Night Ranger　

Night Ranger is best known for Sister Christian, a 1984 single that reached the Top 10 in the U.S. and Canada that later turned into a power ballad perennial. Prior to Sister Christian, Night ..more

Judas Priest　

Judas Priest was one of the most influential heavy metal bands of the ’70s, spearheading the New Wave of British Heavy Metal late in the decade. Decked out in leather and chains, the band fused the ..more

Kreator　

Arguably the most influential and successful European thrash metal band ever, Germany’s Kreator are also by far the most enduring. Like many of their European speed metal brethren, Kreator fused ..more

Ian Gillan　

Ian Gillan was one of the foremost vocalists of the heavy metal style of rock that emerged in the 1970s, earning his greatest renown as a member of Deep Purple, though he also led bands na ..more

Gary Moore　

One of rock’s most underrated guitarists (both from a technical and compositional point of view), Gary Moore remains relatively unknown in the U.S., while his solo work has brought him substanti ..more

Slayer　

Slayer were one of the most distinctive, influential, and extreme thrash metal bands of the 1980s. Their graphic lyrics dealt with everything from death and dismemberment to war and the horrors of ..more

Treat　

Slash　

As the lead guitarist for Guns N’ Roses, Slash established himself as one of hard rock’s finest and most soulful soloists during the late ’80s, technically adept yet always firmly grounded in th ..more

Motorhead　

Motorhead’s overwhelmingly loud and fast style of heavy metal was one of the most groundbreaking styles the genre had to offer in the late ’70s. Though the group’s leader, Lemmy Kilmister, had h ..more

Amorphis　

Lead guitarist Esa Holopainen and drummer Jan Rechberger formed the band Amorphis in Finland in 1990. To complete their lineup they recruited vocalist/guitarist Tomi Koivusaari and bassist ..more

Alice Cooper　

Originally, there was a band called Alice Cooper led by a singer named Vincent Damon Furnier. Under his direction, Alice Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical and violent brand of heavy metal ..more

Yngwie Malmsteen　

Yngwie Malmsteen is arguably the most technically accomplished hard rock guitarist to emerge during the ’80s. Combining a dazzling technique honed over years of obsessive practice with a love fo ..more

Destruction　

Together with their countrymen Kreator and Sodom, Germany’s Destruction constituted the dominating triumvirate of Teutonic thrash metal during the 1980s. And even though they ultimately faile ..more

Battle Beast　

Stryper　

Heavy metal has been associated with ol’ Beelzebub ever since its inception, but a few acts took the opposite route and put their Christian beliefs in hard-rocking songs, such as Stryper. Formed in ..more

Edge Of Sanity　

Vocalist and guitarist Dan Swano was the creative force behind the Swedish death metal band Edge of Sanity, which also included guitarists Dread and Sami Nerberg, along with bassist Ande ..more

Coroner　

From their modest beginnings as roadies for avant-garde Swiss metal legends Celtic Frost, the members of Coroner carved out one of the most unique careers in the European thrash metal scene. The ..more

Rage　

The German heavy metal outfit, Rage, originally formed in the early ’80s, and although the group has issued albums on a steady basis ever since, lead singer/bassist Peter Peavey Wagner is t ..more

Arch Enemy　

Formed by ex-Carnage, Carcass, and Candlemass guitarist Michael Amott (also of Spiritual Beggars) with his brother Christopher (Armageddon), Arch Enemy took a straight-ahead ap ..more

Alcatrazz　

Alcatrazz was originally formed as a vehicle for vocalist Graham Bonnet, but became famous for introducing budding guitar heroes instead, namely Swedish phenom Yngwie J. Malmsteen and ex-Fr ..more