Denim & Leather|The Heavy Metal Video Blog

Batman Trailer

2008-01-30T14:57:00.001-05:00

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal:

2007-09-19T21:20:00.000-05:00

Living Colour is a hard rock band formed in New York City in 1983 by Vernon Reid. They signed to Epic Records in 1987 and released their first album Vivid in 1988. Stylistically their music is a creative fusion influenced by guitar-based rock, funk, heavy metal, free jazz, hardcore punk and hip hop.

They are best remembered for the hits "Cult of Personality", which won a Grammy Award for best hard rock performance in 1989, and "Type" - their highest charting single. They were also named Best New Artist at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards.

Reid, British-born but a longtime New York resident, was well known on the downtown New York jazz scenes courtesy of his tenure in Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society. A guitarist of unnerving technique and speed, he assembled a number of bands under the name Living Colour from 1983 to 1986

In 1986, the lineup became bassist Muzz Skillings, drummer Will Calhoun, who had graduated with honors from Berklee College of Music, and vocalist Corey Glover (who Reid met at a birthday party and was suitably impressed with a rendition of "Happy Birthday"). In Calhoun and particularly Skillings, Reid had a rhythm section with the ability to express themselves in dozens of forms, and in Glover he had a vocalist who could produce depths of soul or rage upon demand. Soon after they became regulars on the touring circuit, including regular gigs at the seminal club CBGB's.

Aided by a demo produced by fan Mick Jagger, they scored a record deal with Epic Records, and released Vividin the middle of 1988, reaching #6 on the Billboard 200. The album gathered sales momentum only when in late 1988 MTV began playing the video for "Cult of Personality." They gained further exposure as an opening act (with Guns N' Roses) for the 1989 Rolling Stones tour of stadiums throughout the USA.

Their second effort, Time's Up, was a sprawling affair that capitalized on the ability of its members to work in numerous musical contexts; thrash metal, punk, jazz fusion, delta blues, hip hop (cameos by Queen Latifah and Doug E. Fresh), funk, jive, and hints of electronica were all represented. The album reached #13 on the Billboard chart and won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Album.

Bass player Muzz Skillings left the group soon after due to creative differences and was replaced by Doug Wimbish. This new incarnation released the album Stain in 1993, revealing an emotionally darker, more personal side of the group. The album only reached #26 on the chart. Despite retaining their strong fan base, the band split on January 1995 after failing to settle on a common musical goal during sessions for their fourth full-length album. Four of these tracks were included on the compilation Pride.

Individual members released a variety of solo efforts until the band finally reformed for good on December 22, 2000. The reunion was followed by the release of another dark record, Collideøscope, in 2003.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Tesla

2007-09-17T22:01:00.000-05:00

Tesla is the name of an American rock band originating in Sacramento, California. The band formed in 1984 on the island of Guam as City Kidd, and was renamed Tesla during the recording of their first album on the advice of their manager. The band derived their name, certain album and song titles, and some song content from events relating to Nikola Tesla, a Serbian inventor (born in Croatia) and electrical engineer born in the 19th century.

The band's original line-up consisted of vocalist Jeff Keith, guitarists Frank Hannon and Tommy Skeoch, bassist Brian Wheat and drummer Troy Luccketta.

Tesla's music was often referred to as heavy metal, but is better described as hard rock with a bluesy feel. The band's lyrics also strayed from the themes popular in heavy metal, particularly in the 1980s. A further distinction from their comtemporaries was their T-shirt-and-jeans image which was in strong contrast to Glam Metal bands of the time, which were characterized by big hair, leather pants and flashy-make up.

After playing several showcases in Los Angeles, Tesla quickly scored a deal with Geffen and released their debut album, Mechanical Resonance, in 1986; it produced a minor hard rock hit in "Modern Day Cowboy," reached the Top 40 on the album charts, and eventually went platinum.

However, it was the follow-up, 1989's The Great Radio Controversy, that truly broke the band. The first single, "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)," was another hit with hard rock audiences, setting the stage for the second single, a warm, comforting ballad called "Love Song" which substituted a dash of hippie utopianism for the usual power ballad histrionics. "Love Song" hit the pop Top Ten and made the band stars, pushing The Great Radio Controversy into the Top 20 and double-platinum sales figures; the follow-up single, "The Way It Is," was also something of a hit.

In keeping with their unpretentious, blue-collar roots, Tesla responded to stardom not by aping the glam theatrics of their tourmates, but by stripping things down. The idea behind 1990's Five Man Acoustical Jam was virtually unheard of — a pop-metal band playing loose, informal acoustic versions of their best-known songs in concert, plus a few favorite covers ('60s classics by the Beatles, Stones, CCR, and others).

The studio follow-up to The Great Radio Controversy, Psychotic Supper, was released in 1991 and quickly became another platinum hit. It didn't produce any singles quite as successful as "Love Song" or "Signs," but it did spin off the greatest number of singles of any Tesla album: "Edison's Medicine," "Call It What You Want," "What You Give," "Song and Emotion."

Bust A Nut followed in 1994 but tensions within the band caused their breakup in 1996. The band staged a small-scale reunion in 2000, which quickly became full-fledged. In the fall of 2001, the group released a two-disc live album, Replugged Live, which documented their reunion tour. Into the Now, which was co-produced by Michael Rosen (Testament, AFI), appeared in March 2004. A collection of '70s covers called Real to Reel arrived in 2007.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Twisted Sister

2007-09-11T20:15:00.000-05:00

Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from New York City.[1] Their work fuses the shock tactics of Alice Cooper, the rebellious mood of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the style of the New York Dolls, and the extravagant makeup of KISS. The group has a glam-like image and implements musically elements of classic heavy metal bands such as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden as did some of the earlier glam metal bands.

Although the band was formed by guitarist Jay Jay French in 1973, all of their songs were written by lead singer Dee Snider. He describes Twisted Sister as "Slade meets Sex Pistols". The group's hits include "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both popularized by regular airplay on MTV in the 1980s. Many of the band's songs explore themes of parent vs. child conflicts and criticisms of the educational system.

Twisted Sister began on February 14, 1973, when guitarist Jay Jay French joined a band called Silverstar. In those days, French was using the stage name Johnny Heartbreaker. He had previously played in some local bands and had auditioned for Wicked Lester, the band that would eventually become KISS. On the suggestion of Silverstar's lead singer Michael Valentine [5], the band changed its name to Twisted Sister. Valentine and the other guitarist, Billy Diamond, soon left, prompting French to assume vocal duties as well.[6]

In 1975, Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda, a former high school friend of French, joined as co-lead singer and second guitarist. He had previously recorded with a New York City band called SPV. Kevin John Grace replaced Mel "Starr" Anderson on drums. Bass guitarist Kenny Neill (Kenneth Harrisson-Neill) completed the lineup. The band followed a glam rock direction, influenced by David Bowie, Slade, Mott the Hoople, Humble Pie, and New York Dolls. They played at local clubs without much success until 1976.

In 1976, Dee Snider[7] joined the band as lead singer and principal songwriter. After replacing drummer Grace with Tony Petri, the group took a heavier musical direction, influenced by Motörhead, Black Sabbath, and Alice Cooper, but without abandoning their glam image.

Although glam was out of fashion in those days, Snider's phenomenal abilities as frontman propelled the band to considerable local success. They broke attendance records at large halls in the Tri-State Region and their growing fan base began to take the name "S.M.F.F.O.T.S.", for Sick Motherfucking Friends Of Twisted Sister. Later shortened to "S.M.F." for "Sick Mother Fuckers."

In this period, the group suffered some member traffic. On October 31, 1978, Neill left to be a born again Christian, according to an interview with Snider. The band's roadie and friend, Mark "The Animal" Mendoza, formerly bassist for The Dictators, replaced him. In December 1980, Petri also left for Plasmatics[9] and was replaced briefly by Ritchie Teeter. Teeter, also formerly of The Dictators, was replaced in that band by Mel Anderson. In April 1981, Teeter was replaced by "Fast" Joey Brighton, who was in turn replaced by A.J. Pero from Cities, another unsigned band with local fame.[10]

This lineup—Dee Snider, Jay Jay French, Eddie Ojeda, Mark Mendoza and A.J. Pero—is considered the band's classic lineup, with which they would record four studio albums and perform numerous live shows around the world.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Molly Hatchet

2007-09-08T20:41:00.000-05:00

Molly Hatchet is an American Southern rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1974, known primarily for their hit song "Flirtin' with Disaster" from the album of the same title. The band, founded by Dave Hlubek and Steve Holland, took its name from a legendary Southern prostitute who supposedly mutilated and decapitated her clients.

The original group included vocalist Danny Joe Brown, three guitarists Dave Hlubek, Steve Holland, and Duane Roland, bassist Banner Thomas, and drummer Bruce Crump.

Prior to the band's signing with Epic Records, they often toured the Florida roadhouse and bar circuit. Originating from the same city as the most well-known act in the Southern rock genre, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet shared influences and inspiration with them as well as another up-and-coming Southern Rock act, .38 Special. The brother of Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist, Ronnie Van Zant on lead vocals (Donnie Van Zant). Because of this, .38 Special enjoyed some influential connections in the music business, referring Molly Hatchet to manager Pat Armstrong. His interest in Molly Hatchet led to a record deal with Epic Records and bringing in Tom Werman as a producer. Werman was already well-known in the industry for working with other popular acts of the period, including Cheap Trick and Ted Nugent.

The result of this teaming of a producer known for working with straight hard-rock acts with a Southern-influenced band led to a new development in the Southern rock genre. Combining boogie, blues and hard rock, Molly Hatchet's sound was differentiated from more country-influenced acts such as The Outlaws.

In 1978 the band recorded and released its first album eponymously titled Molly Hatchet. Then in 1979, Flirtin' with Disaster was released. Molly Hatchet proceeded to tour behind the record and gained an increasing fan base. Some observers note that certain "success syndrome" problems led singer Danny Joe Brown, whose voice and persona had defined the act to that point, to leave the band at the end of the 1970s.

In 1980 Brown left the group to form The Danny Joe Brown Band (with future Molly Hatchet guitarist Bobby Ingram) and was replaced by vocalist Jimmy Farrar. Along with Farrar came a new approach to the band's sound. The earlier albums are said to feature more variation in guitar tone and style, along with a more overt southern influence, which changed with the addition of Farrar on vocals.

With the success of a more, harder-rocking "Beatin The Odds" release, the band ventured even farther away from their original sound. By 1981, Molly Hatchet had almost completely abandoned their original style of 1978 for a straight ahead rock style exhibited on the Take No Prisoners release of the same year. This album had a less-than-warm reception from many of the fans of the original sound and while the band was still successful on the touring circuit, Farrar left the act in 1981.

Brown rejoined the band in 1982 and Banner Thomas left and was replaced by Riff West. B.B. Bordan (also known as B.B. Queen, playing drums for Mother´s Finest) replaced Crump on Drums. In 1983, a new album was released titled No Guts... No Glory. Steve Holland left and was replaced by keyboardist John Galvin. This period saw the band return to its more overt southern style it had displayed on its debut record in 1978.

However, with the addition of keyboards into the mix, the band managed to take this sound to an even more orchestrated approach on some songs such as "Fall of the Peacemakers". Critics hailed the "No Guts....No Glory" album as the band's true return to form, but southern rock no longer enjoyed the widespread appeal it had previously. As a result, the record went largely unnoticed, in contrast to the glory years of 1979's "Flirtin' With Disaster", but did rejuvenate interest from the band's fan base, who had started to drift after the uncharacteristic "Take No Prisoners" album of 1981.

Despite the numerous lineup changes, the group still records and tours on a consistent basis.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Krokus

2007-09-06T20:58:00.000-05:00

Krokus was founded in Solothurn in 1974 by Chris von Rohr, bassist (and original lead vocalist) and guitarist Tommy Kiefer. Originally playing the bar circuit with hit cover versions, they changed to metal because the rise of bands like AC/DC and Iron Maiden made them realize that the genre was catching up with people.

The change was emphasized by Marc Storace joining the band as front-man. They enjoyed huge popularity in the 1980s in parts of Europe and the USA through heavy touring, MTV exposure and videos. In Europe, they toured with Nazareth and in the United States with AC/DC, Motörhead, Rush, Def Leppard and Judas Priest. Their album Headhunter was a platinum album in the United States, while One Vice at A Time, The Blitz and Change of Address. So far, all Krokus albums have gone platinum in Switzerland.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Kansas

2007-09-04T22:42:00.000-05:00

Kansas is an American progressive/hard rock band who became a popular arena rock group in the late 1970s, with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind." Kansas has remained a classic rock radio staple and a popular touring act in North America and Europe.

Dave Hope (bass), Phil Ehart (drums), and Kerry Livgren (guitar, and later keyboards) formed the progressive rock group named Kansas in 1970 in their hometown of Topeka, Kansas, along with vocalist Lynn Meredith from Manhattan, Kansas, keyboardist Don Montre, keyboardist Dan Wright, and saxophonist Larry Baker.

In the meantime, Ehart and Hope formed a group called White Clover with Robby Steinhardt (violin, vocals), Steve Walsh (keyboards, vocals) and Rich Williams (guitar). They changed their name to Kansas when they recruited Livgren from the second Kansas group, which then folded.[1] The third line-up of the band, called Kansas III, received a record deal with Don Kirshner's eponymous label, and they recorded the first Kansas album shortly thereafter.

The debut album, Kansas (#174), which was released in 1974, showcased Kansas' signature mix of guitars, keyboards, vocals, and Steinhardt's violin style, which merged American-style boogie-rock with complex, symphonic arrangements and changing time signatures. Their sound bore the marks of late-1960s, early 1970s progressive rock, such as Genesis and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. Promotion by Kirshner and touring behind the debut album and its two follow ups, Song for America (#57) and Masque (#70), increased awareness of Kansas'.

On the strength of the major hit single "Carry On Wayward Son" (#11) the band's fourth album, Leftoverture, released in 1976, on which Steinhardt added viola and Walsh added vibraphone to their work, (#5), was a hit which garnered a lot of airplay on the burgeoning AOR radio format. The follow up Point of Know Return (#4), released in 1977, featured the title track (#28) and "Dust in the Wind" (#6), both hit singles.

