DevilDriver
DevilDriver is an American heavy metal band from Santa Barbara, formed in 2002, consisting of vocalist Dez Fafara, guitarists Mike Spreitzer and Neal Tiemann, drummer Austin D'Amond, bassist Diego "Ashes" Ibarra. The band was named Deathride, due to copyright issues and the name being taken by several bands, the band changed its name to DevilDriver. Fafara hosted several barbecues after moving from Orange County to Santa Barbara and would jam with musicians he met, which led to the formation of the band. "I met Evan we struck up a friendship and started jamming," said Fafara Guitarist Evan Pitts met Fafara in a restaurant and gave him his phone number for a jam session, while John Boecklin who played 2nd guitar went to playing drums, met Fafara at a bar. The band was known as Deathride, but changed their name to DevilDriver because Fafara felt there were too many bands with that name. Another problem was that Roadrunner Records were unable to secure copyright; the members compiled a list of two hundred names to go for a more original approach.
Fafara's wife had a book by Italian witchcraft author Raven Grimassi on Stregheria, came across the term "devil driver". The term "devil driver" refers to bells Italian witches used to drive evil forces away. Fafara thought it was appropriate because it sounded "evil", thought the term "suits his life"; the band's logo is the Cross of Confusion, which has existed for thousands of years and refers to "question religion, question authority, question everything around you". Fafara was brought up to "question everything" and was exposed to Italian witchcraft through his grandparents. DevilDriver's debut record was going to be called Thirteen, Straight to Hell. However, Fafara claims it was changed "for so many reasons that I can't go into." The band's self-titled debut DevilDriver, was released on October 28, 2003 under Roadrunner Records, entered the Top Heatseekers chart at number 17. Guitarist Pitts wrote 90% of the music, according to Mike Spreitzer, who replaced Pitts after his departure from the band.
Music critics response to the album was negative. Allmusic reviewer Johnny Loftus commented that elements in the songs "Die" and "Swinging the Dead" redeem an otherwise disappointing album and hoped the band would focus less on the mainstream; the band returned to the studio in 2005 to record their follow-up to DevilDriver. The album was produced at Sonic Ranch Studios, a 1,400-acre pecan ranch, 40 miles away from El Paso, Texas; the band members wanted to be isolated when recording the album so they could focus on the music as friends, family and girlfriends would interrupt. 30 songs were written which were narrowed down to 15 by the band. The 15 songs were played for producer Colin Richardson who wanted to begin tracking immediately; the name of the album was thought of by Fafara who believed that The Fury of Our Maker's Hand refers to the "storm" his life has been the past 10 years, "You have your maker's hand and I have my maker's hand and we both living in our fury, the fury of our maker's hand.
It explains my life". The album was released on June 28, 2005 and debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number 117, with sales of 10,402 in its first week; the album debuted at number 1 on the Top Heatseekers chart. Johnny Loftus of Allmusic described the album as "a severe turn away from the falter of their first album" and said that the band made their "true debut the second time around". Dom Lawson of Kerrang! gave the album a positive review describing the album as a "fresh and exhilarating approach to modern metal". The band toured extensively in support of the album, which included shows in the United States and Australia in support of bands such as In Flames, Fear Factory, Machine Head; the band played for the first time as a headliner in the Burning Daylight Tour. On October 31, 2006, The Fury of Our Maker's Hand was re-released to include three new studio tracks, including "Digging up the Corpses", featured on the soundtrack to Resident Evil: Apocalypse; the release contained three live recordings of released, a DVD of all of the band's music videos, new cover art, inside liner notes.
