Copenhell

The band formed in 2004 when lead singer and principal songwriter Oliver Sykes was only 16 some of the group’s members were even younger. The average age of the band during their formation was 15. Apart from Sykes the rest of the band included guitarists Lee Malia and Curtis Ward, bassist Matt Kean, and drummer Matt Nicholls. The line up has not changed much since. “I Killed the Prom Queen” guitarist Jona Weinhofen replaced Curtis Ward in 2009, but eventually left in 2013 and keyboardist Jordan Fish completed the current line up in 2012.

Despite the groups young age the members of the band were already musically experienced. Lee Malia who had a keen interest in melodic death metal was in a Metallica tribute band prior to joining Bring Me the Horizon and Matt Kean had been in several local bands before entering the group. All the members were rooted in metal and hard rock, but it was Matt Nicholls and Oliver Sykes who really pushed the band in the hardcore punk and death metal direction. Before they formed Bring Me the Horizon Nicholls and Sykes would frequent American hardcore shows featuring such bands as southern metalcore act Norma Jean and New York’s Skycamefalling.

Oliver Skyes also wrote and recorded material before forming Bring Me the Horizon. Skyes spent a good portion of his childhood between Adelaide and Perth, but moved back to the UK when he was eight. Skyes was enrolled at the same school as Arctic Monkeys band members Alex Turner, Andy Nicholson and Matt Helders, though he was a year below them. During his attendance their in 2003 Sykes put together a CD compilation under the name Quakebeat. He also found interest in rap and formed a hip-hop group called “Womb 2 Da Tomb” with his brother and now fellow bandmate Nicholls. Sykes went on to pursue his true passion, forming the metal group “Purple Curto” with his school mate. While attending a concert of one of his favorite bands Funeral for a Friend he was granted the incredible opportunity to sing one of their songs on stage. Sykes recalls this as the best day of his life and just a little after this experience he formed Bring Me the Horizon.

The group released its first EP “This Is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made For” on 2 October 2004 and was signed to UK label Thirty Days of Night Records for a four album record deal. The album was reissued in 2005 and made all the way to #41 on the UK album charts. The band went on to release their 2006 debut album Count Your Blessings. Though the album received mixed reaction from the general public and critics, the band was able to gain some praiseworthy traction, being endowed at the 2006 Kerrang! Awards ceremony as being the Best British Newcomers and opening up for The Red Chord on their UK dates. Bring Me the Horizon saw themselves touring more and more, though they received many of their early gigs through scheming against unassuming concert promoters.

The early iteration of Bring Me the Horizon was rough and unruly. The band would constantly consume alcohol and lose focus in their recording sessions. Their reputation seemed to exceed them on several accounts. When opening for Kill Switch Engaged on a European tour they were met by disgruntled fans who threw bottles at them before they even started playing and during the recording of their second album “Suicide Season” producer Fredrik Nordstrom was often absent from the sessions because of his negative premonitions of the band. However the group showed incredible potential with their sophomore release and delved into a much more focused sound.This release is attributed with introducing several varying stylistic changes opting for a more straightforward metalcore sound and incorporating elements of drum and bass, dubstep and industrial music.

The band continued to experiment with a more pop oriented sound for their preceding records and made a major breakthrough with their third LP “There Is a Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let’s Keep It A Secret”. This album appeared number 1 on the Australian Albums Chart, Number 13 on the UK Rock Chart and number 17 on the Billboard 200 in the US. The band left Epitaph records and put out their fourth album “Sempiternal” on RCA in 2013. This album also did exceptionally well on the UK, US and Australia album charts and saw the band playing alongside notable acts such as Rise Against and Bullet for My Valentine.

The group has sold over 130 million albums worldwide with minimal support from the radio or mainstream media. Its music has gone silver, gold, and platinum over 600 times. It has won Grammys, Brit Awards, and countless other accolades. Iron Maiden played over 2,500 live shows, which are still regarded as some of the best out there.

Iron Maiden’s hard-hitting sound practically defined the genre of heavy metal and inspired bands like KISS, Metallica, and Avenged Sevenfold. Combine that with the band’s intelligent lyrics on topics like history, mythology, war, society, and literature, and it’s easy to understand why its appeal hasn’t faded.

