Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in East London, formed in 1975. The band is directed by founder, bassist and songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the group has released a collective total of thirty albums: fourteen studio albums, seven live albums, four EPs and four compilations.
Pioneers of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, with such an original sound they achieved success during the early 1980s and after several lineup changes, went on to release a series of platinum and gold albums. These include the US platinum-selling landmarks The Number of the Beast in 1982, Piece of Mind in 1983, Powerslave in 1984, the acclaimed live album Live After Death in 1985, Somewhere In Time in 1986, and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son in 1988. Their most recent studio effort, A Matter of Life and Death, was released in 2006 and peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 and at number 4 in the UK. The album was certified gold in the UK. It is also one of the few rock albums to be certified platinum in India.
As one of the most successful heavy metal bands to date, Iron Maiden has sold over 100 million records worldwide.The band won the Ivor Novello Awards for international achievement in 2002,and were also inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk in Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California during their tour in the United States in 2005. As of October 2009, the band has played just over 2000 live shows during their career, and are often cited as one of the most influential bands in rock history.
Stryper is a Christian metal band from Orange County, California, USA. Formed in 1983, they are pioneers in the mainstream popularization of Christian rock music. Stryper enjoyed great success during the mid-late 1980s, with one Platinum and two Gold records,before breaking up in 1992 at a time when most metal (especially glam metal) groups of the 1980s were losing popularity. However, the band reunited in 2003 and since have released two new studio albums.
The name "Stryper" derives from the King James Version of Isaiah 53:5:
"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
The scriptural reference is also part of Stryper's logo on most of their releases. (They also incorporate stripes into most of their outfits and their logo.) Once the band embraced the name of Stryper, drummer Robert Sweet created a backronym which is: Salvation Through Redemption, Yielding Peace, Encouragement, and Righteousness.
Ratt's music is influenced by 1970s hard rock and glam rock bands such as Aerosmith, Sweet, Van Halen and Kiss. They fused this style with heavy metal influences, including Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.
Although they later incorporated more of a blues-rock sound into their music, the band was one of the first glam metal style groups that appeared in the early 1980s in California. Their image bore similarities to that of Rough Cutt, which had several members who were previously in Mickey Ratt (from which Ratt evolved).
Helix are a Canadian hard rock/heavy metal band that formed in 1974 and are best known for their single "Rock You" from 1984. The original lineup was formed by drummer Bruce Arnold, and consisted of lead vocalist Brian Vollmer, guitarists Ron Watson and Rick "Minstrel" Trembley, keyboardist Don Simmons, and bassist Keith "Bert" Zurbrigg. Their most well known lineup, however, and the one that recorded "Rock You", was the 80's version of the band: Vollmer on vocals, accompanied by guitarists Brent "The Doctor" Doerner and Paul Hackman, bassist Daryl Gray, and drummer Greg "Fritz" Hinz. This lineup has changed continuously since then, with Brian Vollmer being the sole constant member.
Skid Row is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1986 in Toms River, New Jersey. They are named after Phil Lynott and Gary Moore's first band. They were most successful in the late 1980s and early 1990s when their first two albums with lead singer Sebastian Bach and drummer Rob Affuso were multi-platinum successes. Their current line-up consists of Johnny Solinger (vocals), Dave "The Snake" Sabo (guitar), Scotti Hill (guitar), Rachel Bolan (bass) and Dave Gara (drums). As of the end of 1996 the band has sold 20 million albums worldwide.
As of 2008, Skid Row has released five full-length albums, an EP, a compilation album, and a live album. For album and single sales information, see the Skid Row discography page. They became popular with their first two albums, Skid Row and Slave to the Grind, which are often considered their best-known works to date. Their last full-length studio album, Revolutions per Minute, came out on October 24, 2006.
They are often associated with glam metal, partly due to their image on their debut album, Skid Row, which spawned the hits "18 and Life", "Youth Gone Wild", and "I Remember You" for the band. They would eventually go on to foster an image base geared toward more traditional heavy metal and hard rock audiences.
Britny Fox formed in 1985 in Philadelphia. The band was originally fronted by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist "Dizzy" Dean Davidson.
The band released a demo titled In America in 1986, which drummer Tony Destra reportedly played on. The band's self-titled debut album, released in 1988, was one of the most successful premieres of the 1988-89 season, selling more than one million copies and bringing more than 625,000 fans to their 130+ shows. They also won Metal Edge Magazine's 1988 Reader's Choice Award for Best New Band. After the release of the band's second album in 1989, Boys in Heat, Davidson departed, and formed the band Blackeyed Susan. He was replaced by Las Vegas native Tommy Paris aka Don Jillson formerly of the band Jillson. Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde and Poison drummer Rikki Rockett guested on the band's third album, Bite Down Hard, which was released in 1991. However, the popularity of glam metal was on a decline around the time of the album's release due to the rising popularity of the grunge movement. Britny Fox disbanded in 1992.
