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Evolution of Heavy Metal music

2023-07-02T13:04:00.002+05:30

Heavy Metal music has evolved dramatically since its inception in the late 1960s. From the early days of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to today’s modern metal scene, there have been many changes in style, instrumentation, production techniques and lyrical content.

In the beginning stages of heavy metal music (known as “proto-metal”) bands like Black Sabbath were heavily influenced by blues rock but added a heavier sound with distorted guitars and darker lyrics that focused on topics such as death, destruction and occult themes. This gave rise to what is now known as “doom metal” – a subgenre characterized by slow tempos, minor keys & dark atmospheres – which was popularized by bands such as Pentagram & Witchfinder General in the 1970s & 1980s respectively.

As time progressed so did heavy metal; from doom we moved onto thrash/speed/power/death featuring much faster tempos than before along with more technical drumming patterns & guitar solos that were often based around scales rather than chords or riffs (as found earlier). Bands like Metallica helped usher this new wave of heavier sounds into mainstream consciousness during this period while also paving way for various other subgenres including blackened deathcore or melodic death metal depending on one's preference for extreme heaviness versus melody-driven songwriting structures .

In recent years however we've seen an even bigger evolution within Heavy Metal Music - from traditional styles being blended together through fusion genres like djent or progressive core all way up to experimental works created using unconventional instruments , complex rhythms /timings plus avant garde vocal delivery techniques ; it seems there are no limits when it comes creating something truly unique within this genre! With more artists pushing boundaries every day , Heavy Metal looks set continue progressing forward well into future generations !

POSSESSED - The creators of Death Metal

2021-09-04T16:40:00.000+05:30

Biography

Possessed started with Mike Torrao (guitar) and Mike Sus(drums) as a garage band in San Francisco's Bay Area. They formed in 1983, and were basically a garage band, with several lineup changes. Late in 1983, though, their singer Barry Fisk committed suicide, and when they managed to recruit singer/bassist Jeff Becerra they formed the band Possessed.

Jeff was fronting a local commercial-style metal band called Blizzard before he quit to join Possessed. (Also involved in this band were future Possessed guitarist Larry Lalonde and the band's future manager, Debbie Abono.) Jeff and the two Mikes, along with second guitarist Brian Montana, started perfecting their own brand of metal which was the precursor to modern death metal - very fast, savage riffs, warp-speed drums, mile-a-second solos, and the raspy growl of the vocals later perfected by Chuck Schuldiner of Death. (In fact, Chuck's vocals on "Scream Bloody Gore" sound almost exactly like Jeff Becerra's vocals on "Seven Churches," an album Schuldiner cites as a significant influence.)

Possessed took San Francisco's metal scene by storm, playing out with fellow Bay Area thrashers Exodus (it happened that the two Mikes were pretty good friends with Exodus' H-team, Rick Hunolt and Gary Holt) and other bands (many now long gone). In 1984 they recorded a four song demo which made its way to the ears of Brian Slagel of Metal Blade Records. He was impressed enough to ask them for a track for the upcoming Metal Massacre 6. Possessed gave them the song Swing Of The Axe, which proved to be the highlight of that compilation, and was included on the later "Best of Metal Massacre."

However, at the same time the band was deciding which track to give them, they were dealing with a weak link in the band, and his name was Brian Montana. In interviews after the fact, Torrao says that Montana's playing skills and dedication to the image that the band was trying to create (the 'leather and stud, inverted cross death/black stage presence) left much to be desired. He was fired, and Possessed then enlisted the axe-playing skills of Larry Lalonde, finagling him from that earlier band.

Thus, all at once, Possessed got one track released and a new guitarist. However, Metal Blade did not sign Possessed, and neither did Torrid Records, by this time the home of Exodus.

Then came Combat.

Combat Records signed Possessed in 1985, and the band spent the school Easter break recording the heaviest, fastest, most evil piece of metal ever to be carved into vinyl grooves - Seven Churches. This is the album that set the standard for death metal. Released in October of 1985, it was light-years ahead of its time, with the intricate-yet-heavy riffing of The Exorcist, Twisted Minds, and the title track (LaLonde's first co-writing credit) and the skull-pounding brutality of Burning In Hell, Evil Warriors, and the seminal Death Metal. The album was masterfully produced by Randy Burns, and recorded at Prairie Sun Studios. Seven Churches went on to be Combat Records' biggest-selling album. Not bad for a quartet of high school kids.

They spent most of the next year gigging around the US and Europe, and in October 1986 (on Halloween, to be exact) unleashed their second album Beyond The Gates. A poor production job by Carl Canedy robbed the songs of some of their energy, but the musical genius of Torrao's and Becerra's songwriting shone throughout the album, especially ..s like The Heretic, Beyond the Gates, and No Will To Live. Torrao and Becerra also got some help from LaLonde, who wrote three of the album's songs: Phantasm, Seance, and Tribulation (a crowd favorite from before the first album). This album was especially well received in Europe, where they toured at the end of 1986.

They toured more in the states early in 1987, and later that year they recorded and released The Eyes of Horror, a five song EP produced by LaLonde's guitar demagogue, Joe Satriani. It was musically the most advanced thing that Possessed had done, but the trademark satanism was almost completely absent on the EP. They had begun moving more in a thrash direction, and were getting away from the death and black magic imagery of their first two albums.

Shortly after the release of The Eyes Of Horror, the members of Possessed decided to call it a day, and Sus, LaLonde, and Becerra left the band.

Mike Torrao continued writing and recording music music under the Possessed name, taking over vocal duties. This part of the history is incomplete. Possessed went through several people trying to settle on the perfect mix for the band. After several tryouts (including, among others, Duane Connley [guitar] and Colin Carmichael [drums] from fellow Bay-Area thrashers Sanguinary), the line-up finally settled on Bob Yost (bass), Walter Ryan (drums), and Mark Strausberg (guitar) in 1991. This line-up recorded one two-song demo. Yost quit, but Torrao, Ryan, and Strausberg continued with new bassist Paul Perry, and this lineup released a three-song demo in 1992 (though apparently there was also a four-song version, including a newly- recorded version of The Exorcist). In 1993 Possessed returned to the live stage in the Bay Area, opening a few shows for Machine Head.