Iron Maiden formed on Christmas Day of 1975. Bassist Steve Harris put together a short-lived original lineup, with only Harris and guitarist Dave Murray remaining in the band to the present day. By 1978, the rockers found vocalist Paul Di’Anno, whose raspy voice fit the group beautifully. Finding the right people occupied the group throughout the rest of the ’70s, and was a challenge for much of the band’s career, but it was by no means stagnant during this time.

Iron Maiden’s self-titled debut album dropped in 1980. It landed at number four on the UK Albums Chart and was lauded by journalists around the world. Iron Maiden included fan favorites like “Transylvania,” “Phantom of the Opera,” and “Running Free.” The group’s headline tour of the UK gained it devoted fans, as did its stints opening for Judas Priest and Kiss on tours. Its show at the Reading Festival in the UK 1980 drew 40,000 fans.

The band released Killers, its second studio album, in 1981. With better production and songs like “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” this album inspired decades of speed metal to come. Iron Maiden’s success launched a world tour that took it to the United States for the first time.

1981 saw the dismissal of Paul Di’Anno due to drug use and his replacement by Bruce Dickinson, who remains the lead singer today. Over the next ten years, the band’s eight subsequent albums like The Number of the Beast (1982), Piece of Mind (1983), and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) are living testaments to the prolific creativity and work ethic of the group.

By the end of the ’80s, Iron Maiden was arguably the best metal band in history. Its live shows had progressed to unprecedented grandeur, with a 100,000-watt sound system and highly-innovative light shows. It toured with groups like Anthrax and headlined events like Roskilde Festival in Denmark.

Bruce Dickinson departed from the band on August 28, 1993, playing a final farewell concert to mark the occasion. It wasn’t until the turn of the millennium that he rejoined. The band’s next album, Brave New World, was a return-to-form with progressive elements and complex melodic work. Brave New World charted around the world and re-established Iron Maiden’s place at the top of the metal world.

The band continued releasing cutting-edge albums in the 2000s and 2010s, from 2002’s Rock in Rio to Senjutsu in 2021. The intervening decades have seen the band tour the globe extensively and take its infamous live shows to even greater heights. From stadiums to outdoor festivals and beyond, Iron Maiden is uniquely able to captivate tens of millions of fans, elevating its art to new levels while pushing the boundaries of what metal is and can be.

Catch the band in concert — it’s an experience you’ll never forget.

Papa Roach’s music style has been largely debated and the band has been referred to under many different genres. These include hard rock, electronic rock, alternative metal, nu metal, rap rock and rap metal. Generally, however, they are simply referred to as a rock band.

Papa Roach formed in 1993, when two of its members discussed the potential of a band on their school football field. Jacoby Shaddix and drummer Dave Buckner started the band and were soon joined by bass guitarist Will James and lead guitarist Jerry Horton. During these early days the band played every gig they could get, balancing school with performing. A year later they released their first EP, bizarrely entitled ‘Potatoes for Christmas’. In 1996 James was replaced by Tobin Esperance. In 1997 the band released their first full length album, entitled the self-explanatory ‘Old Friends from Young Years’. Their last two independent releases were in 1998 and 1999. The latter EP, ‘Let ‘Em Know’, earned them a record deal by DreamWorks Records.

Since signing and entering the mainstream market, Papa Roach have continued to garner a steady stream of support and success, touring with esteemed bands such as Guns N’ Roses. However, one of their earliest tracks, ‘Last Resort’, still remains their most popular single to date. They have toured worldwide, indicating just how successful the band has become since their early days. The current line up now consists of original, Jacoby Shaddix, Jerry Horton, Tobin Esperance and Tony Palermo who replaced Buckner after he entered rehab.

Despite their mainstream success, Papa Roach remain indie at heart. Their name is an indication of the real bond between the members and the history between them: Papa Roach was the nickname of Shaddix’s step-grandfather, who committed suicide in 2006 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. The band paid homage to him with the song ‘Roses on my Grave’.