Both albums had unique album covers, with Leftoverture featuring a DaVinci-like old man on the cover, and Point of Know Return depicting a ship teetering over the edge of the world. Both albums have sold over 4 million copies in the USA alone. Both Carry On Wayward Son and Dust in the Wind were certified Gold singles, selling over one million units each.

Kansas self-produced their follow-up to Point Of Know Return. The 1979 album Monolith (#10) featured lyrics influenced by The Urantia Book and Native American themes. "Kansas" itself is a toponym derived from the Kansa tribe, whose name is widely believed to mean "People of the South Wind."[2] The starkly expressive album cover depicts Plains Indians in traditional dress and space suit helmets living in a settlement under the ruins of highway overpasses. While the album produced a top 40 single in "People of the South Wind" (#23), both the band and the label were disappointed in Monolith's failure to produce sales or radio airplay close to its two predecessors.

Kansas has continued to tour and release albums with various lineups.

Chart History: James Gang

2007-08-28T19:11:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on the James Gang. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included - only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1970: Yer Album (No.83)
1970: The James Gang Rides Again (No.20)
1971: Thirds (No.27)
1971: Live In Concert (No.24)
1972: Passin' Thru (No.72)
1974: Bang (No.122)
1975: Miami (No.97)
1976: Newborn (No.109)
1978: Straight Shooter (No.58)

Singles:
1. Funk #49 (No.59)
2. Midnight Man (No.80)
3. Walk Away (No.51)
4. Must Be Love (No.54)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Golden Earring

2007-08-27T22:04:00.000-05:00

Golden Earring was formed in 1961 in The Hague by 13-year-old George Kooymans and his 15-year-old neighbour, Rinus Gerritsen. Originally called The Tornados, the name was changed to Golden Earrings when they discovered that "The Tornados" was already in use.

In 1968, the band earned their first number one hit in the Netherlands with the pop song "Dong Dong Diki Diki Dong. This was followed by the success of their psychedelic album Eight Miles High, which featured an eighteen-minute version of the title track, itself a cover of The Byrds hit. The live version, which could last 45 minutes, was considered by some to be a highlight in their first and second American tours.

Golden Earring embarked on their first major US tour in 1969 - 1970, and were among the first European bands to do so. Due to American influences, their music evolved towards hard rock, and they performed along with Led Zeppelin. Between 1969 and 1984, Golden Earring completed thirteen US tours. During this period, they performed as the opening act for Santana, The Doobie Brothers, Rush and .38 Special; and in the early seventies, when "Radar Love" was a hit, had KISS and Aerosmith as their opening act.

They enjoyed a brief period of stardom but were unable to secure further chart success until 1982's "Twilight Zone", which was followed by "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. After a rather disappointing reaction in the US to the latter, Golden Earring turned their focus towards Europe where they continue to attract standing-room-only crowds. Golden Earring has recorded over 30 gold and platinum albums and singles , and a number of artists like U2, White Lion, R.E.M. and Bryan Adams have covered their international hit and rock classic "Radar Love". In total, over 200 covers exist of this song.

Golden Earring has kept the same line-up since 1970. The band is the longest existing rock band in the world, as they were founded in 1961, one year before the Rolling Stones.

While Golden Earring has almost faded from the international concert scene, they still maintain a core group of loyal fans, and their music is still played on US, Canadian, British, Australian and other radio stations.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Edgar Winter Group

2007-08-24T19:38:00.000-05:00

Edgar Winter, the second son of John and Edwina Winter, was born December 28, 1946 in Beaumont, TX, and much of the credit for Edgar and Johnny's early musical awareness must go to the brothers' parents, who have been a constant source of encouragement throughout their respective musical careers.

The boys' father sang in a barbershop quartet, in their church choir, and played saxophone in a jazz group. Edgar and Johnny, who's three years older, began performing together as teens, playing local watering holes like Tom's Fish Camp before they were old enough to drink.

By the summer of 1972, through constant touring, (and a ready willingness to do interviews, unlike his older brother), Winter formed the Edgar Winter Group in the summer of 1972. In January, 1973, Epic released They Only Come Out at Night, produced by guitarist Rick Derringer, which reached number three in the U.S. This album had Winter's most famous song, "Frankenstein," which reached number one in the U.S. in May of 1973.

Later that year, "Free Ride" from the same album reached number 14. Although he's never matched that kind of commercial radio success again, Winter has continued to tour and record at a prolific pace. He relocated from New York City to Beverly Hills in 1989 to pursue movie score work, which he's had some success with, most notably with a slightly reworked version of "Frankenstein" for the movie Wayne's World II.

Although his early-'70s albums like Entrance, White Trash, They Only Come Out at Night and Shock Treatment are bluesier affairs than some of his later albums, there are blues tunes like "Big City Woman" on one of his 1990s releases, Not a Kid Anymore (1994), on the Intersound label, and 1999's Winter Blues was almost wholly devoted to the genre.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Accept

2007-08-22T19:55:00.000-05:00

Cinderella was formed in Philadelphia in 1982 by singer
songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist Tom Keifer and bassist Eric Brittingham. The initial lineup also included guitarist Michael Smerick and drummer Tony Destra, who eventually left to form Britny Fox in 1985, a Philadelphia-based band that later relocated to Los Angeles.

The band got its big break when Jon Bon Jovi saw them perform at the Empire Rock Club in Philadelphia and recommended that his A&R rep see them as well.[1] In 1985, with a recording contract with Mercury/Polygram Records in the works, guitarist Jeff LaBar and drummer Jim Drnec joined the band.

During the recording of the band's 1986 debut album, Night Songs, studio session drummer Jody Cortez[2] was brought in when producer Andy Johns found drummer Drnec difficult to work with. While finishing the recording, Drnec was replaced by former London drummer Fred Coury, who joined in time to make the album's cover and play on upcoming tours. Night Songs was released on August 2, 1986, and eventually achieved triple platinum status, selling 50,000 copies per week at one point.

Cinderella's second album, Long Cold Winter, was released in 1988. A 254-show tour to support it lasted over 14 months and included dates on the Moscow Music Peace Festival along side other metal acts, such as Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, and Skid Row. The tour's stage show included Keifer being lowered to the stage while playing a white piano during their radio hit "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)".

Their third album, Heartbreak Station, was released in 1990 and featured songs more influenced by Keifer's love of the blues. Following the accompanying tour, Fred Coury left the band and joined former Ratt vocalist Stephen Pearcy in the band Arcade.

In 1991, Keifer completely lost his voice due to a paresis of his vocal cord. He also underwent several surgeries to repair a vocal cyst and hemorrhage.[3] This added to delays in recording of their fourth album. In 1994, they finally released Still Climbing with Kenny Aronoff on drums, but with little support from their label and none from MTV, the album quickly disappeared from the charts. The band broke up in 1995.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Angel

2007-08-20T18:49:00.000-05:00

Angel are a glam rock, heavy metal, and progressive rock band from Washington, DC, formed in the mid-70s. They were discovered by Kiss bass player Gene Simmons performing at a nightclub and were signed to Kiss’ record label Casablanca.

Their image of dressing in all white was a deliberate contrast to Kiss, who wore black. Sometimes cited as the band that invented glam metal, Angel sported an androgynous image and elaborate stage sets. They were slammed by rock critics, and Frank Zappa ridiculed the all-male band’s female appearance in the song “Punky’s Whips.” Angel never achieved mass commercial success but acquired a following as a cult band.

They made an appearance in the film Foxes and Frank DiMino sang “Seduce Me Tonight” on the Flashdance soundtrack.

Although Angel never officially disbanded, members went on to other things following the release of their live album. Lead vocalist Frank Dimino joined UFO guitarist Paul Raymond in the Paul Raymond Project in which he sang lead vocals. Bassist Felix Robinson played on the debut album of the band White Lion, Fight to Survive.

Angel’s keyboardist Gregg Giuffria had modest success as the leader of the band Giuffria during the 1980s, along with the band House of Lords. The rest of the band reunited briefly (sans Giuffria) in 1987, but was unable to secure a new record contract and split again not too long afterward. A demo tape recorded during this period includes three songs: “Hot ’n’ Heavy,” “Take Away My Feelings,” and “Can’t Last Forever.”

Time For a Vacation

2007-08-13T22:01:00.000-05:00

I am taking a much needed vacation from work and blogging.

I will return to the Denim and Leather blog next Monday.

Take care everyone, peace.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Triumph

2007-08-10T20:36:00.000-05:00

Formed in Toronto during 1975, the trio consisted of guitarist/singer Rik Emmett, drummer/singer Gil Moore, and bassist/keyboardist Mike Levine, and issued their self-titled debut a year later via the independent Attic label. Although the album was largely ignored, it became a favorite of a radio DJ in San Antonio, TX, which led to a regional following solidified by a tour of the state.

The exposure also gave way to a deal with RCA Records, who reissued the debut as well as Triumph's sophomore effort, 1977's Rock & Roll Machine, which spawned the group's first semi-hit single, a cover of Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way." It was also around this time that the group became known for its concerts, which relied heavily on pyrotechnics and an intricate light show.

With their stock rising among hard rock fans, Triumph inked a new recording contract with MCA, which led to their most successful period both artistically and commercially. Such resulting albums as 1979's Just a Game and 1980's Progressions of Power inched the group closer to breakthrough success, which was obtained by a pair of back-to-back gold-certified albums: 1981's Allied Forces (often considered the group's best album, which spawned the hit anthem "Fight the Good Fight") and 1982's Never Surrender.

Such further albums as 1984's Thunder Seven, 1985's Stages, 1985's The Sport of Kings, and 1987's Surveillance failed to meet the expectations set by their earlier releases, yet the group was able to retain its following. Come 1988, Emmett opted to leave the group to pursue a solo career, but instead of calling it a day, Moore and Levine decided to carry on with a new frontman/guitarist.

The Phil X-led version of the group only managed to issue a single release however, 1993's Edge of Excess, before Triumph split up for good.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: April Wine

2007-08-08T20:30:00.000-05:00

April Wine formed in late 1969 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, but vocalist/guitarist Myles Goodwyn, guitarist David Henman, drummer Ritchie Henman and bassist Jimmy Henman soon moved to Montreal. "Fast Train," their first hit, appeared in 1971, the same year as the self-titled debut album.

Jimmy Henman left soon after and was replaced by Jimmy Clench. The next year brought the band's first Canadian number one single, "You Could Have Been a Lady," from On Record. David and Ritchie Henman left before the next album, Electric Jewels, could be recorded; they were replaced by Jerry Mercer and Gary Moffet.

After April Wine Live (1974) and Stand Back (1975), Steve Lang replaced Clench, who left to join Bachman-Turner Overdrive and later Loverboy. In 1976, The Whole World's Goin' Crazy became the first Canadian album to go platinum and their resulting tour was the first to gross one million dollars.

Guitarist Brian Greenway was added that same year, making the band a sextet. After 1978's First Glance and 1979's Harder...Faster, "Just Between You and Me" became April Wine's biggest U.S. hit. The single (one of three Top 40 American singles by the band) propelled 1981's Nature of the Beast to platinum-record status.

Power Play followed in 1982, and 1984's Animal Grace was their last album until 1993's Attitude.

Chart History: Mountain

2007-08-07T18:29:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Mountain. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1970: Mountain Climbing (No.17)
1971: Nantucket Sleighride (No.16)
1972: Flowers Of Evil (No.35)
1972: Mountain Live (No.63)
1974: Avalanche (No.102)
1975: Twin Peaks (No.142)
1985: Go For Your Life (No.166)

Singles:
1. Mississippi Queen (No.21)
2. The Animal Trainer and The Toad (No.76)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Suicidal Tendencies

2007-08-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

Formed in Venice, CA, during the early '80s, the group's leader from the beginning was outspoken vocalist Mike Muir. The outfit specialized in vicious hardcore early on — building a huge following among skateboarders, lending a major hand in the creation of skatepunk — before turning their focus eventually to thrash metal.

Early on, the group (whose original lineup included Muir, guitarist Grant Estes, bassist Louiche Mayorga, and drummer Amery Smith) found it increasingly difficult to book shows, due to rumors of its members' affiliation with local gangs and consistent violence at their performances.

The underground buzz regarding Suicidal Tendencies grew too loud for labels to ignore though, as the quartet signed on with the indie label Frontier; issuing Muir and company's classic self-titled debut in 1983. The album quickly became the best-selling hardcore album up to that point; its best-known track, "Institutionalized," was one of the first hardcore punk videos to receive substantial airplay on MTV.

Suicidal Tendencies proved influential for future speed/thrash metal bands, but despite its early success, the quartet's reputation preceded them, as no other record label was willing to take them on (in addition, Los Angeles banned the group from playing around this time, lasting until the early '90s).

Not much was heard from the group for several years afterward (leading many to believe that Suicidal had broken up), but Muir and company eventually found a home with Caroline Records. By this time, half of the original lineup had left; Muir and Mayorga were the only holdovers, while guitarist Rocky George and drummer R.J. Herrera rounded out the group. 1987 saw the release of Suicidal's sophomore release, Join the Army, which spawned another popular skatepunk anthem, "Possessed to Skate," as more and more metal heads began to be spotted in Suicidal's audience.

Soon after, Suicidal was finally offered a major-label contract (with Epic), as another lineup change occurred: Mayorga exited the band, while newcomer Bob Heathcote took his spot; and a second guitarist, Mike Clark, was added as well. This Suicidal lineup's first album together, 1988's How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today, showed that their transformation from hardcore to heavy metal was now complete.

Suicidal's first release of the new decade, 1990's Lights, Camera, Revolution, was another success; its video for the explosive "You Can't Bring Me Down" received repeated airings on MTV's Headbanger's Ball program, while the album (in addition to the Controlled by Hatred comp) would be certified gold in the U.S. a few years later.

The release also signaled the arrival of new bassist Robert Trujillo, whose penchant for funk added a new element to the group's sound. The group tried to broaden their audience even further by opening a string of arena shows for prog-metallists Queensrÿche during the summer of 1991. Their next release, 1992's The Art of Rebellion, proved to be one of Suicidal's most musically experimental albums of their career. But after one more release, 1994's Suicidal for Life, Suicidal Tendencies decided to hang it up.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Joe Satriani

2007-08-04T17:09:00.000-05:00

Along with teaching some of the top rock guitar players of the '80s and '90s, Joe Satriani is one of the most technically accomplished and widely respected guitarists to emerge in recent times.