Powerwolf

2021-08-05T20:18:00.001+05:30

POWERWOLF is a band that fills every disciple of traditional melodic heavy metal with joy and stands for a successful quintet that needs no more introduction after 15 years of steep ascent. The anniversary was celebrated with a best-of release in 2020, which united the highlights of all six studio albums released to date - including both long-running hits from early works, and more recent hits from the gold-awarded records Blessed & Possessed and The Sacrament Of Sin, such as the platinum hit single “Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend”. Now, only about 12 months later, arguably the most successful pack of the contemporary German metal fauna is ready with bared fangs for the next bloody foray. The aptly titled Call Of The Wild, which was once more crafted by the venerable production duo of Jens Bogren and Joost van den Broek at Swedish Fascination Street Studios, will be unleashed on July 16, 2021! A new chapter in the band's history will be opened, serving up beloved classic trademarks to long time and newly recruited POWERWOLF devotees alike. Call Of The Wild is surprising and delighting at every stage of this wild 11-track ride, with stylistic advancements on an unprecedented scale! “Faster Than The Flame” - an opening blast that ignites the bonfire in purest POWERWOLF manner as a fiery distillation of such fulminant album openers as “Amen & Attack” or “Fire & Forgive” - bears the distinctive signature of the creative minds around main songwriter Matthew Greywolf even in the first chords, and impressively demonstrates that the five-piece has undoubtedly succeeded in creating its very own, unmistakable sound over the course of the last one and a half decades.
From this bomb-proof base, the wolves subsequently dare to take the stage with tracks like the outrageously catchy “Dancing With The Dead” (a future classic on every decent headbanger party playlist!), the wonderfully heretical “Glaubenskraft” and Attila Dorn's epic-emotional magic moment on “Alive Or Undead” - a power ballad on the highest level that finally cements the reputation of the frontman as an absolute exceptional bard!

POWERWOLF enters new musical territory every minute, conquering it for themselves in almost the same second and turning it into one big firework of fresh influences. Lyrically – aside from the usual tongue-in-cheek heresy à la “Undress To Confess” – Call Of The Wild is the hour of mythical scary characters, who would all have good cards in the fight for the rank of official band mascot: While “Beast Of Gévaudan” tells the story of a legendary predator that spread fear and terror in southern France in the middle of the 18th century at top speed, the stomping “Varcolac” pays homage to the eponymous wolfish demon of Romanian folklore, before “Blood For Blood (Faoladh)” evokes the Irish relative of the moon worshiper known to us as "Werewolf" in front of a fitting sound backdrop. Finally, the final offering “Reverent Of Rats” puts a pompous exclamation mark behind a work that can rightfully be called the most multi-faceted in the band's history so far and which – beyond all promotional platitudes – is a hot contender for the top position among this year's metal releases!
"Overall, “Call of the Wild” retakes the characteristic elements of the Heavy Metal Mass and preaches them in a better, wilder, and more epic way. While introducing some surprises, the listener will maintain attentive to the sermon’s message, a homily full of memorable choruses, countless melodic hooks, and ferocious riffs that will haunt the thirsty hordes around the world for more Powerwolf."

Country of origin:Germany
Location:Saarbrücken, Saarland
Status:Active
Formed in:2004
Genre: Power Metal
Lyrical themes:Werewolves, Dark myths, Horror, Religion, Sex, Humour
Current label:Napalm Records
Years active:2004-present

Charles Greywolf-Bass, Guitars (2004-present)
Matthew Greywolf-Guitars (2004-present)
See also: ex-Flowing Tears, ex-Flowing Tears & Withered Flowers, ex-Red Aim
Falk Maria Schlegel-Keyboards (2004-present)
Attila Dorn-Vocals (2004-present)
Roel van Helden-Drums (2011-present)

Please support musicians of Northeast India

2021-06-08T21:13:00.001+05:30

It’s been more than a year since the Covid -19 pandemic has devastated the music industry, canceled concert tours the main source of income of most working musicians – in India and beyond.

As a result, thousands of musicians are still out of work and are struggling to make ends meet during this ongoing pandemic.

RockaRolla Music Awards is dedicated to helping the music community during this unprecedented crisis and that’s why we are calling on you to please donate to our crowdfunding campaign.

Read more - https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-musicians-of-north-easr?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=fundraisers-title&mlp_referrer_id=4759835

To pay via Paytm (for Android users only) - https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-musicians-of-north-easr/deeplink?deeplink_type=paytm

Rocka Rolla Music Awards 2021

2021-04-13T13:36:00.001+05:30

Crowd funding for the Biggest Music Awards of the North East has started!

The Jury for the awards have been hand-picked from the International and National Fora, for the overall assessment in the respective categories earmarked for honouring and celebrating the bundles of talents in our Hills and Valleys who have enthralled us with their music in the last 3 years ❤️

Your contribution will be huge to make this award function a grand one

So go ahead, and make yourself a part of making NE shine in the Map of World Music 🔥

Send us a snap of your crowd funding details, so that we can register you officially, as a part of this Glorious Celebration ❤️

Let us rise and raise a toast together 🍻

Happy Birthday to the Shreddar

2021-04-13T13:24:00.000+05:30

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SUICIDE SILENCE - Kings of Deathcore

2021-04-13T11:55:00.008+05:30

Imagine a high-speed bullet train in the throes of a 275 mph run as it suddenly makes a sharp turn without a single second to slow down. That’s the sound of SUICIDE SILENCE.

It’s not so much the noise from Japan’s famous Shinkansen trains that’s analogous with the Southern California heavy metal institution, a band that has both defined and defied subgenre classifications over the course of five incredible albums and countless international tours. No, what SUICIDE SILENCE has in common with the bullet train is the breakneck intensity, the fearless acceleration, and the no-nonsense efficiency.

The tight-knit band’s mash-up of death metal, grind and time-signature bending dissonance with structured, focused and undeniable grooves unquestionably shaped and led the emerging “deathcore” subgenre from the arrival of their 2007 debut, »The Cleansing«. SUICIDE SILENCE was named “Best New Talent” at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards and had already dominated the Rockstar Mayhem touring festival by the time 2009’s »No Time To Bleed« broke into the Billboard Top 40. 'Wake Up' and 'Lifted' became underground classics, as SUICIDE SILENCE transcended the subgenre they helped define and became peers with bands they’d grown up listening to as kids in California.