Born in Detroit, Michigan on 4 February 1948, Furnier originally started Alice Cooper as a band (later adopting the name as his own) consisting of him on lead vocals, lead guitarist Glen Buxton, guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith. The band started out playing various small gigs around Los Angeles, but with their “controversial” stage antics they did so without success; that is, until they signed with Frank Zappa’s new Straight Records label. In 1969, they released their first album, “Pretties For You,” and despite it reaching Number 1 for a week, it was considered a failure.

For the band, their success and fame came from their live shows. Deemed the “chicken incident” where rumors were made that a chicken head was bitten off on stage, the band used the attention to further their career, adopting the new “shock rock” subgenre of rock and roll. It wasn’t until their third album “Love It To Death” that they saw success in record sales, the first of what was to be a string of successful records both as a band, and as a solo artist. The tour that followed in 1971 featured their unique stage theatrics, including an electric chair execution at the end of the show; not to mention their androgynous fashion styles.

The summer of 1972 saw the release of their most iconic single, and album to date, “School’s Out.” It also saw a change of their on-stage presence with Cooper taking on a more machismo-type attitude. With the continuing achievement in their album sales and tours, the band put out yet another commercially successful album, hitting their peak with their last album as a group “Muscle of Love.” Due to constant disagreements and various other issues, the band went on a ‘temporary hiatus’ in 1974, a hiatus that they would never come back from.

It was in 1975 when the still Vincent Furnier legally changed his name to Alice Cooper, to continue making music as a solo artist; with his first album, “Welcome To My Nightmare” becoming a huge success. It was from this album the basis for the stage show television special “The Nightmare” was conceived, later gaining a Grammy nomination for best Long Form Music Video and setting rock history. However, by 1977 Cooper had hit his lowest point in his battle with alcoholism and was checked into a sanitarium to sober up.

Using his experience in the sanitarium, a newly sober Cooper released “From The Inside” and set his stage show for the album as the inside of an asylum. Unfortunately the sober Cooper didn’t last very long, with almost all of his albums from the 80s being deemed ‘blackout albums’ due to being under the influence of various drugs; consequently, the albums, which had a much different sound were not as commercially successful as his previous solo albums. It wasn’t until 1986 and the release of “Constrictor” that Cooper found his career back on top.

The 90s found Cooper touring more than spending time in the recording studio. The touring continued into the 2000s with the lengthy break in studio recordings broken with his release of “Brutal Planet.” By December 2010 it was announced the Alice Cooper (the band) would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, seeing a reunited band perform for the first time in a long time.

The band Payable On Death was formed in 1992 by Marcos Curiel and Wuv Bernard, who are originally from San Diego. In the early stages the duo were just jamming and didn't currently have a vocalist. Sonny Sandoval was invited to join by his cousin Bernard after he turned to Christianity following the fatal death of his mother. After the edition of bass player Gabe Portillo, the original line up was in place and they continued from there as P.O.D. The band have a variety of influencers such as Santana, Bob Marley, Metallica, U2, Pantera, Bad Brains and Faith No More. This helps to explain the way their sound tends to cross genres including alternative rock, reggae and latin.

In 1994 they released their debut album 'Snuff the Punk' through Rescue Records. They didn't achieve chart success with their first few albums yet their reputation quickly spread through the States, the band were famously offered a $100,000 recording contract which Sonny turned down as he believed that “God has a bigger plan for P.O.D".

The 2001 album 'Satellite' was their first appearance on the US and UK charts, charting at #6 and #16 respectively. They also topped the US Christian charts and appeared on numerous others around the world. Their next four albums all topped the US Christian chart, whilst three peaked within the top ten on the US Billboard Chart. However their success in the UK could be described as a one hit wonder, with 'Satellite' remaining the only charting album.

Mastodon is an American metal band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. in the year 2000. Their music is categorized as sludge metal or progressive metal.

The band is comprised of drummer Brann Dailor, guitarist Bill Kelliher, bassist Troy Sanders and Guitarist Hinds. The foursome met at a High on Fire concert and formed Mastodon after getting along right away. After recording a demo in 2000, Mastodon was signed to Relapse Records in 2001. They released their debut album “Remission” in 2002 and the sophomore album “Leviathan” followed in 2004.