Born on July 15, 1956, in Westbury, NY, and raised in the nearby town of Carle Place, Satriani — inspired by guitar legend Jimi Hendrix — picked up the guitar at the age of 14 (although he was initially more interested in the drums). Quickly learning the instrument, Satriani began teaching guitar to others and found a kindred spirit in one of his students, Steve Vai.

By the late '70s, however, Satriani had relocated to Berkeley, CA. With his sights set on his own musical career, "Satch" kept teaching others, including such future rock notables as Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Larry LaLonde (Primus), David Bryson (Counting Crows), and jazz fusion player Charlie Hunter.

When Vai hit the big time as the guitarist of David Lee Roth's solo band in 1986, he offered praise for his good friend and former teacher in several major guitar publications, leading to widespread interest in Satriani's playing. The timing couldn't have been more perfect for Satch, as he'd just issued his first full-length solo album, Not of This Earth, which automatically made ripples in the rock guitar community.

But the best was still to come, in the form of his sophomore release, 1987's Surfing with the Alien. Almost overnight, Satriani was widely regarded as one of rock's top guitarists, as the album earned gold certification and the guitarist would finish at the top of guitar magazine polls for years afterward. He was even handpicked by Mick Jagger to accompany the famous singer on a tour of Australia and Japan around this time.

Satriani issued his third solo full-length, Flying in a Blue Dream. Another sizeable hit, the album also marked Satch's debut as a vocalist on several tracks. His career received another big push the same year when his song "One Big Rush" was included on the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's hit movie Say Anything.

Satriani continues to release commercially and critically successful material.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Faith No More

2007-08-01T22:01:00.000-05:00

With their fusion of heavy metal, funk, hip-hop, and progressive rock, Faith No More has earned a substantial cult following.

Their debut, We Care a Lot, featured Chuck Mosley's abrasive vocals but was driven by Jim Martin's metallic guitar. Faith No More's next album, 1987's Introduce Yourself, was a more cohesive and impressive effort; for the first time, the rap and metal elements didn't sound like they were fighting each other.

In 1988, the rest of the band fired Mosley; he was replaced by Bay Area vocalist Mike Patton during the recording of their next album, The Real Thing. Patton was a more accomplished vocalist, able to change effortlessly between rapping and singing, as well as adding a considerably more bizarre slant to the lyrics. Besides adding a new vocalist, the band had tightened its attack and the result was the genre-bending hit single "Epic," which established them as a major hard rock act.

Following up the hit wasn't as easy, however. Faith No More followed their breakthrough success with 1992's Angel Dust, one of the more complex and simply confounding records ever released by a major label. Although it sold respectably, it didn't have the crossover potential of the first album.

When the band toured in support of the album, tensions between the band and Martin began to escalate; rumors that his guitar was stripped from some of the final mixes of Angel Dust began to circulate. As the band was recording its fifth album in early 1994, it was confirmed that Martin had been fired from the band.

Faith No More continued with a string of uneven records before calling it a day in 1996.

Chart History: Rush

2007-07-31T17:55:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Rush. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1974: Rush (No.105)
1975: Caress of Steel (No.148)
1975: Fly By Night (No.113)
1976: 2112 (No.61)
1976: All The World's A Stage (No.40)
1977: A Farewell To Kings (No.33)
1978: Hemispheres (No.47)
1980: Permanent Waves (No.4)
1981: Moving Pictures (No.3)
1981: Exit...Stage Left (No.10)
1982: Signals (No.10)
1984: Grace Under Pressure (No.10)
1985: Power Windows (No.10)
1987: Hold Your Fire (No.13)
1989: Presto (No.16)
1989: A Show Of Hands (No.21)
1991: Roll The Bones (No.3)
1993: Counterparts (No.2)
1996: Test For Echo (No.5)
1998: Different Stages: Live (No.35)
2002: Vapor Trails (No.6)
2003: Rush In Rio (No.33)
2004: Feedback (No.19)
2007: Snakes And Arrows (No.3)

Singles:
1. Closer To The Heart (No.76)
2. Fly By Night (No.88)
3. The Spirit Of Radio (No.51)
4. Tom Sawyer (No.44)
5. Limelight (No.55)
6. Closer To The Heart (Live) (No.69)
7. New World Man (No.21)
8. The Big Money (No.45)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Slayer

2007-07-30T18:49:00.000-05:00

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

Their full-throttle velocity, wildly chaotic guitar solos, and powerful musical chops paint an effectively chilling sonic background for their obsessive chronicling of the dark side; this correspondence has helped Slayer's music hold up arguably better than the remaining Big Three '80s thrash outfits (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax).

Slayer was formed in 1982 in Huntington Beach, CA, by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman; also recruited were bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and drummer Dave Lombardo. The band started out playing covers of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden songs, but quickly discovered that they could get attention (and fans) by exploiting threatening, satanic imagery.

The band was invited by Metal Blade's Brian Slagel to contribute a track to the Metal Massacre, Vol. 3 compilation (a series that also saw the vinyl debuts of Metallica and Voivod); a contract and debut album, Show No Mercy, followed shortly thereafter. While Slayer's early approach was rather cartoonish, their breakneck speed and instrumental prowess were still highly evident.

Two EPs, Haunting the Chapel and Live Undead, were released in 1984, but 1985's Hell Awaits refined their lyrical obsessions into a sort of concept album about damnation and torture and made an immediate sensation in heavy metal circles, winning Slayer a rabid cult following.

Def Jam co-founder Rick Rubin took a liking to the band, signed them to his label, and contributed the first clear-sounding production heard on any Slayer album for the stripped-down Reign in Blood. Due to the graphic nature of the material, CBS refused to distribute the album, which garnered a great deal of publicity for the band; eventually, Geffen Records stepped in.

Combining Slayer's trademark speed metal with the tempos and song lengths (if not structures) of hardcore, along with the band's most disturbing lyrics yet, Reign in Blood was an instant classic, breaking the band through to a wider audience.

Slayer continues to release successful album after successful album despite constant lineup shifts. The current album on the docket is Chris Illusion, released in 2006.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Pantera

2007-07-25T19:02:00.000-05:00

No band affected the metal world more than Pantera during the early to mid-'90s. As a matter of fact, in the face of Brittany Spears, N'Sync and the like, Pantera, more than any other band kept metal from extinction in the 90s.

Pantera's beginnings date back to the early '80s when the Texas-based band began releasing albums on the Metal Magic label. Originally, the band featured then-teenaged brothers Darrell Abbott (aka Dimebag Darrell and, for a short while, Diamond Darrell) and Vinnie Paul Abbott (aka Vinnie Paul), as well as Rex Brown (aka Rex Rocker) and Terrence Lee (aka Terry Glaze).

While these '80s albums are no doubt curious to hear, it's fairly evident that this was a much different Pantera. For the most part, fans and surely the band treat Cowboys from Hell as Pantera's "official" debut album featuring the group's longtime lineup: Anselmo (vocals), Dimebag (guitar), Vinnie Paul (drums), and Rex Brown (bass).

This album put Pantera on the national metal map, particularly thanks to songs like "Cemetery Gates" and the title track. Two years later, Pantera returned with Vulgar Display of Power and solidified their status as an up-and-coming metal band with a unique sound. It took a little while, but Vulgar Display of Power made serious waves among metalheads.

When Far Beyond Driven hit the streets in 1994, Pantera had become the most popular band in the metal land. The album debuted atop the Billboard album charts — quite a feat for such extreme music! — and the band continued its seemingly never-ending string of tours, packing sports arenas across America.

When Pantera returned in 1996 with their next album, The Great Southern Trendkill, quite a bit had changed. They'd begun experimenting with their sound, slowing down their tempos and moving away from the relentless heaviness of Far Beyond Driven.

It would be four years before Pantera released another studio album, releasing a stopgap live album in 1997, the fierce Official Live: 101 Proof. During this long interim, rumors swirled and Anselmo further distanced himself from the band, participating in various side projects, among them Down, with which he experienced quite a bit of success.

Pantera did reunite, however — one last time — for Reinventing the Steel, which was released in 2000 and, like The Great Southern Trendkill, didn't come close to matching the impact of Far Beyond Driven. By this point the band's following had dwindled, and the metal landscape had undergone serious changes with the emergence of alt-metal bands like Korn and Tool, not to mention the likes of Marilyn Manson and Limp Bizkit.

Pantera would dissolve later with Anselmo releasing material under the Down and Superjoint Ritual monikers.

Meanwhile, Dimebag and Vinnie Paul formed Damageplan, a fairly stable band that sought to pick up where Pantera had left off. In fact, they even played some Pantera songs during their live shows.

Following the release of their debut album, New Found Power, and some club shows, Damageplan met a tragic end on December 7, 2004. That night — 24 years after John Lennon's shooting to the day! — a homicidal fan shot Dimebag at a small club show in Columbus, OH. The band hadn't gotten more than a song into its show before the murderer breached security, jumped on-stage, and shot the guitarist numerous times at point blank, murdering a few others in the process.

Despite the tragic slaying, the legacy Pantera left behind will last a lifetime. They were one of the greates metal bands of all time.

Chart History: Montrose

2007-07-24T20:37:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Montrose. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1974: Montrose (No.133)
1974: Paper Money (No.65)
1975: Warner Brothers Presents Montrose (No.79)
1976: Jump On It (No.118)
1978: Open Fire (No.98)

Singles:
None

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Dream Theater

2007-07-23T18:25:00.000-05:00

Prog metal has had two dominating bands reign over the genre. The first was Rush and following them was Dream Theater.

The technically proficient guitar playing of John Petrucci elevated Dream Theater to the upper echelons of contemporary heavy metal. While its lineup has continuously evolved, the Long Island-based quintet has consistently delivered sharp-edged music.

Originally named Majesty by Berklee College of Music students Petrucci, bassist John Myung, and drummer Mike Portnoy, the band soon expanded with the addition of keyboard player Kevin Moore and vocalist Chris Collins. Releasing an eight-tune demo, Majesty Demo, as Majesty, the group sold 1,000 copies within six months.

The departure of Collins in late 1986 left Majesty without a vocalist, and after a long period of auditioning possible replacements, the group settled on Charlie Dominici in November 1987. Changing its name, the group agreed on "Dream Theater," inspired by a now-demolished California movie theater.

Signing with Mechanic Records, the group began working on its first full-length album. Delays caused by label mismanagement limited the group to performing at small clubs and bars. Frustrated by its experiences with the label, Dream Theater finally severed its ties with Mechanic.

This was only one drastic change in the band's course of action. Firing Dominici, the group spent the next couple years searching for a vocalist. The search ended in late 1991 when a demo tape from Canadian vocalist James LaBrie, formerly of Winter Rose, arrived. After flying to New York to audition, LaBrie was invited to join the band.

Signing with Atco Atlantic (which came to be known as East West), Dream Theater released its second album, Images & Words, in 1992. One of three videos based on songs from the album, "Pull Me Under," became an MTV hit. Although Theater showed considerable growth with their third studio album, Awake, recorded between May and July 1994, the group continued to be hampered by personnel changes.

Before the album was mixed, keyboardist Moore left the group to focus on his solo career. Hired as a temporary replacement for the band's Waking Up the World tour, Derek Sherinian later became a permanent member. His first recording with Dream Theater was a 23-minute epic, "A Change of Seasons," written in 1989 and released in September 1995 on the album of the same name.

Dream Theater experienced yet another change when Jordan Rudess was tapped to replace Sherinian, who had been fired in 1999. The band released the progressive rock-heavy Scenes from a Memory that year, a conceptual piece that followed the story of a 1928 murder of a young woman and how a modern man is haunted by the crime.

The group continued in the progressive metal vein in 2002 with Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, followed by the leaner Train of Thought in 2003 and Octavarium in 2005. The live album Score: XOX was released in 2006 and featured the band backed by a 29-piece orchestra. It was followed a year later by the new studio album Systematic Chaos.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Fates Warning

2007-07-20T20:56:00.000-05:00

When prog rock first reared its head during the early '70s it contained elements of hard rock, but few bands crossed the line into heavy metal. This all changed during the '80s, when bands such as Dream Theater, Watchtower, and Fates Warning merged their love of Yes and Rush with their admiration for Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

Formed in Hartford, Connecticut in 1983, Fates Warning has endured quite a few lineup changes since its inception, with the exception of guitarist Jim Matheos, who has been present through it all. Starting off as a straight-ahead metal band (their progressive side didn't show up until a few years later), Fates Warning built a regional following which soon led to a recording contract with metal indie label Metal Blade.

With vocals being handled by John Arch, Fates Warning issued such titles as 1984's Nights on Brocken, 1985's The Spectre Within, and 1986's Awaken the Guardian, the latter of which became the first record from the group to appear on the Billboard album charts. Wanting to break out of a somewhat one-dimensional metal sound, Arch was dismissed in 1987 and replaced with Ray Alder. The move immediately paid off for Fates Warning, as their music (and lyrics/subject matter) became much more complex and challenging.

The move immediately paid off for Fates Warning, as their music (and lyrics/subject matter) became much more complex and challenging. The band's first recording with Alder, 1988's No Exit, would go on to become their highest charting album ever (peaking at number 111), and was followed up a year later with Perfect Symmetry, as well as an inaugural tour of Europe.

The band continues to tour and release new product with 2004's FWX being their latest release.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Queensryche

2007-07-18T18:26:00.000-05:00

Although they were initially grouped in with the legions of pop-metal bands that dominated the American heavy metal scene of the '80s, Queensrÿche were one of the most distinctive bands of the era.

Where their contemporaries built on the legacy of Van Halen, Aerosmith, and Kiss, Queensrÿche constructed a progressive form of heavy metal that drew equally from the guitar pyrotechnics of post-Van Halen metal and '70s art rock, most notably Pink Floyd and Queen.

Guitarists Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton formed Queensrÿche in 1981 in the Seattle, WA, suburb of Bellevue. Both guitarists had been playing in heavy metal cover bands and had decided to form a group that would play original material. The duo recruited high-school friends Geoff Tate (vocals) and bassist Eddie Jackson (bass), as well as drummer Scott Rockenfield.

Instead of hitting the club circuit, the group rehearsed for two years, eventually recording and releasing a four-song demo tape. The cassette came to the attention of local record store owners Kim and Diana Harris, who offered to manage Queensrÿche. With the help of the Harrises, the tape circulated throughout the Northwest. In May of 1983, Queensrÿche released the EP Queen of the Reich on their own record label, 206 Records.

