Artension was the brainchild of Shrapnel Records head Mike Varney. He received a demo from Vitalij Kuprij and Roger Staffelbach of a project they called Atlantis Rising. He got the idea to hook them up with John West, Kevin Chown, and Mike Terrana. The result was a band called Artension (named for a combination of the words "art" and "tension")... [+] Read More

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Vocalist John Walker, bassist Ian Buchanan, and drummer Carl Stokes started Cancer in the late '80s as a brutal, simplistic death metal trio. Debuting with the amateurish To the Gory End, their lineup got a shot in the arm when ex-Obituary guitarist James Murphy signed on in 1992 for their technically impressive Death Shall Rise album. Although... [+] Read More

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When lead singer and heavy metal legend Rob Halford left Judas Priest in the early '90s (following two decades of service in the veteran band), he quickly rebounded with a ferocious new metal band called Fight, which he co-founded with Priest drummer Scott Travis. Fleshing out the group's lineup with guitarists Russ Parrish and Brian Tilse and... [+] Read More

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Kai Hansen formed Helloween in 1984, playing guitar and singing on the speed-metal band's first four albums. He left in early 1989, however, and founded Gamma Ray with vocalist Ralf Scheepers (formerly with Tyran Pace). The duo intended to record a one-off project that Hansen originated while in Helloween, so they recruited bassist Uwe Wessel,... [+] Read More

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Following their formation in 1993, Hammerfall underwent numerous personnel changes before settling on their current lineup, which includes principal songwriters Joachim Cans (vocals) and Oscar Dronjak (guitars). In Flames skinbeater Jesper Stromblad contributed to their debut, although Patrick Rafling replaced him soon after. Since the release... [+] Read More

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Fashion trends may come and go, but Florida's Iced Earth has remained steadfastly committed to championing the cause of heavy metal through thick and thin. After years of laboring in obscurity and undergoing countless lineup changes, they have slowly emerged as one of the greatest hopes for classic metal in America.

Originally... [+] Read More

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Fashion trends may come and go, but Florida's Iced Earth has remained steadfastly committed to championing the cause of heavy metal through thick and thin. After years of laboring in obscurity and undergoing countless lineup changes, they have slowly emerged as one of the greatest hopes for classic metal in America.

Originally... [+] Read More

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Power metal -- a forceful, hard-driving,and aggressive yet melodic style of heavy metal associated with headbangers like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Queensr˙che, Helloween, and King Diamond -- got started in the '70s and reached its commercial peak in the '80s. But after the '80s -- after Nirvana and Pearl Jam radically reshaped rock music in... [+] Read More

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In the wake of Mötley Crüe's meteoric rise to superstardom in 1983 on the strength of their now classic album Shout at the Devil, a countless amount of other similarly styled theatrical metal bands cropped up in the Los Angeles heavy metal community, including Lizzy Borden. Basically an '80s update of Alice Cooper (with some Iron Maiden-esque... [+] Read More

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Nevermore straddles the line between power metal, traditional heavy metal, and the contemporary hard rock scene, eschewing the silly theatrics of the "power scene" in favor of a darker tone, while reaping the rewards of melody and the high-flying vocal range of singer Warrel Dane. The roots of the Seattle-based band can be traced back to... [+] Read More

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Upon switching their name from Xecutioner to Obituary, the career of one of the most successful and influential Death Metal bands began. Hailing from Florida and featuring John Tardy (vocals), brother Donald Tardy (drums), Trevor Peres (guitar), Allen West (guitar), and Daniel Tucker (bass), the band signed to Roadracer Records, a now defunct... [+] Read More

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The Swedish heavy metal band Tad Morose was originally formed in 1991, and although numerous members have passed through their ranks over the years, the only constant member has been founding guitarist Christer "Krunt" Andersson. Starting off as a vocal/guitar/bass/drum quartet, the band added a keyboardist to the lineup by 1993, the same year... [+] Read More

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Vader formed in 1986, toiling around the European death and thrash circuit while releasing demos into the metal tape-trading circuit. Their 1990 demo, Morbid Reich, became a huge hit in the underground, leading to a record deal with Earache in 1992. This made them the first death metal band from behind the Iron Curtain to sign a record deal... [+] Read More

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