Mastodon’s “Leviathan” is a concept album, whose theme revolves around the novel “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville. The album received honorable mentions in UK music magazines “Kerrang!” and “Terrorizer.” Mastodon’s work also gained popularity in the video gaming industry. Songs off of “Remission” appeared in video game “Tony Hawk’s Underground,” the single “Iron Tusk” from “Leviathan” was featured in “Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland,” and the single “Blood and Thunder” appeared in “Guitar Hero: Metallica” and “Need for Speed: Most Wanted.”

In 2006 Mastodon ended their contract with Relapse Records and signed with Warner Bros. Music. The third album “Blood Mountain” boosted Mastodon to commercial success. The album reached No.9 on music magazine Rolling Stone’s best albums of 2006 and they performed the single “Colony of Birchmen” with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age at the MTV Music Video Awards in 2007. Mastodon was also nominated for their performance of the same single at the 2007 Grammy awards. “Colony of Birchmen” also debuted on video game “Rock Band 2” and “Blood Mountain” single “Sleeping Giant” was made popular on video game “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.”

The album “Crack the Skye” was released in March 2009 and focuses on the themes of wormholes, Stephen Hawking’s theories, and out-of-body experiences. Scott Kelly from the band Neurosis guest features on the singles “Crack the Skye,” “Aqua Dementia,” and “Crystal Skull.” Drummer Dailor provides the vocals for the single “Oblivion.” The album was promoted on American show “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and on the European leg of the Metallica tour “World Magnetic Tour” in 2009. Artist Paul Romano provides the artwork for the album covers and backdrops for Mastodon. Mastodon cites metal bands like Neurosis and Melvins and 1970’s artist Thin Lizzy as their musical inspiration.

Trivium began with a talent show at the Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Way back in the year 2000, one of its acts was a fourteen year old guitar player by the name of Matt Heafy, whose performance of Metallica’s “No Leaf Clover” caught the eye of Trivium’s very first singer Brad Lewter. Impressed, the vocalist asked him to try out and soon after, Heafy was an official member of the band.

The band started gigging soon afterwards and after some time, Lewter left the band, allowing Heafy to take over lead vocal duties as well as playing rhythm guitar. It was with this set up that Trivium went into the studio and recorded their debut album “Ember To Inferno”, releasing it in October 2003. The album was enough to tour with Machine Head off the back of it, who in turn, introduced them to the folks at iconic metal label Roadrunner Records.

It was their second record however, that made the band what they are today. Released on Roadrunner in March 2005, “Ascendancy” wasn’t a hit immediately but thanks to positive critical reception, word of mouth and an utterly astonishing set at the 2005 Download Festival, it went on to make their name on the world stage. Over 100,000 copies sold in the U.K alone later, it became one of the decade’s touchstone metal albums.

Since then, they have remained near the top of the metal world as one of the century’s first true success stories. The likes of "Like Light to the Flies", "Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr" and "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" are new metal standards that thousands of garage bands practise to this day. There really is no higher compliment than that when it comes to rock and roll. No true metal head can go wrong with a Trivium gig, highly recommended.

Sepultura have the kind of origins that one would never believe if it wasn’t true. The band were formed by the brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, sons of a well to do Italian diplomat whose tragic death left his family in financial ruin. However, the very same day that his father died, Max heard Black Sabbath Vol. 4 for the first time. The combination of events sparked an obsession with heavy metal and both brothers conspired to form a band soon after that.

They settled on the name Sepultura, the Portuguese word for “grave”, when Max translated the lyrics to the Motörhead song “Dancing On Your Grave”. However, the final and most crucial influence that the brothers discovered was Newcastle’s very own Venom, considered by many to be the worlds first black metal band. By 1984, both brothers dropped out of school to make the band work, and were signed to Cogumelo Records by 1985.

1986 saw the release of their debut album “Morbid Visions”, whose song “Troops Of Doom” gained the band national attention. The band relocated to the larger city of São Paulo to capitalise and the follow up album, 1987’s “Schizophrenia” did just that. It was the first record to make a name for the band in the United Kingdom and the States due to the radio play it received and critical notices it was getting in the metal press.