Produced by Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, EVERY TIME I DIE, SEPULTURA) and mixed by Zeuss (ROB ZOMBIE, QUEENSRYCHE, HATEBREED), 2011’s »The Black Crown« was the full realization of everything SUICIDE SILENCE stood for and vehemently stood against.

Suddenly, the man who popularized the 'You Only Live Once' phrase in the heavy music community left the world behind unexpectedly and much too soon to fathom. Mitch Lucker was killed in a motorcycle accident on Halloween Night, 2012. Two months later, SUICIDE SILENCE took the stage without Mitch for the first time, playing an emotional and career spanning set in memorial to their late singer, with Eddie Hermida and frontmen from bands like MUDVAYNE, LAMB OF GOD, and MACHINE HEAD. An understanding and supportive audience responded enthusiastically to the October 2013 announcement that SUICIDE SILENCE would officially continue with Hermida, the only man considered for the job.

2014’s »You Can’t Stop Me« served as a simultaneous introduction to Hermida, as well as a celebration of the brotherhood the band shared with his late predecessor. SUICIDE SILENCE fans demonstrated their fierce loyalty and unwavering support when album number four emerged, putting it in the Billboard 200’s Top 20. The industry followed suit; Sirius XM’s Liquid Metal played it more than any other album in 2014.

As evidenced most defiantly and definitively with the self-titled fifth album by SUICIDE SILENCE, the best in music, literature, and all creative arts is born from pain, birthed in truth, drawn from harrowing life experience. It mines the inner depths of the soul to snatch authentic beauty from the jaws of an otherwise certain death. Plenty of heavy bands pay lip service to the idea of overcoming the odds, persevering through adversity, and finding strength from within, but few live it as triumphantly as SUICIDE SILENCE.

Amebix

2021-04-13T11:42:00.010+05:30

Amebix, now recognized as one of the most influential heavy bands ever, was born in England during the summer of 1978. Originally trolling their minds and coming up with the thought provoking moniker the Band With No Name, the group of dirty, broke punks recorded a trashy six-song demo and managed to sell a meager four copies of it. Opting for the name Amebix, the band released a track from the demo called "University Challenged" on the first edition of the obscure compilation series Bullshit Detector.

Life was chaotic from start to finish for Amebix, because they were really living the lifestyle that their lyrics and image portrayed. Guitar player Stig writes on the gatefold of the posthumous album of live and studio recordings The Power Remains that "none of us signed off the dole in all the years we were together." Living in squats (abandoned buildings) and other unstable accommodations, eating out of the garbage, scamming and hacking out a living by any means possible, it's amazing that the band were able to amass equipment and practice on a somewhat regular enough basis to last for nine full years. However, through all of the strife and chaos, the band were astoundingly prolific, recording enough material (including bootlegs and posthumous releases) for seven full-length albums, two 7" records, two compilation tracks, and the previously mentioned Band With No Name demo in that period of time.

Prior to 1983, the band's lineup changed quite a bit. In one humorous incident, shortly after the release of the Bullshit Detector compilation, the band added a fellow named Martin to their roster in the drummer role. One of the fringe benefits of Martin's being in the band was that he invited the whole group to come live with him in a manor house in Dartmoor. Unfortunately, the owners of the house (Martin's parents, who were away at the time) weren't aware that Martin had extended this kind offer to the band. Upon returning home, the horrified parents booted Amebix into the street and sent Martin away to an institution to be "corrected."

The Baron and Stig, the core of the band, added synthesizer player Norman to the mix and moved to Bristol in 1981. By 1983 they had acquired a stable drummer named Virus, who left the band Disorder to join Amebix. 1983 saw the release of the Who's the Enemy EP, the Winter 7", and the first LP No Sanctuary on Spiderleg Records. Norman appeared as the synth player on the two 7" records, but was replaced by a fill-in player on the full-length album. After a brief tour, the band returned to England and in 1984 signed on a new synthesizer player named George. With George filling the synthesizer position for the remainder of the band's existence, the band hit the road again for a short tour, and upon their return kicked Virus out of the drummer's chair.

The final band lineup was secured in 1985 when drummer Spider joined the group. After disputes with Spiderleg, the band had gotten a deal with Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra's label Alternative Tentacles just prior to the drummer Spider's arrival on the scene. Arise hit the stores with the Alternative Tentacles imprint in 1985. Alternative Tentacles didn't mesh with the band either, and they left the label after the release of Arise. In 1987, the masterpiece album Monolith was released just months prior to the breakup of the band.

During and since the actual life of Amebix, a number of bootlegs and retrospective have come to the surface. Although both the official and unofficial albums are completely obscure among the mainstream culture, Amebix have been tremendously influential in the hardcore, crust punk, and metal underground scenes. Artists as divergent as Sepultura, Neurosis, and Deviated Instinct pay homage to these original masters of the blending of metal, punk rock squatter lifestyle and political fury into a droning, pounding, ballistic crunch.

albums :

Demo '79
Who's The Enemy 7'' (Single) '82
Winter 7'' (Single) '83
No Sanctuary 12'' (Single) '83
Live In Slovenia '86
Monolith '87
Live At Mermaid,Birmingham '87
Make Some Fucking Noise '97
Beginning Of The End (Compilation) '97
Unreleased Biker Benefit 7'' (Single) '00
Arise (Reissue) '00

Evolution of Electric Guitar

2021-01-28T13:58:00.009+05:30

References to the guitar more or less in its modern form date back to the 14th century. In its infancy it had four courses of double strings and a rounded body like a gourd or a pumpkin. Its mother would not recognize it today!

Around the sixteenth century the guitar was a popular musical instrument amongst the middle and lower classes of Europe, and as it increased in popularity it began to undergo a change of shape. Luthiers began making instruments with single strings instead of courses and experimented with its form until, by the 19th century, the body of the guitar was made wider, and flattened out. In the twentieth century the wooden tuning pegs which adjusted the tension of the strings were replaced by metal machine heads. Now we have the shape that the modern electric guitar is based on.

The first electric guitars were made in the 1930’s in response to a demand from guitarists in bands whose rhythmic stylings could not be heard above the other instruments. The main problem with these electric guitars was that feedback was coming through the amplifier from the vibration of the guitar’s body. This challenge began the evolutionary process of the solid body electric guitar.

