.45 Grave was a Los Angeles-based death-rock band whose macabre, morose and sometimes amusing music helped to get the goth-rock genre off to its shambling life. In 1985, after gaining a fair deal of attention via gloom-ridden gigs and several depressing releases, the band split up, with Paul B. Cutler and Dinah Cancer (real name Mary Sims) going... [+] Read More

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Punk to the core, yet with audible influences from early heavy metal and surf rock, Agent Orange formed in Fullerton, California at the end of the '70s, with vocalist/guitarist Mike Palm, bassist James Levesque and drummer Scott Miller. The first Agent Orange record, released in 1981 on Poshboy Records in the midst of Southern California's... [+] Read More

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Culling its membership from various Norwegian black metal luminaries, Arcturus has been an evolving project for founding keyboardist Steiner "Sverd" Johnsen and drummer Hellhammer (also known as a member of Mayhem, one of the most infamous Norwegian black metal ensembles). The results of this newer endeavor have been quite fruitful, and with... [+] Read More

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San Francisco's Death Angel was a product of the bustling Bay Area thrash metal scene of the 1980s. Combining serious guitar crunch and speed with a fair amount of technical expertise, they created complex thrash metal filled with time changes and tricky arrangements that, although generally loved by critics, usually failed to translate beyond a... [+] Read More

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Ever since their inception in the late 1970's, Italy's Death SS (i.e. “Death of Steve Sylvester") have been synonymous with the sub-genre known as horror metal -- a concept they helped pioneer and have since explored to greater lengths than arguably any other band on this, or any other world. Simply put, if the work of B-movie directing legend... [+] Read More

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A joint effort by Rhys Fulber and former Front Line Assembly bandmate Bill Leeb, Delerium has produced some of the most unusual sounds to emanate from Vancouver, Canada. With Leeb responsible for finding samples, writing lyrics, creating bass lines, sequencing, and overseeing the project and Fulber handling the sampling and programming, and... [+] Read More

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Together with their countrymen Kreator and Sodom, Germany's Destruction constituted the dominating triumvirate of Teutonic thrash metal during the 1980's. Although they ultimately failed to match these peers' in terms of commercial success and longevity, at least two of their albums still qualify among the crème de la crème of the decade's speed... [+] Read More

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Together with their countrymen Kreator and Sodom, Germany's Destruction constituted the dominating triumvirate of Teutonic thrash metal during the 1980's. Although they ultimately failed to match these peers' in terms of commercial success and longevity, at least two of their albums still qualify among the crème de la crème of the decade's speed... [+] Read More

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LLL

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MORDRED has been reinvented many times over the last 24 years with a host of different musicians and two distinctive styles, Thrash/Death Metal and Thrash/Funk Metal.
The band was formed in San Francisco in 1984 by Steve Scates, Alex Gerould, Art Liboon, Josh Juska and Brian Douglas Gilbert "Heavy Metal Drummer" - Lee Altus (Angel Witch,... [+] Read More

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Aggressive, meticulous, passionate, righteous - all distinguishing traits that have come to symbolize the fundamentals of metal/hardcore pioneers PRO-PAIN. Since their crushing 1992 NAIRD nominated debut album "Foul Taste Of Freedom", PRO-PAIN have become a staple in the diets of heavy music listeners around the globe. Their successful and... [+] Read More

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Although not the best known of Glenn Danzig's musical projects, the short-lived Samhain helped bridge the gap between the fierce punk of his Misfits days with the Sabbath-y metal blues of his solo band, Danzig. As most Danzig disciples know, the New Jersey-born singer first made a name for himself with the aforementioned Misfits, a group that... [+] Read More

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One of the most original and, in terms of frontman Andi Sexgang's longevity, persistent of all the early-'80s British goth bands, the Sex Gang Children came together in early 1981 around a nucleus of Sexgang, bassist Dave Roberts, guitarist Terry MacLeay, and drummer Rob Stroud. All were unknowns, ensuring that the group's name was more... [+] Read More

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German thrash metal band made up of Angel Ripper (bass/vocals), Aggressor (guitar/vocals), and Witchhunter (drums). They were heavily influenced by thrash/speed metal bands like Motorhead, Venom, and Mercyful Fate, exploring the darkest subject matter possible. Aggressor quit the group before their first full-length album was released and was... [+] Read More

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One of the crucial links in the musical chain linking hardcore punk with speed metal, the Stormtroopers of Death -- known more commonly as S.O.D. -- were actually intended to be a one-off novelty side project, done as a lark during a gap in Anthrax's recording and touring schedule in 1985. Guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante were... [+] Read More

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Crawling out of the same noisy, arty New York underground that sired Sonic Youth and Lydia Lunch, Swans created a dark, abrasive, murky, slowed-down noise rock that served as a starting point for their ruminations about alienation, depression, depravity, and the disturbing side of human nature. Singers Michael Gira and Jarboe have been the... [+] Read More

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This German speed-metal band's primary theme revolved around extolling the virtues of alcohol. ~ John Book, All Music Guide

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Out of all the bands that emerged in the immediate aftermath of punk rock in the late '70s, the Cure was one of the most enduring and popular. Led through numerous incarnations by guitarist/vocalist Robert Smith (born April 21, 1959), the band became notorious for their slow, gloomy dirges and Smith's ghoulish appearance. But the public image... [+] Read More

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