The band reunited at Sonic Ranch Studios while they recorded their third studio effort, The Last Kind Words, released in June 2007. The album's first single "Not All. Cox's career began when he created Coal Chamber's music video "Loco", so he re-paid a favor to Fafara and the band. Cox now directs music videos for bands such as Linkin Korn; the first song to be previewed was "Horn of Betrayal" which debuted on Sirius Satellite's Hard Attack channel on May 16, 2007. The Last Kind Words entered the German charts at number 92, peaked at number 48 on the Billboard 200, with over 14,000 copies sold. DevilDriver promoted the album at the 2007 Download Festival at Donington Park alongside headliners Linkin Park, Iron Maiden, My Chemical Romance. A Guinness world record was attempted by the band for the "largest circle pit" at the festival. Guinness responded to the query and denied the request stating they receive over 60,000 requests a year and there is no way to physically define where a circle pit starts and ends.
They considered the proposal in the context of the subject area and stated that "our decision is final in this matter". The band appeared at 2007's Ozzfest. Fafara had been planning to take his first six weeks off in 11 years, but Sharon Osbourne, who had managed Fafara's
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, formed in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, drummer Justin Foley; the band has released two live performance albums. Their latest album, was released on March 11, 2016. Killswitch Engage rose to fame with its 2004 release The End of Heartache, which peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200, was certified gold by the RIAA in December 2007 for over 500,000 shipments in the United States; the title track, "The End of Heartache", was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Metal Performance, a live DVD titled World Ablaze was released in 2005. Killswitch Engage has performed at festivals such as Soundwave Festival, Wacken Open Air and Leeds Festivals, Download Festival, Rock on the Range, Rock Am Ring, Mayhem Festival, Monsters of Rock, Pointfest and Heavy MTL; the band has sold over four million records in the U.
S. and has been considered notable within the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, has been considered one of the earliest leading forces of the metalcore genre. Killswitch Engage formed following the disbandment of metalcore bands Overcast and Aftershock in 1999. After Overcast broke up in 1998, bassist Mike D'Antonio collaborated with Aftershock guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. Dutkiewicz, now playing drums, recruited guitarist Joel Stroetzel from Aftershock and vocalist Jesse Leach of the band Nothing Stays Gold to form a new band, Killswitch Engage; the band's name is derived from an episode of the television series The X-Files entitled "Kill Switch", written by William Gibson, who gave the episode this title after meeting the industrial band Kill Switch... Klick. In 1999, Killswitch Engage recorded a demo containing four tracks, including "Soilborn", the first song written by the band; the demo was first released at the band's first show, opening for melodic death metal act In Flames, in November 1999.
They released their self-titled debut album the following year. Although the album was not a financial success and did not land on any charts, it attracted the interest of Carl Severson, who worked at Roadrunner Records at the time. Severson handed Killswitch Engage to several Roadrunner representatives. Mike Gitter, a talent agent of the company, contacted D'Antonio, attended several of the band's shows, offered the band a recording contract with Roadrunner. Realizing that Roadrunner had the resources to promote and distribute Killswitch Engage releases, the band accepted his offer, declining several offers from smaller labels. For a brief time in 2000 and 2001, ex-Overcast guitarist Pete Cortese joined Killswitch Engage, but left when he became a father. Killswitch Engage began writing new material for their second album in November 2001. Mixed in January at Backstage Studios by producer Andy Sneap, the album was titled Alive or Just Breathing, after lyrics in the song "Just Barely Breathing".
A music video for the single "My Last Serenade" increased the band's exposure, the album peaked at number 37 on the Top Heatseekers chart. Following Alive or Just Breathing's release, the album having been written and recorded for two guitarists, the band decided to expand and become a fivesome. After Leach was married on April 20, 2002 and began touring again he fell into a depression. Leach left the band a few days before the band was meant to play a show and sent the band members an e-mail telling them he had quit. D'Antonio said in an interview that "after three years of hanging out with the dude, considering him a brother, to just get an email was a little bit harsh."The band started to search for a replacement vocalist and found Howard Jones of Blood Has Been Shed. Jones disliked the band's sound, he commented, "I was like,'Meh.' I come from hardcore and dirtier metal, Killswitch sounded so clean. But the more I listened to it, I realized there's some good songs here". After hearing about Leach's vocal problems, Jones contacted the band and was accepted as the replacement.