Michael Kelly Smith was previously in an early version of fellow Philadelphia glam metal band Cinderella until his dismissal, and later Tony Destra also played with them.
Drummer Adam West, formerly of Tangier, played for Britny Fox briefly between the time of Tony Destra and Johnny Dee.
Britny Fox reunited in 2001[citation needed] with the same line up before their disbandment, and released a fourth studio album, Springhead Motorshark, in 2003. The band has had summer US and European tours in 2007 and 2008. Guitarist Tommy Krash and former White Lion drummer Greg D'Angelo was supposed to join at that time, but he broke his foot during rehearsal and was replaced with Henry Now.
As of 2007, Britny Fox reformed under original bassist Billy Childs. The other current members are lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Jamie Fletcher, lead guitarist Greg Polcari, and drummer Henry Now, with a new studio release scheduled for 2009.
Bassist Billy Childs has signed on to appear in the upcoming horror film "Incest Death Squad" scheduled for release in late 2010.
The band was formed in 1989, consisting of Tommy Shaw of Styx, Jack Blades of Night Ranger, Ted Nugent of Amboy Dukes and his own solo career, and Michael Cartellone. Presumably inspired by the musical of the same name, Nugent once also explained that he coined the name because whenever someone asked him how he and Tommy Shaw would sound playing together, he would always reply by saying they would sound like “a bunch of damn Yankees.”[citation needed]
Produced by rock producer Ron Nevison, the new band’s self-titled debut album went double-platinum in 1990. Ted Nugent's well-tooled heavy blues guitar became a cornerstone, but Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw rose to the forefront as a potent vocal duo. Jack Blades’s leading single "Coming of Age," hit #60 on the U.S. Hot 100, and #1 on the AOR charts, while Tommy Shaw’s "Come Again" received extensive AOR airplay.
1990's rock ballad "High Enough" featured a passionate duet between Shaw and Blades, backed by a string section in the studio. Backed by a popular video, it rose to #3 on U.S. Hot 100, and #2 on AOR charts. Despite Ted Nugent's career being built on his "Motor City Madman" image, "High Enough" was his first mainstream top ten single. In fact, Damn Yankees seemed to be following a similar course pursued by Jack Blades’s prior band, Night Ranger, developing an overall hard rock sound in the studio, but relying heavily on power ballads to sell their albums. Furthermore, their songs appeared on several Hollywood film soundtracks, such as Gremlins 2: The New Batch, John Candy’s comedic vehicle, Nothing But Trouble and the 1991 action movie The Taking of Beverly Hills.
After the release of their debut, the Damn Yankees went on a year-and-a-half world tour with the likes of a revamped Bad Company, Poison and Jackyl. Their U.S. tour coincided with the Persian Gulf War, in which the band unfurled American flags and made patriotic statements. Nugent’s onstage archery stunts lead to being arrested and fined after firing a burning arrow into an effigy of Saddam Hussein in Colorado.[citation needed]
In 1992, Damn Yankees once again went platinum with their follow-up album Don’t Tread. The title song (sung by Jack Blades) enjoyed extensive coverage at the Barcelona Olympic Games. Ted Nugent also appeared on Rock the Vote, voicing support for the GOP against Bill Clinton. Although the second release was not as successful as the first album, it contained a few minor hits, such as "Mister Please," "Where You Goin’ Now," and "The Silence Is Broken," a power ballad featured on the 1993 Jean-Claude Van Damme film Nowhere to Run.
As the band began working on a third album, Damon Johnson of Brother Cane was added as another guitarist. The move was necessary due to Shaw's participation in Styx. If Shaw was unavailable Johnson would fill in as second guitarist. There was also talk that all three guitarists would play together when Shaw was available.
In July 2008, reunion tour rumors came around-supposedly to start after Styx and Ted Nugent respectively finish their tours.
On Friday, January 15, 2010 at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA, the original members of Damn Yankees make a surprise appearance at the Taylor Guitars exhibit. Jack Blades, Tommy Shaw, Ted Nugent, and Michael Cartellone performed an acoustic set on the Taylor Stage including hits such as "Coming of Age", "High Enough", and the Ted Nugent anthem "Cat Scratch Fever". It was their first performance together in years.