Crucially, it secured the band a deal with metal titans Roadrunner Records without the label ever seeing them perform live. Everything was set up in the bands favour, and with 1989’s “Beneath The Remains”, they knocked it out of the park. It was immediately hailed as a classic to rival Slayer’s “Reign In Blood” L.P and was the ticket they needed for their first shows outside of South America. Inside of South America they were massive on a barely comprehendible scale, their set at the 1991 Rock In Rio Festival attracted a reported 100’000 spectators.

After that, the band had a creative run of three albums that most bands in general, let alone metal bands, haven’t been able to touch before or since. “Arise”, “Chaos A.D” and “Roots” were all massively critically acclaimed and sold buckets but, as with all good things, it had to come to an end. Max Cavalera left the band in 1997 with some seriously bad blood left between him and the rest of the band and while the band have continued without him, they’ve never quite reached the acclaim they had while he was still in their ranks. Then again, few bands ever reach that level of acclaim so it’s unfair to compare.

The band are still an unmissable live act, with tracks like “Refuse/Resist”, “Arise” and “Roots Bloody Roots” still able to cause as ungodly a ruckus as they were always able to. Any metal fan would do well to catch them the next chance they get.

Social Distortion’s far spanning presence within the music industry might come as a surprise to many. The group formed in the late 70s but did not release their first album until the 80s of which was one of only two albums released within the decade. Despite the band’s infrequent releases during their start, these early recordings have become staples within the punk cannon.

The group was founded by frontman Mike Ness at the end of 1978. The band expanded into a line up including the brothers Rikk and Frank Agnew on guitars and Casey Royer on drums; however, once bassist Dennis Danell joined the band the remaining members left to form the Adolescents. Danell eventually graduated to guitars and continued on as the band’s only consistent founding member alongside Ness.

The group released their first single “Mainliner/Playpen” in 1981 through the O.C. affiliate label Posh Boy. Their single “1945” also was issued that year on the Rodney Bingenheimer compilation album “Rodney on the ROQ”. A year later the group went on an international tour supporting Youth Brigade, hitting stops around the US and Canada.

Social Distortion self-released their debut album “Mommy’s Little Monster” through 13th Floor Records in 1983. After this release the band started gaining worldwide recognition and were featured in documentaries and on popular TV channels such as MTV.

Though the band was pushing their career in an interesting direction in the early 80s and had proven themselves essential figures in the hardcore/skate punk music circuit, they disbanded in 1985 as a result of Ness‘ incapacitating drug addiction.

After Ness was released from his drug rehabilitation program he jumpstarted Social Distortion’s career, this time taking a whole new approach. The group’s new sound sported country outlaw influences touching on Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, and Hank Williams. The band also took cues from neighboring southwestern cow punk bands like the Meat Puppets and X. Even some of the Rolling Stones’ crossover stage to American Honky Tonk can be heard in the music of Social Distortion.

Social Distortion showcased their newly found style with 1988’s “Prison Bound”. The album was regarded as a mature step for the band and laid the template for their future releases. Their self-titled 3rd album featured a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” and entered the Billboard 200 rising to No. 128.

The group’s follow up album “Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell” was a huge commercial and critical success, becoming the band’s best selling album in their career. The album included their single “Bad Luck”, which peaked at No. 2 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Social Distortion took yet another hiatus, but returned in 1996 with their album “White Light White Heat, White Trash” (a clear pun of the Velvet Underground’s seminal noise-rock album). The album exhibited a much harder sounding tone than it’s predecessors’ and winded up at No. 27 on the Billboard 200. It featured the single “I Was Wrong” as well as a cover of the Rolling Stone’s “Under My Thumb”. The album was preceded by a compilation album of the group’s early recordings “Mainliner: Wreckage from the Past” and was followed by the live album “Live at the Roxy”.

Social Distortion’s next studio album “Sex, Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll” did not come out until 6 years after the release of “White Light, White Heat, White Trash”. The album received very positive reviews earning the No. 456 spot in Rock Hard magazine’s book of “The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of all Time”. Additionally it landed at No. 31 on the Billboard 200. The band’s greatest hits album followed in 2007 and their 7th studio album “Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes” came out in 2011.

Formed in New York in the early 80’s, the band picked a name that they deemed ‘sufficiently evil’ sounding and immediately began to draw notoriety from its rowdy live performances.