Philip Labonte of All That Remains tried out for lead vocals but lost to Jones, who had to memorize seven songs for his debut at the 2002 Hellfest. The new lineup played on the Road Rage tour in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in 2002 with 36 Crazyfists and Five Pointe O. Touring continued through the New Year's Day, in 2003 the first song to feature Jones, "When Darkness Falls", appeared on the soundtrack of the 2003 horror film Freddy vs. Jason. Following the 2003 Ozzfest, drummer Gomes left the band because he wished to spend more time with his wife, to pursue his band Something of a Silhouette, because he was tired of touring, he was replaced by Justin Foley of Blood Has Been Shed, Foley's first tour with the band was the MTV2 Headbangers Ball in 2003. The End of Heartache was released on May 11, 2004, peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200 with 38,000 sales in its first week, it peaked at number 39 on the Australian Albums Chart; the album went on to sell more than 500,000 copies in the U.
S and was certified gold on December 7, 2007. The album received positive reviews, with Jon Caramanica of Rolling Stone calling the album a "stunning collection, retaining much of their signature musical brutality". Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic commented "riffs upon riffs are piled sky-high into each number that follows, it's the unpredictable rhythmic shifts used to buil
The Oncoming Storm
The Oncoming Storm is the second studio album by American metalcore band, Unearth. It was released on June 2004 through Metal Blade Records; the album was produced by Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, was their first major release through Metal Blade Records. This was their first album with drummer Mike Justian and bassist John "Slo" Maggard, replacing Mike Rudberg and Chris "Rover" Rybicki respectively. After its release, the album entered the Billboard album charts at number 105, selling 13,285 copies. A special edition of the album was released on October 18, 2005, it contained two bonus tracks, a DVD featuring live performances, backstage footage, interviews, an inside look to the recording of the album and four music videos. The Oncoming Storm was well received by the public. On Rate Your Music the album has an average rating of 3.41 of 5, based on more than 600 ratings, on Sputnikmusic the album has an "excellent" average rating of 3.9 of 5, based on more than 850 ratings. All lyrics written by Trevor Phipps.
Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes of the 2004 version. UnearthTrevor Phipps – lead vocals Buz McGrath – lead guitar Ken Susi – rhythm guitar, backing vocals on "Endless", "Lie to Purify" John "Slo" Maggard – bass, backing vocals, guitars on "Aries" Mike Justian – drumsProductionAdam Dutkiewicz – production, mixing Alan Douches – mastering, CD enhancement Cory Kilduff – layout Matt Hayes – layout Aaron Marsh – layout Grail – photos The Oncoming Storm at AllMusic The Oncoming Storm at Metal Blade
Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project. By 1997, he had recruited permanent members. Strapping Young Lad's music was characterized by the use of polyrhythmic guitar riffing and drumming, blast beats and wall of sound production; the band's musical direction was determined by Townsend, whose battle with bipolar disorder and dark sense of humour were major influences on his songwriting. Townsend was noted for his eccentric appearance and on-stage behaviour, which contributed to the band's intense live performances; the band gained a growing underground fan base from their 1997 album City. After a hiatus between 1999 and 2002, the band released three more albums, reaching their commercial peak with the 2006 effort, The New Black. Townsend disbanded Strapping Young Lad in May 2007, announcing his decision to retreat from public view while continuing to record solo albums. Strapping Young Lad began in 1994 as a solo project of Canadian musician Devin Townsend.
Following his work as vocalist on Steve Vai's 1993 album Sex & Religion and its 1994 tour, Townsend believed he had been a "musical whore", spending "the first five years of career working at the behest of other people". During a brief stint as touring guitarist for The Wildhearts, Townsend received a phone call from an A&R representative for Roadrunner Records, expressing an interest in his demos and an intention to sign him; the offer was rescinded by the head of Roadrunner, who regarded Townsend's recordings as "just noise". He faced further rejection by Relativity Records, the label behind Vai's Sex & Religion, who saw no commercial appeal in his music. Century Media Records subsequently contacted the musician, offering him a contract to "make us some extreme albums". Townsend agreed to a five-album deal with the record label. Following his tour with The Wildhearts, Townsend began recording and producing his debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing, under the moniker Strapping Young Lad.