Queen of the Reich sold 20,000 copies and, in the process, earned the band major-label attention. By the end of the year, the band signed to EMI, which released an expanded version of the EP as the Queensrÿche LP later in the year; the record peaked at number 81.

Their next two albums — 1984's The Warning and 1986's Rage for Order — sold respectably, with the latter reaching number 47 on the U.S. charts. Rage for Order also demonstrated a flowering of progressive rock influences, an idea that would reach its fruition with 1988's Operation: Mindcrime.

Boasting orchestral arrangements from Michael Kamen, the album was Queensrÿche's most ambitious and focused effort to date, earning both positive reviews and strong sales. Operation: Mindcrime stayed on the American charts for a year, selling over a million copies during its run.

Queensrÿche returned in the fall of 1990 with the equally ambitious Empire. The album proved to be their commercial high watermark, peaking at number seven on the U.S. charts and going double platinum in America; in the U.K., the album also cracked the Top Ten.

Empire's success was instigated by the stately art rock ballad "Silent Lucidity," which received heavy airplay from MTV and album rock radio. All the exposure eventually sent "Silent Lucidity" to number five on the U.S. singles charts.

Grunge brought about a decline in record sales, but Queensryche continued to reach gold and platinum status as well as successful, solid-out tours. In 2006, Queensrÿche released Operation: Mindcrime II, the long-awaited sequel to their 1988 conceptual smash.

Chart History: Rainbow

2007-07-17T07:22:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Rainbow. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1975: Rainbow (No.30)
1976: Rainbow Rising (No.48)
1977: On Stage (No.65)
1978: Long Live Rock 'N' Roll (No.89)
1979: Down To Earth (No.66)
1981: Difficult To Cure (No.50)
1982: Straight Between The Eyes (No.30)
1983: Bent Out Of Shape (No.34)

Singles:
1. Since You've Been Gone (No.57)
2. Stone Cold (No.40)
3. Street of Dreams (No.60)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Dio

2007-07-16T20:27:00.000-05:00

For a brief spell during the mid-'80s, the heavy metal quintet Dio was one of the top U.S. concert attractions, boasting one of the most over-the-top stage acts of its time loaded with props and special effects (lasers, explosions, a giant dragon, etc.).

The group's leader was singer Ronnie James Dio, who had previously become acquainted with the metal masses as the frontman of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow from 1975-1978 and Black Sabbath from 1979-1982.

Come the early '80s, Ronnie James was ready to finally head out on his own, forming Dio and recruiting a stellar backing band, consisting of a few former bandmembers, ex-Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain and ex-Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice (Carmine Appice's brother), in addition to ex-Sweet Savage guitar shredder Vivian Campbell.

The group scored a hit right off the bat with their 1983 debut release, Holy Diver, which spawned such popular MTV videos as "Rainbow in the Dark," as well as its title track.

For their sophomore effort, 1984's The Last in Line, the band expanded its lineup to include keyboardist Claude Schnell, as the album would become the biggest hit of Dio's career (on the strength of another MTV-approved video, for the album's anthemic title track) and the group became an arena-headliner.

Although Dio's next release, 1985's Sacred Heart, was commercially successful, Campbell had become disillusioned by the group's direction and split from the group a year later. Just prior to Campbell's exit, the entire Dio band helped organize Hear N' Aid, an all-star assembly of heavy metal artists that recorded a track called "Stars," which helped fight world hunger (a subsequent album was issued as well, collecting previously unreleased live tracks from a few of the day's top hard rock acts).

Former Giuffria guitarist Craig Goldy took Campbell's place, resulting in such releases as 1986's live EP Intermission and 1987's Dream Evil, which retained the group's headbanging audience, but failed to expand upon it as its previous releases had.

By 1990's Lock up the Wolves, Ronnie James Dio was the only original member of Dio left in attendance as the band's lineup continued to fluctuate throughout the '90s on such releases as 1994's Strange Highways, 1996's Angry Machines, and 1998's Inferno: Last in Live (Ronnie James took a brief break from Dio in 1992 to rejoin Black Sabbath for a lone release, Dehumanizer).

Dio continues to release solid albums and launch successful tours. Ronnie has been rumored to be making an album with Black Sabbath once again.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Yngwie Malmsteen

2007-07-13T11:14:00.000-05:00

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 for such classical composers as Bach, Beethoven, and Paganini, Malmsteen's distinctively Baroque, gothic compositional style and lightning-fast arpeggiated solos rewrote the book on heavy metal guitar.

His largely instrumental debut album, Rising Force, immediately upped the ante for aspiring hard rock guitarists and provided the major catalyst for the '80s guitar phenomenon known as "shredding," in which the music's main focus was on impossibly fast, demanding licks rather than songwriting.

Malmsteen was born Lars Johann Yngwie Lannerback in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1963, later adopting his mother's maiden name following his parents' divorce. He was an unruly child, and his mother tried without initial success to interest him in music as an outlet.

However, when seven-year-old Yngwie saw a television special on the death of Jimi Hendrix featuring live performance footage of Hendrix setting his guitar on fire, he became obsessed with the guitar, learning to play the music of both Hendrix and favorites Deep Purple.

Through Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's use of diatonic minor scales over simple blues riffs, Malmsteen was led toward classical music, and his sister exposed him to composers like Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi, and Mozart. He spent hours practicing obsessively until his fingers bled, and by age ten, his mother allowed him to stay home from school to develop his musical talents, particularly since he was considered a behavioral nightmare.

Also at age ten, Malmsteen became enamored of the music of 19th century violinist/composer Niccolo Paganini, as well as Paganini's flamboyant style and wild-man image; this would provide the blueprint for Malmsteen's synthesis of classical music and rock.

By the time he was 18, Malmsteen was playing around Sweden with various bands attempting to find an audience for his technically staggering instrumental explorations, but most listeners preferred more accessible pop music; frustrated, Malmsteen sent demo tapes to record companies overseas. When Mike Varney, president of Shrapnel Records — a label synonymous with the term "shredder" — heard Malmsteen's tape, he invited the guitarist to come to the United States and join the band Steeler, led by singer Ron Keel, in 1981.

Steeler recorded one album with Malmsteen on guitar, but dissatisfied with the band's rather generic style, Malmsteen moved on to the group Alcatrazz, whose Deep Purple and Rainbow influences better suited the guitarist's style. Still not quite satisfied, Malmsteen formed his own band, Rising Force, with longtime friend and keyboardist Jens Johansson.

The new band's first album, also called Rising Force, was released in 1984; it was a largely instrumental affair spotlighting Malmsteen's incendiary guitar work and Johansson's nearly equally developed technique. The album was an immediate sensation in guitar circles, winning countless reader's polls in guitar magazines, reaching number 60 on Billboard's album chart (no mean feat for an instrumental album), and receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

Malmsteen's subsequent albums, Marching Out and Trilogy, also sold quite well and consolidated his reputation and influence as a composer as well as a soloist.

Malmsteen released a string of similar sounding albums throught the 80s and 90s and eventually the Grunge movement killed any momentum Malmsteen had in America. While his popularity has largely faded in the U.S. due to a backlash against the excesses of '80s shredders, Malmsteen still finds audiences in Europe and is more popular in Japan and Asia than ever.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Mercyful Fate

2007-07-11T08:59:00.000-05:00

Danish band featuring vocalist King Diamond, guitarists Hank Shermann and Michael Denner, bassist Timi Hansen, and drummer Kim Ruzz.

Mercyful Fate won a large cult following thanks to their dramatic lyrics, showing a Gothic obsession with evil and the occult, and Diamond's amazing vocal range, which shifted from a low growl to a banshee scream, plus the interplay of Shermann and Denner.

The band broke up after two full-length albums, The Oath and Melissa, owing to differences of opinion about what direction the group should take (Shermann wanted a more commercial approach). Diamond pursued a solo career in the mid-'80s.

The band reformed in 1993 and recorded several albums before calling it quits again in 1999.

Chart History: UFO

2007-07-10T07:21:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on UFO. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1975: Force It (No.71)
1976: No Heavy Petting (No.169)
1977: Lights Out (No.23)
1978: Obsession (No.41)
1979: Strangers In The Night (No.42)
1980: No Place To Run (No.51)
1981: The Wild, The Willing and The Innocent (No.77)
1982: Mechanix (No.82)
1983: Making Contact (No.153)
1986: Misdemeanor (No.106)

Singles:
None

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Ozzy Osbourne

2007-07-09T18:38:00.000-05:00

Though many bands have succeeded in earning the hatred of parents and media worldwide throughout the past few decades, arguably only such acts as Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, and Marilyn Manson have tied the controversial record of Ozzy Osbourne.

The former Black Sabbath frontman has been ridiculed over his career, mostly due to rumors denouncing him as a psychopath and Satanist. Despite his outlandish reputation, however, one cannot deny that Osbourne has had an immeasurable effect on heavy metal.

John Michael Osbourne began his professional career in the late '60s, when he teamed up with guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward to form Black Sabbath. The band, made unique by their slow, gloomy melodies and themes, released their self-titled album in 1970 and went on to release classic platinum records such as Paranoid and Master of Reality throughout the rest of the decade.

Ozzy was fired in 1978, which led him to form his own solo project. With his new manager and wife, Sharon, Osbourne formed his own band, the Blizzard of Ozz, with guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Bob Daisley, and drummer Lee Kerslake.

The group's self-titled first album was released in September 1980 in the U.K. and early 1981 in the U.S. Blizzard of Ozz had some of the same ingredients of Black Sabbath: the lyrics focused on the occult and the guitars were loud and heavy, yet the band was more technically proficient and capable of pulling off variations on standard metal formulas. Featuring the hit singles "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley," Blizzard of Ozz reached number seven on the U.K. charts; it peaked at number 21 in the U.S., continuing to sell for over two years and becoming a huge success.

Kerslake and Daisley were replaced with Tommy Aldridge and Rudy Sarzo shortly before the subsequent November release of Diary of a Madman. This album, which included the drug ode "Flying High Again," charted at number 16 in the U.S. and became another huge seller. As the Diary tour went underway, sales for the album continued to improve as those of Black Sabbath waned.

Not long afterward, Rhoads was killed in a bizarre plane accident, bringing the band's success to a screeching halt. Osbourne fell into a massive depression shortly after losing his best friend, and plans for his upcoming live album were soon changed. Instead of material recorded with Rhoads, 1982's Speak of the Devil featured live recordings of classic Black Sabbath material and was recorded with guitarist Brad Gillis.

Jake E. Lee became Osbourne's new guitarist for the 1984 studio effort Bark at the Moon. Although Bark at the Moon opened up to rave reviews, 1986's Ultimate Sin received rather harsh criticism. The album, although containing the hit single "Shot in the Dark," was regarded as Osbourne's worst studio effort by numerous critics, who claimed it was redundant and uninteresting; nonetheless, the album was another smash hit.

Lee soon left the band and was replaced with Zakk Wylde for No Rest for the Wicked, which would be released in 1988. The record proved to be one of his strongest yet, highlighted by "Miracle Man," in which Osbourne ridiculed evangelist (and longtime foe) Jimmy Swaggart.

Ozzy has continued to release albums, the latest being Black Rain, with Wylde and his annual Ozzfest tour has become a prime concert ticket during the summer months.

Ozzy is truly one of the legends of heavy metal.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Dokken

2007-07-06T16:57:00.000-05:00

Dokken's roots date back to the late '70s, when guitarist George Lynch, along with drummer Mick Brown, teamed up with vocalist Don Dokken to form the Boyz. In 1981, Don moved to Germany and was signed to Carerre Records. The band, now simply known as Dokken, recorded and released Breaking the Chains, their first studio album, in 1983. While the record failed to retain a decent chart position in the United States, the group was immensely popular in Europe.

After a tour in Germany, Dokken was signed to Elektra Records, and Jeff Pilson joined on bass. In 1984, the band released Tooth and Nail, which featured the hit songs "Into the Fire," "Just Got Lucky," and "Alone Again." With heavy MTV and radio airplay, Dokken found themselves topping the charts worldwide, and Tooth and Nail eventually sold over one-million copies in the U.S. alone.

Following a tour with the Scorpions, the group recorded Under Lock and Key in 1985, which had a similar success due to the hits "In My Dreams" and "It's Not Love." In 1987, the band released Back for the Attack, which featured a track they had written as the subtitle for the third Nightmare on Elm Street film, "Dream Warriors."

The coinciding music video, which included scenes of the band interacting with the movie's characters, was their most popular ever, and Back for the Attack became Dokken's third record to reach platinum status. The album's subsequent tour resulted in a live compilation, Beast From the East, which was released shortly before the band broke up in 1988 due to Don Dokken's and Lynch's creative differences.

In 1992, the band reunited, but it wasn't until 1995 when they signed with Columbia Records and released Dysfunctional, which was met with harsh reviews and poor sales. Tensions once again seemed to hover around the group as they recorded the live acoustic release, One Live Night, in 1996 under the CMC label. In 1997, the band released Shadowlife, which was met with a similar response to their past two recordings.

In 1998, Lynch left a second time and was replaced with Winger guitarist Reb Beach for 1999's Erase the Slate. This was followed in 2000 by another concert record, Live From the Sun, which captured the Beach lineup at Anaheim's Sun Theater. Beach left the group and was replaced by John Norum, and the group recorded Long Way Home for release in the spring of 2002. In 2003, ex-Warlock guitarist John Levin and ex-Ted Nugent and Yngwie Malmsteen bassist Barry Sparks joined the group, resulting in the release of Hell to Pay the following year.

Dokken rode the wave of the pop-metal explosion of the 80s, but have failed to make an impact since.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Fastway

2007-07-04T10:44:00.000-05:00

Following his acrimonious departure from metal legend Motörhead, guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke wasted no time planning his next move with then-recently ousted UFO bassist Pete Way. With veteran drummer Jerry Shirley (ex-Humble Pie) and promising Irish newcomer vocalist Dave King rounding out their lineup, the resulting Fastway was awarded instant supergroup status, even though the mercurial Way decided to quit mere weeks after the release of their eponymous 1983 debut (going on to form the ill-fated Waysted).

As for Fastway, perhaps knowing he would never be able to match the intensity (and distortion) of his previous group, Clarke chose instead to seek a more mainstream hard rock direction with his new band, and indeed the album was very well-received in the U.S., climbing into the Top 40.