The early electric guitars had sound holes in the body that were smaller than the sound holes of conventional guitars. In 1924 Lloyd Loar, an engineer with the Gibson factory, used a magnet to change guitar string vibrations into electrical signals, which could be amplified through a speaker. Now it was possible to build guitars that did not possess sound holes but could be heard clearly through an amplifier. Amateur guitar players were able to get their hands on electric guitars through the efforts of Paul Barth, George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker who founded the Electro String Company in 1931. Their guitars resembled steel guitars, and were played in the guitarist’s lap using a slide.

Modern electric guitars are made of many thin layers of wood glued together. The top layer is often a more attractive wood to give the guitar a pleasing appearance, and the other layers are of a wood which gives a good tone such as poplar or ash. The use of laminates endows the instrument with the robust body and tonal quality that would be impossible in one piece of wood. The original solid body guitar was however, made from one piece of wood. In 1941 Les Paul turned a railway sleeper into an amplified stringed instrument. He called it “The Log”. When production of his instrument began he stayed with the conventional guitar shape to give his market a familiar image to relate to. Les Paul’s invention marketed as the Gibson Les Paul is still extremely popular.

In the 1940’s, the Fender Broadcaster Electric guitar came into the world. Nobody really noticed until Arthur Smith used a Broadcaster to record “Guitar Boogie” in 1949. After being renamed the Telecaster, it was put on the market in 1950. Another Fender model, the Stratocaster, caught guitarists’ attention with its distinctive tone and light weight. It’s still the second most popular guitar in the world.

Ibanez, Jackson, Paul Reed Smith, ESP and Yamaha have made solid body electric guitars with original designs, distinctive shapes and new materials mixed with modern technologies to produce more efficient and versatile electric guitars. Today’s electric guitars produce tones varying between futuristic music or quasi-acoustic sounds.

In the 1960’s, effects boxes introduced fuzz, delay, echo and the wah-wah sound to the arsenal of sounds available to the modern guitarist. A pedal operated by the guitar player’s foot turns the effects on or off. Now guitars contain software that lets guitars sound like other types of guitars or reproduce the sound of other musical instruments. With developments like the latest self-tuning guitars, maybe the old joke about a guitarist “phoning in” a solo will become a reality!

Berserkers! Start the week by listening to full discography of Amon Amarth on spotify

2021-01-12T22:19:00.000+05:30

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Hammerfall

2021-01-12T22:11:00.005+05:30

HammerFall was founded when guitarist Oscar Dronjak exited Ceremonial Oath and invited Jesper Strömblad (from In Flames) to join him as a drummer in a musical project he had been observing for some time. Dronjak had already created the song "Steel Meets Steel," which was later included on HammerFall's debut album. Dronjak and Strömblad were later joined by guitarist Niklas Sundin, bassist Johan Larsson, and vocalist Mikael Stanne. When Niklas Sundin and Johan Larsson left HammerFall the following year, Glenn Ljungström (then guitarist of In Flames) and Fredrik Larsson (bassist of the former Swedish death metal band Dispatched), replaced them.

All five members played in other bands at the time. Dronjak and Larsson played in Crystal Age; Strömblad and Ljungström played in In Flames and Stanne sang for Dark Tranquillity. Both of these bands influenced Swedish melodic death metal. HammerFall was relegated to being a side project of them all for `quite a few years. Their live shows were limited mostly to a local music contest named Rockslaget. The band had few songs of their own and played mostly covers from bands such as Pretty Maids, Judas Priest and Alice Cooper.

In 1996, HammerFall reached the semi-finals of Rockslaget. When Mikael Stanne could not perform with the band in the semi-finals, they found Joacim Cans, who agreed to play with them for the night. The concert was a success although the judges disqualified HammerFall for the finals. By the end of that day, Joacim had already been made an official member of the band.

Buy Hammerfall Merch

Glory To The Brave & Legacy Of Kings (1997–1999)

To give more exposure to their work and try for a professional recording deal, a short live performance was recorded and sent to the Dutch label, Vic Records. The musicians soon received a deal and spent the whole of the following year writing the album Glory to the Brave. The album was initially released in the Netherlands and obtained positive feedback; it is also worthy of notice that the band's mascot, the paladin Hector, first appeared on the cover of this album.

As HammerFall grew in popularity, the time available for members of the band to dedicate to other projects became limited. Dronjak and Cans wanted to pursue the path of Hammerfall (Dronjak's Crystal Age had ceased to exist some time ago), but Strömblad and Ljungström were committed to In Flames and Larsson was committed to the thrash metal band None. Thus, HammerFall's line-up soon underwent changes. Stefan Elmgren assumed the lead guitar and Patrik Räfling assumed the drums (they joined the band in the end of 1997 after the release of Glory to the Brave album) and Larsson decided to remain in the band until a suitable replacement for him was found. This happened in May 1997, when bassist Magnus Rosén joined the band. Stefan Elmgren played some of the guitars on the Glory to the Brave album (such as the acoustic guitars on I Believe) and Patrik Räfling actually played the drums on all songs in place of Jesper. However, at the time they were considered as guest performers, not members of the band.

In early 1997, German label Nuclear Blast approached HammerFall with a contract for a European release deal, which included four albums. The deal was accepted and the band proceeded to record their first two music videos — "HammerFall" and "Glory to the Brave". After the release of a promotional single, Glory to the Brave was released throughout Europe. The results were quite unexpected, even after the intense marketing campaign made by Nuclear Blast. The album reached position number 38 on the German Music Chart on the week of its release, something which had never before been achieved by a debut heavy metal music album.

Siding with bands Gamma Ray, Jag Panzer, Lake of Tears and Raven, several tours through the European continent ensued. The concert on Wacken Open Air was performed to a crowd of over ten thousand people.

Towards the end of 1997, Glory to the Brave was released in Japan and the United States. Sales of the album reached one hundred thousand copies. HammerFall was also nominated for the Swedish Grammy award in the Best Hard Rock act category.

In February 1998, the recording of Legacy of Kings began. This album was once more written by Joacim, Oscar, and Jesper, who despite having quit the band still took part in the process in order to keep the same general mood of their first release. The album was produced by Fredrik Nordström (from Dream Evil) and Oscar, with the help of Joacim. The band spent a total of one and a half months in the studio recording this album.

HammerFall made some expressive concerts before the release of Legacy of Kings, playing in festivals together with bands such as Alice Cooper, Rammstein, Deep Purple, Dream Theater, Saxon and Stratovarius.