According to Townsend, the recording process took "about a week". Embracing The Wildhearts' anarchist approach, "while focusing on dissonance and just being as over-the-top as could", Townsend sang on the record and performed the majority of its instrumental tracks. A few songs, featured local session musicians, including guitarist Jed Simon, Townsend's future bandmate. Released on April 4, 1995, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing was not recognized in the metal community; the album sold 143 copies in its first six months, but received favorable reviews from the heavy metal press. Its unusual musical ideas—a synthesis of death and industrial metal influences—prompted Andy Stout from Metal Hammer to call it "one of the most disturbing albums you'll hear for a long time". Townsend has expressed his distaste for the recording, he dismissed the album in the liner notes of the record's 2006 reissue, contending it contained only two great songs. He deemed its production poor in interviews, referring to the album as "basically a collection of demos that were remixed".
When Century Media advertised the reissue of Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing as the "rebirth of a genre-defying classic", Townsend called it "record company bullshit". Townsend recruited a permanent line-up for the second album: Jed Simon on guitar, Byron Stroud on bass, Gene Hoglan on drums. City was released on February 11, 1997, received favorable critical reception. Kerrang! praised the album for its heaviness, claiming it sounded like "sticking your head into the jet nozzle of a Stealth Bomber", while Metal Hammer ranked it No. 13 on its "Top 20 Albums of 1997" list. The album soon gained a loyal fan base for the band. City is considered to be the band's best effort by a large number of critics alike. In 2002, the album was No. 45 on Revolver magazine's "69 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" list, appeared on their "Must Have Metal Albums" list in 2005. It appeared on the "100 Most Important Albums of the Nineties" list conducted by Terrorizer. Townsend himself stated. That's the ultimate one out of all of them".
The band embarked on a world tour in 1997 to promote the album, which included dates in Europe, the US and Australia. On May 30, 1998, they performed at the Dynamo Open Air festival in Eindhoven, Netherlands continued touring the next month in Europe. In June 1998, the group released No Sleep'till Bedtime, a live album containing songs performed at a 1997 performance at the HiFi Bar and Ballroom in Melbourne, Australia. Century Media was not interested in releasing a live record, but impressed with Townsend's production, the label agreed to release it; the band closed the year playing a few more dates in Australia. At the end of 1998, Townsend placed Strapping Young Lad on hiatus to concentrate on his solo career and on his work as a record producer, he had released two solo albums, Ocean Machine: Biomech in 1997 and Infinity in 1998 and produced several other artists' albums. Townsend explained numerous conflicts with Century Media, his struggle with bipolar disorder, contributed to the curtailment of Strapping Young Lad's activities: What happened?
I signed a shitty deal. I got tired of doing Strapping so I said,'I can't
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Oslo, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic and Old Norse; the band has been through numerous lineup changes over the years. Dimmu Borgir was founded in 1993 by Shagrath and Tjodalv; this short EP sold out within weeks, the band followed up with the 1994 full-length album For All Tid. This album featured vocal contributions by Vicotnik of Ved Buens Ende and Dødheimsgard and Aldrahn of Dødheimsgard and Zyklon-B; the initial line-up consisted of Shagrath playing drums with Tjodalv on guitar and Silenoz contributing lead vocals. This line-up changed before the release of Stormblåst on Cacophonous Records in 1996, an album considered by many to be their finest, it is the last album which features all lyrics written and sung in Norwegian. After Stormblåst, keyboardist Stian Aarstad left the band due to his obligation to serve in the Norwegian army, thus being unable to participate in the 1996 recording of Devil's Path.
