later. Shortly after leaving Michigan, so a fresh start with Uli Kusch (drums) and Andi Deris (vocals) was possible. "Master Of The Rings" managed to reach the level of "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" slithers. While the songwriting was weak, but had been a singer who at least partially matched the metal. In "The Time Of The Oath", which dealt with Nostradamus, the band has been improved and rehabilitated. On "Better Than Raw" could the Hamburger continue the upward trend and released their first album since 1985, that was interesting for non-power metal, although very modern and progressive sound and carried the songs of tradition as a melodic band bill. Built in 2000, published "The Dark Ride" led the style consistent on, but could not compete on the Hitdichte ago with the predecessor, also the production was suboptimal. Unfortunately the style of both albums was only represented by Roland and Uli, who had written the songs, the rest wanted to continue in old-style pumpkin head and dismissed the two. The guitar was occupied by Sascha Gerstner and behind the drums were hired after some back and forth Stefan Schwarzmann, who was known by Accept. So you took "Rabbit Do not Come Easy" on. The board went back to the roots, that is soft metal, which was dominated by keyboards. After the album Stefan left the band and was replaced by Dani Löble, the on - could be heard "Keeper Of The Seven Keys The Legacy". This included not only thematically but also musically with the rest of the saga and offered no improvement to the direct predecessor, was still poppy but was showered with praise by the press. On "Gambling With The Devil" was presented in 2007 improved, melodiousness and bombast had given more hardness, which pulled a melancholy through the album, which clouded the hearing impression. This shortcoming has been corrected to "7 Sinners". The album was harder than its predecessor and one of the strongest of the band. "Straight Out Of Hell" was lame and could hardly convince. Too much it was in the old Helloween Trott with peace - joy - expire pancakes both in the lyrics and in the music. Still less was published this year, "My God-Given Right", that sounded like the "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" albums and had little hat with the metal.

Blind Guardian emerged from the band Lucifer's Heritage Incorporated in 1984, consisting of André Olbrich (guitar), Hansi Kürsch (vocals and bass), Hans-Peter Frey (drums) and Christoph Theissen (guitar) existed. As in 1987, Hans-Peter and Christopher left the band and were replaced by The Omen upsetting and Marcus Siepen, named by one in Blind Guardian. A year later appeared "Battalions Of Fear", which was able to convince with his fast, raw style of play. That again a year later published "Follow The Blind" could maintain this level and convinced all along the line. Unfortunately, in contrast, fell "Tales From The Twilight World" from 1990 something. Although it was dealing with an ordinary album, but tried to be more likely to have complex structures, which the expense was of hardness and speed. Unfortunately, this style has been further expanded to "Somewhere Far Beyond", is turned away from his previous styles, trying instead to a soaked in bombastic Power Metal, but perfectly fit into the trend of the times and the band earned international attention for the first time. In addition, it had succeeded like on the previous two albums, winning Kai Hansen of Gamma Ray as a guest singer. This style was made worse on "Imaginations From The Other Side", the aggressiveness and power finally conceded no room and moved more to epic. After this album Hansi remembered that he played on bass can not be bothered more, which is why he ended this activity. The place on the bass was not reoccupied subsequently, which is why this activity is now taken over by various which guest and session musicians. The same is, for example, on "Nightfall in Middle-Earth" of the case, which is a concept album about Tolkien's "Simarillion". Musically they had found his style and gave no more on this. The same could also be heard on "A Night At The Opera", which came up with yet more chorus and even less metal than the previous. Meanwhile, this style was also The Omen on your nerves, so he left the band and was replaced by Frederik Ehmke. With this "A Twist In The Myth" was recorded, which stylistically represented a step back and dropped significantly better again by Regained hardness knew than the previous albums. Qualitatively similar failed "At The Edge Of Time", which even harder presented itself from songwriting ago, but also the orchestral shares increased again, making the album a double-edged affair. In the article published in this year the tenth album of blind curtains, "Beyond The Red Mirror", we went back a corner bombastic to the point where hard or fast songs remained the exception and could not maintain the level of the previous works.

Gamma Ray were founded in 1989, when Kai Hansen (guitar) stepped out with Helloween and with Ralf Scheepers (vocals), Uwe Wessel (bass) and Matthias Burchard (drums) put together a band that met his expectations. With this line appeared "Heading For Tomorrow", which sounded like the pumpkin heads at the beginning of their careers and also "Sigh No More, now with Dirk butcher as the second guitarist and Uli Kusch, who would later drum for Helloween, instead of Matthias, went in same direction and despite the soft play the comparison with the same time appeared "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" by Kais Ex troupe decide for themselves. Even after this album were made changes in the cast, Uli was out again and Uwe returned to guys back, for they came Thomas Nack (drums) and Jan Rubach (bass), which would still make as a producer of itself speeches, in the band. This occupation played "Insanity And Genius" one, which represented the last album with Ralf who had to leave the band after he had applied to replace Rob Halford in Judas Priest. A new singer has not been set and so Kai grabbed himself to micro, he had also hammer out neatly on the first Helloween output. "Land Of The Free", on the Michi Kiske (ex-Helloween) and Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) gave their tryst, then became the most successful of the band and established Kai and his boys as an equal counterpart to Helloween. Even after this album were several lineup changes, Jan and Thomas acknowledged the service, the latter was replaced by Dan Zimmerman and Dirk switched from guitar to bass and they hired with Henjo judge a new guitarist, who also took over the keyboard parts. Having thus the occupations had so often changed in six years as a band that except Kai Not a member had been listening to all albums, they had now found a stable line-up, which should be over a longer period so. In this cast they took "Somewhere Out In Space" and the successor and "Power Plant" on, the latter knew about fallen by a modified style and also the power metal rather averse contemporaries prepared joy. Even as one with "No World Order" and the sequel "Majestic" took the plunge into the new millennium, you could convince, although not as strong albums sounded like its predecessor. Two years later we began with "Land Of The Free II" the concept of the continued success of her album of the same name, was compared to the direct predecessors but in a softer direction, so that the album did not know to convince. Stronger presented one on "To The Metal", which is one of the most successful deal the band's albums. After the album was over for Dan, who hung up after sixteen years the drumsticks on the nail and was replaced by Michael honor of the "Empire Of The Undead" made his debut, which represented well with the heaviest album of the band and the good form the predecessor not only preserved but even this exceeded.

Stratovarius founded in 1984 in Finland under the name Black Water. In the first time became more frequent line-up changes, but in 1989 "Fright Night" - under the title Stratovarius - appeared, there was a cast of Timo Tolkki (vocals and guitar), Jyrki Lentonen (bass), Antti icons (keyboards) and Tuomo Lassila ( Drums). The album offered Power Metal, which was to be understood as Weichspül version of Black Sabbath, enriched with traditional bonds. This style was characteristic of the band and should learn more than marginal adjustments in the course of their careers. However, the quality of the pieces left on "Fright Night" compared to later albums to be desired, leading to mediocre reviews. The successor "II" (later "Twilight Time" titled), on the Jari Behm instead of Jyrki served the bass, you landed in Japan a hit. After the album, the cast changed on Barks again, Jari Behm was replaced by Jari Kainulainen who also "Dream Space" grossed, which was recorded positive by critics and the band gave more prominence and success in Europe. "Fourth Dimension" presented so far is a novelty, as Timo Tolkki continues handed the mic to Timo Kotipelto and focused from now on on his guitar. In addition, participated on the album, the melodic and classical Parts more space, but this was at the expense of the metal elements. As most fans but always put little emphasis on excessive force, this was largely neutral to well received. Then there was a technical occupation upheaval on the plan, and Tuomo Antti had to vacate their posts, was georgelt henceforth by Jens Johansson and the drums were maltreated by Jörg Michael, who was also active with Running Wild. Even this international cast suggested that Stratovarius is now covered on a larger scale and with "Episode" you could feel vindicated in this view. For the first time the band worked with a choir and orchestra, for which the metal shares were reduced to a minimum. Nevertheless, one should be up to the successor "Visions" - have to wait before they could celebrate the breakthrough on the old continent - a concept album about Nostradamus. From now on, the Finns should find more supporters, which was reflected in the success of the subsequent "Destiny" and "Infinite". One more step towards bombast was made with the two 2003's "Elements Pt. 1" and "Elements Pt. 2", where especially the first part formally drowned in strings. As a result, it became apparent that Timo Tolkki was suffering from psychological problems and began to fire at random Band Member and adjust until it eventually self einwies itself. Nevertheless, in 2005 the self-titled album was recorded, on which the band harder and heavier presented than before and could even attract attention outside the melodic sector, although it continued to pursue a soft approach and only a disastrous previous albums relatively brutal went to work , Then Timo Tolkki retired from the band and was replaced by Matias Kupiainen. Before that, Jari left the band and was replaced by Lauri Porra. Only 2009 Stratovarius reported back with "Polaris", which presented the band back in its typical style and the changes of its predecessor made undone. Also "Elysium" went in the same direction before 2012. Jörg a tumor was found and he had to seek treatment, which is why he left Stratovarius. Replacement for him was found in Rolf Pilve. With his "Nemesis" was recorded.

There is hardly a band that so many albums has published as Rage. 21 have been published and there is no end in sight. This was not foreseen when the band named Avenger 1984 by Peavy Wagner (vocals & bass), Joerg Michael (drums) and Jochen Schroeder and Guinness Grüning (guitar) was founded. "Prayers of Steel" was released a year later and offered hot speed metal. Then stand on a name change because we had noticed that there was already a band called Avenger and is now called Rage. The first output under a new name was "Reign Of Fear", on the Rudy Graf played guitar since Guinness had left the band. Musically the lineup changes not noticed, the album managed to keep the level of the debut. After leaving up to Peavy all members Rage, so that the end of the band was in the room. This did not materialize, Peavy found new members in Christos Efthimiadis (Drums) and Manni Schmidt, who took over the guitar alone. With new members appeared "Execution Guaranteed", which was strong. Down it went with "Perfect Man" on which you renounced metal-typical trademarks and struck a new style, which hardly knew how to please. Many old fans turned away, but new ones came who heard rather soft bands, so Rage this continued on "Secrets In A Weird World". Correct weak was "Reflections Of A Shadow", which put more than their predecessors on melody and keyboard sounds had. Improvement occurred with "Trapped!" 1992, on which the boys went back to the roots and could convince with a cover of Accepts "Fast As A Shark". The album is also celebrating success outside Germany. Also, "The Missing Link" was able to convince. After the album Manni had to go and was replaced 'brother Spiros Efthimiadis by Sven Fischer and Christos. Both did their job on "Black In Mind" in 1995 neatly, with the album despite "All This Time", the first ballad of the band, not mithielt with its predecessors. Unfortunately Peavy then discovered his penchant for orchestra which he lived out now. Thus came "End Of All Days" and two years later Juice "XIII" and nerveless albums. Since no one except Peavy liked the style of the band, it came to the break and Mr. Wagner was again there alone. But due to the high visibility, it was easy to find a new occupation, which consisted, from Victor Smolski (guitar) and Mike Terrana (drums) with which one had the number of guitarists reduced to one again. But that was not a problem, because guitars should hardly play a role in "Ghosts" for the orchestra was the focus. "Welcome To The Other Side" was two years later, less monumental, but very soft and only "Straight To Hell" marked a hit. Stäker was "Unity", which advised though too complex, was able to convince when it comes to hardness. With "Soundchaser" to Peavy filled the desire to record a concept album. This was followed by the longest pause that had the band between two albums give rise before 2006 "Speak Of The Dead" was released. The album was double-edged, but found both horny numbers and total failures. Shortly thereafter, Mike left the band, which was replaced by André Hilgers. He was also to be heard "Carved In Stone", took the man back to the roots, which knew to please, although it went very soft to work. This problem should be to "Strings To A Web" will be resolved in the next but one album "21", on the one sounded relatively heavy. After Peavy dismissed his members back and put together a new line-up of Marcos Rodriguez (guitar) and Lucky Maniatopoulos (Drums).

Hammerfall were founded in 1993 in Sweden by Mikael Stanne (vocals), Jesper Strömblad (Drums) and the strings fraction from Johan Larsson (bass) and Niklas Sundin and Oscar Dronjak (guitar). Even before the debut of 1996, except Oscar and all other Jesper been replaced, so that the line-up to "Glory To The Brave" alongside the two from Joacim Cans (vocals), Fredrik Larsson (bass) and Glenn Ljungström (guitar) existed. The album was a huge success in Europe and marked the beginning of a second Power Metal-wave after the first led by Helloween had become quite run into the sand. Also "Legacy Of Kings" was not long in coming and went stylistically in the known direction, but had been improved compared to the debut of the sound. In addition to this album gave three new members their debut, including Stefan Elmgren (Glenn had replaced on guitar), Patrik Räfling (behind the drums instead of Jesper) and Magnus Rosén (bass Fredrik). Also on the 2000 album "Renegade" were again recorded a change. Behind the drums was now Anders Johansson worked after Patrik had gone after a short time. The album itself presented the Sweden harder than usual, peering now and then the box of Power Metal beyond. The following "Crimson Thunder" with the hit "Hearts On Fire" then went back in the direction of the famous Hammerfall style. Something was harder "Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken", on the one with Cronos of Venom for a song worked. With "Threshold" an attempt at some experimental approaches, but could not convince. Then there were two changes in the band, Stefan and Magnus left the band and were replaced by Pontus Norgren and the returning Johan Larsson. "No Sacrifice, No Victory" and in 2011 "Infected" but brought in spite of the two new little improvement compared to its predecessor and were in doubt of even weaker. Also (r) evolution could only convince short and soon showed signs of wear, making it qualitatively classifying into the ranks of previous output, although stylistically glanced back towards his first albums. Shortly after Anders left the band and was replaced by David Wallin.

Edguy were founded in 1992 in Fulda by Jens Ludwig and Dirk Sauer (guitar) and Tobias Sammet (vocals, keyboard and bass) and Dominik Storch (drums). After they had made it to a few years to get a record deal, released in 1997, "Kingdom Of Madness", on the one Power Metal played in the style of Helloween or Gamma Ray. However, it was not on this album to listen to Tobias on bass, as they had been engaged in a full-Tobias Exxel man for the steel hawser. The album should remain the only one with Dominik behind the drums, because this was subsequently replaced by Felix Bohnke. "Vain Glory Opera" resorted to prominent help, you could still win both Timo Tolkki of Stratovarius and Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian as a guest musician. The success should nevertheless have to wait until "Theater Of Salvation" is all about. This could also be held with "The Savage Poetry", an album that was actually written in 1995 and sold as a self-production and now the band was re-recorded and produced professionally. Thus, the album is actually the debut of the band represents, but also fit well as a fourth album in the discography, because the style of Hesse had hardly changed since 1995, only some chorale accents were added, these were but used sparingly. "Mandrake" was an experimental album, the one hand, included some songs that you could listen to as the Power Metal an affectionate little metalhead, however, had to offer some total failures. This was followed by an unusually long break of three years, before being published 2004 "Hellfire Club". For this album Tobias had decided to work with an orchestra. But what led to a musical disaster when ninety percent of all bands, Edguy did not hurt, on the contrary, "Hellfire Club" was the strongest album of the band, which also paved the harder fraction joy, although the album stood here and there more straightness to shame would have. But Especially the opener "Mysteria" knew too much and for a song succeeded the guys even Mille Petrozza from Kreator to bring on board. The disillusionment was not long after this album, as a kind of poetic justice for the hit song "Hellfire Club" became "Rocket Ride" a fiasco. Much too lax and lame walked Edguy to works and of metal was here at most peripherally mitzubekommen something made the album the weakest of the band. Also, the decoupled Single snorer as "Superheroes" fit perfectly into the picture. Also "Tinnitus Sanctus" brought little improvement, even if an upward trend was discernible. Only "Age Of The Joker" showed the Fulda improved and moved partly on "Mandrake" level, from stupid to embarrassing video for the single "Robin Hood" apart times. The uptrend should also: stop, despite the silly title and a grotto bad cover of "Rock Me Amadeus" Messrs improved again represented, with which one could connect almost at "Hellfire Club", so that "Space Police Defenders Of The Crown" the average Heavy Metal could find favor at least for a few Hördurchgänge on the album.