Their first world tour took place in October 1998. During the shows in Sweden, Joacim Cans caught a serious throat infection which made it impossible for him to sing. Shortly afterwards, Magnus Rosén was afflicted with the same disease, and after him the whole of HammerFall's support crew became sick. The members of the band played for as long as possible and then were forced to postpone or cancel a few dates. During their passage through South America, HammerFall took a short break to visit the Brazilian beaches, but they soon resumed their tour.

By the end of that tour, drummer Patrik Räfling left the band, and Anders Johansson, a friend of Magnus Rosén, joined as a touring musician. In the beginning of 1999 he was made a permanent member of the band. Anders had previously worked with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen on Rising Force in the 80's and 90's and on a number of other projects; he is the brother of Jens Johansson from Stratovarius. He has been praised for his technical and polyrhythmical talent, in metal as well as other genres. Anders father was a famous Swedish jazzmusician who is mostly known for writing the music for Pippi Longstocking and the record "Jazz på svenska" which is the best selling Swedish jazz record of all times. Anders is running a record company, Heptagon Records.

Renegade & Crimson Thunder (2001–2003)

After a long series of concerts, the band returned to Sweden in order to spend time with their families and begin writing songs for their next album. HammerFall made arrangements for this album to be recorded by Michael Wagener, who had previously produced bands such as Accept, Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne. The recording took eight weeks, and the album was entitled Renegade. The switch from producer Fredrik Nordström to Wagener was met with skepticism from the media in general. However, after the release, critics were mostly positive, even though there was a consensus that the band's sound was remarkably different. A music video by director Roger Johansson was created for the song "Renegade" and reached the top of the Swedish parade; the same soon happened with the album itself, which reached gold status with over forty thousand copies sold.

Oscar stated on www.metalrules.com just prior to the release of 'Renegade' that they were going for a more "commercial" sound in order to attract a broader audience that otherwise would have been lost to them and that future albums wouldn't follow in this mold.

The band's second world tour began in January 2001. Concerts from this tour counted with a replica version of the album's cover on stage. It was set up as a castle in ruins from which the musicians entered the stage. In total, the tour included almost sixty shows.

The band then released a DVD entitled The Templar Renegade Crusades, which included video footage from recording sessions, live concerts, tour backstages, and encounters with fans. The footage ranged from the recording sessions of Legacy of Kings to the gold album party which took place in November 2001.

HammerFall then proceeded to record their fourth album — Crimson Thunder. Arrangements were made for recording sessions to take place in both JM Studios: from Charlie Bauerfeind, in Wisseloord Studios — in the Netherlands, and studio Blind Guardian — in Germany, for the bass.

By the end of the recording sessions in 2002, a listening session for the press was held. Overall, the reactions were quite positive, and most seemed to perceive the album as a change for the better from Renegade. A single for the song "Hearts on Fire" was released six weeks prior to the album's launch and remained for weeks on the number one spot on the parades of some European countries. The song also attracted a number of new fans to the band due to its chorus-driven melody and simple riffs coupled with fast guitar solos.

The shooting of the music video "Hearts on Fire" by director Roger Johansson was scheduled for August of that year. The band's plans, however, had to be held back for a week due to an incident that occurred one night. While Joacim was drinking with his girlfriend in a rock club he had been frequenting for over a decade, he was attacked by an unidentified person who hit him in the head with a beer glass and hastily escaped. Joacim instantly lost consciousness and had to be taken to a hospital, in which he underwent plastic surgery and rested for a couple of days. As soon as it became medically possible, he joined the band to record the music video.

In order to promote the release of the band's album in North America, they toured with Dio during November and December 2002. Subsequently, the manager of the band disappeared, taking the entirety of the tour's revenue with him. Despite this the tour was very successful, and proceeded to Europe. Changes were made to the band's stage setting, and many investments were made on fireworks and on the presence of the mascot Hector on stage. The scenery on the cover of the single Hearts on Fire was also reproduced and added to the performances. The tour progressed to Japan and then to South America. HammerFall was present on festivals in Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic, playing with bands such as Iron Maiden, Slayer, Twisted Sister, U.D.O. and Stratovarius.

HammerFall's tour was brought to a sudden end when Oscar Dronjak suffered a motorcycle accident, breaking his left arm and sustaining several minor injuries.

They were then left with no choice but to take a break. Stefan dedicated himself to getting a pilot license, Magnus and Anders continued working on their side projects and Joacim began work on his solo album and had his first child. Oscar simply focused on recovering. Together with a group of specialists, he was able to recover to his full capacities. He then joined Anders, Joacim, Stefan again, with bands Helloween, Gamma Ray and Pretty Maids, amongst others, and played in the celebration of the 20 years of the German rock club Rockfabrik.

Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken & Threshold (2005–2008)

The live album and DVD One Crimson Night was released in February 2003. After two years of hiatus the band released Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken, which was followed by a European and South American tour. A video for the song "Bloodbound" was made by director Roger Johansson.

On October 16 it was reported that HammerFall (along with the band Europe) would be part of the Eurovision song contest. This rumor was refuted by lead singer Joacim Cans only a couple weeks later. Joacim was quoted as saying "So there were no talks whatsoever to be part of this."

Their 6th album, titled Threshold, was released on October 20, 2006 and it went directly to a number 1 position on the Swedish charts.

On March 6, 2007, a statement was posted online at HammerFall's official website (and his own official website), that bassist Magnus Rosén would not be involved with the band anymore. The reason for his departure stated that he was unhappy in the band and wants to focus on other projects. On his own website (and therefore with his own official statement) it was announced that Magnus was tired of the simple bassplaying he was forced to play in HammerFall, and that he was unable to bring his own material to the band. He now wants to "be more creative in his career". On April 10 it was announced on the official Hammerfall homepage that the replacement for Magnus is former member Fredrik Larsson, who played bass on the Glory to the Brave album. Three new songs were recorded for the band's first compilation album. These are "Last Man Standing", "Restless Soul", and "The Abyss". They also rerecorded the Glory To The Brave track "HammerFall". "Steel Meets Steel - Ten Years of Glory" was released on 12 October 2007.

On April 2, 2008 Stefan Elmgren announced his decision to leave HammerFall in order to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. His replacement is Pontus Norgren from The Poodles. On June 27, 2008, the band released the compilation album "Masterpieces". The album has on it a collection of every song the band has covered, plus three new cover songs previously unreleased. This was Stefan Elmgren's last release with the band.

