Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses. Called the "punk poet laureate," Smith fused poetry in her work, her most known song is "Because the Night,", co-written with Bruce Springsteen. It reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978 and number five in the U. K. In 2005, Smith was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. In 2007, she was inducted into the Roll Hall of Fame. On November 17, 2010, Smith won the National Book Award for her memoir Just Kids; the book fulfilled a promise she had made to her former long-time roommate and partner, Robert Mapplethorpe. She placed 47th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest Artists published in December 2010 and was a recipient of the 2011 Polar Music Prize. Patricia Lee Smith was born in Chicago to Beverly Smith, a jazz singer turned waitress, Grant Smith, who worked as a machinist at a Honeywell plant.
The family was of part-Irish ancestry and Patti was the eldest of four children. At the age of 4, Smith's family moved from Chicago to the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, before her family moved to Pitman, New Jersey and to The Woodbury Gardens section of Deptford Township, New Jersey. At this early age Smith was exposed to her first records, including Shrimp Boats by Harry Belafonte and Prudence's The Money Tree, Another Side of Bob Dylan, which her mother gave to her. Smith went to work in a factory, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter, on April 26, 1967, chose to place her for adoption. In 1967, she moved to Manhattan, she met photographer Robert Mapplethorpe there while working at a bookstore with friend and poet Janet Hamill. She and Mapplethorpe had an intense romantic relationship, tumultuous as the pair struggled with times of poverty, Mapplethorpe with his own sexuality. Smith considers Mapplethorpe to be one of the most important people in her life, in her book Just Kids refers to him as "the artist of my life."
Mapplethorpe's photographs of her became the covers for the Patti Smith Group albums, they remained friends until Mapplethorpe's death in 1989. Her book and album The Coral Sea would be an homage to the life of Mapplethorpe and Just Kids would tell the story of their relationship, she would write essays for several of Mapplethorpe's books, starting from one, at his request, for his posthumous Flowers. She went to Paris with her sister in 1969, started busking and doing performance art; when Smith returned to Manhattan, she lived in the Hotel Chelsea with Mapplethorpe. Smith provided the spoken word soundtrack for Sandy Daley's art film Robert Having His Nipple Pierced, starring Mapplethorpe; the same year Smith appeared with Wayne County in Jackie Curtis's play Femme Fatale. Afterward, she starred in Tony Ingrassia's play Island; as a member of the St. Mark's Poetry Project, she spent the early 1970s painting and performing. In 1971 she performed – for one night only – in Cowboy Mouth, a play that she co-wrote with Sam Shepard.
She wrote several poems, "for sam shepard" and "Sam Shepard: 9 Random Years" about her relationship with Shepard. Smith was considered for the lead singer position in Blue Öyster Cult, she contributed lyrics to several of the band's songs, including "Debbie Denise", "Baby Ice Dog", "Career of Evil", "Fire of Unknown Origin", "The Revenge of Vera Gemini", "Shooting Shark". She was romantically involved at the time with Allen Lanier. During these years, Smith wrote rock journalism pieces, some of which were published in Rolling Stone and Creem. By 1974, Patti Smith was performing rock music with guitarist and rock archivist Lenny Kaye, with a full band comprising Kaye, Ivan Kral on guitar and bass, Jay Dee Daugherty on drums and Richard Sohl on piano. Kral was a refugee from Czechoslovakia who had moved to the United States in 1966 with his parents, who were diplomats. After the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, he decided not to return. Financed by Sam Wagstaff, the band recorded a first single, "Hey Joe / Piss Factory", in 1974.