One of the most discussed on kontoversesten metal bands make sure the 1996 under the name Tricky Beans in Finland under Tony Kakko (vocals and keyboard), Tommy Portimo (drums), Pentti Peura (bass), Jani Liimatainen and Marko Paasikoski (guitar) founded Sonata Arctica is . Some like the melodic style of the band, the other condemning the lack of hardness. Can not be denied that the Lapps have developed despite all the controversy one of the most famous acts of their homeland. Even as one in 1999 after several name changes (Tricky Beans - Tricky Means - Sonata Arctica) released the debut album "Ecliptica", you sounded like a softer version of Stratovarius and moved at the level of the second power metal wave. In the cast there had been some corrections, so the bass served meantime Janne Kivilahti who had replaced Pentti and Marko had separated. After the album that brought some success of the band in Finland, it was over for Janne, for him Marko returned, who had already worked as a guitarist and now switching to bass. In addition, you had a full-time husband brought in Mikko Härkin for Keyboard before "Silence" saw the light of day. After this album Mikko Sonata Arctica turned his back, so that the band "Winter Heart's Guild" was just a keyboardist available on. However, it was on some songs help by Jens Johansson, of haute for Stratovarius in the keys. With the album succeeded the Finns, slowly internationally celebrate successes. Before 2004 "Reckoning Night" was released, he had again committed a second keyboardist in Henkka Klingenberg. The following "Unia" 2007 marked turning point in the band, they went but, at least in comparison to former albums of the band, relatively aggressive to the point. Simultaneously, the disc but was very complex and uneingängig. After all, it was the first time the Finns managed to hold together a line-up for more than one album. So it should be over soon though, as Jani nor enlisted in the federal civil service and to ensure emigrated to jail, what the other members prompted to put him whether this stupidity out the door. Replacement was found in Elias Viljanen. The first album with new guitarist "The Days Of Grays", retained its adopted tougher line and simultaneously much less complex than its predecessor. The 2012 work "Stones Grow Her Name", however, was still held a eating simple, but relapsed into a trendy style and called themselves in the Power Metal Group divided reactions forth. After this album Marko ended again its commitment with Sonata Arctica and was replaced by Pasi Kauppinen. "Pariah's Child" finally marked the return of the band to the style of their first albums and fell back from very soft.

One of the biggest Finnish bands Nightwish 1996 by Tarja Turunen (vocals), Emppu Vuorinen (guitar and bass) and Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards) were founded. These were amplified with drummer Jukka Nevalainen and Sami Vänskä, who took over the bass of Emppu before they recorded in 1997 "Angels Fall First". The album offered to typical keyboard-heavy Power Metal, and would hardly have been more if not Tarja's voice of music would have given a completely new paint, which meant that the band could enter unusually great success and even with non-power metallers found recognition. On "Oceanborn" One year later, Tarja presented again improved, which lifted the band to a whole other level, as everything was, whatever else is heard in the Power Metal sector. Also again a year later released "Wishmaster" was able to maintain this level and had par with the title track to the classics of the band on board. After this album was closing for Sami, who passed his position on the bass of Marco Hietala, who was to take over vocals. To hear the first time he was on "Century Child", which represented a musical Weietrentwicklung, you still went off the Power Metal and a symphonic direction what great fit even to Tarja's voice. This development towards orchestral was maintained on the following album "Once". Unfortunately the band lined up, however, but very commercial success which, although financially paid off, by the fans but led to criticism. So Tarja held in her opera singing back noticeably. Added to this were extremely soft tracks like the single "Nemo". In addition, some tracks were kept very progressive, which did not know to please without restrictions. On the other hand, found on the album also some of the hardest tracks of the Finns, so that one can not speak of a total failure. After the album is split from Tarja. Not only the fans screamed bloody murder, but also the different parties to one another afterwards, what resulted in a large mud-slinging and the band and especially Tuomas human would not let stand in the best light. Yet you could not let it stay on the first album with new singer Anette Olzon, "Dark Passion Play" in 2007, still vigorously nachzutreten against Tarja. Musically, however, the shot backfired. Although they had again some hard tracks at the start, who knew how to like, but once you tried to dive into operatic sphere, showed that Anette was not a replacement for Tarja and the majority of the epic tracks therefore did not know how to please. In the 2011 concoction "Imaginaerum" allowed to the harder parts omitted and devoted himself more to the bombastic elements, which had not worked with Anette previously, whereby the album back fell far short of its predecessors. After the album Anette was out again, this time there had been apparently in the band of bad blood, even if you do not let so penetrate to the outside, as in Tarja's expulsion. Replacement was found in Floor Jansen. In addition, it was considered necessary, a Tin Whistle and Uillean Pipes players take in Troy Donockley in the occupation which the renunciation of metal, which was in fact taken place already on the last album, once again made clear. This manifested itself in the published in this year, "endless forms most beautiful". Although they had a much more effective with Floor singer on board than last, but one had the bombast now such exaggeration that music including perished, so the album unfortunately hardly represented an improvement to its predecessor.

Powerwolf is a German power metal band created in 2003 by Charles and Matthew Greywolf. The group is notable for having dark themes and images, both musically and lyrically, both counteractions to traditional power metal music and including usage of corpse paint, gothic-tinged compositions and songs about Romanian werewolf and vampire legends and dark religious tales.

Within Temptation were set up in 1996 in the Netherlands by Sharon Jenny den Adel (vocals), Robert Westerholt (guitar & vocals), Michiel Papenhove (guitar), Jeroen van Veen (bass) and Martijn Westerholt (keyboard). The occupation on the drums constantly changed, the "Enter" took Ivar de Graaf on the drum stool space that was however rather on an interim basis while and soon went back. The album offered average, sometimes quite hard Gothic Metal. Also, there should be the only the band could be heard on the gegrowlte vocals. The disc could be placed in the charts and laid the foundation for the later success of the band in Holland. This should be set to "Mother Earth" begin. However, one more musical now the famous style that moved you look but in significantly more pop realm and also allowed no slouch, the verwursten to one or other approach to symphonic. Shortly after leaving Martijn, Michiel and for the umpteenth time Ivar the band. The latter was by Stephen Haestregt, former Martijn Spierenburg beziehungseise after some back and forth from Ruud Adrianus Jolie replaced. The new should give their debut on the 2004 release, "The Silent Force", which further pursued musical trend of the last album. However, you overdid it with the orchestration now so that the music had less to do with metal than with shallow Weichspül rock. Better fell "The Heart Of Everything", on the one reduced the proportion of epic elements in order to go back more towards metal can. Unfortunately, however, they found themselves still trapped in the chosen style in many places, so that the album could not completely convince. This should not also succeed "The Unforgiving" of 2011 on the contrary. The album struck a new direction and went into a corny Power Metl-direction, which stood in stark contrast to previous work of the band and not well received, especially as it further than ever away from the metal. Extremely unfavorable album was accordingly as first release with drummer Mike Coolen, who had previously replaced Stephen. Still farther down we went with "Hydra", which was not only made worse craftsmanship, but on a song included even rapped vocals. The only hit turned "Paradise (What About Us?)" Represents that was saved in the first place by the vocal performance by Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen ex, who participated in this song as a guest singer.

Xandria are considered one of the newer bands in the symphonic metal sector, although the band was founded in 1994 by Marco Heubaum (guitar) and Niki Weltz (Drums). The two amplified with other musicians, playing Gothic Metal in the vein of Paradise Lost. But at that time there were no publications and the troupe fell apart in 1997. That it would have been actually and Xandria nobody would speak, if not Marco had tried in 2000 for a second time, durchzustarten with the band. So he drummed again musicians together who mitmischten initially in various formations, but slowly formed the line-up that should be listening to "Kill The Sun", especially Lisa Middelhauve (vocals & piano; then still Lisa Scha Phaus), Philip residues Meier (guitar), Roland Krueger (bass), Gerit Lamb (Drums) and Marco. The album was in 2003, had as already indicated, the reactions to the demos of the band, a great success, although the mix of symphonic metal, the one played by now, and still enshrined in the Gothic area Sound anmutet used to. "Ravenheart" with the single "Eversleeping" was then at the height of production technology more and showed the band already in their known style. Symphonic elements dominated, but also trips to other genres could be found. These, however, were for the most part really a matter of taste what the rising success of the band did not diminish. After the album Roland left the band and was replaced by Lisa Mann Nils Middelhauve. With it, "India" was recorded, which continued the direction taken and attended both with an even more powerful sound and with even more musical variety, yet again got good reviews. In another direction was "Salomé - The Seventh Veil", a concept album about the eponymous character from the Bible that turned out less epic, but was very influenced by Middle Eastern music and generally not well received, partly even considered weakest album of the band has been. To make matters worse the band came even lost Lisa, which was replaced after some back and forth by Manuela Kraller as a singer after the album. She was "End Neverworld's" heard on the 2012er output, the "Angels Fall First" sounded after Nightwish debut and represented the hitherto strongest plant of Bielefeld. After that, both for them and for Nils circuit at Xandria who had therefore to cope with a human upheaval and as a substitute Dianne van Giersbergen and Steven Wussow committed, both also "Sacrificium" gave their debut, which went in a similar direction in Sometimes, however, something was too much.

Dawnspiller from Ingolstadt take their audience with own compositions on a journey through a world where reality and fantasy merge. A mixture of female voice progressive and melodic metal with a dash of psychedelic rock. A must see for Dream Theater and Symphony X fans.

Hard rock (or heavy rock) is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music which began in the mid-1960s, with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. It is typified by a heavy use of aggressive vocals, distorted electric guitars, bass guitar, drums, and often accompanied with pianos and keyboards.

Even idols have started small and it is not as if AC / DC In 1973, was different. First, the occupation changed frequently, but when two years later "High Voltage" was released, the line-up of Mark Evans (bass), Phil Rudd was (Drums), Angus and Malcolm Young (guitar) and Bon Scott (vocals). The album went into the Australian charts and the band managed to make a name. Even more successful was the "TNT", published in the same year with classics like the title track or "The Jack" are. With "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" the band in Europe should profile. That Australians neither with this album, yet with "Let There Be Rock" the level of "TNT" could reach, degenerated into a minor matter. Before "Powerage" goodbye Mark, who was replaced by Cliff Burton, who brought his bass playing breathe new life into the band. This was also reflected in the album down, on which the Aussies again presented themselves strongly. However, the musical show of force should only appear with "Highway To Hell". The shock was to come, when Bon was found dead on February 19, 1980. The band was at that time before the dissolution, but ultimately it was decided to continue by installed as the new singer in Biran Johnson. Ultimately, this decision should prove a godsend. For when released "Back In Black", it was the band ripped literally out of his hands and is listed as second most successful album of all time. Also, "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" with his monster of the title track became a classic. This was followed by the end of Phil at AC / DC because he suffered from alcohol and drug addiction. For him, Simon Wright joined the band, who had to listen to "Flick Of The Switch" - a gutklassigen album, which was valued at reticent. However, it had been Brian's entry returned the bluesy elements. A real quality loss could be heard only on "Fly On The Wall", which arm of highlights rather average fare offered. Also "Blow Up Your Video" could not counteract this trend. After the album was followed by another line-up change, Simon was replaced by Chris Slade, was taken with the "The Razors Edge", which in 1990 showed the men in old form. To reduce not only on "Thunderstruck", the Australians next to the trendy but horny "Money Talks" with the title track and one of their toughest tracks raged and had thereby. After the album Chris was shown the door because Phil had his problems under control and returned. With him they went back back to the roots, as soon became apparent on "Ball Breaker". Surprisingly, could not convince the album and became a non-starter, which was the weakest album of the band. "Stiff Upper Lip" was stronger, but also failed to convince and even with "Black Ice" could shape not find, on the contrary, the first half with ironed numbers such as "Rock 'N' Roll Train" was moving dangerously close to " Ball Breaker "and only the second half saved the disc. Schießlich overtook the men staffing problems. Not only Phil was indicted in New Zealand and replaced by the returning Chris, also Malcom suffered a stroke and suffered from then on dementia, which his departure had become inevitable. Nevertheless, the band with Malcom and Aungus' nephew Stevie Young "Rock Or Bust" took on, which presented the Australians back stronger.

Deep Purple Klangen beginning rather moderate, as in the founding year 1968, the Men Rod Evans (vocals), Nick Simper (bass), Jon Lord (Hammond organ), Ritchie Blackmore (guitar) and Ian Paice (drums) "Shades Of ..." published , The album offered a typical for the time psychedelic hard rock, but was fairly inconsequential. Same was true for the publications in the same year "The Book of Taliesyn" and the self-titled album. The musical output was rather uninteresting and it would be stuck with it, the band would hardly be mentioned here. But things turned out differently, as a result Nick were replaced by Roger Glover and Ian Gillan by Rod. Prompt the musical pace should change. "... In Rock" was a chiseled in stone milestone established Hard Rock in isolation on the international stage and is perhaps best illustrates what ever a band has spawned the genre. Also "Fireball" and "Machine Head" with the mega-hit "Smoke On The Water" became absolute classics that shaped the genre. Numerous gold records, awards and set a world record as the loudest band in the world later, however, the descent of the band should follow. Internal disputes between Roger and Ian Gillan on one side and Ritchie on the other side had the consequence that "Who Do We Think We Are" was unable to exploit the potential of the band and became a failure. After the album Ian Gillan and Roger left unnerved the band and were replaced by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. "Burn" they showed improved, especially the title track did to please and you had the impression that the British were on the mend. That this is a question of a mistake, could be seen with the data published in the same year "Stormbringer", which not only has "Fireball" recognizable, especially from "Who Do We Think We Are" forced blues elements to the extreme operation, but also qualitatively represented a step backwards and one of the weakest albums of the band. After this album Ritchie took his hat and was replaced by Tommy Bolin. "Come Taste The Band" became the musical total loss and could not convince. Disappointed by their defeat and exasperated by the internal quarrels abandoned Deep Purple and ended the band in March 1976. Eight years should the band are on ice before being 1984 neugründete into the occupation of 1970-74. In the same year appeared "Perfect Strangers", which could be connected to the former class of the band and with hits like the title track or "Knocking At Your Backdoor" a classic posed. Even "The House Of Blue Light" was a good album, although you did not reach the class of its predecessor, also, because you went quite experimental to the point. Unfortunately, after Ian Gillan got out again, again it had dispute with Ritchie added. His replacement Joe Lynn Turner was "Masters Slaves And" listening to, which was moving at a similar level as its predecessor, but many fans to unfamiliar sounds, which is why the disc mostly panned and Joe chased by the Court and again replaced by Ian Gillan was , With this line was "The Battle Rages On ..." recorded, on the especially the title track did convince. However, the disagreements in the band came to a head again and after one album in the old cast Ritchie left the band again. As a substitute Steve Morse has been committed, which was also heard on the experimental "Purpendicular". The album offered little highlights, but solid average fare and put together with the qualitatively similar but tougher "Abandon" from 1998 the transition to the late work of the band represents. Shortly thereafter, Jon Lord got out of the band dedicated to replace Don Airey. With him appeared "Bananas", "Rapture Of The Deep" from 2005 and "Now What?!, All cracks not from the stool, the reputation of the band but also not hurt.

