Heavy metal band Disturbed came together through the matching of a band with a singer. Longtime friends Dan Donegan (guitar), Mike Wengren (drums), and Fuzz (bass) played together in Chicago for some time before hooking up with singer David Draiman around 1997. Draiman had grown up in a religious family against which he rebelled, being expelled... [+] Read More

Yes No

0 out of 1 people agree

In late 2000, guitarist Aaron Fink and bassist Mark James Klepaski made a surprising and unexpected decision: they left Lifer, an alternative metal band that was signed to Universal and was gaining commercial acceptance. Fink and Klepaski departed Lifer (which was originally called Strangers with Candy) so that they could join forces with singer... [+] Read More

Yes No

The Boston-based alternative metal group Godsmack originally comprised vocalist Sully Erna (a devout Wiccan), guitarist Tony Rambola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Tommy Stewart. After debuting in 1997 with All Wound Up, Godsmack signed with Universal, which in 1998 reissued the LP as a self-titled effort with a handful of new tracks; at... [+] Read More

Yes No

The foursome that came together and created Killswitch Engage already had strong fan followings. Mike D'Antonio (bass) was formerly the leader and principal songwriter of Overcast, the legendary underground metal group. When Overcast split in 1998, D'Antonio sought for a year to find the right combination of players to fuse hardcore and metal... [+] Read More

Yes No

Influential West Coast heavy metal quartet Machine Head formed in 1992 around the talents of ex-Vio-lence guitar players Robert Flynn and Phil Demmel, bass player Adam Duce, and drummer Chris Kontos. The band's D.I.Y. work ethic, aggressive playing, and relentless self-promotion eventually landed them a deal with Roadrunner Records, a... [+] Read More

Yes No

Heavy metal quartet Mudvayne formed in Peoria, IL, in 1996, its members adopting the unusual pseudonyms sPaG (M. McDonough) (drums), Gurrg (G. Tribbett) (guitar), and Kud (C. Gray) (vocals). The group's original bassist was replaced after two years by Ryknow (Ryan Martinie). During their development, the band members began the practice of... [+] Read More

Yes No

Formed in Miami in 1997, Nonpoint is an interracial alternative metal/rap-metal foursome that consists of two Puerto Ricans (vocalist Elias Soriano and drummer Robb Rivera) and two whites (guitarist Andrew Goldman and bassist KB). Occasionally, the bilingual Sorian (a native of New Jersey) sings and raps in Spanish, although the vast majority of... [+] Read More

Yes No

Atlanta-based Sevendust became one of the rising stars in late-'90s heavy metal with an aggressive blend of bottom-heavy riffs and soulful, accessible melodies. The band, comprised of frontman Lajon Witherspoon, John Connolly (guitar), Clint Lowery (guitar), Vince Hornsby (bass), and Morgan Rose (drums) first appeared in 1995 as Crawlspace,... [+] Read More

Yes No

Although Slipknot made their mainstream debut in the late '90s, singer Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root got their start a few years before in Stone Sour. Described as a cross between Metallica and Alice in Chains, the group was put aside when the two men joined Slipknot. In the spring of 2002, Root and Taylor got in contact with original... [+] Read More

Yes No

Ann Arbor, MI's own Taproot sent their demo to Limp Bizkit frontman/business entrepreneur Fred Durst in 1998, not even thinking Durst would call them back personally. To their surprise, he promised the alterna-punk metal four-piece the world. But Durst obviously took too long to deliver the goods, for Taproot -- frontman Stephen Richards,... [+] Read More

Yes No