The A-side was a version of the rock standard with the addition of a spoken word piece about fugitive heiress Patty Hearst. A court heard that Hearst had been confined against her will, had been threatened with execution and raped; the B-side describes the helpless anger Smith had felt while working on a factory assembly line and the salvation she discovered in the form of a shoplifted book, the 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud's Illuminations. In a 1996 interview which discusses artistic influences during her younger years, Smith said, "I had devoted so much of my girlish daydreams to Rimbaud. Rimbaud was like my boyfriend." That same year, she performed spoken poetry on "I Wake Up Screaming" from Ray Manzarek's The Whole Thing Started with Rock & Roll Now It's Out of Control album. The Patti Smith Group was signed by Clive Davis of Arista Records, in 1975 recorded their first album, produced by John Cale amid some tension. The
Iced Earth
Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida. It was formed in 1984 under the name the Rose Purgatory by guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer and original drummer Greg Seymour. Iced Earth released their debut album in 1990 and have since released thirteen studio albums, four EPs, three compilations, three box sets, three live albums and eleven music videos. After releasing their first two studio albums in 1990 and 1991 Iced Earth took a three-year layoff from 1992 to 1995, after which the band returned with new lead vocalist Matt Barlow. Iced Earth went on to release four studio albums with Barlow between 2001, respectively. After Horror Show, Barlow quit the band and joined the police force, while Iced Earth continued on with Tim "Ripper" Owens, of Judas Priest fame, on vocals. With Owens, the band released two studio albums. In late 2007, Matt Barlow rejoined the band. Iced Earth recorded the album The Crucible of Man with Barlow in 2008. In 2011, Barlow left the band again.
That year, Into Eternity frontman Stu Block became Iced Earth's new lead vocalist. Dystopia, Block's first album with the group, was released in October 2011, it received a positive response. Block's second album with the group, Plagues of Babylon, was released in January 2014. Before arriving at their current lineup, Iced Earth has had numerous line-up changes, with founder Jon Schaffer staying as the last remaining member; as of 2013, there have been over twenty musicians in and out of Iced Earth since its formation in 1985. The band is composed of rhythm guitarist Jon Schaffer, lead singer Stu Block, bassist Luke Appleton, drummer Brent Smedley, lead guitarist Jake Dreyer; the central figure of Iced Earth is, has been, guitarist Jon Schaffer, who formed the band on January 20, 1985, in Tampa, Florida. Schaffer's original vision for the band started under the moniker "The Rose" in 1984; the group was short-lived, after which Schaffer formed a band called Purgatory, which would change its name to Iced Earth.
Line-up changes were common with Jon Schaffer staying as the only constant member. The group recorded a demo in 1985, titled Psychotic Dreams. In 1988, Purgatory changed its name to Iced Earth. According to Schaffer, a friend of his, who died in a motorcycle accident prior to Schaffer moving to Florida was responsible for the name. In 1989, Iced Earth recorded another demo called Enter the Realm, with the line-up of Gene Adam on vocals, Randall Shawver on lead guitar, Dave Abell on bass, Greg Seymour on drums and Jon Schaffer on rhythm guitar and vocals. All of the songs on Enter the Realm would appear on the band's debut album, with the exception of "Nightmares" and the title track. After getting signed to Century Media Records, the band, now with Mike McGill on drums, started work on their debut album. Recorded at Morrisound Recording, with Tom Morris and Jon Schaffer as producers, Iced Earth was released in November, 1990 in Europe and on February 25, 1991 in the US. Following the album's release, Iced Earth toured across Europe with Blind Guardian.
Following their self-titled debut, Iced Earth began work on their second album. Prior to the recording process, singer Gene Adam was let go from the band after he refused to take singing lessons. Adam was subsequently replaced by John Greely; the album, entitled Night of the Stormrider, was again recorded at Morrisound Recording, with Schaffer and Tom Morris as producers. The album was released on November 11, 1991, in Europe, but in the US, the album's release was delayed until April 1992, so it wouldn't compete with the group's debut album. Following Night of the Stormrider's release, Iced Earth again toured Europe with Blind Guardian. Following the supporting tour for Night of the Stormrider, Iced Earth took a three-year layoff from 1992 to 1995. During this downtime, the band was faced with issues that resulted in them breaking-up, but Iced Earth resurfaced with Burnt Offerings. Heralded as Iced Earth's heaviest album, Burnt Offerings was released on April 14, 1995, was the band's first album to feature drummer Rodney Beasley and vocalist Matthew Barlow.
In January, 1996, Iced Earth began recording their fourth studio album, this time with Tom Morris' brother Jim Morris acting as co-producer, along with Jon Schaffer. The album was the first to feature drummer Mark Prator, the last to feature longtime bassist Dave Abell, who left the group after finishing recording. Although Abell was credited for playing on the album, bassist Keith Menser appears on the back cover, because Century Media demanded the touring line-up to appear on the cover. Incidentally, Keith Menser was fired after he didn't learn any of the band's songs for the tour, so he was soon replaced by James MacDonough. Mark Prator was let go from the band, was subsequently replaced by Brent Smedley. Released on May 23, 1996, The Dark Saga was a concept album based on the comic book character Spawn. Musically the album was simplified compared to previous Iced Earth albums. For the supporting tour, Iced Earth was joined by Nevermore. On April 21, 1997, Iced Earth released their first compilation album: Days of Purgatory.