Encouraged, they quickly returned to the studio with new bassist Charlie McKracken to record 1984's All Fired Up. The album still made it into the American Top 60 despite waning interest from the CBS label and continued nonplussed indifference back in the U.K. and Europe. Looking for a change after losing their rhythm section (replaced by bassist Paul Reid and drummer Alan Connor), Fastway tried to hop the pop-metal bandwagon with 1986's overly slick Waiting for the Roar. The album was a disaster.

Clarke would have one final go at it, however. Signing to independent GWR Records (ironically, also Motörhead's label at the time), he drafted an entirely new lineup, featuring vocalist Lea Hart, bassist Paul Gray, and drummer Steve Clarke, for 1988's On Target (which was anything but). Further personnel changes preceded 1990's swan song Bad Bad Girls, which saw Clarke and Hart allegedly backed by old pals Girlschool, working under aliases for contractual reasons. Another resounding flop, the album finally convinced Clarke that it was time to hang up his spurs.

(Sorry about the video being so dull. This is the only one I could find).

Chart History: The Scorpions

2007-07-03T22:32:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on the Scorpions. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1979: Lovedrive (No.55)
1980: Animal Magnetism (No.52)
1982: Blackout (No.10)
1984: Love At First Sting (No.6)
1985: World Wide Live (No.17)
1988: Savage Amusement (No.5)
1990: Crazy World (No.21)
1993: Face The Heat (No.24)
1996: Pure Instinct (No.99)

Singles:
1. No One Like You (No.65)
2. Rock You Like A Hurricane (No.25)
3. Still Loving You (No.64)
4. Rhythm Of Love (No.75)
5. Send Me An Angel (No.44)
6. Wind Of Change (No.4)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Testament

2007-07-02T19:18:00.000-05:00

Influenced by the then-emerging Bay Area thrash metal scene, vocalist Steve Souza, guitarists Eric Peterson and Derrick Ramirez, bassist Greg Christian, and drummer Louie Clemente came together as Legacy in late 1983. But it wasn't until the arrival of lead guitarist Alex Skolnick and a name change to Testament two years later that the band's Metallica-inspired thrash metal began distinguishing it from less-refined peers.

By 1986, the group was attracting record company attention, but was handed a severe blow when Souza abruptly quit to join original Bay Area scene legends Exodus. Ironically, however, his departure would prove a godsend, as the band soon drafted a significantly more versatile (and downright intimidating) replacement in Chuck Billy.

Signed to Megaforce records, Testament released its debut album the Legacy in 1987. Considered by many to be a thrash metal classic, the band followed it up with The New Order in 1988.

1989's Practice What You Preach — a massive achievement that saw them expanding their melodic reach while losing none of their power and aggression. A yearlong tour, including a long stint headlining over Savatage and Wrathchild America across the U.S.A., ensued, and even MTV gave their videos a respectable amount of exposure.

By the time they regrouped with 1992's The Ritual, grunge had arrived, musical tastes had changed drastically, and Testament were only one of countless casualties whose once highly anticipated albums fell on deaf ears. Ace guitarist Skolnick, who had long complained of the creative limitations imposed by the band's style, was the first casualty, leaving to join Savatage. He later formed the popular Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Many lineup changes followed until 2005 when the classic lineup of Billy, Skolnick, Peterson, Christian, and Clemente reunited for a tour including several major European festival engagements.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Ratt

2007-06-29T16:51:00.000-05:00

Ratt was unfairly grouped into the L.A. Hair Metal scene of early 80s, but they were much more than that.

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 into Ratt by 1983; at that time the band featured vocalist Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Robbin Crosby, guitarist Warren DeMartini, bassist Juan Croucier, and drummer Bobby Blotzer.

The band released their self-titled first album independently in 1983, which led to a major label contract with Atlantic Records. Their first album under this deal, 1984's Out of the Cellar, was a major success, reaching the American Top Ten and selling over three million copies. "Round and Round," the first single drawn from the album, hit number 12, proving the band had pop crossover potential. While their second album, 1985's Invasion of Your Privacy, didn't match the multi-platinum figures of Out of the Cellar, it also reached the Top Ten and sold over a million copies.

By that time, the band could sell-out concerts across the country and were a staple on MTV and AOR radio. Both Dancin' Undercover (1986) and Reach for the Sky (1988) continued the band's platinum streak and their audience, had only slipped slightly by the time of their final album, 1990's Detonator.

In 1992, Pearcy left Ratt to form his own band, Arcade, and Ratt was quiet for most of the 90s. But by the late nineties, the public's interest in '80s rock began to perk up, leading to Ratt reuniting in time for 1997's Collage. Two years later, Ratt's second self-titled release of their recording career was issued, following the same formula as its predecessor.

Pearcy left Ratt for the second time, but the band tried to stay on without him. The group soon disolved and in 2002, Crosby died of AIDS after years of heroin abuse.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Motley Crue

2007-06-27T10:25:00.000-05:00

Mötley Crüe's beginning can be traced back to 1981, when bassist Nikki Sixx (born Frank Ferrana) and drummer "Tommy Lee" Bass decided to leave the bands they were in at the time and pursue a new project together. Bob "Mick Mars" Deal was hired to play guitar and "Vince Neil" Wharton was added as vocalist.

The band went through several name changes before Mars presented them with Mottley Krue, recalling a time when his previous band was described as a "motley looking crew." After agreeing on this name and altering the spelling somewhat, the newly formed group began to play at local clubs and soon became cult favorites, known for their unique stage theatrics.

The band soon met up with Allan Coffman, who financed their first album, Too Fast for Love, on their own small, independent Lethur Records label; the record sold a surprising 20,000 copies. After signing to Elektra Records, the band released Shout at the Devil in 1983, which featured the hit video "Looks That Kill." The record went platinum.

Theatre of Pain, released in 1985, soared up the charts, making the band stars and producing their first Top 40 hit with a cover of Brownsville Station's "Smokin' in the Boys' Room."

After a short hiatus, the band regrouped with Neil to film a music video for "Home Sweet Home"; the first hit power ballad to be aired on MTV, it became their most requested music video for four months straight.

A year later, Mötley Crüe released their fourth album, Girls Girls Girls. The uncensored video for the popular title track was immediately banned from television, not airing until a slightly cleaned-up version was released. The group finally embarked on their own tour, but the European dates were canceled when Sixx suffered a drug overdose and nearly lost his life.

Over the next year, all four members sought out drug rehabilitation and Mötley Crüe remained out of the spotlight. They returned, clean and sober, in 1989 with Dr. Feelgood, which hit number one on the Billboard charts due to the strong singles "Kickstart My Heart," "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)," "Without You," and the infamous title-track, which became their first Top Ten single.

In 1992, sessions for Mötley Crüe's next album turned ugly, and Neil was fired and replaced with vocalist John Corabi, formerly of the Scream. The 1994 product was Mötley Crüe, which peaked at number seven in the U.S. and eventually went gold, but was ultimately a commercial disappointment (as was a supporting tour).

In early 1997, Corabi was fired and Neil rehired for the much-hyped Generation Swine. (Corabi resurfaced alongside former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick in the group Union.) Though Generation Swine opened at number four, it was sharply criticized and fell off the charts before long.

Motley Crue released New Tattoo in 2000, but soon after personal tensions caused the band to split. The group reunited for a tour in 2005.

Chart History: Boston

2007-06-26T08:16:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Boston. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:

1976: Boston (No.3)
1978: Don't Look Back (No.1)
1987: Third Stage (No.1)
1994: Walk On (No.7)
2002: Corporate America (No.42)

Singles:
1. More Than A Feeling (No.5)
2. Long Time (No.22)
3. Peace Of Mind (No.38)
4. Don't Look Back (No.4)
5. A Man I'll Never Be (No.31)
6. Feelin' Satisfied (No.46)
7. Amanda (No.1)
8. We're Ready (No.9)
9. Can'tcha Say (You Believe In Me) (No.20)
10. I Need Your Love (No.51)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Celtic Frost

2007-06-25T13:59:00.000-05:00

Celtic Frost's impact on the evolution of European heavy metal cannot be overstated. Along with power metal kings Helloween (and to a lesser degree, the sometimes cartoonish Mercyful Fate), Frost's enduring influence on Europe's heavy metal landscape is arguably comparable to Metallica's standing in America.

Thomas Gabriel Fischer was the product of a broken home and a less than financially secure upbringing — a rare predicament in his native Switzerland, but one that instilled in him the burning ambition and outcast mentality usually required in the formative years of a rock star. Fresh out of high school, the teenager was already enamored with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and particularly high-energy trios like black metal pioneers Venom and proto-thrashers Raven.

Inspired by that movement's D.I.Y. credo, Fischer renamed himself Tom Warrior, and along with bassist Steve Warrior and drummer Bruce Day, formed his first band, Hellhammer, in the fall of 1982.

Less than a year later, and though still raw beyond description, the band's demos — now featuring bassist Martin Eric Ain and drummer Stephen Priestly — had become surprisingly popular within the underground tape-trading community.

But Warrior and Ain felt that Hellhammer had already run its course and that the group's extreme nature was too limiting for their increasingly mature compositions. Thus, with their gothic, pseudo-satanic image already coming into focus, in May 1984 they evolved into Celtic Frost.By October, the trio was in Berlin recording its first album, Morbid Tales, which cemented the group's position as one of Europe's most promising metal acts thanks to its still relatively straightforward — but nevertheless excellent — thrash metal attack.

Now growing from strength to strength, Warrior decided to replace the increasingly unmotivated Ain with bassist Dominic Steiner and Priestly with American drummer, Reid St. Mark for their second album, To Mega Therion. But he soon had second thoughts, and Ain returned after the album's completion that fall.

On To Mega Therion, Warrior had begun experimenting with different musical styles (especially classical music and electronica), leading certain journalists to describe the band's direction as "avant-garde" metal. Released in 1987, Into the Pandemonium would substantiate these claims and then some, introducing an unconventional collision of death metal brutality and symphonic overtones on its way to becoming one of the classic extreme metal albums of all time.

Now at the peak of their powers, Frost headed for America to undertake their biggest tour ever, but trouble was right around the corner. Personality clashes, egos and substance abuse saw a succession of lineup changes and unbelievable the band dumped their heavy thrash sound in exchange for a pop metal-glam look and sound.

The album Cold Lake, released in 1988, was a disaster and the group called it a day in 1992. Warrior would resurface in the mid-nineties with his group Apollyon Sun.

Warrior once again connected with Martin Ain, and quietly set about planning Celtic Frost's resurrection. Working mostly in seclusion and avoiding all external intervention or financing, the duo — plus new drummer Franco Sesa — slowly recorded enough material for a comeback album to be titled Monotheist, which they eventually licensed to Century Media and released to much well-deserved fanfare in early 2006 — just over 20 years after their debut.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Helloween

2007-06-20T11:25:00.000-05:00

Alongside Switzerland's Celtic Frost and Sweden's Bathory, Germany's Helloween were possibly the most influential heavy metal band to come out of Europe during the 1980s.

By taking the hard riffing and minor key melodies handed down from metal masters like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, then infusing them with the speed and energy introduced by the burgeoning thrash metal movement, Helloween crystallized the sonic ingredients of what is now known as power metal.

Helloween were formed in Hamburg, Germany, by guitarists Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath, bassist Markus Grosskopf, and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. Originally named Second Hell then Iron Fist before morphing into Helloween in 1982, they signed with Germany's own fledgling Noise International two years later. With Hansen also handling vocals and the bulk of songwriting duties, the quartet recorded its self-titled debut mini-album in early 1985.

The full-length Walls of Jericho and the Judas maxi-single followed the year after, and the media was soon buzzing over the band's thrash-fueled interpretation of classic heavy metal. Countless fans across continental Europe were also fast converting to the band's cause, but Hansen remained dissatisfied with his singing ability, and felt Helloween needed a proper frontman in order to achieve their full potential. Enter teenage vocalist Michael Kiske, whose high-pitched delivery followed in the footsteps of previous heavy metal banshees like Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson.

Helloween were ready for the big time. Returning to the studio in early 1987, the band emerged in May with Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 1, a landmark recording that remains arguably the single most influential power metal album to date. Its volatile combination of power and melody would inspire an entire generation of metal bands, and transformed Helloween into bona fide superstars all over Europe and the U.K., even making tentative inroads into America at the time.

The band toured relentlessly for the rest of the year and into 1988 (including a lengthy opening stint with Iron Maiden), but despite this manic work schedule, they still found time to record the aptly titled Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2. Released in September 1988, the record was another blockbuster that crashed the U.K. Top 30, but its uneven songwriting (especially from longtime leader Kai Hansen) revealed the beginnings of a major band crisis.

Hanson left Helloween in 1989 to form the power metal band Gamma Ray and Kiske was fired in 1993, ending any chance for superstardom for the band. The group still trudges on with various lineup changes and still remain a solid attraction in Europe.

Chart History: Judas Priest

2007-06-19T10:15:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Judas Priest. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1978: Stained Class (No.173)
1979: Hell Bent For Leather (No.128)
1979: Unleashed In The East (No.70)
1980: British Steel (No.34)
1981: Point Of Entry (No.39)
1982: Screaming For Vengeance (No.17)
1984: Defenders Of The Faith (No.18)
1986: Turbo (No.17)
1987: Priest Live (No.38)
1988: Ram It Down (No.31)
1990: Painkiller (No.26)
1997: Jugulator (No.82)
2001: Demolition (No.165)
2005: Angel Of Retribution (No.13)

Singles:
1. You've Got Another Thing Comin' (No.67)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Anthrax

2007-06-18T10:21:00.000-05:00

Nearly as much as Metallica or Megadeth, Anthrax was responsible for the emergence of speed and thrash metal. Combining the speed and fury of hardcore punk with the prominent guitars and vocals of heavy metal, they helped create a new subgenre of heavy metal on their early albums.

After their first album, Fistful of Metal, singer Joey Belladonna and bassist Frank Bello joined a lineup featuring guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Spitz, along with drummer Charlie Benante.

Anthrax arguably became the leaders of speed metal. As the '80s became the '90s, they also began to increase their experiments with hip-hop, culminating in a tour with Public Enemy in 1991 and a joint re-recording of PE's classic "Bring the Noise."

