Tag: Heavy Metal

During the 1980s, Helloween were the most successful heavy metal band that Germany has ever produced (who aren't called The Scorpions). Formed in Hamburg in 1984 by Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath, their early records were fast and...

In the late 80s, Cinderella had triple-platinum hits in the US with debut album Night Songs (1986) and follow-up Long Cold Winter (1988). Night Songs was released a year after the Philadelphia group were discovered by Jon Bon Jovi and showcased a...

There was never a better time to be a big-haired hard rock band from Los Angeles than in 1987. Mötley Crüe were riding high with the monster hit Girls Girls Girls, Poison were breaking big, the hottest...

Slayer formed in Los Angeles in 1982 and always existed to be the heaviest and the fastest - and to stand at the farthest remove from decency and normality. It worked best in 1986 when they...

Brazilian thrash metal band formed in Sao Paolo in 1983 by teenage brothers Max and Igor Cavelera (on guitar and drums respectively) with guitarist Andreas Kisser and bassist Paolo Jr. making up the quartet. While stories...

The Scorpions formed in Hanover, Germany, in 1971, and recorded their first album, Lonesome Crow, in Hamburg a little later. The band embarked on a gruelling touring schedule, playing 130 concerts with very few breaks. In Germany, they...

Saxon vocalist Peter "Biff" Byford is a Yorkshireman with strictly old-school values. Once photographed enjoying a cup of tea while his wife washed his car with her broken arm in a sling, he likes his Metal...

One of the most influential heavy metal bands of the 90s, Texan quartet Pantera knocked out a series of albums in that decade that redefined the genre. But in the background lies a 1980s back catalogue...

Named after the Bob Dylan song The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest and led by Tim Brooke-Taylor look-alike and openly gay biker dress-alike Rob Halford, Judas Priest were never taken as seriously as other...

Formed after Ronnie James Dio's departure from Black Sabbath, Dio's first self-titled outfit featured the considerable talents of fellow Sabbath absconder Vinny Appice on drums, alongside ex-Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain and guitarist Vivian Campbell. The first...

Def Leppard formed in Sheffield, England in 1977 as Atomic Mass with original members Rick Savage, Pete Willis and Tony Kenning. Frontman Joe Elliot came into the picture not long after and the band adopted the...

A few months prior to his departure from Deep Purple in 1975, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore teamed up with members of a decidedly mediocre American band called Elf and recorded Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow for Polydor. Although it was basically...

In the early 1980s, UK rock magazine Sounds ardently promoted (and christened) the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal -  the acronym of which is spelt NWOBHM and pronounced "nuh'wobbum". Decades on from its humble beginnings in scabby...

Fine in principal, but not quite in practice; The Heavy Metal crowd consistently ruled much of the 80's, which is why there was 'alternative music' back then. The new bands took the rock posturing of KISS but left...

Michael Schenker joined his brother's band, Scorpions in 1971. The group opened for UFO on one of their early German tours and UFO were impressed enough that they asked Schenker to join them. From 1974 to 1979 he helped develop UFO...

During the 1970s, UFO was one of the most popular heavy metal bands in the world, thanks in no small part to the blistering guitar work of Michael Schenker. After recording several best-selling albums, Schenker quit in 1978...

Witchfynde were formed in Derbyshire, England in 1974, by bass guitarist and vocalist Neil Harvey. They discovered "Montalo" (real name Trevor Taylor) in a band called Atiofel. The band released their first single, Give 'Em Hell...

With a pair of double-platinum albums, Warrant were one of the most popular glam-metal bands of the late 80s. Formed in Los Angeles in the mid-80s, the group featured vocalist Jani Lane, guitarist Erik Turner, guitarist...

Although die-hard fans stuck by Anthrax no matter who their singer was, it is widely agreed among metalheads that the band was at their peak - both artistically and commercially - when Joey Belladonna was...

When it comes to the original MTV generation of big-haired heavy metal band, Y&T (originally Yesterday & Today before they shortened their name) were one of the best, yet they remained underrated. The San Francisco-based...