The album featured songs from their first two albums, as well as the Enter the Realm demo, resung by Matt Barlow, with new drums and bass on some tracks as well. The album featured a few songs from Burnt Offerings and remastered. In March, 1998, work began on t
Bad Grönenbach
Bad Grönenbach is a market town in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany. It belongs to the region of Upper Swabia and the headquarters of the Gemeindeverband of the same name. Bad Grönenbach is located on the county road MN 15, which runs north of Memmingen on Woringen and Zell by Bad Grönenbach to Wolfertschwenden in an easterly direction. In the center of Bad Grönenbach begins the county road MN 24, which leads from Bad Grönenbach to the border of the district Oberallgäu in the south. From the west, the county road MN 21 leads from Legau over the hamlet Au and Rothenstein to Bad Groenenbach and flows there into the county road 24. To the east of Bad Grönenbach runs the Bundesautobahn 7; the nearest motorway interchange is about two kilometers away and is located on the edge of belonging to Bad Grönenbach industrial park Thal. The train station at Bad Grönenbach is located outside the village in the district Thal, about 2.5 km from the village center on the Illertalbahn. The railway line should lead directly to Bad Grönenbach, but was redesigned in 1862 to the existing route.
Bad Grönenbach is the starting point of the Iller Cycle Route between Ulm and Oberstdorf and the Kneipp Cycle Path, established in 1997 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the death of Sebastian Kneipp and connects the Kneipp spa towns of Bad Grönenbach and Bad Wörishofen with a length of around 50 kilometers. The longest of the signposted bike paths through Bad Grönenbach is the Swabian Bäderradweg with just under 250 kilometers from Überlingen on Lake Constance to the Kneipp spa town of Bad Wörishofen Almost continuous cycling routes exist from Bad Grönenbach to the municipalities of the Verwaltungsungsgemeinschaft Woringen and Wolfertschwenden. Castle Hohes Schloss, built in the 12th century Castle Unteres Schloss, 1563 Castle Burg Rothenstein, built in the 11th century Roman catholic church St. Philippus und Jakobus, 1136. On October 15, 1445 it was built a new Gothic art building Hospital church Heiliger Geist, 1479 Collegiate church St. Philipp und Jakob District office Amtshaus Rothenstein, built between the 16th and 17th century
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is an independent record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The record label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by melodic death metal, industrial metal, power metal and black metal bands, as well as tribute albums, it distributes and promotes two post-hardcore/metalcore labels, SharpTone Records, focused on American scene, Arising Empire, focused more on European bands such as Novelists, Cold Snap and While She Sleeps. In October 2018, French independent label Believe Digital acquired a majority stake in Nuclear Blast. More recent signings include names such as Epica, The Adicts, Wednesday 13, Helloween, Decapitated, Cradle of Filth, Nightwish, Symphony X, Machine Head, Fear Factory, Fit for an Autopsy, Rob Zombie, Comeback Kid and The Damned Things. Nuclear Blast was formed in 1987 after founder Markus Staiger traveled throughout the United States for four weeks and saw a gig of his favorite band BL'AST!.
The label's first release was a vinyl compilation called Senseless Death featuring US hardcore bands like Attitude, Sacred Denial, Impulse Manslaughter and others. Swedish band Meshuggah became the first band in the history of Nuclear Blast Records to crack the Billboard 200, landing at number 165 with their 2002 album, Nothing. Meshuggah became the first Nuclear Blast band to be reviewed in Rolling Stone magazine. In 2004, Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish released Once on Nuclear Blast, which rocketed to the top of the charts in multiple countries, including Finland, Norway, Sweden and more, it became the first release in the company's history to reach number 1 on the German charts. Slayer released the album Repentless in 2015 which went to number 4 on the Billboard 200 making it the highest charting Nuclear Blast release in the United States; the exclusive distribution in Greece is being carried out by Infinity Entertainment IKE. List of record labels List of Nuclear Blast artists Nuclear Blast Europe
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo. The songs use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work; the lyrics deal with social issues and criticism of The Establishment, using direct and denunciatory language, an approach borrowed from hardcore punk. The genre evolved in the early 1980s from combining the fast drum beats and attitude of hardcore with the double bass drumming and heavy, complex guitar style of the new wave of British heavy metal, it emerged as a reaction to the more conventional and acceptable glam metal, a less aggressive, pop music–infused heavy metal subgenre which appeared simultaneously. Thrash metal was an inspiration for subsequent extreme genres such as black metal. Thrash metal features fast tempos, low-register, complex guitar riffs, high-register guitar solos and double bass drumming; the genre evolved in the early 1980s from combining the drum beats of hardcore punk with the guitar style of the new wave of British heavy metal.