After signing with heavy metal powerhouse Megaforce Records, things were looking good for the band however they struggled to a find a line-up that worked. With a debut album in the bag they eventually settled with Joey Belladonna as the frontman.

They began to release albums like ‘Spreading The Disease’ and ‘Among the Living’ which is widely considered the band’s breakthrough record and is often cited as a fan favorite. During this time they toured with big names such as Living Color and Metallica and were on the tour that saw the untimely demise of Metalica’s much beloved bassist Cliff Burton.

In the early 90’s the band embarked on an unlikely partnership that turned out to be one of their best moves. After collaborating successfully with Rap group Public Enemy on their track ‘Bring The Noise’, the group embarked on a US tour with the group and the meeting of Thrash and Hip Hop turned out be a successful pairing.

The band has continued to tour and release albums under a variety of line ups and have come to be respected and worshiped amongst metal fans. In 2010 the band headlined the UK’s Sonisphere Festival as part of the big four event and the reaction from hundreds of thousands of people was the ultimate sign of respect.

When Zakk Wylde formed the band after his long run being Ozzy Osbourne’s right hand man, he formed a southern rock band called Pride & Glory… and then Osbourne decided that he wanted to record another album, so he did, in the form of an album called “Ozzmosis”. It was around this time that Wylde was also offered not only the “Ozzmosis” tour with Osbourne but also a slot in the line up of Guns N’ Roses tour in 1995. As neither of those projects materialised, Wylde decided to finally record his solo acoustic album entitled “Book of Shadows” which unfortunately didn’t achieve the commercial success he had hoped.

Out of this phase only came good things when Wylde teamed up with drummer Phil Ondich and formed Black Label Society. It was this then side project that became Zakk Wyldes commercially successful freight train of a band releasing nine studio albums to date, with their two most recent releases, “Order of the Black” released on August 10th 2010 made it to number 4 in the US charts and “Catacombs of the Black Vatican” released on April 8th 2014 went to number 5 in the US charts, securing Black Label Society’s place in the mainstream.

The group have certainly had their fair share of controversy over a 33-year period. Suicidal Tendencies have been thought of as a group who promoted violence through their quick-tempoed and aggressive sounding music and also rumours that claimed that some of the band members had gang connections. In 1981, Flipside awarded them their Worst Band Award, but S.T. were ironically voted the 'Best New Band' the following year by the same fanzine.

In a nine year period before the start of the nineties, Suicidal Tendencies released five albums including their self-titled first release, which received the plaudits of icons from the metal/punk genre. Since their inception, they have been known for their fast and furious music and often rowdy concerts. During the 1980's, the group were banned from playing shows in Los Angeles after fans destroyed the venue they were performing in.

After their two year break from music, Suicidal Tendencies returned with a completely new band line up and new sound. S.T have always experimented with different genres normally ranging between structured punk to the more hardcore thrash metal sound. The group are comfortable at catering for either genre and have gained a massive fanbase as a result.

Suicidal Tendencies have been influenced by many bands over the years including Anthrax (who have given them credit numerous times), Black Sabbath, Motorhead and Limp Bizkit. Their latest album, "13", was released on their own record label "Suicidal".

Before the original members of Queensrÿche formed their band they were all in several different metal bands that were influenced by such artists as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden. After some of the members’ bands started to dissolve, vocalist Geoff Tate, guitarists Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton, bassist Eddie Jackson, and drummer Scott Rockenfield formed a band called The Mob, but soon changed their name to Queensrÿche after their song “Queen of the Reich”, which was on the band’s demo tape. The band’s demo tape made it to “Kerrang!” magazine and received a great review from the publication. This review led to Queensrÿche releasing the demo as a self-titled EP in 1983. The EP sold significantly well for an independent release and received much airplay over the radios.

In the summer of 1983 the band signed a record contract with EMI and headed on several high profile tours with bands like Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, and Dio. The band traveled to London, UK to record their first album “The Warning”, which came out in 1984. The producer James Guthrie, who has notably worked with Judas Priest and Pink Floyd, produced the album for the band. Their debut album did fairly well on the Billboard charts reaching the No. 61 position.