In 1968 Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Toni Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums) Earth, which one year later umbannten in Black Sabbath. When a year later released their self-titled album, it turned the musical world head. Never before had we heard anything so doomy. Stronger fell out in the same year "Paranoid", which split from the bluesy stroke side and direction Metal went. "Master Of Reality" began was adapted, but sounded so doomy was expected there. Hits failed to materialize, however. "Vol4" could not convince. Although there were good songs, but one went towards mainstream. Similarly, "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" should fail, liked to which only the title song. In 1975 published "sabotage" was ambivalent. Although there were good songs, but also failures. Weak in 1976 "Technical Ecstacy", not glückten on the experiments. Then Ozzy was out, but returned before "Never Say Die!" back. The album could not stop the trend, Ozzy's performance had suffered from the drug. This also saw the band so why he was fired. Also Geezer was out, but returned to "Heaven And Hell", which was the first album with Ronnie James Dio, who replaced Ozzy back. The album was criticized. Although no question was that Dio replaced Ozzy good and the album sounded strong, but it was not Sabbath. Too much had been leaning against the NWOBHM. Then Bill had to go because of alcohol problems and was replaced by Vinny Appice, who was listening to "Mob Rules". The album represented a Kopiedes predecessor is, but was harder and liked, though by the ancient Sabbath nothing could be heard. Now, the band broke up in bickering, so Dio and Vinny had to go. They have been replaced for "Born Again" by returning Bill and ex-Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan. The album was a disappointment and the weakest work of the band. The good songs were outweighed by weak, where the crown was placed by the poor production. Then left except Tony all the band members. For the 1986 album "Seventh Star" was the line-up from another ex-Deep Purple Member, Glenn Hughes, Dave Spitz (bass) and Eric Singer (drums). Now they tried to connect with the beginning of his career, by reactivated the Blues, where one does not but reached the old feeling. Also the fact that Glenn's vocals for Sabbath was inappropriate, ensured that the album flopped. When a year later "The Eternal Idol" appeared, Tony had sought a new occupation, which consisted of Tony Martin (vocals), Jo Burt (bass) and Terry Chimes (drums). The album hardly liked. For "Headless Cross" had this Tony Martin back, also played Laurence Cottle (bass) and Cozy Powell (drums) with. The album managed to return to winning ways. It sounded so gloomy as before and so put the disc's best work in years represent. However, with the one year later following "Tyr", played on the Neil Murray Bass, Eder ends soaring. Although the atmosphere was gloomy, but the keyboard was too present. Then there was the bad production and atypical texts. After this setback Tony enough of changing line-ups and had dismissed all members to achieve a reunion with Dio, Geezer and Vinny. So you took "Dehumanizer" in what sounded like the 70 albums, but was harder. The style confident Sabbath. Soon it returned to battle, and again had to Dio and Vinny go. They were for "Cross Purposes" which was weak, because you too tried to go towards Power Metal, replaced by Bobby Rondinelli and the returning Tony Martin. Then Bobby and Geezer left the band, so Cozy and Neill were heard again on "Forbidden" from 1995. The album was panned a disaster without hits, with poor production and without Sabbath feeling and by critics. After this setback no albums were recorded, until 2013 Tony, Ozzy, Geezer and Brad Wilk with "13" brought out. The album was strong, but the production detracted the hearing impression.

In 1964, Vincent veneer (vocals), Michael Bruce (guitar & keyboard), Glen Buxton (guitar), Dennis Dunaway (bass) and Neal Smith (drums) The Earwigs. Meherere renames later (The Earwigs - The Spiders - The Nazz - Alice Cooper) had been in 1969 a final name and published "Pretties For You", which was inconsequential. "Easy Action" was another Langweiler. Only with "Love It To Death" was found in the track. This also published in 1971, "Killer" was stronger and, with his hard stance represents a classic. Commercially the success should be reflected "School's Out" whose title track stormed the charts. Just fell sharply from "Billion Dollar Babies", which offered more hits with "Elected" and "No More Mr. Nice Guy". A sagging contributed one with the well from 1973 originating "Muscle Of Love", which sounded more like the first albums, for the fans, however, was unsatisfactory, although one handed in no weak album. Surprisingly, the band then broke up. Vincent had not yet enough of horror show and wanted to carry on alone. This should prove to be difficult since he did not have the naming rights to the band. Consequently, he changed his name to Alice Cooper, so he appeared no longer band title, but his name. His debut as an individual musician should not be long in coming. "Welcome To My Nightmare" from 1975 was a concept album and convinced. However, the peak period of the shocker came to an end. "... Goes To Hell" was reasonable but lacked exclamation. Poor was "Lace And Whiskey". In "From The Inside" should again Lichtblicke be included, but at his old level Alice could not connect. The four albums represented a total failure and could not convince. But reached the nadir to The Coop scrambled up and so was in 1986 "Constrictor" in stores and so offered refreshing Hardrock like much longer. "Raise Your Fist And Yell" should be more severe, however, presented the quality of the songs do not manage to connect with predecessors. This should again succeed with "Trash", which not only the man's biggest hit bid with "Poison" for almost twenty years, but generally was an album of outstanding quality. Even more should "Hey Stoopid" fail. Compared to these albums presented "The Last Temptation" is a disappointment. They tried to revive this concept album the 70-Spirit of Alice Cooper, but gelng only partially. Stronger was "Brutal Planet" from 2000, on the true story of "The Last Temptation" was continued, which, however, went in a different direction musically. Although we had to complain to the output an annoying Industrial Flip side, but liked the hardness of the concoction, so that the album did well. Also "Dragon Town" from 2001, the last installment of the saga, went in this direction, but more came, also because they had scaled back the Indusrial bonds and again focused on an organic guitar sound. On the following "The Eyes Of ..." (2003), "Dirty Diamonds" (2005) and "Along Came A Spider" The Coop tried to orient himself to his early works. The statement did not address, instead departed sounded Alice endeavor and especially "Along Came A Spider" was boring. Probably saw the Alice one, anyway, he devoted himself to another project and brought with "Welcome 2 My Nightmare" a sequel to the 1975 classic out. Unlike other bands that hurt with Sochen sequels usually and claims not do justice, but Mr. Cooper managed to release a good album, although one or the other experiment was too much. Thus, although could not be reached the predecessor, yet had but to do it with a strong album.

Led Zeppelin were founded in 1968 by Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitar), John Paul Jones (bass) and John Bonham (drums). The self-titled album was released a year later and presented at that time is the hardest thing he had ever heard. John Bonham's drum sound hard and also the other production of the album in conjunction with the Hard Rock with Blues-logging, the band played, represented something entirely new and established the nascent in the emergence Hardrock among musical genres. Although the trade press slating the unadjusted concoction, but the listeners were enthusiastic and a real Led Zep hype began. Worldwide attracted the notice published in the same year successor "... II 'attention. Especially the hit "Whole Lotta Love" became one of the most important pieces in the early days of the Hard Rock. Otherwise, the band retained its style, at the bluesy hard rock with many other elements were mixed, which is not only laid the foundation for the heavy metal, but also had the Progressive division decisive influence in, but sounded more of a piece than in the somewhat thrown together acting predecessor. On "... III" changed the English her style radically and buildings from the progressive side, but remained high at a high level. It was followed by the legendary concoction of band that untitled album. Led by the hit "Stairway To Heaven" came the rest of the album became a classic that made the band of stars into legends. Also "Houses of the Holy" from 1973 and "Physical Graffity" two years later rode on that wave of world renown, being both self-represented and particularly highlights the discography "Physical Graffity" with "Kashmir" and again offered a Song About. In "Presence" one went harder to work, not only took Heavy Metal passages in his music, but allowed in some places even flashed what should be known as thrash metal. Nevertheless, the album moved qualitatively everything you had ever heard of Led Zep and put the end of the big stage of the band. Also, "In Through The Outdoor" from 1979 could not prevent the band among the many newly established bands their position could not hold. As also on September 25, 1980 John Bonham choked to a night out on his own vomit and was found dead, the band broke up. However, since we still had contracts with the record company, was prepared from old recordings nor the album "Coda" together before the band was buried.

The Scorpions were founded under the name Nameless into being in 1965 by Rudolf Schenker (vocals & guitar), Karl-Heinz Vollmer (guitar), Lothar Heimberg (bass) and Wolfgang Dziony (drums), who gave the final title. Breakfast took one with Klaus Meine a singer and Rodolfs brother Michael Schenker took over the guitar by Karl-Heinz. So published in 1972 "Lonesome Crow", which mixed hard rock with external influences, but not convincing because of the soft loans. Nevertheless gained some success. Then we had problems because up to Rudolf and Klaus all members left the band. For 1974, the following "Fly To The Rainbow", a versatile album, but not convinced because of the complicated alignment, although it made known the band abroad, had been with Uli Jon Roth (guitar), Francis Buchholz (bass) and Jürgen Rosenthal (drums) new members. On "In Trance", on the Rudy Lenners instead Jürgen took over the drums, removed it from progressive elements, but they were still audible and the overall impression disturbed. Also this album was soft. In "Virgin Killer" progressive bonds came to a tolerable level. "Taken By Force", on the one welcomed Herman Rarebell as a drummer, represented a step backwards and did not come with complex structures in momentum. Nevertheless, he had managed to earn itself international notoriety. Soon Uli left the band to return after a few Jump Michael. So "Love Drive" was recorded, with the band managed the breakthrough. Then Michael left the band and was replaced by Matthias Jabs, who had previously played. With "Animal Magnetism" komnnte to repeat the success, but presented themselves harder, which is why the album is the first of the Scorpions also liked in the metal scene. Even with "Blackout", which continued the style, the band continued success an even by the single "No One Like You". "Love At First Sting", from which especially "Rock You Like A Hurricane" is known, exceeded the success of the previous albums, where you screwed back in style and not as convinced as ever. Even with "Savage Amusement" rode the Scorpions a wave of success, which reached its peak with "Crazy World". The album includes the most famous Scorpions song, "Winds Of Change", which was but soft. But the songs were able to convince generally more than on the previous album, with "Animal Magnetism" remained unmatched. Then Francis left the band, which was replaced by Ralph Rieckermann. "Face The Heat" was unable to repeat previous successes. Although there were strong songs, but people began to follow Trands. After the album was over for Herman, who was replaced by Curt Cress. With it appeared "Pure Instinct", which became the weakest to date album of Scorpions and had little to do with Hard Rock. So could not connect to previous successes you. Curt was quickly back out and was replaced by James Kottak. Whoever thought aberr that Scorpions had hit rock bottom, the wrong, as it turned out with "Eye II Eye". The album was not only boring, but tried to integrate electric elements, which failed. The criticism from all sides, however, seemed to have been beneficial, at least sounded in 2004 published "Unbreakable", on the Pawel Maciwoda played instead Ralph Bass, more afterScorpions how they knew each other. "Humanity - Hour I" was a concept album, but was able to convince due to its modern alignment barely. Now you published "Sting In The Tail", on the Nightwish frontwoman Tarja Turunen ex for a song participated. In addition, we announced to dissolve after the album. After the tour was over, but fell one on that you can not be bothered had on pension and continued. "Return To Forever" was released this year and offered decent songs that were lost among many of ballads, making the album did not convince.

In 1973, Paul Stanley (guitar), Ace Frehley (guitar), Gene Simmons (bass) and Peter Criss (drums) Kiss. Early makeup you look, where was from Paul Starchild, Spaceman Ace, Gene and Peter Demon Cat. Now they took on the self-titled debut, which was released 1974th Although the album had little success, it is one of the classics of the band, which offered little filler and plenty of hits. Buoyed appeared in the same year "Hotter Than Hell", which was not successful and today represents the undervalued Kiss album, although it was brilliant songs. With "Dressed To Kill" you were successful because they had a good production for the first time. The breakthrough came with "Destroyer". Again, the production was improved. Also published in the same year "Rock And Roll Over" was able to maintain the level, as "Love Gun". But the big stage of the band was coming to an end. On "Dynasty" in 1979 they tried to join the disco trend, but although one with "I Was Made For Lovin 'You" had a hit, distant one from the old style. So the album fell through at the fans. "Unmasked" went more mainstream direction and fell by fans and critics by. Soon verließPeter the band. As a replacement was Eric Carr, of a Make Up when Fox created for himself. That you had to change the orientation, it was clear, but chose the wrong way and Kiss published with "Music From The Elder", a concept album that was bored and broke with a progressive, symphonic approach with the creation of the band. Even Eric compared with Peter stronger drumming the wheel rescued not. But on the ground is Kiss rattled on and had with "Creatures Of The Night" their resurrection. The album was hard, influenced by Metal, bot hits and perhaps can be seen as the strongest of the band. But as soon as we came back, destroying oneself. Only went Ace and was replaced by Vinnie Vincent, who appeared as Ankh Warrior. That would have been to cope with the greater error committed is, as you showed unmasked. Thus the magic of Kiss was gone and you put a band of many shows. "Lick It Up" was ambiguous, it was being good songs, but also failures. After that was the end for Vinnie, who was replaced by Mark St. John. In 1984 "Animalize", which offered slightly jazzy elements again. This was followed by a change again, Mark was out and was replaced by Bruce Kulick. He was listening to "Asylum", the pop elements increased, but remained under. "Carzy Nights" went in the same direction, but contained Keyboard, which pushed the band into the Kitsch corner. A low point was "Hot In The Shade", which represented almost a pop album. Now Kiss was hit by a tragedy, as at December 7, 1984 Eric died of cancer. The band tried to replace him with Eric Singer (ex-Black Sabbath). But "Revenge" was another great album that offered a hit and a lot of strong songs with "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You II". Now Peter and Ace returned, their replacement musicians were fired and there appeared "Carnival Of Souls". The album sounded almost as before, but hard and grim. Qualitatively, there was light and shadow. In 1998 published "Psycho Circus" showed the band again masked what the Kiss feeling brought back. The album fluctuated between soft and hard and could not completely convince. After that the band broke up. Peter and Ace went. For Ace came Tommy Thayer, for Peter for some toing and froing the returning Eric. Since both had no make-up, they brought the their predecessors on. The next album was released as "Sonic Boom". It went in the same direction, was qualitatively better and was able to convince. 2012 appeared "Monster", which went in the same direction.

Motörhead were in 1975 by Lemmy (vocals & bass), Larry Wallis (guitar), and founded Lucas Fox (drums). The latter were soon out and were replaced by fast Clarke and Philthy Animal. So the self-titled debut in 1977, was added, which represented an average album. The music presented an unusual style is, the Heavy Metal à la Black Sabbath with punk elements replied. Hardness Moderately moving you look at the Hard Rock, but sounded different from other bands. Was seen by the style and the cover, on the mascot Snaggletooth, you could celebrate successes. Finally played to his class two years later on "Overkill" from. The album is a classic and laid the foundation for the Speed ​​Metal. Thus one had come to the taste, because in the same year was "Bomber" published, which could convince. Also in the same year was "On Parole" released, which had taken up the band in 1976 but not published. The album, however, was weak. Persuasion was the title track, but that did not save the disc. A new album was "Ace Of Spades". It had the usual quality or surpassed its predecessor and was added to the Motörhead-disc, carried by the title track, but the level of most of the songs was outstanding. The album was typical Motörhead, easily influenced by Judas Priest, as Priest were inspired by Motörhead and was the starting point for the NWOBHM. But now the star of the band began to decline. "Iron Fist" of 1982 was songwriting weaker, would have been neat, one would not have the production Spanking so convinced only the title track. Then almost left the band and was replaced by Brian Robertson. So "Another Perfect Day" was recorded, but that went towards mainstream. So was unable to repeat old days and you vergraulte fans. Now Philthy Animal and Brian left the band. The former was replaced by ex-Saxon drummer Pete Gill-for the latter was adjusted in Wizzö Campbell and Würzel Burston two new guitarists. The following 1986 'Orgasmatron "unfortunately sounded powerless and was a failure. Now it was over for Pete. In "Rock 'N' Roll" was heard again Philthy Animal. This album has not convinced, Hard Rock was nothing to hear. In 1991 published "1916" sounded good again, was a shame that this impression was destroyed by a few songs on which one was more than accommodating towards Radio compatibility, and even did not stop in front of keyboards. Soon Philthy Animal flew back out and was replaced by Mikkey Dee. So "The March Ör" was recorded, which was aimed to land a hit and failed. Better one made it on "Bastards". It sounded again Motörhead and had with "Born To Raise Hell" this a hit. "Sacrifice" from 1995 went in the same direction. Then Würzel left the band. For him as a replacement was brought. "Overnight Sensation" continued the line further, however, began to experiment what the album did not do well. More present were the experiments "Snake Bite Love", which continued the downward trend. Stopping could this development with "We Are ...", which has long been harder and the strongest who the band. Also "Hammered" went in the same direction. Once again we had a good album that was poor in compelling songs. The exception was "Walk A Crooked Mile". Same was true for "Inferno", "Kiss Of Death", "Motörizer" and "The Wörld Is Yours", with which one continued his late work. The toothless "Aftershock" seemed to say goodbye to the pension, but will release it a new album this year.