It emerged as a reaction to the more conventional and acceptable glam metal, a less aggressive, pop-infused heavy metal subgenre which appeared simultaneously. The rhythm guitar parts are played with heavy distortion and palm muted to create a tighter and more precise sound. Vocally, thrash metal can employ anything from melodic singing to shouted vocals. Most guitar solos are played at high speed and technically demanding, as they are characterized by shredding, use advanced techniques such as sweep picking, legato phrasing, alternate picking, tremolo picking, string skipping, two-hand tapping; the guitar riffs use chromatic scales and emphasize the tritone and diminished intervals, instead of using conventional single scale based riffing. For example, the intro riff of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" is a chromatic descent, followed by a chromatic ascent based on the tritone. Speed and time-changes define thrash metal. Thrash tends to have an accelerating feel which may be due in large part to its aggressive drumming style.
For example, drummers use two bass drums, or a double-bass pedal, in order to create a relentless, driving beat. Cymbal stops/chokes are used to transition from one riff to another or to precede an acceleration in tempo; some common characteristics of the genre are fast guitar riffs with aggressive picking styles and fast guitar solos, extensive use of two bass drums as opposed to the conventional use of only one, typical of most rock music. To keep up with the other instruments, many bassists use a plectrum. However, some prominent thrash metal bassists have used their fingers, such as Frank Bello, Greg Christian, Steve DiGiorgio, Robert Trujillo and Cliff Burton. Several bassists use a distorted bass tone, an approach popularized by Motörhead's Lemmy. Lyrical themes in thrash metal include warfare, injustice, suicide, alienation and other maladies that afflict the individual and society. In addition, politics pessimism and dissatisfaction towards politics, are common themes among thrash metal bands.
Humor and irony can be found, but they are limited, are exception rather than a rule. Among the earliest songs to be labeled thrash metal was Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy", recorded and released in 1974; the song was described as being thrash metal "before the term had been invented". Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe", released in 1975, was the inspiration for Diamond Head's "Am I Evil?". Since NWOBHM bands directly influenced the development of early thrash; the early work of artists such as Diamond Head, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Tygers of Pan Tang and Angel Witch, among others, introduced the fast-paced instrumentation that became an essential aspect of thrash. Void is hailed as one of the earliest examples of hardcore/heavy metal crossover, whose chaotic musical approach is cited as influential, their 1982 split LP with fellow Washington band The Faith showed both bands exhibiting quick, high-speed punk rock. It has been argued that those recordings laid the foundation for early thrash metal, at least in terms of selected tempos.
In Europe, the earliest band of the emerging thrash movement was Venom from Newcastle upon Tyne, formed in 1979. Their 1982 album Black Metal has been cited as a major influence on many subsequent genres and bands in the extreme metal world, such as Bathory, Hellhammer and Mayhem; the European scene was exclusively influenced by the most aggressive music Germany and England were producing at the time. British bands such as Tank and Raven, along with German band Accept, motivated musicians from central Europe to start bands of their own producing groups such as Sodom and Destruction from Germany, as well as Switzerland's Coroner; the Swedish punk band Warheads have been described as a proto-thrash band. In 1981, a Southern California band Leather Charm wrote a song entitled "Hit the Lights". Leather Charm soon disbanded and the band's primary songwriter, vocalist/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield met drummer Lars Ulrich through a classified advertisement. Together and Ulrich formed Metallica, the first of the "Big Four" thrash bands, with lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, who would form Megadeth, another of the "Big Four" originators of thrash, bassist Ron McGovney.