By the release of the band’s 1986 album “Rage for Order” they had undertaken a more glam rock appearance due to the suggestion from their record label, but their sound headed in a more progressive rock direction, which incorporated the use of synthesizers in their heavy metal mix. The lyrics in the album also conveyed themes about artificial intelligence and technological ideas.

In 1988 the band released one of their most critically and commercially successful albums to date, “Operation: Mindcrime”. The album is a concept album that is regarded as one of the best concept albums of all time, and has been ranked by “Kerrang!” as one of the best heavy metal albums of all time. The album reached the No. 50 position on the Billboard 200 chart and was later certified platinum by RIAA. The album contained the singles “Eyes of a Stranger/Queen of the Reich”, “Revolution Calling”, and “I Don’t Believe in Love/The Needle Lies”. The song “I Don’t Believe in Love” was nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best Metal Performance”. The band’s next album “Empire”, which came out in 1990 was even more successful than “Operation: Mindcrime”. The album reached the No. 7 position on the Billboard 200 chart and has become 3x platinum. The album contained the power ballad “Silent Lucidity” that was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Although the band has had a few lineup changes and has experimented with different genres such as grunge, the band still regularly releases quality albums. The lineup after the 2012 departure of lead singer Geoff Tate consists of the members: Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield, Parker Lundgren, and Todd La Torre. Queensrÿche are avid performers and tour consistently. They have played notable venues like Madison Square Garden and have toured with the likes of Iron Maiden, Kiss, Metallica, and Def Leppard.

Formed by Björn “Speed” Strid and Peter Wichers with the intention of emulating bands like Pantera, Meshuggah and Carcass, Soilwork formed in 1995 under the name Inferior Breed. Speed and Winchers spent most of 1996 putting together the rest of the bands line-up while working on songs together, however, the songs they were writing became progressively more melodic as time went on. In response, they decided to change the name of the band to Soilwork, just as they finished putting together the band’s first line-up. The band recorded their first demo soon afterwards, and in a chance encounter with Arch Enemy guitarist Michael Amott, the band gave him a copy of it.

This proved to be a great move for the band, and Amott started championing the band, leading them to be signed to Listenable Records. The band spent most of 1997 honing their live act by touring, along with writing and recording whenever they weren’t on the road. In 1998 they recorded and released their debut album “Steelbath Suicide”, a record which made a name for them across the metal world. It wasn’t until their second record, 1999’s “The Chainheart Machine”, that the band truly came into their own, however. Their sophomore effort was rapturously received, and secured the band a record contract with the legendary Nuclear Blast Records.

Ever since then the band have been one of the most vital metal bands around. Along with In Flames, they have made melodic death metal one of the most succesful styles of extreme metal in the world. They’ve toured with everyone from Killswitch Engage to Cannibal Corpse, Lamb Of God to Anthrax, and have even charted on the Billboard albums charts, with 2010’s “The Panic Broadcast” hitting the top ten of the Independent Album Charts. After twenty years and six guitarists, they remain one of the top death metal bands in the world, and for that, they come highly recommended.

The band formed in 1988, led by guitarist Jimmy Bower and drummer Joe LaCraze, bringing in Michael D. Williams on vocals, Brian Patton on lead guitar and Steve Dale on the bass. After releasing some early demos, they recorded their debut album, "In The Name of Suffering," in 1992, released on French label, Intellectual Convulsion. This was followed by 1993's "Take As Needed For Pain," featuring new bassist Mark Schultz. However, after substantial touring, Eyehategod went on a hiatus, with Bower made busy with commitments to Crowbar and Down.

The band briefly returned to release their third album, "Dopesick" in 1996, before falling quiet once again until the end of the decade. The band recorded several new singles which were compiled in 2000 on "Southern Discomfort," also including live recordings. This new release gave them impetus to complete another full studio album, "Confederacy of Ruined Lives," that same year, before again embarking on nationwide tours.

The band fell quiet once again, although still continued to perform intermittently. It was not until 2005 that new material was released, "Preaching the 'End-Time' Message," another compilation album in the same vein as "Southern Discomfort. In the following years the band continued to performat major festivals and embark on tours, celebrating their 20 year anniversary in 2008. It was not until 2014 that Eyehategod brought forth their fans new music, with their self-titled album, their first for nearly ten years.