Judas Priest founded in 1969 Alan Atkins (vocals), KK Downing (guitar), Ian Hill (bass) and John Ellis (drums). First, the occupation switched to drums, which sat on "Rocka Rolla" John Hinch, also had with a second guitarist Glenn Tipton and Rob Halford new singer. The potential of the band was nothing to see on the debut, the album contained lame blues / psychedelic rock. Besser was two years later, "Sad Wings Of Destiny" for the Alan previously used for the priests Moore drummed and turned toward Heavy Metal à la Black Sabbath, however, was psychedelic, what hurt the album. Nevertheless, they had written "The Ripper" a classic. This trend is continued with "Sin After Sin" fort, which was stronger and was able to convince the first Priest album, which was also the strong drumming of the newly-down Simon Phillips. The album managed to find recognition. Also "Stained Class" with drummer Les Binks went in the direction and laid the foundation for the NWOBHM and speed and thrash metal. Also In 1978, "Killing Machine", the complexity and gloom drove back and a tougher approach pursued so that one can speak of the first Priest classics. With "British Steel", on the one had a new drummer with Dave Holland, followed by the most important album of the band. The change of style led to further, had with "Living After Midnight", "Breaking The Law" and "United" hits here and the rest of the album was good. With "Point Of Entry" man squinted into the mainstream, but had a better production than before. Nevertheless, one could "British Steel" do not reach. On track it was again with "Screaming For Vengeance". The album was the toughest to date of the band and was a similar hit like "British Steel". Also "defenders of the faith" was successful, although one progressive sound, so you do not completely convinced. A crash presented "Turbo". The priest tried to ride the wave and glam commercialized their music, so that the product caused the fans storms of indignation. Now they tried to recover the old style with "Ram It Down", unfortunately, sounded the album but incidence and soulless and presented, although it was stronger than on its predecessor, no return to old form. Now Dave left the band for He was substituted by Scott Travis. So "Painkiller" was recorded, which represented a return to the rock Olympus. The album was so nonconformist as no Priest album previously offered metal anthems and marked a return to the class of "British Steel" and "Screaming For Vengeance", possibly could "Painkiller" View as even stronger. Unfortunately, the high-altitude flight was short, as Rob left the band. Now Priest lay on ice until it was believed in Tim Owens, to have found a replacement for the singer. In 1997, "Jugulator" was recorded on which the priests presented harder than usual and were able to convince, although Tim Rob could not substituting it and the songwriting was not at the level of the classics. Unfortunately, that was the expectation, which is why the disc in spite of their strength is the most controversial Priest-slices. Nevertheless, they kept with "Demolition" the hardness, but went back to the roots of production technology, which liked. Unfortunately allowed but Nu Metal incorporate elements that looked out of place and many were destroying. Soon Tim had to go because Rob returned. So appeared "Angel Of Retzribution" and 2008 "Nostradamus", where you made a break in style on the latter, inde'm they tried a concept album in the form of musicals to create on the philosopher, on the one used choirs and keyboards and went swimming that way. Well KK left the band and was replaced by Ritchie Faulkner, who was not adequate to "Redeemer Of Souls". In addition, you can tell the priests to the age, so that the album was better than "Nostradamus", in spite of good songs but not above the level of "Angel Of Retribution" hinauskam.

Iron Maiden were in 1975 by Paul Day (vocals), Steve Harris (bass), Ron Matthews (drums), Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance (guitar) founded. The beginning was chaotic so than in 1980, the self-titled debut was released, only Steve had left, all other positions had been replaced several times, so Paul Di'Anno (vocals), Clive Burr (drums) and guitarist Dennis Stratton and Dave Murray, his second term had when the virgins, supported him. But the band managed nevertheless to provide a strong album. The harsh sound, which paid tribute to the punk tribute matched Paul's singing and the strong songs made from the output a classic. Soon Dennis the band and was replaced by Adrian Smith. So appeared "Killers", which surpassed the success of the debut and a milestone represented. Musically they arrived back hard, otherwise the shekel showed only marginal changes to its predecessor on. On the tour, Paul was dismissed because of his drug use. But what looked like a serious blow to the band, became a godsend, because on "The Number Of The Beast" took over Bruce Dickinson, the micro, the enthusiastic with his clear vocals. Even otherwise, the punk elements had disappeared and pure metal is turned to. The album became the classics at all, although the "satanist" Cover led to controversy. Soon Clive left the band, there were Nicko McBrain, who was listening to "Piece Of Mind" and "Powerslave", which have been successful, the level of the first albums but missed. Down it went with "Somewhere In Time". As Judas Priest tried virgins direction Glam to go, being allowed to feed at least a gloomy note. The final crash was followed with "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son", a concept album on which one went towards pop and songwriting seemed too complicated. Now Adrian left the band and was replaced by Janick Gers. So appeared "No Prayer For The Dying", which went back to the roots, and convinced with "Bring Your Daughter ... To The Slaughter" perhaps the best Maiden song ever had. Because the people had expected but a music in pop style album, the Output has been panned. "Fear Of The Dark" was stronger, offered with the title track and "Afraid To Shoot Strangers" two of the best songs ever and should have been a classic, but was ignored. So Bruce left the band who tried Blaze Bayley to establish as a substitute, but poorly managed. His voice was unsuitable for music and technical defects appeared at concerts and "The X Factor". The album itself was also weak, it was too dark and progressively works. "Virtual XI" sounded just had to complain a feeble sound and weaker than its predecessor. Ultimately, you could see that the commitment of Blaze was hardly promising, so he left the band in order to make way for Bruce's return. Since this Adrian bring back in the band, but she did not leave Janick, one made with two on. Built in 2000, published "Brave New World" was mediocre. On the one hand you had strong songs, on the other hand many pieces were progressive and did not convince. In "Dance Of Death" the progressive side was reinforced and partially resorted to orchestral accompaniment. Unfortunately, the downward trend of virgins should continue. Had they delivered with "Dance Of Death" not a bad album, it was with "A Matter Of Life And Death" that's the case. The album was more progressive and lacked the feeling. Still less was "The Final Frontier", which was the most complex album by the band and failed in spite of one or another idea. Actually, it was the prevailing opinion, Maiden would now publish any more albums.

Def Leppard were founded in 1977 in England by Joe Elliot (Vocal & Guitar), Pete Willis (guitar), Rick Savage (bass), and Tony Kenning (drums). Joe was lying soon the guitar, it was Steve Clark brought. Also on the drums there were changes, before Rick Allen came. So appeared 1980 "On Through The Night". They played heavy metal with hard rock undeinigen glam bonds. Unfortunately, you went soft down to business and not entirely convinced, but delivered a decent album and reached commercially foot. Even "High 'N' Dry" went in the direction and repeated the success. Now Pete left the band and was replaced by Phil Collen. So was "Pyromania" released, which was soft and disappointing, but represented a success. A low blow, the band had to cope with, as Rick was amputated after a car accident an arm. Nevertheless, he stayed in the band, who prepared a separate kit for him. So he was on the 1987 output "Hysteria" case, which was disappointing, but what the public saw differently. But still followed a bad luck. January 8, 1991 Steve took drugs and alcohol and died. The band wanted to get a replacement, to keep the memory alive, so "Adrenalize" one year later was released as a quartet. Suffering expectations the album is no improvement and financially went downhill, even though the album was a success. Now was with ex-Dio-guitarist Vivian Campbell, a replacement for Steve brought, who was heard on the 1996 following "Slang," which was less cheesy than the last albums, but was not all grim, but also experimental and modern, which it was stronger than the last albums, but could not convince. Commercially, the album was a failure. With "Euphoria" wanted to connect with old success and went into a pop direction with the not convinced. Even worse was "X", not sounded on the guitar in the approach to Rock and marked the crash in deepest Kitsch climes. Up it went with "Songs From The Sparkle Lounge", at least again sounded the Glam the late eighties, but also contained bonds to the early days and the best album since "Pyromania" showed.

Saxon was founded in 1976 as a son of a bitch of Biff Byford (vocals), Doobie Dawson (bass), John Walker (drums), Paul Quinn and Graham Oliver (guitar). Before you changed the name, John was out and was replaced by Pete Gill. Thus appeared in 1979 the self-titled debut, which only partially Metal bot, progressive and glam and bonds had not been listening. Was this album hardly successful, the breakthrough followed with "Wheels Of Steel", on the one had found his style and one of the classic NWOBHM albums handed in. The following in the same year "Strong Arm Of The Law" was able to maintain the level and established Saxon as one of the leading bands. Now it was over for Pete, who had injured his hand and was replaced by Nigel Glockler. So appeared "Denim And Leather", which surpassed the previous two albums, and represents the strongest work of the band. Each song was strong and had been doing with "Princess Of The Night" the strongest Saxon track of all time. On the album's 1983 "Power & The Glory" should play just as strong, but had bad luck with the production. Nevertheless, the album was a blast, the ranked at the level of the 1980 output, but unfortunately at that time did not experience the deserved accolade. That meant that they tried to orient am Main Tram and "Crusader" a soft gait struck. That worked, as with many other bands, and although not one or the other song was good to see, you went pretty bathe, also, what the sales figures were concerned. A second attempt they dared with "Innocence Is No Excuse", which turned out softer and more like Def Leppard as by Saxon sound, although somewhat harder sound compared. Nevertheless, many fans of the band turned their backs. But not only them, also Doobie walked and was replaced on "Rock The Nation" by Paul Johnson. The album went back to the roots, but did not have the class of the earlier albums and fell, although it was an improvement on the past outputs, lame from. Then it came to personnel changes. Paul was out and was replaced by Nibbs Carter and Nigel was briefly away, but returned to "Destiny" in 1988 back, after you should leave for the much stronger "Solid Ball Of Rock" three years. Also, "Forever Free" and 1995 "Dogs Of War" were located on a more than regular rates. Now Graham left the band and was replaced by Doug Scarratt, who had hardly noticed his absence at "Unleash The Beast", so you carried on at the same level. Now Nigel left the band and was replaced by Fritz Randow, who recorded with Saxon "Metalhead" and "Killing Ground", two high-class albums. For "Lionheart" In 2004, Jörg Michael was hired as a drummer, which is not noticed on the album. For "The Inner Sanctum" from 2007 Nigel returned and they released an album that sounded not only tidy, but also a good corner more hit potential offered than anything since the change of style in the eighties and a really strong output represented, the then unfortunately unnoticed blieb.Das following "Into The Labyrith" was more at the level of albums before, neat, but not outstanding. Really strong was "Call To Arms", the so honest and handmade sounded as if it had sprung from the eighties and had a guest appearance by Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey. Also "Sacrifice" was strong, went in a harsher direction and showed that the band was on the peak of their second spring.

Iced Earth in 1984 by Gene Adams (vocals), Richard Bateman (bass), Greg Seymour (drums), Bill Owens and Jon Schaffer (guitar) founded as Purgatory. Soon came the name change in Iced Earth, but before 1990, the self-titled debut was released, rose up to Jon and Gene all members of, so the line-up at the time, besides the two of Randy Shawver (guitar), Dave Abell (bass) and Mike McGill (drums) was. After average Album Gene and Mike left the band and was replaced by John Greely and Rick Secchiari. So appeared "Night Of The Stormrider", the one that was on a par with the previous concept album. Baldrick and John left the band and was replaced by Rodney Beasley and Matt Barlow. They made their debut in the 1995s Output "Burnt Offerings", the harder and darker than the first output came and the brutal work of Iced Earth is. Musically convinced you even more and although the success failed to materialize, it became a top-secret the scene. An iron law remained that Iced Earth shots no two albums in the same occupation and so came for "The Dark Saga" Mark Prator behind the drums. The output, another concept album, was in contrast to its predecessor and is the softest work of the band. The simplification of the music in conjunction with the cheesy sounding melodies could not convince. Then left until Matthew and Jon all members the band of new guitarist was Larry Tarnowski, on bass, there were several changes, but on "Something Wicked This Way Comes" he was occupied by James McDonough and Mark was just outside, then returned but back. The disc was introduced on the mascot Set Abominae was harder than its predecessor and placed the strongest album of the band with many sellers are. Quite rightly we now got international attention. Even before "Horror Show" there were changes, the bass served Steve DiGiorgio and the drums had been brought after some hemming and hawing Richard Christy. The work, a concept album about horror figures, fell in soft and was the songwriting forth weak. Damage suffered by the band, as then not only Larry, but also Matthew left the band. Was the former to replace Ralph Santolla, was the question of who should replace the singer, more difficult. Ultimately, it was decided to give the dismissed at Judas Priest Ripper Owens. So "The Glorious Burden" was recorded, a concept album about war, which was not a disappointment, but not convinced. Now began a musical chairs, except for Jon and Ripper all members were replaced several times, so to "Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Part 1" the item with Troy Steele (guitar), Dennis Hayes (bass) and Brent Smedley (drums), who already twice previously had given an intermezzo, were occupied. The discs, a concept album, which continued on "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and started again later spun storyline, fell on neither positive nor negative. In the published in 2008, "The Crucible Of Man: Something Wicked Part 2" was welcomed with Freddie Vidales a new bass player. But more important was that he had been dismissed Ripper and Matthew had returned. However, the album was another concept album, which continued the storyline of its predecessor, was no better than this and bobbing around in mediocrity. Consequently left Matthew again the band, which replaced him with Stu Block. He made his debut on "Dystopia", a concept album about doomsday scenarios. Here it was possible to connect to old classics. Then Freddie and Brent left the band, which were replaced by Luke Appleton and Raphael Saini. So "Plagues Of Babylon" was recorded, which kept the level of its predecessor. But now the line-up changes not demolished, so Raphael had to go and was replaced after some back and forth by the returning Brent.

Manowar in 1980 by Eric Adams (vocals), Ross The Boss (guitar), Joey DeMaio (bass) and Carl Canedy (drums) founded in America. Carl was quick out and was replaced by Donnie Hamzik, appeared with the 1982 "Battle Hymns". The album struck a full, offered brilliant hard rock, mixed with epic elements and is still regarded as a classic. Now again joined the cast of drums, Scott Columbus was new. On "Into Glory Ride", the band presented epic, but with less bite. In addition, the album suffered from the weak sound and could not convince. "Hail To England" was stronger, hits had on board and constituted a good album. Same could be said about the 1984 also following "Sign Of The Hammer", which came along qualitatively similar, well done, but ultimately Manowar were then too much designed to Epicness held on Power. This changed with the 1987 output the "Fighting The World", the sound stylistically significant walk, but to radio friendly failed. Nevertheless, they had represented some hammers. "Kings Of Metal" became the cult album by the band par excellence. The output was much harder to work than its predecessor, and represented an absolute classic. However, after this success the band had to cope with a setback when Ross and Scott left the band. They were replaced by David Shankle and Rhino Edwards. So "The Triumph Of Steel" was recorded, which carried on where its predecessor left off. Again we had created an immortal genre classic. After the album then David and Rhino were outside, the former was replaced by Karl Logan, Scott returned to the latter. Previously Rhino had yet secured the world record for the fastest-established manually drum part. As a band, we had managed to also set another record when it replaced Deep Purple as the loudest band in the world. According to the successor "Louder Than Hell" was titled. The album was extremely strong and set thanks to some punky influences perhaps the strongest of the band at all. Unfortunately, this classic has not been recognized by the trade press, on the contrary, it is probably the most underrated Manowar work. Down it went with "Warriors Of The World" in 2002. Although it had with "Warriors Of The World United" probably the Manowar anthem par excellence on board, but there were also some hair-raising failures, so that ultimately remained no more than a mediocre album , The nadir was reached with "Gods Of War", a concept album about Odin. The album was true nothing, production was soft, condemned the songwriting unimaginative and the conception of the album with half the tracks as audio plays or instrumentals to fail. Rightly Manowar themselves were heavily criticized by their most loyal fans, and drove a failure. Now Manowar laid on bringing as many live and best-of albums to the man - a cathegory, in the only Venom can the Americans hold a candle. As we nevertheless decided to record a new album, on the back Donnie had replaced on drums Scott, the result of "The Lord Of Steel" sounded much better than its predecessor. Although sellers were in short supply and the underground production killte the feeling, but managed one a step in the right direction.

Majesty (also known as Metal Force between 2008 and 2011) is a heavy metal band from Germany.