Metallica relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area. McGovney was replaced with Cliff Burton, Mustaine was replaced with Kirk Hammett. "Hit the Lights" was featured on th
Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde is an English pop singer, author, DJ and television presenter first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which reached number two in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo artist. In 1986, she had a UK number two hit with a reworked version of the Supremes' song "You Keep Me Hangin' On", which topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. Between 1981 and 1996, she had 25 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK singles chart, her other hits include "Chequered Love", "You Came" and "Never Trust a Stranger". In 2003, she collaborated with Nena on the song "Anyplace, Anytime", which topped the Dutch charts. Worldwide, Wilde has sold over 20 million singles, she holds the record for being the most-charted British female solo act of the 1980s, with seventeen UK Top 40 hit singles. Starting in 1998, while still active in music, she has branched into an alternative career as a landscape gardener, which has included presenting gardening shows on the BBC and Channel 4.
In 2005, she won a Gold award for her courtyard garden at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show. The eldest child of 1950s rock'n' roller Marty Wilde and Joyce Baker, a member of the singing and dancing group the Vernons Girls, Kim Smith was born in the West London suburb of Chiswick and attended Oakfield Preparatory School, in the Southeast London area of Dulwich; when she was nine, the family moved to Hertfordshire, where she was educated at Tewin and Presdales School. In 1980, at age 20, she completed a foundation course at St Albans College of Design; as Kim Wilde, she was signed to RAK Records by Mickie Most. Wilde released her debut single "Kids in America" in January 1981. An instant success, it reached number two in the UK Singles Chart and scaled the Top 5 in other countries such as Germany and Australia. Although it achieved only moderate success in the US, peaking at number 25 when released in 1982, it is regarded today as Wilde's signature song, her debut album Kim Wilde repeated the success of the single, spawning two further hits in "Chequered Love" and the UK-only single "Water on Glass".
Wilde's follow-up album was 1982's Select, led by the hit singles "Cambodia" and "View from a Bridge". Both reached Top 10 positions in Germany and Australia. At the time, there was some controversy about Wilde's hesitation to do live concerts, her first concerts in September 1982 took place in Denmark, before embarking on a UK-wide tour in October. Wilde's third album, Catch; the first single from the album, "Love Blonde", was another success in France and Scandinavia, but failed to have major success in other countries. The failure of the album led to her leaving RAK and signing with MCA Records in the summer of 1984. Wilde's first MCA album Teases & Dares was again overlooked in her home country, but fared better in Germany and Scandinavia as well as scoring another German Top 10 single with "The Second Time"; the video for this song appeared in an episode of the 1980s TV hit Knight Rider in 1985. The second single, "The Touch", was not a commercial success, but the third single, the rockabilly "Rage to Love", made the UK top 20 in 1985.
All of Wilde's songs up to this point, including all her major hits, had been written by her father Marty and brother, Ricky. On Teases & Dares she penned two songs. Meanwhile, Wilde had embarked on three European concert tours. On her fifth album, 1986's Another Step, Wilde co-wrote most of the songs; the album's lead single "Schoolgirl" flopped in Europe and Australia, but Wilde's fortunes improved in spectacular fashion with the album's second single, a Hi-NRG remake of The Supremes classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On". After topping the charts in Australia and Canada and peaking at number two in the UK, it became a US number one single in 1987. With that hit, she became the fifth UK female solo artist to top the US Hot 100, following Petula Clark, Sheena Easton, Bonnie Tyler, her popularity in her native UK, was revitalised and she scored further Top 10 hits in 1987 with "Another Step" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". In 1988, Wilde released her biggest selling album to date, which returned her to the UK top 10 and spent eight months on the UK album chart.
It produced four major European hits: "Hey Mr. Heartache", "You Came", "Never Trust a Stranger" and "Four Letter Word"; the release of the album coincided with a tour of Europe, where she was the opening act for Michael Jackson's Bad World Tour. Wilde released her next album, Love Moves, in 1990; the album made the UK Top 40, although it was a Top 10 success in Scandinavian countries, it failed to sell as well as its predecessor and only spawned two minor hits, "It's Here" a Top 20 success in Middle and Northern Europe as well as "Can't Get Enough", her last Top 20 hit in France. She toured Europe again, this time opening for fellow Briton David Bowie. A collaboration with Rick Nowels, who had produced hits for Stevie Nicks and Belinda Carlisle, resulted in the guitar-driven pop of the single "Love Is Holy" and the album Love Is; the album's success was again limited to a small number of countries, though the single became another Top 20 hit in the UK, the second single made the top 40. In 1993, she released her first official compilation album The Singles Collection 1981
