Y & T　

Ace Frehley　

Along with Eddie Van Halen, Kiss’ Ace Frehley inspired numerous up-and-coming rockers to pick up the guitar in the 1970s -- and come the ’90s, he was listed by just about every contemporary r ..more

Lynch Mob　

After Dokken broke up in 1989, George Lynch formed his own band, the Lynch Mob, with Dokken drummer Mick Brown. The band went through several personnel shifts and failed to meet commerc ..more

Exodus　

Once the kings of the Bay Area metal scene -- the birthplace of thrash -- Exodus were unceremoniously demoted from their post with the arrival of Los Angeles’ Metallica in 1982. And while they p ..more

Tygers of Pan Tang　

Hailing from the tiny town of Whitley Bay in North-East England, the Tygers of Pan Tang (whose name originated from the Michael Moorcock novel Stormbringer) formed when aspiring vocalist Je ..more

Onslaught　

Onslaught was put together by Bristol, England, guitarist Nige Rockettand drummer Steve Grice in the early ’80s. The two musicians were working to forge an ultra-aggressive, speedy metal s ..more

Necrophobic　

Necrophobic was a Swedish death metal band formed in 1989 by drummer Joakim Sterner and guitarist David Parland. The pair played with a revolving-door lineup of musicians before the perman ..more

Ihsahn　

One of the leading figures (arguably the leading figure, at least from a musical perspective) in the history of Norwegian black metal, Ihsahn -- born Vegard Sverre Tveitan, in Notodden, Norway, ..more

Leaves'Eyes　

RATT　

Ratt’s brash, melodic heavy metal made the Los Angeles quintet one of the most popular rock acts of the mid-’80s. The group had its origins in the ’70s group Mickey Ratt, which had evolved ..more

High On Fire　

Guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike, bass player George Rice, and drummer Des Kensel formed High on Fire in 1999, following the collapse of Pike’s previous band, doom metal titans Sleep. Bu ..more

Warlord　

Although they enjoyed a promising career start when their song Lucifer’s Hammer was featured in the second volume of the legendary Metal Massacre compilations, Los Angeles’ Warlord saw thei ..more

U.D.O.　

Tesla　

Although Tesla emerged during the glory days of hair metal, the band’s music was equally indebted to contemporary blues and ’70s-style hard rock, a fusion that helped differentiate albums lik ..more

Vandenberg　

Led by guitarist Adrian Vandenberg, this Dutch hard-rock band also included singer Bert Heerink, bassist Dick Kemper, and drummer Joe Zoomer. After failing to break through, the band broke ..more

Visions Of Atlantis　

Angra　

Angra was formed in 1991, picking up where Viper had left off playing neo-classical progressive metal. Singer Andre Matos left Viper after the Theatre of Fate album due to creative diff ..more

Death　

Over the course of more than a decade and seven increasingly accomplished albums, Chuck Schuldiner, the architect behind the ubiquitous Death, became a bona fide heavy metal icon. Now widely ..more

Lillian Axe　

This melodic rock quintet, originally from Michigan, was formed by Ron Taylor (vocals), Steve Blaze (guitar), Jon Ster (guitar, keyboards), Rob Stratton (bass), and Danny King (drums). ..more

Firewind　

Yet another power metal ensemble showcasing the widely acknowledged and always in-demand talents of Greek guitar hero Gus G. (whose real name is Kostas Karamitroudis, and whose other credits inc ..more