Accept were founded in 1971 by Udo Dirkschneider (vocals), Michael Wagener (guitar), Dieter Rubach (bass) and Birke Hoe (Drums). The line-up fell apart, now the members alternated in quick, one constant was Udo, also a second guitarist was set. 1979 took to the self-titled debut on, on the next Udo Peter Baltes (bass), Frank Friedrich (Drums), Wolf Hoffmann and Jörg Fischer (guitar) were heard. The album sounded half-baked and not convinced. Now Frank left the band and was replaced by Stefan Kaufmann. So "I'm A Rebel" was recorded, which was disappointing as was the debut, only the title track could convince. The breakthrough came with "Breaker". Here Accept sounded tougher than anything it had previously given. A classic was born. Soon Jörg left the band and was replaced by January Koemmet. "Restless And Wild" could convince just like the predecessor, offered Hits en masse and with "Fast As A Shark" was invented to speed metal. Now Jan was out and was replaced by Herman Frank. "Balls To The Wall" was not bad and had classic on board, but fell from softer than you knew Accept and presented in comparison to the classics is a step backwards. Now Herman left the band and Jörg returned. On "Metal Heart" from 1985 this direction has been strengthened, and the Output convinced limited. On "Russian Roulette" we conducted a course correction and sounded much darker earlier, what was the band to shame. Although you could not connect to the classics, but turned the wheel a step forward. But the band fell apart. Jörg and Udo got out, the latter founded UDO, and the two were replaced by Jim Stacey and after some discussion, David Reece. In 1989 published "Eat The Heat" but degenerated into a tepid album that offered little of Accept, Udo especially lacking. Once again was controversy in the band, was solved in coming. The separation took four years before it was decided to give the band another chance. "Objection Overruled" took Udo, Wolf, Peter and Stefan on as a quartet. The album impressed across the board was the best album in a decade. "Death Row" was a corner harder and contained good songs, but the production was suboptimal, so you Although moving at a similar level as its predecessor, but was unable to find "Breaker" or "Restless And Wild". Now Stefan left the band and was replaced by Michael Cartellone. However, "Predator" was a step backwards and looked some good ideas largely boring. Since it was bubbling in the band, was dissolved on Accept again. The renewed Reunion took place in 2009. Udo and Stefan had no interest, however, which is why the new line-up next to Wolf, Stefan and Herman Mark Tornillo and Stefan Schwarzmann, who already for UDO and Running Wild had gedrummt counted. So was published in 2010, "Blood Of The Nations" which was an absolute classic. At last they reached the classics of the early eighties and gave probably the best album since Iron Maiden's "Fear Of The Dark" from. On "Stalingrad" was the German Metal-flagship less uncompromising about plants and missed the class of its predecessor, but again delivered a hammer album from. Also "Blind Rage" held this level almost. Bald Stefan and Herman left the band and was replaced by Christopher Williams and Dan of Grave Digger known Uwe Lulis.

Running Wild in 1976 by Rock 'N' Rolf Kasparek (Vocal & Guitar), Uwe Bendig (guitar), Carsten David (bass) and founded Hasche Hagemann (Drums) as Granite Heart. After they had changed the name and Uwe and Carsten had replaced Preacher Warnecke and after some back and forth Stephan Boris, they took 1984 'Gates To Purgatory "on. The album was strong and the Speed ​​Metal with Black Metal influences drew attention. Now Preacher left the band and was replaced by Majk Moti. So appeared "Branded And Exiled", which was better than its predecessor and the style refined. He had reduced his music on the essentials and in particular "Chains And Leather" liked. Success came in 1987 with an "Under Jolly Roger". Musically they had raised themselves, especially the title track was a highlight, lyrically developed to herself about piracy. After the greatest classics of the band there were two changes, as Stephan and Hasche left the band and was replaced by Jens Becker and Stefan Schwarzmann. "Port Royal" dared some experiments and could not reach the class of its predecessor, but was a good album, which continued to develop in a certain way, and convinced. With "Uaschitschun" had been an over-song. Bald Stefan returned the band's back and was replaced by Ian Finlay. So "Death Or Glory" was recorded, which turned out hard again offered a hit with "Riding The Storm", and a classic. Prior to the 1991 "Blazon Stone" Majk and Ian left the band and was replaced by Axel Morgan and after some back and forth AC Dreffein. The album followed the course of "Death Or Glory" further and held his class and was charged with "Little Big Horn" a classic. Now Jens and AC left the band and was replaced by Bodo Smuszynski and the returning Stefan. So "Pile Of Skulls" was recorded with the single "Lead Or Gold" which became a classic. Soon Axel and Stefan passed out of the band, for they came Thilo Herrmann and Jörg Michael, who had previously been active already for Ruwi. "Black Hand Inn", a concept album, became a classic. "Masquerade" was a concept album and persuaded, but the material was not as exciting as before. Nevertheless, they had a good album. Was released in 1998, "The Rivalry", which continued the story and quality on par with its predecessor was. Now left Jörg Michael Running Wild, to devote himself Stratovarius. He was replaced after several changes by Angelo Sasso, who sounded on "Victory" that ended the story of the predecessor by drum machines. Otherwise, the album was flawless, but could not connect to the predecessor because of the drumming, although it still had a strong album. Soon Thilo left the band and was replaced by Bernd Aufermann. "The Brotherhood" but got bored, did not like and was the first weak Ruwi album. Now Bernd and Bodo left the band for Peter Jordan respectively Peter Pichl, Angelo also was replaced by Matthias Metal Machine. However, it was at "Rouges En Vogue" the production of the main point of criticism. Otherwise, the songs were mediocre, but so you do not compared to "The Brotherhood" strengthening expect, compared to any other album. So Running Wild dissolved of 2009. The separation lasted only two years before they are reunited with "Shadowmaker" had a reunion album that has not convinced and at the same locations as the previous lame. A year later appeared "Resilient".

Black Label Society is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1998 by Zakk Wylde. The band has, thus far, released nine studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three video albums.

Europe is a Swedish hard rock/heavy metal band formed in Upplands Väsby, Stockholm in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum, bassist Peter Olsson and drummer Tony Reno. Since its formation, Europe has released ten studio albums, three live albums, three compilations and nineteen videos. A pioneering force in glam metal/blues metal, Europe rose to international fame in the 1980s with its third album, 1986's The Final Countdown, which became a substantial commercial success, sold over three million copies in the United States, and is considered a masterpiece of the aforementioned genres. Europe was one of the most successful rock acts of the 1980s and sold over 20 million albums worldwide.[1] The band has achieved two top 20 albums on the Billboard 200 chart (The Final Countdown and Out of This World) and two top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart ("The Final Countdown" and "Carrie"). Europe went on hiatus in 1992, reunited temporarily for a one-off performance in Stockholm on New Year's Eve 1999 and announced an official reunion in 2003. Since then the band has released five albums, Start from the Dark (2004), Secret Society (2006), Last Look at Eden (2009), Bag of Bones (2012) and War of Kings (2015). The band's current line-up, which comprises Tempest, Norum, bassist John Levén, keyboardist Mic Michaeli and drummer Ian Haugland, is the same line-up that recorded The Final Countdown. The band is mainly influenced by Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, Kiss, UFO and Michael Schenker Group.

Uriah Heep is a British hard rock band, named after a character from the novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Together with Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin are Uriah Heep to the early and successful representatives of the genre. Unlike many other artists Uriah Heep weights in a part of their works the melodic side of hard rock by their sophisticated, often polyphonic singing more. The band has sold over 30 million records to date.

Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1985. The classic lineup, as signed to Geffen Records in 1986, consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. Rose is the only remaining original member, and the current lineup comprises Use Your Illusion–era keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus, bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardist Chris Pitman. The band has released six studio albums, accumulating sales of more than 100 million records worldwide, including shipments of 45 million in the United States, making Guns N' Roses one of the world's best-selling bands of all time.

All Rival Sons members are from the Long Beach music scene. Prior to the formation of Rival Sons, Jay Buchanan recorded as a solo artist and with his band Buchanan. The Buchanan band previously released ‘'All Understood’' in 2004 and True Love EP in 2006. Scott Holiday’s first success was in Human Lab who had recorded an album for Atlantic Records that was never released, then Black Summer Crush, where he was joined by Michael Miley, who had been a successful studio musician. He was also previously in Veruca Salt (2005) and the Carson Daly TV band, and Robin Everhart whom Miley met at Isaac Hayes' house when they both played a Hurricane Katrina benefit show.

The Pretty Reckless is an American alternative rock band from New York City. The Band was founded in 2009 by the actress and model Taylor Momsen as The Reckless. The Pretty Reckless was the result of trademark problems.

Lordi is a Finnish hard rock and heavy metal band founded in 1992. She is known for her unusual stage costumes, which are zombies and monsters. Similarity to Kiss, Twisted Sister, Accept, Zodiac Mindwarp, W.A.S.P. or Alice Cooper with modern elements such as electronic sounds.

Extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its fast tempo and overall aggression.

Annihilator is a Canadian thrash metal band founded in 1984 by guitarist Jeff Waters and vocalist John Bates.

Metallica is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California. Metallica was formed in 1981 when vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield responded to an advertisement posted by drummer Lars Ulrich in a local newspaper. The band's current line-up comprises founding members Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. Lead guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band. Metallica collaborated over a long period with producer Bob Rock, who produced all of the band's albums from 1990 to 2003 and served as a temporary bassist between the departure of Newsted and the hiring of Trujillo. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship placed them as one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer. The band earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and won critical acclaim with its first four albums; the third album Master of Puppets (1986) was described as one of the most influential and heaviest thrash metal albums. Metallica achieved substantial commercial success with its eponymous fifth album—also known as The Black Album—which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With this release the band expanded its musical direction, resulting in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience. In 2000, Metallica was among a number of artists who filed a lawsuit against Napster for sharing the band's copyright-protected material for free without consent from any band member. A settlement was reached and Napster became a pay-to-use service. Despite reaching number one on the Billboard 200, the release of St. Anger (2003) alienated many fans with the exclusion of guitar solos and the "steel-sounding" snare drum. A film titled Some Kind of Monster documented the recording of St. Anger and the tensions within the band during that time. In 2009, Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Metallica has released nine studio albums, four live albums, five extended plays, 26 music videos, and 37 singles. The band has won eight Grammy Awards and five of its albums have consecutively debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The band's eponymous 1991 album has sold over 16 million copies in the United States, making it the best-selling album of the SoundScan Era. Metallica ranks as one of the most commercially successful bands of all time, having sold over 110 million records worldwide. Metallica has been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines, including Rolling Stone, which ranked them 61st on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. As of December 2012, Metallica is the third best-selling music artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991, selling a total of 54.26 million albums in the United States. In 2012, Metallica formed the independent record label Blackened Recordings and took full ownership of its albums and videos. The band is currently in production of its tenth studio album, slated for a 2015 release.

Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by founding members Jeff Hanneman, Dave Lombardo and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with its 1986 release Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal bands, along with Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax, as well as a pioneer of the thrash metal subgenre of heavy metal music. Between 1991 and 2004, the band sold more than 3.5 million albums in the United States. Slayer's musical style involves fast tremolo picking, double bass drumming, riffs in irregular scales and shouted vocals. In the original line-up, King, Hanneman, and lead vocalist/bassist Tom Araya contributed to the band's lyrics, and most of the band's music was written by King and Hanneman, with additional help from Araya and drummer Dave Lombardo. The band's lyrics and album art, which cover topics such as serial killers, necrophilia, Satanism, religion, anti-religion, Nazism, and warfare, have generated album bans, delays, lawsuits, and criticism from religious groups and the public. However, their music has been highly influential, often being cited by many bands as an influence musically, visually, and lyrically. Since its debut album in 1983, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, a box set, six music videos, two extended plays and a cover album. Four of the band's studio albums have received gold certification in the United States. The band has received five Grammy nominations, winning one in 2007 for the song Eyes of the Insane, and one in 2008 for the song "Final Six" (both from 2006's Christ Illusion). Slayer has also played at several music festivals worldwide, including Unholy Alliance, Download and Ozzfest.

Megadeth is an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1983 by guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson, shortly after Mustaine's dismissal from Metallica. A pioneer of the American thrash metal scene, the band is credited as one of the genre's "big four" with Anthrax, Metallica and Slayer, responsible for thrash metal's development and popularization. Megadeth plays in a technical style, featuring fast rhythm sections and complex arrangements; themes of death, war, politics and religion are prominent in the group's lyrics. In 1985, the band released its debut album on the independent label Combat Records. The album's moderate commercial success caught the attention of bigger labels, which led to Megadeth signing with Capitol Records. Their first major-label album, Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?, was released in 1986 and influenced the underground metal scene. Despite its prominence in thrash metal, frequent disputes between its members and substance abuse issues brought Megadeth negative publicity during this period. After the lineup stabilized, the band released a number of platinum-selling albums, including Rust in Peace (1990) and Countdown to Extinction (1992). These albums, along with touring worldwide, helped bring public recognition to Megadeth. The band temporarily disbanded in 2002 when Mustaine suffered an arm injury and re-established in 2004 without bassist Ellefson, who had taken legal action against Mustaine. Ellefson settled with Mustaine out of court and rejoined the group in 2010. Megadeth has hosted its own music festival, Gigantour, several times since mid-2005. As of 2014, Megadeth has sold 50 million records worldwide, earned platinum certification in the United States for five of its fourteen studio albums, and received eleven Grammy nominations. The band's mascot, Vic Rattlehead, regularly appears on album artwork and, since 2010, in live shows. The group has experienced controversy over its musical approach and lyrics, including canceled concerts and album bans. MTV has refused to play two of the band's videos that the network considered to condone suicide.

Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects mostly animals. It is not contagious but can be transmitted through contact or consumption of infected meat. Effective vaccines against anthrax are available, and some forms of the disease respond well to antibiotic treatment. Like many other members of the genus Bacillus, B. anthracis can form dormant endospores (often referred to as "spores" for short, but not to be confused with fungal spores) that are able to survive in harsh conditions for decades or even centuries. Such spores can be found on all continents, even Antarctica. When spores are inhaled, ingested, or come into contact with a skin lesion on a host, they may become reactivated and multiply rapidly. Anthrax commonly infects wild and domesticated herbivorous mammals that ingest or inhale the spores while grazing. Ingestion is thought to be the most common route by which herbivores contract anthrax. Carnivores living in the same environment may become infected by consuming infected animals. Diseased animals can spread anthrax to humans, either by direct contact (e.g., inoculation of infected blood to broken skin) or by consumption of a diseased animal's flesh. Anthrax does not spread directly from one infected animal or person to another; rather, it is spread by spores. These spores can be transported by clothing or shoes. The body of an animal that had active anthrax at the time of death can also be a source of anthrax spores. Owing to the hardiness of anthrax spores, and their ease of production in vitro, they are extraordinarily well suited to use (in powdered and aerosol form) as biological weapons. Such weaponization has been accomplished in the past by at least five state bioweapons programs — those of the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, Russia, and Iraq — and has been attempted by several others. Until the 20th century, anthrax infections killed hundreds of thousands of animals and people worldwide each year. French scientist Louis Pasteur developed the first effective vaccine for anthrax in 1881. Anthrax is especially rare in dogs and cats, as is evidenced by a single reported case in the United States in 2001. Anthrax outbreaks occur in some wild animal populations with some regularity. The disease is more common in countries without widespread veterinary or human public health programs. In the 21st century, anthrax is still a problem in less developed countries. An outbreak of anthrax in humans who had eaten meat from a dead carabao was reported in Cagayan Province in the Philippines in early 2010, with over 400 cases of illness and at least two fatalities. B. anthracis bacterial spores are soil-borne. Because of their long lifespan, spores are present globally and remain at the burial sites of animals killed by anthrax for many decades. Disturbed grave sites of infected animals have caused reinfection over 70 years after the animal's interment.

Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of 35 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Their current lineup consists of vocalist Steve Souza, guitarists Gary Holt and Lee Altus, bassist Jack Gibson and drummer Tom Hunting. Hunting is one of the original members, and departed from Exodus twice, in 1989 and 2004, but rejoined in 2007. Holt joined the band shortly after its formation, and is the only member of Exodus to appear on all their releases. Since its formation, Exodus has released ten studio albums, two live albums and two compilations. Along with Testament, Death Angel, Vio-Lence, Forbidden, Lääz Rockit and Metallica, whose longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett was an original member of Exodus, they are often credited as pioneers of the Bay Area thrash metal scene, and have sold over 5 million albums worldwide as of 2013. Exodus had particular success in the mid-to-late 1980s with their first three studio albums―Bonded by Blood, Pleasures of the Flesh and Fabulous Disaster. The critical praise given to Fabulous Disaster garnered attention from major labels, including Capitol Records, with whom Exodus would eventually sign in 1989. Exodus released two more studio albums (Impact Is Imminent and Force of Habit) before disbanding in 1993. After a temporary reunion in 1997-1998, Exodus reformed once again in 2001, and since then, they have released five more studio albums, the most recent being 2014's Blood In, Blood Out.