That period was marked by the departure of bassist Brynjard Tristan and the arrival of Nagash. Stian Aarstad returned for the recording of 1997's Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, he was unable to tour. He was subsequently fired and replaced by Kimberly Goss for their 1997/1998 world tour. Enthrone Darkness Triumphant was a huge success for the band, was their first release signed to Nuclear Blast, a German record label; the album was recorded in the Abyss Studios, owned by Hypocrisy's frontman Peter Tägtgren. After the release of Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, the band went on tour with In Flames and other bands who were prominent in the scene at the time. After the tour for Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, the band recruited new members Mustis on keyboards and Astennu on lead guitar. Dimmu Borgir's following full-length albums Spiritual Black Dimensions in 1999 and 2001's Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, both met critical acclaim. However, another line-up change occurred between the two albums. Astennu was fired from his guitar duties as well, was replaced by Galder.
Despite the regular video play on MTV2 and Fuse that their follow-up album would receive, the band stated that they were not "commercially-oriented," and instead, they'simply wished to spread their message to more people'. In 2003, Dimmu Borgir recorded Death Cult Armageddon. Death Cult Armageddon was recorded with the Prague Philarmonic Orchestra, conducted by Adam Klemens. All orchestrations were arranged by Gaute Storaas. In 2004, Dimmu Borgir performed on the mainstage at Ozzfest. In 2005, the band did a complete re-recording of the Stormblåst album, featuring Hellhammer of Mayhem fame as the session drummer; the album featured a DVD with a live performance from the 2004 Ozzfest tour. Dimmu Borgir's eighth studio album, In Sorte Diaboli, was released on 24 April 2007. A special edition version was released in a boxed case with a DVD, backward-printed lyrics, a mirror; the album artwork was released on 14 February 2007 on a promotional webpage for the album. This album features once more the drumming of Hellhammer of Mayhem.
Blomberg left the band in mid-tour in 2007 because of a neck injury that resulted in limited movement of his right arm. With the release of this album, Dimmu Borgir became the first black metal band with a number one album on the charts in their native country. In October 2008, they released their second live DVD set titled The Invaluable Darkness, based on several shows during the world tour supporting'In Sorte Diaboli'. In 2009, members ICS Vortex and Mustis independently announced their departure from Dimmu Borgir. Mustis released a statement claiming his disfavor with the band, stating that he was not properly credited for his writing contributions to the band's music, mentioning taking legal action. Dimmu Borgir soon after confirmed the pair's dismissal from the band, releasing a statement explaining why the two were fired. Shagrath and Galder wrote: "Funny how the new album is half-way finished written by the rest of us without any of these guys' input, still having all those elements we're known for."
The band's decision has received a mixed response from fans. Dimmu Borgir's ninth studio album, was released on 24 September 2010 in Germany, 27 September 2010 for the rest of Europe and 12 October 2010 in North America. Silenoz explained that the growing periods of time between albums was because the band had stopped writing music while touring, affecting the quality of the music, he described the new album as having an "eerie and haunting feel to it", adding that the material is "epic", "primal", atmospheric and ambient. A promotional image released with the statement showed Shagrath returning to the keyboards; the album features an ensemble orchestra, the Kringkastingsorkestret, as well as the Schola Cantorum choir, totaling more than 100 musicians and singers. Gaute Storaas, composer of the orchestral arrangements, released a statement on his role in working on the album. "Their
Above the Fall of Man
Above the Fall of Man is the first EP released by the metalcore band Unearth in May 1999. The entire EP appears on their 2005 compilation album Our Days of Eulogy. PerformersTrevor – vocals Buz – guitar Ken – guitar Rover – bass Mike – drums
Headbangers Ball
Headbangers Ball was a music television program consisting of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV, MTV2, MTV Australia, MTV Rocks, MTV Adria, MTV Brand New, MTV Portugal, MTV Finland, MTV Arabia, MTV Norway, MTV Sweden, MTV Denmark, MTV Greece, MTV Türkiye, MTV Israel, MTV Hungary and MTV Japan. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal and hard rock music videos late at night, from both well-known and more obscure artists; the show offered a stark contrast to Top 40 music videos shown during the day. However, with the mainstream rise of alternative rock, pop punk and rap music in the 1990s, the relevance of Headbangers Ball came into question, the show was canceled in 1995. Over eight years as new genres of heavy metal were gaining a commercial foothold and fan interest became unavoidable, the program was reintroduced on MTV2, it is no longer shown on television. Many of the videos that aired on the first incarnation of the series would find a home on the themed Metal Mayhem on sister channel MTV Classic.