After their peak period of the late '80s, Anthrax kicked Belladonna out of the band in 1992 and replaced him with ex-Armored Saint vocalist John Bush — a singer that was gruffer and deeper, fitting most metal conventions perfectly. Subsequently, their sound became less unique and their audience shrank slightly as a consequence.

After frequent lineup changes and lukewarm album releases, the original lineup reunited in 2005 for a tour and the CD/DVD retrospective Anthrology: No Hit Wonders [1985-1991]. Anthrax also issued Alive 2, recorded during their summer 2005 reunion tour.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Megadeth

2007-06-15T12:29:00.000-05:00

After he left Metallica in 1983, guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine formed the thrash metal quartet Megadeth. Though Megadeth followed the basic blueprint of Metallica's relentless attack, Mustaine's group distinguished themselves from his earlier band by lessening the progressive rock influences, adding an emphasis on instrumental skills, speeding the tempo up slightly, and making the instrumental attack harsher.

Throughout Megadeth's many lineup changes, the two core members were bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine (born September 13, 1961), who was the band's official leader. Mustaine grew up in the suburbs of Southern California, where he was raised by his mother in a broken home; frequently, his mother left him to be raised by aunts and uncles, who never encouraged his musical inclinations and often belittled him for his fondness for heavy metal.

In 1981, he formed Metallica with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Mustaine spent two years with Metallica, developing a strong cult following in California's underground metal scene, before he was kicked out of the group in 1983, allegedly over his substance abuse. Immediately following his firing, he formed Megadeth with Ellefson, Slayer guitarist Kerry King, and drummer Lee Rauch. This lineup was extremely short-lived, and Mustaine and Ellefson soon recruited guitarist Chris Poland and drummer Gar Samuelson.

For the next few years, Megadeth toured and gained a following, signing with the independent label Combat in late 1984. The following year, the group released their debut, Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good!, which received strong reviews, not only in metal-oriented publications, but also in mainstream music magazines. The album sold very well for an independent release, which attracted the attention of major record labels. By the end of the year, the group had signed with Capitol. Megadeth's first major-label album, Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?, was released in the fall of 1986. Like its predecessor, Peace Sells was greeted by strong reviews and sales; it eventually went platinum.

In the years immediately following the release of So Far, So Good...So What!, Mustaine was impaired by his drug addictions. In early 1990, he was arrested for driving under the influence and entered a rehabilitation program.

Mustaine brought on guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. This lineup recorded Megadeth's fourth and most progressive album, Rust in Peace. The record peaked at number 23 on the American charts and went platinum. 1991 saw Metallica break through to the mainstream, and sensing the possibility for similar success, Mustaine followed suit in stripping down the band's sound, though it remained as technically perfectionistic as Rust in Peace. The result, Countdown to Extinction, was released in 1992, entering the charts at number two; the record went double platinum and became the band's biggest hit, confirming that they had retained their audience in the wake of grunge.

Megadeth, albeit with many lineup changes, continues to record and tour. The groups latest album is United Abominations.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Metallica

2007-06-13T10:01:00.000-05:00

Metallica was easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the '80s, responsible for bringing the music back to Earth. Instead of playing the usual rock star games of metal stars of the early '80s, the band looked and talked like they were from the street. Metallica expanded the limits of thrash, using speed and volume not for their own sake, but to enhance their intricately structured compositions.

The release of 1983's Kill 'Em All marked the beginning of the legitimization of heavy metal's underground, bringing new complexity and depth to thrash metal. With each album, the band's playing and writing improved; James Hetfield developed a signature rhythm playing that matched his growl, while lead guitarist Kirk Hammett became one of the most copied guitarists in metal. Lars Ulrich's thunderous, yet complex, drumming clicked in perfectly with Cliff Burton's innovative bass playing. After releasing their masterpiece Master of Puppets in 1986, tragedy struck the band when their tour bus crashed while traveling in Sweden, killing Burton.

When the band decided to continue, Jason Newsted was chosen to replace Burton; two years later, the band released the conceptually ambitious ...And Justice for All, which hit the Top Ten without any radio play and very little support from MTV. But Metallica completely crossed over into the mainstream with 1991's Metallica, alos known as the Black Album, which found the band trading in their long compositions for more concise song structures; it resulted in a number one album that sold over seven million copies in the U.S. alone. The band launched a long, long tour which kept them on the road for nearly two years.

By the '90s, Metallica had changed the rules for all heavy metal bands; they were the leaders of the genre, respected not only by headbangers, but by mainstream record buyers and critics. No other heavy metal band has ever been able to pull off such a trick. However, the group lost some members of their core audience with their long-awaited follow-up to Metallica, 1996's Load. For that albu the band changed their image to a more alt-rock one and cut their hair, pissing their hardcore fans off in the process.

In January 2001, bassist Jason Newsted announced his amicable departure from the band. Shortly after the band appeared at the ESPN awards in April of the same year, Hetfield, Hammett, and Ulrich entered the recording studio to begin work on their next album, with producer Bob Rock lined up to handle bass duties for the sessions.

In late summer 2001, the band's recording sessions (and all other band-related matters) were put on hold as Hetfield entered an undisclosed rehab facility for alcoholism and other addictions. He completed treatment and rejoined the band and they headed back into the studio in 2002 to record St. Anger, released in mid-2003. The recording of St. Anger was capped with the search for a permanent replacement for Newstead. After a long audition process, former Ozzy Osbourne/Suicidal Tendencies bass player Robert Trujillo was selected and joined Metallica for their 2003/2004 world tour.

Chart History: Thin Lizzy

2007-06-12T12:23:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Thin Lizzy. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1976: Jailbreak (No.18)
1976: Johnny The Fox (No.52)
1977: Bad Reputation (No.39)
1978: Live And Dangerous (No.84)
1979: Black Rose/A Rock Legend (No.81)
1980: Chinatown (No.120)
1982: Renegade (No.157)
1983: Thunder And Lightning (No.159)
1984: Live And Dangerous (No.185)

Singles:
1. The Boys Are Back In Town (No.12)
2. Cowboy Song (No.77)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Exodus

2007-06-11T10:22:00.000-05:00

Once the kings of the Bay Area metal scene (widely accepted as the birthplace of thrash), Exodus were unceremoniously demoted from their post with the arrival of Los Angeles' Metallica in 1982. Sadly, with a little more luck, the group may have occupied the role of, say, Slayer as the purest purveyors of ultra-thrash, but while they continued to be perceived as a major influence by younger bands and proceeded to carve out a career of their own over the next decade, Exodus were ultimately fated to be the ultimate also-rans of the genre they helped spawn.

Formed in 1981 by singer Paul Baloff, guitarists Gary Holt and Kirk Hammett, bassist Geoff Andrews, and drummer Tom Hunting, Exodus were heavily influenced by Motörhead and New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Iron Maiden and Raven, whose lessons they combined with the raw, do-it-yourself aesthetic of the prolific Bay Area punk scene to create thrash metal.

Their 1982 demo, Whipping Queen and Death and Domination, became wildly popular on the all-important underground tape-trading circuit and solidified their standing as the Bay Area's first thrash champions. They lost their numero uno standing a year later, however, when core member Kirk Hammett defected to Metallica, who then raced ahead of all competitors in their mission to bring thrash to the world. Undaunted, Exodus drafted guitarist Rick Hunolt and replaced bassist Andrews with Rob McKillop before signing with Torrid Records, for whom they recorded their Bonded by Blood debut in 1984. A would-be landmark of the genre, the album languished unreleased for over a year due to business problems, and by the time it was finally released by Combat Records in 1985, its impact had been severely dulled by the quick evolution of their peers.

These hardships also led to the ousting of vocalist Baloff, who was replaced by ex-Testament singer Steve Souza as the band continued to release albums throughout the 80s and 90s with only a slight impact.

Then, ten years after his departure from the band, Paul Baloff rejoined most of the classic Bonded by Blood lineup for a series of gigs in 1997. A live album entitled Another Lesson in Violence was issued by Century Media to memorialize their homecoming show in San Francisco, and the band continued to perform sporadically over the next few years until tragedy struck. Baloff suddenly passed away on February 2, 2002, after suffering a massive stroke and slipping into a coma three days earlier.

The reunion die was cast however, and after mourning their fallen friend, Exodus's "semiclassic" formation of Holt, Hunolt, Hunting, McKillop, and a returning Steve Souza began working on what would become the band's sixth studio album: 2004's Nuclear Blast-released Tempo of the Damned and 2005's Shovel Headed Kill Machine.

Sorry: Technical Difficulties

2007-06-08T11:12:00.000-05:00

We are having some techncial difficulties with the videos on our blog. I don't know if it's from our end, Google or YouTube.

We will make every effort to find out what's wrong and hopefully, be back up and posting videos on Monday.

Thanks for understanding and have a great weekend!

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Quiet Riot

2007-06-06T09:22:00.000-05:00

For a very brief moment, Quiet Riot was a rock & roll phenomenon. Famously described as the first heavy metal band to top the pop chart (a claim that greatly depends on one's exact definition of heavy metal), the Los Angeles quartet became an overnight sensation thanks to their monster 1983 smash album Metal Health.

But Quiet Riot's road to success had in fact been long and arduous, and when their star power subsequently began too fade, their fall from grace was ironically accelerated by the man who was most responsible for taking them to the top: singer Kevin DuBrow. Unable to suppress his infamous motor mouth from assaulting many of Quiet Riot's peers, DuBrow gradually alienated his fans and fellow musicians, and in the face of plummeting record sales, faced the iniquity of being fired from his own band.

The dust eventually settled and DuBrow was able to resurrect Quiet Riot in the 1990s, but despite their best efforts, the once chart-topping band would remain forever exiled to the fringes of pop conscience, and what might once have been a full chapter in rock history has instead become little more than a footnote.

The story of Quiet Riot begins with vocalist Kevin DuBrow and guitarist Randy Rhoads, who started the band in 1975 after disbanding an earlier project named Violet Fox, and completed their first lineup with bassist Kelli Garni and drummer Drew Forsyth. Along with local scene contemporaries like Van Halen, Xciter, and London, the band thrilled audiences packing the L.A. nightclubs, but found it difficult to land a record deal during the disco-dominated late '70s.

Eventually securing a contract with Columbia Records in Japan, they recorded two moderately successful albums — a 1978 eponymous debut and 1979's Quiet Riot II, featuring new bassist Rudy Sarzo — before losing Rhoads (and later Sarzo) to Ozzy Osbourne's band (and later a tragic plane accident, rock & roll martyrdom, immortality, etc.).

Quiet Riot disbanded and DuBrow formed a new band under his own name, working with several musicians over the next few years before signing with independent Pasha Records, reverting to the Quiet Riot moniker, and entering the studio with new guitarist Carlos Cavazo and bassist Chuck Wright to start work on a new album. The year was 1982 and, following Randy Rhoads' well-documented demise, former henchman Sarzo quit Ozzy, pushed Wright out of the way, and brought friend and drummer Frankie Banali into the fold to complete the lineup and sessions for what would become 1983's Metal Health.

Driven by the irresistible double whammy of the title track's muscular bassline (reputedly played by Wright before his dismissal) and a raucous rendition of the old Slade chestnut "Cum on Feel the Noize," the album stormed up the U.S. charts, duly reaching the number one spot and going platinum five times over in the process. Their unexpected success shocked everyone, not least of which the bandmembers, who found it pretty hard to cope with sudden stardom and the pitfalls that came with it.

Pressured to capitalize on their hot streak, Quiet Riot was rushed back into the studio to whip together 1984's Condition Critical, but unsurprisingly, the album was little more than a weak carbon copy of Metal Health — even sinking so low as to include another chart-ready Slade cover in "Mama Weer All Crazee Now." Fans were unimpressed, and panic set in as the band watched the record quickly sliding off the charts to make way for fresher, up-and-coming L.A. glam metal contenders like Mötley Crüe and Ratt. An incensed DuBrow went on a rampage, incessantly slagging fellow metal bands, members of the press, and his own record company, in the process quite literally burning most every bridge he'd worked so hard to build.

Quiet Riot was never the same and eventually, DuBrow drove his fellow bandmates away with his mouth. Sarzo joined Whitesnake and Banali hooked up with Blackie Lawless and W.A.S.P.

Chart History: AC/DC

2007-06-05T10:26:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on AC/DC. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1977: Let There Be Rock (No.154)
1978: Powerage (No.133)
1978: If You Want Blood You Got It (No.133)
1979: Highway To Hell (No.17)
1980: Back In Black (No.4)
1981: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (No.3) Released in 1976
1981: For Those About To Rock We Salute You (No.1)
1982: High Voltage (No.146) Released in 1974
1983: Flick Of The Switch (No.20)
1985: Fly On The Wall (No.32)
1986: Who Made Who (No.33)
1988: Blow Up Your Video (No.12)
1990: The Razor's Edge (No.2)
1992: AC/DC Live (No.15)
1995: Ballbreaker (No.4)
2000: Stiff Upper Lip (No.7)

Singles:
1. Highway To Hell (No.47)
2. You Shook Me All Night Long (No.35)
3. Back In Black (No.37)
4. Let's Get It Up (No.44)
5. Guns For Hire (No.84)
6. Moneytalks (No.23)
7. Big Gun (No.65)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: MSG

2007-06-04T10:09:00.000-05:00

After stints in the Scorpions and UFO, guitarist Michael Schenker decided to form his own band, dubbed fittingly the Michael Schenker Group.

While the group got off to a promising start with such strong releases as 1980's Michael Schenker Group, 1981's MSG, plus 1982's Assault Attack and One Night at Budokan, interest eventually evaporated, as it became obvious with each subsequent release that Schenker had set his sights at the top of the charts rather than sticking to good old-fashioned hard rock/heavy metal. Constant lineup fluctuation didn't help, either.1982 saw Schenker get an invite from Ozzy Osbourne to join his group immediately after Randy Rhoads' tragic death, but like the Aerosmith bid several years earlier, it failed to pan out.

Despite failing to issue a big commercial breakthrough on his own (although 1989's pop-metal outing, Save Yourself, credited to the McAuley-Schenker Group, came close), the guitarists in such renowned groups as Metallica and Def Leppard were quick to voice Schenker's influence. The early '90s saw Schenker appear with Ratt on a best-forgotten episode of MTV's popular Unplugged series, in addition to participating in a one-off pop-metal "supergroup," Contraband (which included members of such groups as Shark Island, Vixen, Ratt, and L.A. Guns), who issued a lone self-titled debut in 1991.