Sodom is a German thrash metal band from Gelsenkirchen, formed in 1981. Along with the bands Kreator, Destruction and Tankard, Sodom is considered one of the "The Big Teutonic Four" of Teutonic thrash metal. While three bands except Tankard created a sound that would influence death metal, Sodom's early music style would greatly influence many late-1980s and early-1990s black metal bands, among others. To date, Sodom has released fourteen studio albums, three live albums, two compilation albums and six EPs. They achieved their first commercial success with their third studio album Agent Orange (1989), which was the first thrash metal album to enter the German album charts, where it reached number 36. Sodom remains one of the best-selling thrash metal acts of all time, having sold over one million records.

Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen. Their style of music is similar to their compatriots Destruction, Sodom and Tankard, the other three big German thrash metal bands. All three bands except Tankard are often credited with helping pioneer death metal, by containing several elements of what was to become the genre. They originally performed a speed metal style with Venom influences. Kreator's work began in the vein of thrash metal but ventured into Industrial metal and Gothic metal from 1992 to 1999, before eventually returning to their classic thrash sound to date. Kreator has released thirteen studio albums, two EPs, one live album and three compilation albums. The band released its debut album Endless Pain in 1985. Although many of their previous albums, including Pleasure to Kill (1986), were quite popular in the United States, Kreator did not experience major American commercial success until the 2009 release of their twelfth studio album, Hordes of Chaos, which peaked at number 165 on the Billboard 200 and debuted at No. 16 on the Media Control Charts, the band's highest ever chart position in Germany. In June 2012, Kreator released their thirteenth studio album, Phantom Antichrist, which has been well received.

Destruction is a German thrash metal band. They are considered one of the "The Big Three" of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator and Sodom. All three bands are often credited with helping pioneer death metal, by containing several elements of what was to become the genre. Destruction were originally named Knight of Demon, but changed their name in 1984. For most of the 1990s, Destruction were not signed to a record label and were forced to self-produce their albums until they signed a contract with Nuclear Blast in the 2000s.

Overkill is an American thrash metal band, formed in 1980 in New Jersey. They have gone through many line-up changes, with singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and bassist D.D. Verni remaining from the original lineup. Along with Anthrax, whose one-time lead guitarist Dan Spitz was also an early member of Overkill, the band is one of the most successful East Coast thrash metal bands. The band has a notable mascot named "Chaly", a skeletal bat with a skull-like face, horns, bony wings, and green eyes. Chaly has appeared on most of their album covers. To date, Overkill has released eighteen studio albums (including an album of cover songs), three EPs and three live albums. They were one of the early thrash metal bands to sign to a major label (Atlantic Records, in 1986), but would not achieve commercial success until the popularization of the genre in the late 1980s, with their contemporaries Anthrax, Exodus, Kreator, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Testament. The band's most successful records are Under the Influence (1988), The Years of Decay (1989), I Hear Black (1993), The Electric Age (2012), and White Devil Armory (2014), which debuted at No. 142, No. 155, No. 122, No. 77, and No. 31 respectively on the Billboard 200 chart. As of 2006, Overkill has sold over 625,000 albums in the U.S. since the beginning of the SoundScan era and over 16 million records worldwide as of 2012.

Musical genre that draws from industrial dance music, thrash metal and hardcore punk, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals.

Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a new wave synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the mid-1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs (1992) and touring as part of the Lollapalooza festival. After 27 years of performing, Jourgensen decided to end the band in 2008, saying a reunion would never happen. However, in August 2011, a reunion was announced, when Ministry confirmed they would play one of their first shows in four years at the Wacken Open Air festival in August 2012. Ministry released a new album, Relapse, on March 23, 2012, which was followed by a world tour. Following the death of long time guitarist Mike Scaccia, Ministry released their final album From Beer to Eternity in September 2013, but still plan to tour in support of that album.

Nine Inch Nails (abbreviated and stylized as NIИ) is an American industrial rock band, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of the group and remains solely responsible for its direction. Nine Inch Nails' music straddles a wide range of genres. After recording a new album, Reznor usually assembles a live band to perform with him. The touring band features a revolving lineup that often rearranges songs to fit a live setting. On stage, Nine Inch Nails often employs visual elements to accompany performances, which frequently include light shows. Underground music audiences warmly received Nine Inch Nails in its early years. Reznor produced several highly influential records in the 1990s that achieved widespread popularity: many Nine Inch Nails songs became radio hits; and their entire catalog has reached record sales exceeding over 20 million albums worldwide, with 10 million sales certified in the United States alone. In 1997, Reznor appeared in Time magazine's list of the year's most influential people, and Spin magazine described him as "the most vital artist in music." In 2004, Rolling Stone placed Nine Inch Nails at 94 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Despite this acclaim, the band has had several feuds with the corporate side of the recording industry. In 2007, these corporate entanglements resulted in Reznor announcing that Nine Inch Nails would split from its label and release future material independently. Since 1989, Nine Inch Nails has released eight studio albums. After a hiatus from 2009 to 2013, Nine Inch Nails released Hesitation Marks, through Columbia Records. Prior to this, Ghosts I–IV and The Slip were both independently released in digital form, with physical releases coming later. The digital release of the latter was made available completely free of charge, and the former, while also available for sale, can be acquired legally through means such as file-sharing due to its Creative Commons license. Nine Inch Nails has been nominated for thirteen Grammy Awards and won twice for the songs "Wish" and "Happiness in Slavery", in 1992 and 1996 respectively. In 2014, Nine Inch Nails was named as nominees for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, their first year of eligibility.

Godflesh are a British industrial metal band from Birmingham, England. They were formed in 1988 by Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals and programming) and G.C. Green (bass) and disbanded in 2002. Godflesh's innovative music is widely regarded as a foundational influence on industrial metal and post-metal. Broadrick and Green reformed Godflesh in 2010.

orn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band's current lineup includes founding members Jonathan Davis (vocals, bagpipes), James "Munky" Shaffer (guitar), Brian "Head" Welch (guitar, backing vocals), and Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu (bass), with the addition of Ray Luzier (drums), who replaced the band's original member, David Silveria in 2007. Korn was originally formed by three of the members of the band L.A.P.D. Korn released their first demo album, Neidermayer's Mind, in 1993. The band later went on to release their self-titled debut album in 1994, followed by Life Is Peachy in 1996. The band experienced mainstream success with Follow the Leader (1998) and Issues (1999), both of which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The band's mainstream success continued with Untouchables (2002), Take a Look in the Mirror (2003) and See You on the Other Side (2005). A compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol. 1, was released in 2004, spanning a decade of singles and concluding the band's recording contract with Immortal Records and Epic Records. They signed to Virgin Records, releasing See You on the Other Side in 2005, and an untitled album in 2007. Korn's other recent albums, Korn III: Remember Who You Are (2010) and The Path of Totality (2011), were released via Roadrunner Records, with the latest album The Paradigm Shift (2013) being released via Prospect Park and Caroline Records. As of 2012, Korn had sold around 35 million copies worldwide. Twelve of the band's official releases have peaked in the top ten of the Billboard 200, eight of which have peaked in the top five. Eight official releases are certified Platinum or Multi-Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and one is certified Gold. Korn has released seven video albums and thirty-nine music videos. The band has released forty-one singles, twenty-eight of which have charted. Korn has earned two Grammy Awards out of seven nominations and two MTV Video Music Awards out of eleven nominations.

Rage Against the Machine was an American alternative metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consisted of rapper/vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk. They draw inspiration from early heavy metal instrumentation, as well as hip hop acts such as Afrika Bambaataa, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and Dutch crossover band Urban Dance Squad. Rage Against the Machine is well known for its leftist political views, which are expressed in many of its songs. As of 2010, they have sold over 16 million records worldwide. In 1992, the band released its self-titled debut album, which became a commercial and critical success, leading to a slot in the 1993 Lollapalooza festival. In 2003, the album was ranked number 368 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The band did not release a follow-up record until 1996, with Evil Empire. The band's third album, The Battle of Los Angeles, followed in 1999, and in 2003, the album was ranked number 426 on the same list. During their initial nine-year run, they became one of the most popular and influential bands in music history, according to music journalist Colin Devenish. They were also ranked No. 33 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. The band had a large influence on the nu metal genre which emerged during the second half of the 1990s. In 2000, the band released the cover album, Renegades. The same year, growing tensions over the direction of the band prompted de la Rocha to quit, leading to the band's breakup. De la Rocha started a low-key solo career, while the rest of the band formed the rock supergroup Audioslave with Chris Cornell, then-former frontman of Soundgarden; Audioslave recorded three albums before disbanding in 2007. The same year, Rage Against the Machine announced a reunion and performed together for the first time in seven years at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2007. Up until 2011, the band continued to perform at more live venues and festivals around the world. As of 2015, the group has no plans to hold any live shows or to record new material.

Limp Bizkit is an American nu metal band. Their lineup consists of Fred Durst (lead vocals), Wes Borland (guitars, backing vocals), Sam Rivers (bass guitar, backing vocals) and John Otto (drums, percussions). Their work is marked by Durst's abrasive, angry lyrics and Borland's sonic experimentation and elaborate visual appearance, which includes face and body paint, masks and uniforms, as well as the band's elaborate live shows. The band has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, have sold 40 million records worldwide and won several other awards. Formed in 1994, Limp Bizkit became popular playing in the Jacksonville, Florida underground music scene in the late 1990s, and signed with Flip Records, a subsidiary of Interscope, which released their debut album, Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$ (1997). The band achieved mainstream success with their second and third studio albums, Significant Other (1999) and Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (2000), although this success was marred by a series of controversies surrounding their performances at Woodstock '99 and the 2001 Big Day Out festival. Borland left the group in 2001, but Durst, Rivers, Otto and Lethal continued to record and tour with guitarist Mike Smith. Following the release of their album, Results May Vary (2003), Borland rejoined the band and recorded The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) (2005) with Durst, Rivers, Lethal and drummer Sammy Siegler before entering a hiatus. In 2009, the band reunited with Borland playing guitar and began touring, culminating with the recording of the album Gold Cobra (2011), after which they left Interscope and later signed with Cash Money Records, but DJ Lethal was asked to leave the band soon after. They are currently recording their seventh studio album, Stampede of the Disco Elephants.

System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is an American four-piece rock band from Southern California, formed in 1994. The band currently consists of four Armenian Americans: Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards), Daron Malakian (vocals, guitar), Shavo Odadjian (bass, backing vocals) and John Dolmayan (drums). The band achieved commercial success with the release of five studio albums, three of which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, and their song "B.Y.O.B." won the Best Hard Rock Performance of 2006. The group went on hiatus in August 2006 and reunited in November 2010, embarking on a tour for the following three years. System of a Down has sold over 40 million records worldwide.

Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries. Their following studio album Meteora continued the band's success, topping the Billboard 200 album chart in 2003, and was followed by extensive touring and charity work around the world. In 2003, MTV2 named Linkin Park the sixth-greatest band of the music video era and the third-best of the new millennium. Billboard ranked Linkin Park No. 19 on the Best Artists of the Decade chart. In 2012, the band was voted as the greatest artist of the 2000s in a Bracket Madness poll on VH1. In 2014, the band was declared as the Biggest Rock Band in the World Right Now by Kerrang. Having adapted nu metal and rap metal to a radio-friendly yet densely layered style in Hybrid Theory and Meteora, the band explored other genres in their next studio album, Minutes to Midnight (2007). The album topped the Billboard charts and had the third-best debut week of any album that year. The band continued to explore a wider variation of musical types in their fourth album, A Thousand Suns (2010), layering their music with more electronic sounds and beats. Their fifth album, Living Things (2012), combines musical elements from all of their previous records. Their sixth and most recent album, The Hunting Party (2014), returned to a heavier rock sound. The band has collaborated with several other artists, most notably with rapper Jay-Z in their mashup EP Collision Course, and many others on the remix albums Reanimation and Recharged. Linkin Park has sold over 60 million albums worldwide and has won two Grammy Awards.[

Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in September 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray. After several line-up changes in their early years, the band settled on nine members for more than a decade: Corey Taylor, Mick Thomson, Jim Root, Gray, Craig Jones, Sid Wilson, Crahan, Chris Fehn and Joey Jordison. Gray died on May 24, 2010, and was replaced from 2011 to 2014 by former guitarist Donnie Steele. Jordison departed from the band on December 12, 2013 for unknown reasons, followed by Steele during the recording sessions for .5: The Gray Chapter as he wanted to focus on getting married. The band is now touring with replacement musicians Alessandro Venturella on bass and Jay Weinberg on drums. Slipknot is well known for its attention-grabbing image, aggressive style of music, and energetic and chaotic live shows. The band enjoyed a somewhat meteoric rise to success following the release of their eponymous debut album in 1999, and the 2001 follow-up album, Iowa, further increased the band's popularity. After a brief hiatus, Slipknot returned in 2004 with Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), before going on another hiatus and returning in 2008 with their fourth album, All Hope Is Gone, which debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard 200. After a longer hiatus, Slipknot released their fifth studio album, .5: The Gray Chapter, in 2014. Additionally, the band has released a live album, 9.0: Live, a compilation album, Antennas to Hell, and four live DVDs.

Disturbed is an American heavy metal band from Chicago, Illinois. The band's members are vocalist David Draiman, guitarist Dan Donegan, bassist John Moyer, and drummer Mike Wengren. Former band members are bassist Steve "Fuzz" Kmak and vocalist Erich Awalt. Formed in 1994 as Brawl, the band was renamed Disturbed in 1996 after Draiman was hired as the band's new vocalist. The band has released five studio albums, four of which have consecutively debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200. Disturbed went into an indefinite hiatus in October 2011 and the band's members are currently working on various side projects. The band members insist that they will regroup as Disturbed again sometime in the future.

Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Stephen Carpenter (lead guitar), Frank Delgado (keyboards and turntables), Abe Cunningham (drums and percussion) and Sergio Vega (bass). The group's original bassist was Chi Cheng, whose time with the band ended after he became comatose from a 2008 car accident and died in 2013. Deftones have released seven albums to date, with three platinum (Adrenaline, Around the Fur, White Pony) and one gold certification (for Deftones).

As I Lay Dying is an American metalcore band from San Diego, California. Founded in 2000 by vocalist Tim Lambesis, the establishment of the band's first full lineup, which included drummer Jordan Mancino, occurred in 2001. As I Lay Dying has released six albums, one split album, and two compilation albums. As I Lay Dying's fourth studio album An Ocean Between Us peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, and No. 1 on the Top Rock chart. The band has performed at events such as Wacken Open Air, With Full Force, Soundwave Festival, Sounds of the Underground, Warped Tour, Bloodstock Open Air and Taste of Chaos. In 2007, As I Lay Dying won the "Ultimate Metal God" award from MTV2 at the first annual "All That Rocks" special; was named "Artist of the Year" at the San Diego Music Awards in 2005, 2007 and 2008; and was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for the song "Nothing Left." Their fifth studio album The Powerless Rise was written over a three-year period, and was released in May 2010 to widespread critical acclaim. Their most recent album, Awakened, was released on September 25, 2012. The band went on an indefinite hiatus in 2014 when Lambesis was incarcerated and sentenced to six years in prison. The remaining members formed a new band with Oh, Sleeper vocalist and guitarist Shane Blay called Wovenwar.

Caliban are a five-piece metalcore band from Germany. They have released nine studio albums to-date, and two split albums with the melodic death metal/metalcore band Heaven Shall Burn. Caliban was formed in Hattingen, Germany in 1997 under the name Never Again. After six months of playing together, the band recorded their first two songs for a demo, which were never released. The songs were sent to several record labels, and Lifeforce Records was the first to offer the band a record deal. The band's first self-titled EP came out in the summer of 1998. To promote it, Caliban played many shows all over Europe and a few support shows for bands including Morning Again, Earth Crisis and Cro-Mags.