No Sacrifice, No Victory & Infected (2009–present)

HammerFall's album No Sacrifice, No Victory was released in February 2009. This album features a cover song My Sharona. The Album peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard heatseakers charts. A music video for the song "Any Means Necessary" was released some time before the actual release of the album. To kick off their new album, HammerFall toured all over the world with several support bands, such as fellow Swedish band Sabaton. In the summer 2010 the band played a couple of high profile festivals throughout Europe including Sonisphere Festival, High Voltage Festival, Metalcamp, Graspop Metal Meeting and many more. The summer tour was named "Any Festival Necessary".

HammerFall's 8th album was released on May 18, 2011 (Sweden), May 20 (Europe), and June 7 (North America), under the name Infected. After several months of recordings in Göteborg, Sweden and Nashville, TN, the new studio album was finally finished in February. The European tour followed, under the name "European Outbreak". Infected is also the first HammerFall album not to feature the mascot, the knight Hector, on the cover.

In 2012, Hammerfall recorded a live DVD while performing a show in Dalhalla, Sweden, that featured some former band members as well as other special guests. The DVD celebrated 15 years of the band's existence, and was titled "Gates of Dalhalla". In 2013, HammerFall took a break and some time to spend with their families or side-works. Oscar wrote a book about HammerFall, Legenden om HammerFall (Swedish: "The Legend of HammerFall), that was released on 24 October and tells of the band's events during the past 16 years, but it still exists only in Swedish.

Current Members

Oscar Dronjak - Guitars (1993-present)

Fredrik Larsson - Bass (1994-1997, 2007-present)

Joacim Cans - Vocals (1996-present)

Anders Johansson - Drums (1999-present)

Pontus Norgren - Guitars (2008-present)

Easiest Guitar Tabs

2021-01-12T19:43:00.002+05:30

Guitar tabs are an easy solution for one if one have no idea of how to read sheet music but are constantly bugged by the notion that one want to be a guitarist. Guitar tabs are easy to learn and allow one to begin playing songs right away, even if one are not familiar with them. Once one have bought one’s first guitar, it is time to begin looking for easy guitar tab versions of some songs to find out what it feels like to be a guitar player. Which songs one needs tabs for depends on how one sees onerself as a musician. Do you want to play your favorite songs chiefly for your own amusement or do you want to aim your repertoire at a potential audience? Let us look at one’s audience for a minute. The most popular songs in the world are all from years gone by. If one sits with a bunch of people aged between ten and fifty down and play songs at them one will find some universal favorites, and they will all be old songs. If one want to please a random audience, one’s ultimate goal should be to have about one hundred popular songs ranging from the 1940’s to the present, but one could probably narrow the range to just include songs going back to the sixties.

So what are the easiest songs to learn from tabs? What can a beginner guitarist learn quickly without too much trouble? Well, I did a little searching on the internet concerning that question, and I found that “Horse With No Name” contains only two chords, and dead simple ones at that! One could be playing that song in a convincing fashion today! “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” makes use of the chords G D C and Am – all easy chords. Building on chords one have acquired learning these songs, one can go onto “House Of The Rising Sun” which uses Am C D F E and E7. Once one has learnt that, it’s only natural to go onto another beautiful song, “California Dreamin'” which has the same chords. If one do not like the idea of beginning one’s guitar playing with these songs, do an internet search in the country music and blues genres. Actually a working knowledge of twelve bar blues is very useful for a guitar player just starting out.

Now for a short list of songs that are both easy to play and have proven to be popular with audiences of all ages. One can find tab arrangements for these songs by typing the titles into a search engine.

“Angie” by The Rolling Stones

“Blowin’ In The Wind” by Bob Dylan

“Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison

“A Day In The Life”, “Here, There And Everywhere” and “Hey Jude” by The Beatles

“I Walk The Line” by Johnny Cash

“Tears In Heaven” by Eric Clapton

“Gloria” by Van Morrison

“Hotel California” by The Eagles

“Behind Blue Eyes” by The Who

“Scarborough Fair” by any number of performers, and

“White Room” by Cream

Once one has some guitar songs under one’s belt, one could learn more popular favorites that do not fit into the “Easy Guitar Tabs” category. Wilson Pickett’s “Dock Of The Bay” and “American Pie” by Don Mclean come to mind. But do not let the tastes of the masses be one’s only guide. If, for example, one decide one would like to do a folk guitar arrangement of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” then one could use tabs for the original electric guitar version as a basis for one’s new work. With a bunch of easy guitar tabs at one’s disposal, the only limits to one’s musical achievements are one’s imagination and one’s audience’s supply of tomatoes 😉

Check out the official drum playthrough for “An Emerald Flame” featuring drummer Aaron stechauner

2021-01-12T14:43:00.000+05:30

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Megadeth New Album coming soon!

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Live stream coming up !!

2021-01-12T14:23:00.001+05:30

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Which is your favourite song from "Master of Puppets"

2021-01-08T13:59:00.000+05:30

Which is your favourite song from "Master of Puppets"

Please leave your choice in the comments section

Ivan Mooday (5fdp) turns 41

2021-01-08T13:39:00.004+05:30

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Northtale announced their new singer Guilherme Hirose

2021-01-08T13:25:00.005+05:30

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Norwegian hard rock band @whitevoidofficial have released their first single

2021-01-08T13:21:00.002+05:30

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Eluveitie

2021-01-05T22:10:00.003+05:30

Eluveitie is a folk metal band from Switzerland. Their sound can be described as Celtic folk with melodic death metal influences. The band formed in 2002 and their first EP, Vên came out in 2003. 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 uses traditional instruments amidst guitars and screams. The lyrics are often in the extinct language Gaulish. Eluveitie is Helvetic Gaulish for "I am the Helvetian", referring to an inscription dating to the earliest record of the Celtic Helvetii tribe from what is now Switzerland.

Eluveitie infuses traditional celtic folk melodies with Gothenburg styled melodic death metal. Eluveitie uses traditional folk instruments in their music, such as Violin, tin whistles and flutes, and Hurdy Gurdy.