Schenker rejoined UFO in 1993 for s hort-lived reunion and album, before going back to MSG and his solo career. He has consistently toured and released new material throughout the decade.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Manowar

2007-06-01T13:28:00.000-05:00

Manowar was formed by ex-Dictators and Shakin' Street guitarist Ross the Boss. The original lineup included vocalist Eric Adams, bassist Joey DeMaio, and drummer Donnie Hamzik. The group's kitschy approach was designed to be the raw, primal, macho antithesis of classic rock.

Their music was based on raw, aggressive riffs, and their lyrics were mostly about fighting, violence, and death. The group dressed in animal skins in concert to underline the point. Their first album featured a solo bass arrangement of the "William Tell Overture," and the press branded the group as a joke.

The band tried to become even more extreme with each album and usually ended up dropped from their labels. They tried to take a more commercial direction in the late '80s, but this approach failed too, and Ross the Boss quit in disgust in 1988; undeterred, Manowar continued recording into the next decade, issuing records including 1992's Triumph of Steel, 1994's Hell of Steel, and 1996's Louder Than Hell.

With each release and subsequent tour, Manowar began to build a devoted fan base, especially in Europe, where the group regularly sold out stadiums. A flurry of live DVDs followed, each boasting hours of music, interviews, and Viking machismo. The band returned to the studio in 2002 for Warriors of the World, followed by the Sons of Odin EP in 2006 and Gods of War in 2007.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Accept

2007-05-30T09:49:00.000-05:00

With their brutal, simple riffs and aggressive, fast tempos, Accept was one of the top metal bands of the early '80s, and a major influence on the development of thrash. Led by the unique vocal stylings of screeching banshee Udo Dirkschneider, the band forged an instantly recognizable sound and was notorious as one of the decade's fiercest live acts.

Udo formed Accept in his hometown of Solingen, Germany, in the early '70s, but it wasn't until quite a few years later that the band settled on a somewhat stable lineup, including guitarists Wolf Hoffman and Gerhard Wahl, bassist Peter Baltes, and drummer Frank Friedrich. A well-received performance at the Rock Amrhein Festival in 1976 brought them national attention, and they finally obtained a recording contract after replacing Wahl with guitarist Jorg Fischer two years later. Issued in 1979, their eponymous debut was badly produced, featured mostly subpar songwriting, and did absolutely nothing for the group. But with the arrival of new drummer Stefan Kaufmann prior to 1980s much-improved I'm a Rebel, the band had the final ingredient they were looking for, and their popularity began growing by leaps and bounds.

1981's even more accomplished Breaker was engineered by Michael Wagener (who would go on to produce such major hard rock acts as Motley Crue, Alice Cooper, and Ozzy Osbourne, among others) and continued to develop Accept's trademark sound, featuring the massive crunch and tight precision of Hoffman and Fischer's guitars laying the foundation for Dirkschneider's inimitable shriek.

All the elements were falling into place, and with the release of 1982's Restless and Wild, Accept finally stamped their passports to stardom. A heavy metal milestone, the album broke the band's career wide open, established their signature sound for years to come, and in the incredible "Fast as a Shark," featured possibly the first true thrash metal song ever recorded. Guitarist Hermann Frank was brought in for the ensuing tour, which, thanks to their ferocious live shows (including choreographed headbanging stage antics), turned the band into true stars all across Europe and the U.K. 1983's equally revered Balls to the Wall was an even greater commercial triumph, and qualified as one of the most obsessive, sexually explicit albums of all time. Led by the controversial title track, it broke the band worldwide and earned them their first magazine headlines in America.

With America now looming in their sight, the band decided to hire producer Dieter Dirks (of Scorpions fame) to give 1985's Metal Heart a more commercial edge and extra sense of melody. Also with U.S. audiences in mind, they abandoned the hedonistic fetishes of releases past in favor of a much lighter sexual tone and typical heavy metal subject matter like the title track's apocalyptic vision. The results were mixed, for while the album certainly helped to further their cause in the States — where they embarked upon a very successful tour sharing a double bill with Swiss hard rockers Krokus — it tarnished their reputation among some of their loyal following back home.

Russian Roulette, again with Michael Wagener at the controls, was a somewhat rushed, halfhearted attempt to backtrack into more aggressive metal territory, the album led to a serious splintering within the group, and after headlining a sold-out European tour with Dokken in support, Accept announced that they were taking an open-ended break.

Udo went on to form his own band U.D.O., but eventually the group re-formed for a few albums in the 90s before calling it a day in 1997.

Chart History: Ted Nugent

2007-05-29T10:12:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Ted Nugent and his solo career, he also charted with the Amboy Dukes and Damn Yankees. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1975: Ted Nugent (No.28)
1976: Free For All (No.24)
1977: Cat Scratch Fever (No.17)
1978: Double Live Gonzo (No.13)
1978: Weekend Warriors (No.24)
1979: State Of Shock (No.18)
1980: Scream Dream (No.13)
1981: Intensities In 10 Cities (No.51)
1982: Nugent (No.51)
1984: Predator (No.56)
1986: Little Miss Dangerous (No.76)
1988: If You Can't Lick 'Em...Lick 'Em (No.112)
1995: Spirit Of The Wild (No.86)

Singles:
1. Dog Eat Dog (No.91)
2. Hey Baby (No.72)
3. Cat Scratch Fever (No.30)
4. Home Bound (No.70)
5. Yank Me Crank Me (No.58)
6. Need You Bad (No.84)
7. Wango Tango (No.86)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: The Runaways

2007-05-25T08:53:00.000-05:00

Dismissed during their existence as a crass marketing gimmick, the Runaways have grown in stature over the years as the first all-female band to make a substantial impression on the public by playing loud, straight-up, guitar-driven rock & roll. Since all of the members were teenagers (some of whom were still learning to play their instruments when they passed their auditions), their music was frequently raw and amateurish, but it neatly combined American heavy metal with the newly emerging sound of punk rock.

The genesis of the Runaways can be traced to a 1975 Alice Cooper party at which manager Kim Fowley met teenage lyricist Kari Krome. Fowley was impressed with Krome's streetwise perspective and set about putting together a band. Krome's friend, guitarist Joan Jett (born Joan Larkin), had been putting together a band with drummer Sandy West (born Sandy Pesavento), and Fowley quickly had a trio on his hands.

However, it soon became apparent that Krome was not much of a singer, and she was replaced by vocalist Michael "Micki" Steele (born Sue Thomas), who also began learning the bass. As a trio, this lineup recorded a demo titled Born to Be Bad in late 1975; shortly thereafter, guitarist Lita Ford successfully auditioned through a trade-paper ad, and Steele left the group (she would later join the Bangles). Cherie Currie became the new lead vocalist, and after an extremely brief stint with a bass player known only as Peggy (which lasted just a few weeks), the band settled on Jackie Fox (born Jacqueline Fuchs), who switched to bass from guitar in order to join the band.

Despite a wave of publicity on Fowley's part, The Runaways just barely scraped the bottom of the charts in the early fall of 1976, around the same time the band played their first gig at the legendary New York punk club CBGB's. The second Runaways album, Queens of Noise, was released in early 1977 and fared little better on the charts than its predecessor, thanks to radio's continued reluctance to program the group's music.

However, when the Runaways mounted a tour of Japan in June of that year, they were greeted with sold-out arena gigs and rabidly enthusiastic audiences who didn't consider them a joke ("Cherry Bomb" had, in fact, topped the Japanese charts). A concert record, Live in Japan, was culled from the tour, but wasn't released in the U.S.

Despite this taste of success, relationships between some of the group members had begun to fray, thanks partly to substance abuse problems and partly to unconcerned negligence on the management's part.

Upon their return to Los Angeles in July 1977, Jackie Fox departed the group; a story circulated that she had attempted suicide on the Japanese tour, though it was later discredited. Before the year was out, Currie too had left, spurred in part by consistent disagreements with Fowley.

Jett took over as lead vocalist, and new bassist Vicki Blue was hired for the group's third album. Waiting for the Night was released at the end of the year, and failed to even hit the U.S. charts. By this point, Fowley had lost interest in the band, and quit as manager early the next year. Jett's unofficial leadership role within the group became more serious, but unfortunately, musical differences were beginning to arise (Jett's punk and glam rock influences clashed with West and Ford's love of straight-up hard rock and heavy metal).

One more album, And Now...The Runaways, appeared toward the end of 1978, but it was released only in the group's core markets of Europe and Japan (it later appeared in America with a different running order under the title Little Lost Girls). Blue quit the band after their New Year's gig and was replaced by Laurie McAllister, but to no avail; Jett left the group in April 1979, and the Runaways officially disbanded not long after.

Ford went solo and scored several hits as a pop-metal artist during the '80s. But an even better indicator that there was more to the Runaways' music than met the eye was the success of Joan Jett's solo career. Jett formed her own band and record label, landed an enormous number one smash with 1982's "I Love Rock n' Roll," and continued to produce albums of tough hard rock into the '90s.

Chart History: Bad Company

2007-05-23T10:58:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Bad Company. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1974: Bad Company (No.1)
1975: Straight Shooter (No.3)
1976: Run With The pack (No.5)
1977: Burnin' Sky (No.15)
1979: Desolation Angels (No.3)
1982: Rough Diamonds (No.26)
1988: Dangerous Age (No.58)
1990: Holy Water (No.35)
1992: Here Comes Trouble (No.40)
1995: Company Of Strangers (No.159)

Singles:
1. Can't Get Enough (No.5)
2. Feel Like Makin' Love (No.10)
3. Good Lovin' Gone Bad (No.36)
4. Movin' On (No.19)
5. Honey Child (No.59)
6. Young Blood (No.20)
7. Burnin' Sky (No.78)
8. Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy (No.13)
9. Gone, Gone, Gone (No.56)
10. Electricland (No.74)
11. This Love (No.85)
12. Shake It Up (No.82)
13. If You Needed Somebody (No.16)
14. Holy Water (No.89)
15. Walk Through Fire (No.28)
16. How About That (No.38)
17. This Could Be The One (No.87)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Girlschool

2007-05-21T10:58:00.000-05:00

Although the Runaways preceded them by several years, Girlschool was one of the first all-female outfits to emerge in the male-dominated world of heavy metal/hard rock, helping to pave the way for similar groups of the future. Originally formed in South London during 1977 by bassist Enid Williams and vocalist/guitarist Kim McAuliffe (along with a few other members), the group was first known as Painted Lady. Eventually the pair came across permanent members Kelly Johnson (guitar, vocals) and Denise Dufort (drums), and switched their name to Girlschool by 1978.

With England just about to be swept up by a massive heavy metal movement (known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal), Girlschool picked a perfect time to issue a debut single, "Take It All Away," which caught the attention of Motörhead manager Doug Smith, who in turn signed on as Girlschool's manager. After supporting both Motörhead and Budgie on tour, Girlschool landed a recording contract with Bronze Records (who at the time was the home to such notable metal acts as Motörhead, Uriah Heep, and Juicy Lucy).

The group was wildly popular in the U.K. during the early to mid-eighties, but failed to garner any attention in the U.S. Numerous lineup changes followed after the release of Play Dirty in 1983 and afterwards the band failed to reach the level of success they previously had in their home country.

Throughout the '90s, Girlschool would reunite sporadically for tours and albums (including 1992's self-titled release and 1995's Live), while several compilations were issued.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Tygers of Pan Tang

2007-05-18T11:42:00.000-05:00

Hailing from tiny Whitley Bay in the Northeast of England, the Tygers of Pan Tang (whose name originated from a Michael Moorcock novel called Stormbringer) were formed when aspiring singer Jess Cox met guitarist Robb Weir at the local pub in November 1978. Weir, along with bassist Rocky and drummer Brian Dick, had recently formed a band combining the lessons of early-'70s heavy metal legends such as Black Sabbath and Deep Purple with the do-it-yourself ethos of punk — an emerging style eventually dubbed the new wave of British heavy metal.

After much rehearsing and gigging in the surrounding area the foursome recorded a number of demos at Impulse Studios, whose owners Neat Records released their first single "Don't Touch Me There" in September 1979. Relentless touring across Britain would follow, supporting such childhood heroes as the Scorpions and Budgie, as well as NWOBHM peers like Iron Maiden and Saxon. They also signed a deal with MCA and entered London's Morgan Studios in June to record their proper debut, Wildcat, which went straight into the British charts at number 18 upon its released in July 1980.

Looking to beef up their sound, the band added virtuoso guitarist John Sykes just in time for their biggest gig ever at that year's Reading Festival. Yet, despite this promising start, singer Cox decided to quit the group at year's end, citing the ever-popular "musical differences" and going on to form the short-lived Lionheart with recently ousted Iron Maiden guitarist Dennis Stratton. Ex-Persian Risk vocalist Jon Deverill was drafted to replace him and the revitalized Tygers of Pan Tang kicked off 1981 firing on all cylinders.

Widely considered their best album, Spellbound hit the streets in April 1981, and was followed by another bout of touring which kept them nipping at the heels of NWOBHM powerhouses Iron Maiden, Saxon, and Def Leppard. Things began to unravel when MCA forced the band to write and record a follow-up in only three weeks, resulting in the uneven Crazy Nights, released in November 1981. European dates in support of Ian Gillan followed, but guitarist Sykes quit abruptly to join Thin Lizzy upon their return to England (eventually achieving even greater success with Whitesnake and Blue Murder).

The band soldiered on with new six-stringer Fred Purser, whose more commercial leanings were heard on 1982's disappointing The Cage album. Everyone seemed to be giving up on the Tygers, including their management, which dropped the band just prior to a sold-out tour of Japan. After a brief attempt at self-management, the group decided to call it quits later that year, and a 1983 greatest-hits set seemed to close the book on the Tygers of Pan Tang. Surprisingly, Deverill and Dick would resurrect a glammed-up version of the band in 1985 with guitarists Steve Lamb and Neil Shepard, and bassist Dave Donaldson. They released two albums: 1985's The Wreck-Age and 1987's Burning in the Shade (featuring Shepard's replacement Steve Thompson on guitar), both of which went absolutely nowhere and prompted another, apparently final split.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Venom

2007-05-16T14:21:00.000-05:00

A seminal influence on the evolution of thrash and black metal, Venom formed during the late '70s in Newcastle, England. Originally a five-piece group called Oberon, they eventually trimmed their lineup to a trio comprising singer/bassist Conrad "Cronos" Lant, guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn, and drummer Tony "Abaddon" Bray.