Heaven Shall Burn (sometimes abbreviated HSB) are a German extreme metal band from Saalfeld, formed in 1996. The band consists of vocalist Marcus Bischoff, guitarists Maik Weichert and Alexander Dietz, bassist Eric Bischoff and drummer Christian Bass. They are currently signed to Century Media. They have released seven studio albums, as well as a number of other records. Their latest album, Veto, entered the German Album Charts at #2 in 2013. Heaven Shall Burn's musical style has been described as metalcore, melodic death metal and deathcore. Their lyrics often express militant support of anti-racism, fighting social injustice and similar stances. All members are vegans or vegetarians.

Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, and drummer Justin Foley. The band has released six studio albums and one DVD. Their latest album, Disarm the Descent, was released on April 2, 2013. Killswitch Engage rose to fame with its 2004 release The End of Heartache, which peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the RIAA in December 2007 for over 500,000 shipments in the United States. The title track, "The End of Heartache", was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Metal Performance, and a live DVD titled (Set This) World Ablaze was released in 2005. Killswitch Engage has performed at festivals such as Soundwave Festival, Wacken Open Air, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Ozzfest, Download Festival, Rock on the Range, Rock Am Ring, Mayhem Festival, Monsters of Rock, Pointfest, Knotfest and Heavy MTL. The band has sold over four million records in the U.S. and has been widely referred to as "one of the founders of metalcore" and one of the notable bands for New Wave of American Heavy Metal.

Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and groove metal genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments drawing influence from nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial metal. Sepultura has had several changes in its lineup since its formation, with Max and Igor Cavalera departing in 1996 and 2006, respectively. Sepultura's current line up consists of vocalist Derrick Green, guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande. Sepultura has released thirteen studio albums to date, the latest being The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart (2013). Their most successful records are Arise (1991), Chaos A.D. (1993), and Roots (1996). Sepultura has sold over 3 million units in the USA and almost 30 million worldwide, gaining multiple gold and records around the globe, including in countries as diverse as France, Australia, Indonesia, United States, Cyprus and their native Brazil.

Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. The group was formed in 1981 by the Abbott brothers – drummer Vinnie Paul and guitarist Dimebag Darrell – along with vocalist Terry Glaze. Bassist Rex Brown joined the band the following year, replacing the original unofficial bass guitarist Tommy D. Bradford. Having started as a glam metal band, Pantera released four albums during the 1980s. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera replaced Glaze with Phil Anselmo in 1987. With its fifth album, 1990's Cowboys from Hell, Pantera introduced a groove metal sound. The sixth album, 1992's Vulgar Display of Power, exhibited even heavier sound. Far Beyond Driven (1994) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Tensions began to surface amongst the band members when Anselmo became addicted to heroin in 1995, which nearly led to his death in 1996 following an overdose. These tensions resulted in the recording sessions for The Great Southern Trendkill (1996) to be held separately. The ongoing tension lasted for another seven years, in which only one studio album, Reinventing the Steel (2000), was recorded. Pantera went on hiatus in 2001, but was disbanded by the Abbott brothers in 2003 amid communication problems and their conclusion that Anselmo would not return to the band. The Abbott brothers went on to form Damageplan, while Anselmo began work on several side projects, including Down in which Rex Brown joined as well. On December 8, 2004, Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed on stage by a deranged fan during a Damageplan concert in Columbus, Ohio, permanently ending hopes for a reunion.

Machine Head is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California. Formed on October 12, 1991,[3] the group was founded by vocalist and guitarist Robb Flynn and bassist Adam Duce. The current lineup of the band comprises Flynn, drummer Dave McClain, guitarist Phil Demmel, and bassist Jared MacEachern. Machine Head is one of the pioneering bands in the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. Machine Head was formed by member Robb Flynn, previously part of the bands Forbidden and Vio-lence. Flynn felt musically unfulfilled with Vio-lence and requested to start a side project. When his request was denied, he left the band and formed Machine Head in 1991 with Adam Duce, Logan Mader and Tony Constanza. The band's first album Burn My Eyes, was a big success in Europe where it garnered attention on MTV's Headbangers Ball. In America (with HBB taken off the air during the grunge movement) Machine Head would not have success until later albums. The band nearly disbanded in 2002 after negotiating off its label Roadrunner Records, when controversy surrounding Machine Head's fourth album Supercharger (released 3 weeks after September 11, 2001) resulted in their songs and music video for the song "Crashing Around You" (which featured burning buildings) being pulled from all media outlets. The band re-signed with Roadrunner soon after and has released four albums since, 2003's Through the Ashes of Empires, 2007's The Blackening (which earned Machine Head its first Grammy Award nomination) and 2011's Unto the Locust. Their most recent album, Bloodstone & Diamonds, was released in 2014. Machine Head have sold over 3 million records worldwide.

Marilyn Manson is an American rock band. Her frontman Brian Hugh Warner is called Marilyn Manson as an artist. Since he is the dominant personality within the group as well as in the media, Marilyn Manson is often referred to as the person Warner.

Fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example, Dutch Heidevolk, Danish Sylvatica and Spanish Stone of Erech).

Orphaned Land is an Israeli progressive metal/folk metal band, formed in 1991 under the name Resurrection (changing their name in 1992 to the current name), that combines Jewish, Arabic, and other West Asian influences. The band has gone through several lineup changes over the years, but has retained two of the founding members, Kobi Farhi (vocals) and Uri Zelcha (bass). They are joined by Matan Shmuely (drums), Chen Balbus (guitar/keyboard) who replaced co-founding member Matti Svatizky in 2012, and Idan Amsalem (guitars/bouzouki) who replaced co-founding member Yossi Sassi in early 2014. Their lyrics promote a message of peace and unity, particularly between the three main Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity).

Subway to Sally is a rock band that was founded in Potsdam, Germany, in the early 1990s. Their music has clear folk and medieval influences, later also with gothic and metal elements added to the mix. With their continuous inclusion of oriental sounds and elements of classical music (noted for instance by the use of the arrangements of the backup vocals) and the use of instruments less frequently seen in metal bands, such as bagpipes, shawm, violin, hurdy-gurdy and lute, the band has acquired the label of medieval metal. They have released 12 studio albums, two live albums and two live DVDs. Their fame is mainly in the German-speaking countries, having played only a handful of concerts outside of that. The very first concert given by Subway to Sally was held in September 1990. The band then consisted of Ingo Hampf, Bodenski, Simon, Coni (trumpet) and Guido (drums). Their first appearance onstage in the constellation with which they later recorded their first album (Album 1994), was given in the Potsdamer "Stube" in January 1992. The group had decided on needing a fiddle to complete the sound, something which brought Frau Schmitt (Silke Volland) to the band, who in turn introduced Eric Fish (Erik Hecht) on the bagpipes.

Finntroll is a folk metal band from Helsinki, Finland. They combine elements of black metal and folk metal. Finntroll's lyrics are mostly in Swedish, the only exception being the song "Madon Laulu" on Visor Om Slutet. Finntroll's original singer, Katla, decided to use Swedish over Finnish since he was part of a Swedish-speaking minority in Finland and the sound of the language seemed to better suit the band's "trollish" outfit. Despite several vocalist changes, this tradition has continued. According to bandmembers Vreth and Skrymer, they took their name from an old Finnish legend where Swedish priests coming to Finland had an encounter with a wild-looking man who killed most of their party. The survivors came back bearing the tale of the Finn-Troll. Finntroll's lyrics mainly deal with legends and tales revolving around the fictional Troll-King "Rivfader" and the trolls fighting against the Christians who entered their lands and spread their beliefs. A recurring theme is the story of two priests named "Aamund" and "Kettil". The first three full-length albums feature a rather short but fierce song about the two men who constantly get themselves into trouble with the trolls, only to get beaten up and mutilated over and over again by the wrathful followers of Rivfader. To date, the band's discography includes six full-length albums, a live album and two EPs. Their newest studio album Blodsvept was released on March 22, 2013. In 2014, the band released the live album, Natten Med De Levande Finntroll ("Night of the Living Finntroll").

The band underwent another evolution in 2003, and "Shaman" became "Korpiklaani" (with only Järvelä and drummer Samu Ruotsalainen remaining from the last "Shaman" lineup), with the music style to a more conventional folk metal with folk/thrash vocals instead of yoiking. Shamániac had already featured a strong resemblance to the future Korpiklaani style. In fact, the song, "Vuola lávlla", has the same music as the Korpiklaani song, "Beer Beer". The change in name was accompanied by a change in the music. The traditional yoik vocals and the use of the Sámi language were dropped while the synthesizer was replaced with real folk instruments. Jonne Järvelä credits his work with Finntroll as the catalyst for the shift in emphasis from folk to metal. Their song lyrics are often related to alcohol and partying. According to Jonne Järvelä, Korpiklaani's music would be seen as "old people's music with heavy metal guitars" in Finland. There has been some collaboration between Korpiklaani and Finntroll, as Samu Ruotsalainen of Finntroll provided session drums for their debut album Spirit of the Forest and Järvelä provided the yoiking for the title track of Finntroll's album Jaktens Tid. Juha Jyrkäs has written some Finnish lyrics to Korpiklaani and from 2011 lyrics are written by poet Tuomas Keskimäki, he write lyrics in the old Finnish "kalevalametre". The name Korpiklaani means "Forest Clan" in the Finnish language. In spoken language "korpi" means dark old forest. In biology it refers to boreal forest appearing on moist moraine soils, characterized by dense growth of spruce and a deep layer of moss as undergrowth. In September 2011 Korpiklaani announced that Jaakko "Hittavainen" Lemmetty would be leaving the band due to personal health issues which made the constant touring and recording impossible. First his replacement was violist Teemu Eerola and later, nowadays permanent member, Tuomas Rounakari. In 2013 accordion player Juho Kauppinen left Korpiklaani and new accordion player is Sami Perttula.

Týr (locally: [tʰʊɪːɹ]) is a Faroese heavy metal band. Their subject matter revolves almost entirely around Viking lore, mythology, and history, taking their name from the Norse god of law and justice. They signed a worldwide deal with Austria's Napalm Records in early 2006, while signed to the Faroese record label Tutl. In September of 2012, they signed a three album deal with Metal Blade Records. Before Týr, Heri Joensen and Gunnar H. Thomsen formed their first band, Cruiser, at the age of seventeen. Streymoy also played with them for a short while. They later changed their name to Wolfgang. Although neither band released any albums, Wolfgang, who are still active, recorded an undisclosed amount of songs that, according to Joensen, are "pretty much ready to release.

Ensiferum (Latin ēnsiferum, n adj., meaning "sword bearing") is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "melodic folk metal." Ensiferum was founded in 1995 by Markus Toivonen (guitar), Sauli Savolainen (bass) and Kimmo Miettinen (drums). For the band's name, they took the Latin neuter gender adjective ensiferum, which means "sword bearer". In the next year, Jari Mäenpää was taken into the band as singer and second guitar-player. In 1997, the first demo was released, containing three songs. The highly stylized logo of Ensiferum has appeared on all of their releases. In 1998, Sauli and Kimmo left the band and were replaced by Jukka-Pekka Miettinen (Kimmo's little brother, then 14 years old) and Oliver Fokin. In January 1999, a second demo was recorded, which although it did not produce a recording deal, boosted the band's confidence. In November 1999 a third demo, "Hero in a Dream", was recorded, which was successful in obtaining a record deal with Spinefarm Records. The logo that appears on all the bands releases was designed for the third demo by Tuomas Tahvanainen, who also designed the logos for the earlier demos. In 2000, the band went into the studio to work on their first album, Ensiferum, which was released in August 2001. In the same year, Meiju Enho joined them as a keyboard-player.

Eluveitie is a Swiss folk metal band from Winterthur, Zurich, founded by Chrigel Glanzmann. The band was formed in 2002 and their first EP, Vên, was released in 2003. Vên was a studio project of Glanzmann's, but its success led to the recruitment of a full band. They describe themselves as "The new wave of folk metal". The band then released a full-length album, Spirit, in June 2006. In November 2007, Eluveitie was signed by Nuclear Blast. The first product of the collaboration, Slania, was released in February 2008. The album peaked at number 35 in the Swiss charts and number 72 in the German charts. Eluveitie use traditional instruments amidst guitars and both clean and harsh vocals. The lyrics are often in the extinct ancient language Gaulish. The name of the band comes from graffiti on a vessel from Mantua (ca. 300 BC). The inscription in Etruscan letters reads eluveitie, which has been interpreted as the Etruscan form of the Celtic (h)elvetios (“the Helvetian”), presumably referring to a man of Helvetian descent living in Mantua.

Alestorm is a heavy metal band from Perth, Scotland. Their music is characterized by a pirate theme, and as a result they have been dubbed a "pirate metal" band by many critics and their fanbase. They refer to their genre as "True Scottish Pirate Metal". The band formed under the name Battleheart in 2004. After releasing two demos, they were signed by Napalm Records in 2007 and renamed themselves Alestorm. Their debut album was released on 25 January 2008. The band's third album, Back Through Time, was released in June 2011, and their latest record Sunset on the Golden Age was released in August 2014.

Saltatio Mortis is a German medieval metal group. The latin name means "dance of death"., it's an allusion to the Danse Macabre, and a motto of the band is: "He who dances does not die."

Arkona (Russian: Аркона) is a Russian pagan metal band. Their lyrics are heavily influenced by Russian folklore and Slavic mythology, and their music incorporates several traditional Russian musical instruments. The name of the band "Arkona" refers to the last pagan Slavic city-castle.

Ignis Fatuu (lat. ignis fatuus - irrlicht) is an existing German medieval rock band with Alexander Trappe from Nuremberg. Founded in the year 2004. 2007 the band released their first promo CD with 5 songs. A year later, the band participated in the Mediaval festival, where they performed with bands such as Ingrimm, Arundo and Zwielicht. 2009 they released their debut album "Let there be light" after they signed a record deal with Danse Macabre Records.

Nachtgeschrei is a german folk metal / medieval rock band from Frankfurt am Main, founded 2006. The band was formed from the former members of the folk-rock band Black Sheep and the melodic death metal band Paimon. 2006 and 2007 appeared a promotional CD. On 2 May 2008 their debut album "Hoffnungsschimmer" was released by the label Massacre Records.

Feuerschwanz is a german medieval rock band from the area of Erlangen, founded 2004. For the founding are Tobias Heindl, the violinist of the folk-rock band Fiddler's Green, and bassist Andre Left responsible. The band is a parody band like J.B.O., some members had already left the band, because they could not identify with the humorous concept.

Brachmond is a medieval rock band from Olching. Throaty vocals and sweet violin sounds are complemented by bagpipes and electric guitars. The Newcomer of the year 2016 and winner of Amper Slam Band Battles.

It combines elements of those genres with punk rock and pop music, adding catchy hooks and guitar riffs, while borrowing from the aesthetic of 1970s glam rock.

Steel Panther is an American Glam Metal band from Los Angeles founded in 2000 by Michael Starr (vocals), Satchel (guitar), Lexxi Foxx (bass) and Stix Zadinia (drums). They move between parody, homage and worship. The occasional arrangement as Fun Metal is based on the stereotypically overstated attitude as well as the ironic texts, which mainly deal with sex, women and drug use.

Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by guitarist Mick Mars, and vocalist Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe is one of the best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide including 25 million in the US. The members of the band have often been noted for their hedonistic lifestyles and the persona they maintained. Various original members have had numerous brushes with the law, spent time in prison, suffered from alcoholism, suffered from long addictions to drugs such as cocaine and heroin, had countless escapades with women and are heavily tattooed. Following its hard rock and heavy metal origins, with the third album Theatre of Pain (1985) the band joined the first wave of glam metal. Their ninth, most recent and final studio album, Saints of Los Angeles, was released on June 24, 2008, and was certified Gold in January 2012. The band has embarked on a final tour, and is set to retire at the end of 2015. Their final show is scheduled to take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on December 31, 2015.

Krokus is a hard rock band from Switzerland. They enjoyed great success in North America during the 1980s. Krokus was founded in Solothurn in 1975 by bassist (and original lead vocalist) Chris von Rohr and guitarist Tommy Kiefer. Former TEA vocalist Marc Storace joined the band as frontman in time for their Metal Rendez-vous album in 1980.