Their first album was the self financed “Vên,” released in 2003. After that they have released four full-length albums: “Spirit” (2006), “Slania” (2008), “Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion” (2009) and “Everything Remains As It Never Was” (2010). The penultimate of those is completely acoustic and contains various guest artists, such as Fredy Schnyder from Nucleus Torn playing the hammered dulcimer on two tracks, Oli S. Tyr from the German medieval band Faun contributing the sounds of the long-necked lute on the title track, Alan Nemtheanga from the Irish pagan metal band Primordial presents his vocals in two tracks, Mina The Fiddler from the experimental folk band Branâ Keternâ playing the 5-stringed viola on two tracks and Sarah Wauquiez, their former band member, playing Zugerörgeli (helvetic accordion) on one track.

Official website

Discography :

Studio albums

Spirit (2006)

Slania (2008)

Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion (2009)

Everything Remains as It Never Was (2010)

New Album out now- Click here

EPs

Vên (2003)

Compilation Albums

Slania / Evocation I – The Arcane Metal Hammer Edition (2009)

Live albums

live @ Metalcamp 2008 (2008)

Singles

Omnos (2009)

Members

Chrigel Glanzmann – vocals, mandola, whistles, pipes, gaita, acoustic guitar, bodhrán (since 2002)

Meri Tadic – violin, vocals (since 2003)

Merlin Sutter – drums (since 2004)

Siméon Koch – lead guitar (since 2004)

Ivo Henzi – rhythm guitar (since 2004)

Anna Murphy – hurdy gurdy, vocals (since 2006)

Kay Brem – bass guitar (since 2008)

Päde Kistler – bagpipes, whistles (since 2008)

RIP - Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom)

2021-01-05T12:55:00.000+05:30

RIP: Children of Bodom (@cobhc) legend Alexi Laiho dead at 41https://t.co/0sWiBkXM2r
— Loudwire (@Loudwire) January 4, 2021

King Diamond

2020-12-28T16:01:00.000+05:30

KING DIAMOND

King Diamond is the band that King Diamond (Kim Petersen) formed after the split up of Mercyful Fate - following the departure of Hank Shermann. He was joined by most members of the then defunct Mercyful Fate. The style has lost most of its proto-black metal style and become a heavy metal band. The Satanic focus was replaced by a focus on horror stories. Apart from two albums, each of the albums contained a story told throughout the songs; some stories span more than one album. Only Fatal Portrait and The Spider’s Lullaby deviate here, in that only four of the songs form a story while the other songs are independent. His extremely high falsetto vocal style is notable.

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King formed the band along with two former Mercyful Fate members, guitarist Michael Denner and bassist Timi Hansen and was joined by new drummer Mikkey Dee. The original second guitarist Floyd Constantin was soon replaced by Andy LaRocque. The band debuted with single No Presents For Christmas, followed by debut album Fatal Portrait. King Diamond would also play some Mercyful Fate songs on gigs. The second album Abigail was the first full concept album. Shortly before the release and following tour, Michael Denner left the band. His replacement was Mikael Myllynen, who also appeared in band’s first promo video, The Family Ghost. However, he left the band after the tour.

The remaining quartet (with King as guitarist) demoed songs that would later appear on ”Them” album. The new members to record the album were guitarist Pete Blakk and bassist Hal Patino. Timi was officialy out of the band, but he taught Hal the bass lines. Second music video was Welcome Home. Around this time, King was sued by Kiss’ lawyers, that his make-up was a copy of Gene Simmons’ demon and that he also copied Kiss’ show on his gigs.

Mikkey Dee left the band, but as King couldn’t find a good replacement, he recorded drums for Conspiracy as a guest. The following tour then featured Snowy Shaw. Another music video was made, this time for Sleepless Nights. However, he did not play on the next album The Eye (a drum machine was used), though he was credited. Meanwhile, live album In Concert - Abigail was released. Both Pete Blakk and Hal Patino were sacked from the band and were replaced by Mike Wead and Sharlee D’Angelo. his line up was supposed to record the following album The Spider’s Lullabye, however, King focused on Mercyful Fate’s reunion.

The new album was recorded by entire new line-up (except for Andy and King), that featured guitarist Herb Simmonsen, bassist Chris Estes and drummer Darrin Anthony. The same line-up would remain also for two following albums The Graveyard and Voodoo, only on the last one Darrin is replaced by John Luké Hebert. During this time, King sings both with Mercyful Fate and King Diamond. On the tour, Mercyful Fate is a support band for King Diamond, and King uses a different make-up for both bands.

The band then replaced Simmonsen and Estes by Glen Drover and David Harbour and recorded House of God. At the time, King Diamond & Black Rose 20 Years Ago (A Night of Rehearsal) was released. Although released as a part of King Diamond discography (borrowing also the band’s logo), it was actually an old rehearsal recording of King’s first band Black Rose. The following album Abigail II: The Revenge was the first to be recorded by the current line-up. Both Hal Patino and Mike Wead returned and a new drummer Matt Thomson joined. For the following album The Puppet, the band hired a backing female vocalist Livia Zita, whom King married. Another live album was released, Deadly Lullabyes: Live. The last studio album Give Me Your Soul…

Discography

1986 - Fatal Portrait

1987 - Abigail

1988 - Them

1989 - Conspiracy

1990 - The Eye

1992 - A Dangerous Meeting

1995 - The Spider's Lullabye

1996 - The Graveyard

1998 - Voodoo

2000 - House Of God

2001 - 20 Years Ago - A Night Of Rehearsal

2002 - Abigail II - The Revenge

2003 - The Puppet Master

2004 - Deadly Lullabyes Live

2007 - Give Me Your Soul Please

Danger Danger

2020-12-26T13:10:00.000+05:30

Danger Danger

Danger Danger is a glam metal band formed in 1987 in Queens, New York. Despite enjoying moderate success in the U.S. with their debut album Danger Danger, the band vanished from the radar due to legal problems and changes in its line-up.

Danger Danger was formed in 1987 by former Hotshot members lead vocalist Mike Pont, bassist Bruno Ravel, and drummer Steve West. This line up also featured then future Hotshot guitarist Al Pitrelli and former Get With It keyboardist Kasey Smith. Mike Pont later left the band and was replaced by former Prophet drummer, and sometimes lead vocalist, Ted Poley.

They made another attempt at a demo, and this time it landed them a record deal with Epic Records. In 1988, Pitrelli left Danger Danger. Shortly after, Mike Pont and Al Pitrelli reunited to form a new line-up of Hotshot. Since, Al Pitrelli has played in various other bands. Al Pitrelli played on most of the Danger Danger compilation album Rare Cuts.