"The Ball," as it is called, replaced Heavy Metal Mania, helmed by Dee Snider of Twisted Sister fame. In doing so, MTV added more live interviews with bands. At its premiere it was hosted by Kevin Seal by VJ Adam Curry, before settling on Riki Rachtman, who to many viewers became the most identifiable host of the show; the name "Headbangers Ball" was invented and used by DJ John Brent of Bury and was used on his rock and metal roadshows from 1980 onwards and toured throughout the UK with great success. John's Headbangers Ball Rock charts were regularly featured in the pages of Rock publications Kerrang! and Sounds along with many features on the show in local periodicals. Headbangers Ball was one of the most popular music shows to air on MTV, on the air for nearly 8 years, for a time, it was one of the network's flagship shows. For some time in 1988 and 1989, the show was increased to 3 hours. One hour added, plus Hard 60, a daily version of the ball that aired for an hour every weekday afternoon.
Its influence was made widespread with the rise of heavy metal in early 1990s. While the program showed videos from the mainstream friendly "hair metal" during the 1980s, it gave an equal amount of time to the more aggressive-sounding heavy metal music scene active in the late 1980s and early 1990s; this level of popularity resulted in North American tours presented by Headbangers Ball. Heavier alternative acts, spearheaded by the likes of The Cult, Faith No More and Jane's Addiction, were finding increased residence on Headbangers Ball at the dawn of the 1990s, but it was earlier that decade that grunge and alternative rock bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains began to uproot the "hair metal" scene and led to its final decline. Bands such as Stone Temple Pilots, White Zombie and Blind Melon would follow suit, resulting in a major shift in identity for the show, where metal mainstays such as Metallica, Pantera, Suicidal Tendencies and Dream Theater shared airspace with the new crop of alternative hard rock acts.
Several punk rock bands, including the Ramones, The Offspring, Bad Religion and Sick of It All received airplay on the show, which, by 1995, would continue to focus on less mainstream forms of heavy metal. Other notable TV programs have emulated Headbanger's Ball, such as Fuse TV's Uranium and VH1's Rock Show. Indeed, the popularity and effectiveness of Uranium in the early 2000s may be cited as a strong influence to the revival of The Ball in 2003. Bands would visit the set for interviews, in some instances, the show would follow bands on trips to assorted locations across the world. Memorable road trip episodes include the Moscow Music Peace Festival with Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Skid Row and Gorky Park, Monsters of Rock in Donington, Alice in Chains' trip to Action Water Park, bowling with Soundgarden, skydiving with Megadeth, Oktoberfest in Munich with Danzig and Van Halen's adventure at Cabo Wabo; the show remained on the air until January 1995, when MTV abruptly canceled the show without any prior warning to viewers, host Riki Rachtman, or the production staff.
The European version, hosted by Vanessa Warwick, was on the air until 1997, but limited to an hour and a half. Rachtman was informed of the cancellation days afterward when, after filming what would end up being the final episode, he was informed via phone call that he would not have to show up to work the following week. No official reason was given for the show's cancellation, but it is suspected to be because MTV was playing grunge and alternative more during its main programming, although they did not play a lot of metal or interview the bands. Many MTV fans were outraged at the show's abrupt cancellation, as well as denying Rachtman and the production staff the chance to inform viewers that the show was going off the air, or to allow them to put together a "farewell show" for the loyal viewers of Headbangers Ball; some regular-citizen critics of MTV cite the cancellation of Headbangers Ball as one of the key decisions which caused the network to "jump the shark