Cinderella is an American glam metal and hard rock band from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band emerged in the mid-1980s with a series of multi-platinum albums and hit singles whose music videos received heavy MTV rotation. They began as heavy metal band, but shifted towards a more hard rock/blues-rock sound. By the mid-1990s, the band's popularity declined severely due to personal setbacks, break-ups, and changes in the music industry. Nonetheless, after a hiatus the band reunited and remains active. The band has sold 15 million albums worldwide, according to Tom Keifer's official website.

Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great commercial success in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Poison has sold over 45 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including six Top 10 singles and the Hot 100 number-one, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". The band's breakthrough debut album, the multi-platinum Look What the Cat Dragged In, was released in 1986 and they hit their peak with the second album, Open Up and Say... Ahh!, which became the band's most successful album, being certified 5x platinum in the US. The popularity continued into the new decade with their third consecutive multi-platinum selling album, Flesh & Blood. In the 1990s following the release of the band's first live album, Swallow This Live, the band experienced some line up changes and the fall of pop metal with the grunge movement, but despite a drop in popularity the band's fourth studio album, Native Tongue, still achieved Gold status and the band's first compilation album, Poison's Greatest Hits: 1986–1996, went double platinum. In the 2000s, with the original line up back together, the band found new popularity after a successful greatest hits reunion tour in 1999. The band began the new decade with the release of the long awaited Crack a Smile... and More!, followed by the Power to the People album. The band toured almost every year to sold out stadiums and arenas. They released a brand new album, Hollyweird, in 2002 and in 2006 the band celebrated their 20-year anniversary with The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock tour and album, which was certified Gold and marked Poison's return to the Billboard top 20 charts for the first time since 1993. Band members have released several solo albums and starred in successful reality TV shows. After 25 years, the band is still recording music and performing. Since their debut in 1986, they have released eight studio albums, four live albums, five compilation albums, and have issued 28 singles to radio. In 2012 VH1 ranked them at #1 on their list of best Hair metal bands of all time.

Ratt is an American rock band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is perhaps best known for hit singles such as "Round and Round" and "Lay It Down", tracks that ranked on Billboard's top 40 at No. 12 and No. 40, respectively, as well as other songs such as "Wanted Man", "You're in Love" and "Dance". Along with groups such as friendly rivals Mötley Crüe, Ratt has been recognized as instrumental in the formation of the early 1980s Los Angeles glam metal scene, also known as "hair metal" or "lite metal". The band has continued to tour and record following extended hiatuses and line-up changes, released their latest studio album, Infestation, on April 20, 2010.

This genre is a German invention of modern times and is defined primarily by a mostly sarcastic lyrical component. Co-founder are the Berliner KNORKATOR and the metal band J.B.O from Erlangen.

The "one and only fucking" fuccflokks "from Dresden. They founded in November 2008 to get together the Olymp of Hard'n'Heavy. Within a few weeks, they brought your first best-seller Super Fun album "Ficcflokks", which is incredible four times sold. It contained thirteen immortal hits with so Songs such as "fuckbangfulk", "tangastringbangbung" and "Christmasmassacre". The band consisted from the three founding fathers Pretty Petrus (Vocals), Moses (guitar) and Dr. J.Jesus (drums), as well as the Maria Rockdanena (bass) and Unpretty Judas (guitar).

The band J.B.O. was originally built in 1989 by the two front men Hannes "G. Laber" Holzmann and Veit Kutzer alias "Vito C.". It was founded as a pure fun project under the name "James Blast Orchestra". It was planned to perform at the Newcomer Festival at the Erlanger E-Werk, where the two were regular guests. The first songs were recorded until the band's first official appearance on 29th October 1989 at the E-Werk.

Knorkator is a rock band from Berlin. It describes itself as Germany's most important band of the world. The band name was derived by personification of the german term "knorke".

Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics intend to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom, if the song is not instrumental.

Pentagram is an American heavy metal band from Alexandria, Virginia, most famous as one of the pioneers of heavy metal, and the subgenre of doom metal in particular. The band was prolific in the underground scene of the 1970s, producing many demos and rehearsal tapes, but did not release a full-length album until reforming in the early 1980s with an almost completely new lineup. Throughout the band's history the only constant member has been vocalist Bobby Liebling. The revolving lineup of Pentagram has featured many well respected musicians in the local doom metal scene, with members spending time in other acts such as Raven, The Obsessed, Place of Skulls, Internal Void, Spirit Caravan, among many others.

Candlemass is an influential Swedish epic doom metal band established in Stockholm 1984 by bassist, songwriter and bandleader Leif Edling and drummer Matz Ekström. After releasing five full-length albums and touring extensively throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Candlemass disbanded in 1994, but reunited three years later. After breaking up again in 2002, Candlemass reformed in 2004 and have continued to record and perform since then. Candlemass is also the seventh best selling artist coming out from Sweden selling as of 2010 more than 15 million albums worldwide.

Progressive metal blended elements of heavy metal and progressive rock music, taking the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar-driven sound of the former, with the more experimental, complex and "pseudo-classical" compositions of the latter.

Fates Warning is an American progressive metal band, formed in 1982 by vocalist John Arch, guitarists Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini, bassist Joe DiBiase, and drummer Steve Zimmerman in Hartford, Connecticut. Fates Warning has experienced numerous line-up changes. From 1982 to 1996 — and temporarily in 2010 — Matheos and DiBiase were the only remaining original members of the band, with Matheos being the only constant member. Their current lineup consists of guitarists Jim Matheos and Frank Aresti, vocalist Ray Alder, bassist Joey Vera, and drummer Bobby Jarzombek. As a pioneer of the American progressive metal movement, Fates Warning rose to international fame in the 1980s and was ranked as one of the early "flagship bands of progressive metal" along with Queensrÿche and Dream Theater, who were responsible for creating, developing and popularizing that genre. Fates Warning has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, one VHS, three DVDs (each of them features live concerts) and four demo tapes. The band experienced major American commercial success with the 1986 release of their third studio album, Awaken the Guardian, which peaked at number No. 191 on the Billboard 200,[2] and became the first album released on Metal Blade to enter that chart. Their next three albums, No Exit (1988), Perfect Symmetry (1989) and Parallels (1991), were also successful; the first two peaked at No. 111 and No. 141 on the Billboard 200 respectively. Fates Warning's most recent studio album, Darkness in a Different Light, was released in 2013.

Queensrÿche is an American progressive heavy metal band formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington out of the local band The Mob. The band has released 14 studio albums, one EP and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup consisted of vocalist Geoff Tate, guitarists Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton, bassist Eddie Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfield. Queensrÿche has been successful in the progressive scene, having sold over 20 million albums worldwide, including over 6 million albums in the United States. The band received worldwide acclaim after the release of their 1988 album Operation: Mindcrime, which is often considered one of the greatest concept albums of all time[by whom?]. Their follow-up release, Empire, released in 1990, was also very successful and included the hit single "Silent Lucidity". The band has received three Grammy Award nominations for songs off both albums. In the late 90s, drummer Rockenfield also received a Grammy nomination outside of Queensrÿche. In 1997, guitarist and primary songwriter DeGarmo left the band for personal reasons. Over the years, his replacements have been Kelly Gray, Mike Stone, and Parker Lundgren, respectively. Following a highly publicized backstage altercation before a show in São Paulo, Brazil in April 2012, Tate was fired from the band and replaced with then-Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre. In response to his dismissal, Tate and his wife Susan (who served as the band's manager from 2005–2012) filed a lawsuit in a Washington court, claiming that he was wrongfully terminated. The ruling in the preliminary injunction was that both parties were allowed to use the name Queensrÿche until a court ruling or a settlement decides who gets to use the name. A settlement was reached on April 17, 2014, in which founding members Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson were awarded the rights to the band trademark, continuing to play with the lineup that additionally includes singer La Torre and guitarist Lundgren. During the time both parties could use the name Queensrÿche, Tate created his own lineup featuring former guitarist Gray and musicians from bands including Blue Öyster Cult, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Dio, AC/DC and Quiet Riot.[5][6] This version of Queensrÿche with Geoff Tate released the album Frequency Unknown on 23 April 2013, while Queensrÿche (with La Torre replacing Tate) released their eponymous album on 24 and 25 June 2013 (European and American release date, respectively). Both bands toured in 2013 and 2014.

Dream Theater is an American progressive metal and progressive rock band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to concentrate further on the band that would ultimately become Dream Theater. Though a number of lineup changes followed, the three original members remained together along with James LaBrie and Jordan Rudess until September 8, 2010 when Portnoy left the band. In October 2010, the band held auditions for a drummer to replace Portnoy. Mike Mangini was announced as the new permanent drummer on April 29, 2011. The band is well known for the technical proficiency of its instrumentalists, who have won many awards from music instruction magazines. Guitarist John Petrucci has been named as the third player on the G3 tour six times, more than any invited players. In 2009 he was named the No. 2 best metal guitarist by Joel McIver in his book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists. He was also named as one of the "Top 10 Fastest Shredders of All Time" by GuitarOne magazine. Jordan Rudess is considered to be one of the greatest keyboard players of all time by many publications like MusicRadar. Former drummer Mike Portnoy has won 26 awards from Modern Drummer magazine and is also the second youngest person (at the age of 37) to be inducted into the Rock Drummer Hall of Fame. His replacement Mike Mangini has also previously set 5 WFD records. John Myung was voted the greatest bassist of all time in a poll conducted by MusicRadar in August through September 2010. The band was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2010. The band's highest-selling album is the gold-selling Images and Words (1992), which reached No. 61 on the Billboard 200 chart. Both the 1994 release Awake and their 2002 release Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence also entered the charts at No. 32 and No. 46 respectively and received mostly positive reviews. Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory was ranked number 95 on the October 2006 issue of Guitar World magazine's list of The greatest 100 guitar albums of all time. It is ranked as the 15th Greatest Concept Album (as of March 2003) by Classic Rock Magazine[7] and as the number one all-time progressive album by Rolling Stone (as of July 2012). Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence also led to Dream Theater becoming the initial band reviewed in the music section of Entertainment Weekly during its opening week of release, despite the magazine generally preferring more mainstream music. The band's eleventh studio album, A Dramatic Turn of Events, was released on September 13, 2011. On November 30, 2011, the album's lead single, "On the Backs of Angels", was nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category, marking the band's first ever Grammy nomination. Dream Theater's self-titled twelfth studio album was released on September 23, 2013 and sold around 34,000 copies in the first week and landed at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart, one position higher than A Dramatic Turn of Events. Dream Theater earned their second Grammy Award nomination, this time for “Best Metal Performance”, for the album's first single, "The Enemy Inside". On April 9, 2013, Images and Words won Loudwire's fan voted March Metal Madness for world's best metal album beating albums by Dio, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Megadeth and Metallica. As of 2011, Dream Theater has sold over 12 million records worldwide.

Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1994, the band consists of guitarist Michael Romeo, keyboardist Michael Pinnella, drummer Jason Rullo, lead vocalist Russell Allen and bassist Michael Lepond Their albums The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite have given the band considerable attention within the progressive metal community. They also have achieved more commercial success with the 2007 album Paradise Lost; the band's 2011 album Iconoclast is the highest chart position and the most first-week sales in the band's history. Michael Romeo about the origin of their name: "So, you know, the music we were coming up with had the keyboard thing and the guitar, and some classical elements, so the word ‘Symphony’ came up and, so the dramatic thing, you know? So then, somebody said ‘Symphony X’ and we were like, ‘yeah, that’s cool’ it is that kinda thing, and the ‘X’ is the unknown and all the other stuff we do." Symphony X began recording a new album on September 9, 2014. The band's 9th studio album, "Underworld", will be released July 24, 2015.

Meshuggah is a Swedish extreme metal band from Umeå, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1992. The band has gone through a number of bassists, with the position currently being held by Dick Lövgren since 2004. Meshuggah first attracted international attention with the 1995 release Destroy Erase Improve for its fusion of fast-tempo death metal, thrash metal and progressive metal with jazz fusion elements. Since its 2002 album Nothing, Meshuggah has switched from seven-string to downtuned eight-string guitars. Meshuggah has become known for their innovative musical style, complex, polymetered song structures and polyrhythms. Meshuggah was labeled as one of the ten most important hard rock and heavy metal bands by Rolling Stone and as the most important band in metal by Alternative Press. Meshuggah has found little mainstream success as yet, but is a significant act in extreme underground music. Nevertheless, Meshuggah has begun to gain attention and respect among more mainstream audiences since the late 2000s, having also inspired the djent movement within progressive metal. Since its formation, Meshuggah has released seven studio albums, seven EPs and eight music videos. The band has performed in various international festivals, including Ozzfest and Download, and embarked on the obZen world tour from 2008 to 2010. Meshuggah's latest studio album, Koloss, was released on March 23, 2012. Nothing and the albums that followed have all charted on the Billboard 200. Meshuggah's most commercially successful album, Koloss, debuted at number 17 in the USA, with first week sales of 18,342 copies. In 2006 and 2009, the band was nominated for a Swedish Grammy Award.

Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years. Opeth has consistently incorporated progressive, folk, blues, classical and jazz influences into their usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from death metal, especially in their early works. Many songs include acoustic guitar passages and strong dynamic shifts, as well as both death growls and clean vocals. Opeth rarely made live appearances supporting their first four albums; but since conducting their first world tour after the 2001 release of Blackwater Park, they have led several major world tours. Opeth has released eleven studio albums, three live DVDs, three live albums (two that are in conjunction with DVDs), and two boxsets. The band released its debut album Orchid in 1995. Although their eighth studio album, Ghost Reveries, was quite popular in the United States, Opeth did not experience major American commercial success until the 2008 release of their ninth studio album, Watershed, which peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard 200, and topped the Finnish albums chart in its first week of release. Opeth has sold over 1.5 million albums and DVDs worldwide, including 300,000 collective SoundScans of their albums Blackwater Park, Damnation and Deliverance in the United States.

The genre originated during the early 1990s in Europe originally as an outgrowth of death-doom, a fusion of death metal and doom metal. Lyrics are generally dark and introspective with inspiration from gothic fiction as well as personal experiences.

Paradise Lost are a gothic metal band that formed in 1988 in Halifax, England and are considered by some to be one of the pioneers of the gothic metal genre. Paradise Lost has proven to be an influential band, with Jonas Renkse of Katatonia saying that his band started off "as Paradise Lost fanboys". Their line-up has remained stable for such a long-standing heavy metal band, consisting of singer Nick Holmes, guitarists Greg Mackintosh and Aaron Aedy, and bassist Steve Edmondson. Holmes and Mackintosh are the principal composers, with almost all of the band's songs credited to them. During the years, the band has only changed drummers.

Tiamat is a metal band that formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1987. Initially, the band played straightforward black metal under the name Treblinka. After having recorded the album Sumerian Cry in 1989, vocalist/guitarist Johan Edlund and bassist Jörgen Thullberg parted ways with the other two founding members, and subsequently changed the name to Tiamat. The Sumerian Cry album included re-recorded Treblinka songs and was released in June 1990. After the debut, Edlund's leadership would modify the band's style with influences ranging from Black Sabbath, Mercyful Fate, Candlemass, Pink Floyd and King Crimson, with Sumerian lyrical themes. Polish guitarist Waldemar Sorychta would produce and contribute instrumentation to many of the band's albums, as well as those by Tiamat's own tour and labelmates, including Moonspell, Rotting Christ, Lacuna Coil and Samael. 1994's critically acclaimed Wildhoney mixed raw vocals, slow guitar riffs and synthesizer sounds which sounded different from other extreme metal bands active at that time. An almost continuous forty-minute piece of music, Wildhoney led to the band's appearances at the Dynamo and Wacken Open Air heavy metal festivals in 1995. The group would play a second gig at Dynamo two years later.

Type O Negative was a gothic/doom metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. Their lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four" (in homage to The Beatles' "Fab Four" moniker). The band went Platinum with 1993's Bloody Kisses, and Gold with 1996's October Rust, and gained a fanbase through seven studio albums, two best-of compilations, and concert DVDs. On April 14, 2010, lead vocalist, bassist, and principal songwriter Peter Steele died, reportedly from heart failure brought on by an aortic aneurysm. Members Kenny Hickey and Johnny Kelly stated in a November 2010 interview with French music magazine Rock Hard that the band would not continue.