In 2001, the band made a unique move after talks with Epic, releasing Cockroach, which was supposed to be their third album, but couldn’t be released for legal issues. The album featured two discs with both versions of the album, one with Laine on vocals and the other with Ted Poley. In 2002 the song "Naughty Naughty Christmas" was featured in the Tim Allen movie The Santa Clause 2. They followed Cockroach with Rare Cuts in 2003, a collection of unreleased and rare tracks. In 2004, Laine left the band and original singer Poley returned. However, a 2005 release, Live and Nude, which was recorded in 2003 featured Laine.

In 2008, rock & roll comic C.C. Banana recorded a song called "Ted Poley," released on the album "KISS MY ANKH: A Tribute To Vinnie Vincent." The song is actually a parody of the Kiss song "Unholy," inspired by the story of Poley's first encounter with Kiss lead singer Paul Stanley.

On September 19, 2009, the independent label Frontiers Records released Revolve, featuring the return of Poley as lead singer, as well as new member, guitarist Rob Marcello. The album coincides with the 20th anniversary of their debut release for Imagine Records.

Danger Danger [Discography]

1989 Danger Danger
1991 Screw It!
1995 Dawn
1998 Four the Hard Way
2000 The Return of the Great Gildersleeves
2001 Cockroach
2009 Revolve

http://www.dangerdanger.com/

Sabaton

2020-12-21T22:08:00.002+05:30

SABATON

Swedish band Sabaton have been a major force in the power metal field since the mid-2000s, but had to battle significant difficulties to get there, which may explain their eventual creative obsession with everything war-related. Originally founded in 1999 and comprised of Joakim Brodén (vocals and keyboards), Rickard Sundén (guitar), Oskar Montelius (guitar), Daniel Myhr (keyboards, beginning in 2006), Pär Sundström (bass), and Richard Larsson (drums), the enterprising group quickly produced two demo tapes that were later released in a limited-edition as Fist for Fight in 2002.

But after inking a deal with Italian label Underground Symphony, Sabaton saw their first would-be official album, Metalizer, inexplicably kept out of the marketplace for a full two years (it, too, belatedly reached the public in 2007). Tired of waiting, the members of Sabaton (now including new drummer Daniel Mullback), once again took matters into their own hands, and financed the recording of another album, Primo Victoria, which was officially released in 2005 by the Black Lodge label. It also opened the floodgates for a slew of popular singles and battle metal LPs to follow, including 2006's Attero Dominatus, 2008's The Art of War, and 2010's Coat of Arms, all of them bursting at the seams with historic and mythical chronicles of battle set to anthemic power metal. The band became increasingly successful across Europe, as witnessed on 2011's live album, World War Live: Battle of the Baltic Sea, featuring a dozen tracks and ten different countries. The following year's Carolus Rex hit number one in Sweden and Poland, but it was the last for that lineup; 2014's Heroes featured new guitarists Chris Rörland and Thobbe Englund, plus new drummer Hannes van Dahl, alongside stalwarts Brodén and Sundström. Preceded by the rousing single the "Last Battalion," the conceptual Last Stand, the band's eighth studio album, dropped in August 2016.
After a number of live dates throughout 2017, the group put touring on hold in 2018 to start recording their ninth album. On November 11, 2018 the group entered the Black Lounge Studios with producer Jonas Kjellgren to start recording, with the specific start date being the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Inspired by the horrors of the war and the armies that fought, the resulting album, The Great War, was issued in mid-2019. That same year the group also started the online video channel Sabaton History, which charted the band's career and celebrated their 20th anniversary, while the stand-alone single, "Bismarck" -- recounting the sinking of the German battleship of the same name -- was also issued.

Albums :
2005 - Primo Victoria
2006 - Attero Dominatus
2007 - Metalizer
2008 - The Art Of War
2010 - Coat Of Arms
2010 - Metalizer
2010 - Primo Victoria
2010 - The Art Of War
2011 - Attero Dominatus
2011 - World War Live - Battle Of The Baltic Sea
2012 - Carolus Rex
2012 - Metalus Hammerus Rex
2013 - Swedish Empire Live
2014 - Heroes
2016 - The Last Stand
2019 - The Great War

ICED EARTH

2020-12-21T13:31:00.002+05:30

ICED EARTH

Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band that combines influences from thrash metal, power metal, progressive metal, opera, speed metal, and new wave. The central figure of Iced Earth is rhythm guitarist and songwriter Jon Schaffer. Schaffer originally founded the band under the name Purgatory (11), but he was forced to change the name due to another group already using the name. He would rename the band Iced Earth as a tribute to a longtime friend who had died in a motorcycle accident.

The group set out and recorded their first demo titled Enter the Realm, which sparked enough interest that they were signed by Century Media Records. In 1991 they recorded and released their first album titled Iced Earth. Since then, the band has gone through numerous lineup changes, with Jon Schaffer remaining the only permanent member. None of the original members remain besides Schaffer, who is now handling nearly all of the songwriting duties and is leading the band. Barlow, the longest tenured (and probably most popular) Iced Earth vocalist, originally joined in 1994 but was inspired to become a law enforcement officer in 2003 due to the 9/11 attacks. After an absence of 4 years he returned in late 2007 and left again in 2011. He was replaced by Stu Block. Dystopia, Block's first album with the group, was released that October; the album received a positive response, while some critics called it one of Iced Earth's best albums. The group has since recorded two more albums with Block: Plagues of Babylon (2014) and Incorruptible (2017).

Before arriving at their current lineup, Iced Earth has had numerous line-up changes, with founder Jon Schaffer as the only founding member remaining. As of 2013, there have been over twenty musicians in and out of Iced Earth since its formation in 1984 (see: List of Iced Earth band members for more details). Currently, the band is composed of rhythm guitarist Jon Schaffer, lead singer Stu Block, bassist Luke Appleton, drummer Brent Smedley, and lead guitarist Jake Dreyer.

Studio Albums:

1990 - Iced Earth

1991 - Night Of The Stormrider

1995 - Burnt Offerings

1996 - The Dark Saga

1998 - Something Wicked This Way Comes

2001 - Horror Show (Century Media, CM 9977598)

2004 - The Glorious Burden

2007 - Framing Armageddon [Something Wicked Part 1]

2008 - The Crucible Of Man [Something Wicked Part 2]

2011 - Dystopia

2014 - Plagues Of Babylon