Influenced by the heavy intensity of Motörhead and the visual flash of Kiss, the newly rechristened Venom developed a dark, blistering sound which paved the way for the subsequent rise of thrash music; similarly, their macabre, proudly satanic image proved a major inspiration for the legions of black metal bands to appear in their wake, even lending the genre its name with the release of their 1982 sophomore LP, Black Metal. (Their debut, Welcome to Hell, preceded it by a year.)

Venom's third album, At War with Satan, followed in 1983, and two years later they released Possessed. Lineup changes plagued the group in the years to follow, with Mantas exiting in the wake of 1985's live Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; guitarists Matt Hickey and Jimmy Clare were tapped as his replacements, making their debut on 1987's Calm Before the Storm. Cronos then quit as well, however, mounting a solo career and taking both Hickey and Clare with him as he left; at that point Mantas rejoined Abaddon to form a new edition of Venom with onetime Atomkraft vocalist/bassist Tony "The Demolition Risk" Dolan and guitarist Al Barnes. The new lineup made its bow on 1989's Prime Evil; Tear Your Soul Apart appeared a year later.

The trio of Mantas, Abaddon, and Dolan continued touring throughout the middle years of the 90s, although no more new studio recordings were forthcoming; finally, in 1996 Cronos returned to the Venom fold, making way for Dolan's departure. The original lineup's return to action was heralded by the release of the mini-album Venom '96, followed in 1997 by the full-length Made in Stone. After a world tour, Venom issued the two-disc New, Live & Rare in mid-1998. Buried Alive appeared a year later, and in the spring of 2000 the group returned with The Court of Death and Beauty and the Beast. In 2006 they celebrated their 25th anniversary with Metal Black.

Here are the fathers of Thrash - Venom:

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Samson

2007-05-14T13:06:00.000-05:00

At the time of their first recording, pioneering New Wave of British Heavy Metal group Samson consisted of guitarist Paul Samson, bassist Chris Aylmer, drummer Thunderstick (real name: Barry Graham; concealed his identity by wearing a rapist-style mask), and vocalist Bruce Bruce, better known as Bruce Dickinson.

The group got most of its attention playing with Iron Maiden, but this backfired when Bruce Bruce left Samson to join them, adopting his real name. Thunderstick had also left the group at this point, and the band underwent several personnel turnovers over the course of the '80s, still managing to turn out some quality work.

Drummer Clive Burr was also member of the band, both before and after his tenure with Iron Maiden. The group effectively disbanded with Paul Samson's death to cancer on August 9, 2002.

Bass player Chris Aylmer died in January 2007. He was reported to have been responsible for suggesting the band's name. He assumed the role of bass player previously having been the band's soundman.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Diamond Head

2007-05-11T08:50:00.000-05:00

Diamond Head formed in Stourbridge, England, in 1976 by schoolmates Brian Tatler (guitar) and Duncan Scott (drums). They soon recruited Sean Harris (vocals) and a few months later, Colin Kimberley (bass) joined their ranks. Barely out of school and vehemently opposed to joining the cover band pub circuit, the fledgling young band also had the heyday of punk rock to contend with and were forced to develop their sound in relative seclusion through endless rehearsal and songwriting sessions.

Still unable to attract any record company attention three years later, despite occasional gigs in and around the English Midlands, the group decided to take matters into their own hands, issuing a couple of self-financed singles, "Shoot out the Lights" and "Sweet and Innocent." These were soon followed by a self-produced full-length album, which they recorded between February and April 1980 and made available via mail order through their own Happy Face Records.

By naïve inexperience or artful design, the LP was packaged in a conspicuously anonymous white sleeve, lacking so much as song titles, and sent to members of the British music press. As it turned out, a copy of the nameless LP (later commonly referred to as the "White Album" or "Lightning to the Nations", after its first song) soon found its way into the hands of Sounds metal editor Barton, who was so floored by its contents he quickly proceeded to interview the band for the respected music weekly. Soon being heralded by most everyone in-the-know as an undeniable masterpiece, the album quickly passed into legend as one of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal's most seminal documents. Indeed, between Tatler's towering power chords and Harris' delicate yet muscular voice, Diamond Head had stumbled upon the perfect synthesis of un-godly, Sabbath-sized riffing and Zeppelin's epic musicality.

If only the rest of the story was as remarkable. Encouraged by such a euphoric response, Diamond Head quickly signed with MCA, issued the Four Cuts EP, then set out on a relentless touring schedule that included a legendary appearance at the 1982 Reading Festival. But the dream began to shatter as soon as they entered the studio to begin recording a follow-up album.

The album "Borrowed Time" was a disaster and sounded nothing like the "Lightning to the Nations." The sound was more commercial and didn't go over well with the Diamond Head faithful.

Borrowed Time quickly fulfilled the prophecy in its title and tumbled from sight. As initial expectations gave way to disappointment and pressure began to mount, the band started work on their third album. But they would splinter in half during the sessions for 1983's erratic Canterbury, with the rhythm section of Kimberley and Scott both fired and/or quitting. Another commercial failure, the LP's chances were further curtailed by a pressing error that resulted in 20,000 faulty copies. A slot in that year's massive Castle Donington Monsters of Rock Festival couldn't staunch the bleeding, and a frazzled Tatler (by now standing on the brink of a nervous breakdown) finally pulled the plug. Diamond Head effectively ceased to exist.

Metallica brought interest back by covering Diamond Head's "Am I Evil" as a B-side to their "Creeping Death" single. Diamond Head re-formed in 1993 and a new album, Death & Progress followed. The album failed to ignite interest and the group disbanded once again.

Diamond Head's history is certainly among the most peculiar in all of rock. One of the most remarkable talents to arise out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the band's career never fulfilled its early promise, yet their legacy still ranks among the most influential of the genre.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Iron Maiden II

2007-05-09T12:14:00.000-05:00

Here's another video from metal masters Iron Maiden. This is from the Number of the Beast album.

It's the classic tune, "Run to the Hills."

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Iron Maiden

2007-05-09T12:04:00.000-05:00

Known for such powerful hits as "Two Minutes to Midnight" and "The Trooper," Iron Maiden was and is one of the most influential bands of the heavy metal genre. The often-imitated band existed for over 20 years, pumping out wild rock similar to Judas Priest.

Iron Maiden has always been an underground attraction; although failing to ever obtain any real media attention in the U.S. (critics claimed them to be Satanists due to their dark musical themes and their use of grim mascot "Eddie"), they still became well known throughout the world and have remained consistently popular throughout their career. Iron Maiden was one of the first groups to be classified as "British metal," and, along with Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and a host of other bands, set the rock scene for the '80s.

Iron Maiden was first formed in 1976 by bassist Steve Harris, who would soon join up with rhythm guitarist Tony Parsons, drummer Doug Sampson, and vocalist Paul Di'Anno. Before finally obtaining a record deal, the group played in local areas throughout the '70s, receiving a fair amount of London airplay. Parsons replaced Dennis Stratton, and the band made its record debut in 1980 with the self-titled Iron Maiden album.

Although the release was recorded in a hurry, it was nonetheless a hit in the U.K. due to the single "Running Free." Iron Maiden's 1981 follow-up, Killers, displayed a harder approach to their music than before, and also saw the replacement of Stratton with Adrian Smith. Due to his uncontrollable alcohol addiction, Di'Anno was forced to part company with the group and would soon be replaced with vocalist Bruce Dickinson in 1982 for the band's groundbreaking Number of the Beast.

This album, boasting such songs as the title track and "Hallowed Be Thy Name," would come to be known as one of the greatest rock recordings of all time. Since the unexpected worldwide success of Beast made Iron Maiden international rock superstars, they changed very little of their style for their next album, Piece of Mind. They undertook two major tours before recording 1983's Powerslave, which would go on to be another cult hit. The product of Powerslave's 11-month tour was 1985's Live After Death, a double live album that featured all of their biggest hit singles.

By the release of Live After Death, Iron Maiden had already established themselves as a powerful and unique metal band. Their long-awaited 1986 supplement album, Somewhere in Time, showed a bit of departure from their past releases, showcasing the use of synthesizer guitars and songs more relevant to the same themes.

1988's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, a concept album like its predecessor, featured the singles "The Evil That Men Do" and "The Clairvoyant," and soon became Iron Maiden's most critically acclaimed album since Number of the Beast. After another exhausting tour, Smith departed and the band took a one-year hiatus.

With new guitarist Janick Gers, they resurfaced with No Prayer for the Dying in 1990, a record that returned to the classic sound the group used when recording their earlier releases. One of the album's singles, "Bring Your Daughter...to the Slaughter," was granted the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Song of the Year, but it nonetheless gave the band their first number one U.K. hit. By the time the group finished their 1991 tour, Dickinson expressed desire to leave and work to promote another band he had founded, the Skunkworks. Fear of the Dark, the band's last album with Dickinson, debuted at number one on the U.K. charts and became one of their biggest-selling albums to date. After their supporting tour, two live albums were released in 1993: A Real Live One, which contained live versions of their newer hit singles, and A Real Dead One, which featured the more "classic" Maiden songs live.

Dickinson's replacement, Blaze Bayley, marked his debut in 1995 with The X Factor. While the record failed to chart as well as some of its predecessors, it was still a minor success in England. Iron Maiden marked the end of 1996 with Best of the Beast, a double compilation album. In 1998, little interest in the Virtual XI album prompted Bayley's termination; Dickinson and Smith returned to the band for a tour in 1999, and a new album, Brave New World, emerged the following year. The band toured throughout the early 2000s, releasing the live Rock in Rio and the greatest-hits collection Edward the Great in 2002, followed by a new studio album, Dance of Death, in 2003.

They released the live CD/DVD Death on the Road in September of 2005 and a collection of new material, Matter of Life and Death, in 2006.

Unsigned Artist Video: Recycled America

2007-05-07T12:13:00.000-05:00

Here are two videos from Aaron Bossinger, lead guitarist and vocalist for the LA band, Recycled America.

Both feature pretty cool tehcnical guitar solos written by Bossinger. The first video is an old school solo and the second is a more Jazz style of soloing with some sweeps thrown in for good measure.

Check it out. I think you'll dig them.

Chart History: Queen

2007-05-02T11:21:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Queen. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1973: Queen (No.83)
1974: Queen II (No.49)
1974: Shear Heart Attack (No.12)
1975: A Night At The Opera (No.4)
1976: A Day At The Races (No.5)
1977: News Of The World (No.3)
1978: Jazz (No.6)
1979: Live Killers (No.16)
1980: The Game (No.1)
1981: Flash Gordon Soundtrack (No.23)
1982: Hot Space (No.22)
1984: The Works (No.23)
1986: A Kind Of Magic (No.46)
1989: The Miracle (No.24)
1991: Innuendo (No.30)
1992: Live At Wembley '86 (No.53)
1995: Made In Heaven (No.58)
2005: Return Of The Champions (No.84)

Singles:
1. Keep Yourself Alive (No.89)
2. Killer Queen (No.12)
3. Bohemian Rhapsody (No.9)
4. You're My Best Friend (No.16)
5. Somebody To Love (No.13)
6. Tie Your Mother Down (No.49)
7. We Are The Champions (No.4)
8. We Will Rock You (No.4)
9. It's Late (No.74)
10. Fat Bottomed Girls (No.24)
11. Bicycle Race (No.24)
12. Don't Stop Me Now (No.86)
13. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (No.1)
14. Another One Bites The Dust (No.1)
15. Play The Game (No.42)
16. Need Your Loving Tonight (No.44)
17. Flash (No.42)
18. Under Pressure w/David Bowie (No.29)
19. Body Language (No.11)
20. Calling All Girls (No.60)
21. Radio Ga Ga (No.16)
22. I Want To Break Free (No.45)
23. It's A Hard Life (No.27)
24. One Vision (No.61)
25. A Kind Of Magic (No.42)
26. I Want It All (No.50)
27. Bohemian Rhapsody (No.2) (re-entry)
28. We Will Rock You (No.52) (re-entry)

We're Back!!

2007-04-13T15:01:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, we're back!

I haven't been posting for awhile because YouTube has been getting videos taken down off their site almost daily, so some of the videos I had posted are gone.

While will still keep posting some great hard rock/metal videos were also going to be changing are focus a bit to unsigned bands. So if you're an unsigned rock band, please send us your videos or post them on YouTube or Google Video and we will add them to our site.

We have been talking with some record companies about using this site as a launching pad for quality bands as far as getting a record contract and such. If you feel you have the chops and the guts to make it, send in your videos or post them on any of the video sites and let us know.

Who knows, you could be getting a record deal in the near future, provided your good enough and hungry enough.

If you want to send us a video: email an AVI, MPEG or WMA to support@fourpillarsofsuccess.com

Chart History: Kiss

2007-04-03T09:58:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Kiss. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1974: Kiss (No.87)
1974: Hotter Than Hell (No.100)
1975: Dressed To Kill (No.32)
1975: Alive! (No.9)
1976: Destroyer (No.11)
1976: Rock And Roll Over (No.11)
1977: Love Gun (No.4)
1978 Alive II (No.7)
1979: Dynasty (No.9)
1980: Unmasked (No.35)
1981: Music From The Elder (No.75)
1982: Creatures Of The Night (No.45)
1983: Lick It Up (No.24)
1984: Animalize (No.20)
1985: Asylum (No.20)
1987: Crazy Nights (No.18)
1989: Hot In The Shade (No.29)
1992: Revenge (No.6)
1993: Alive III (No.9)
1995: Carnival of Souls (No.27)
1996: MTV Unplugged (No.15)
1998: Psycho Circus (No.3)
2003: Alive IV (No.18)

Singles:
1. Kissin' Time (No.83)
2. Rock And Roll All Nite (No.68)
3. Rock And Roll All Nite (No.12) re-entry
4. Beth (No.7)
5. Detroit Rock City (No.7)
6. Shout It Out Loud (No.31)
7. Flaming Youth (No.74)
8. Calling Dr. Love (No.16)
9. Hard Luck Woman (No.15)
10. Christine Sixteen (No.25)
11. Love Gun (No.61)
12. Rocket Ride (No.39)
13. Shout It Out Loud (No.54) re-entry
14. I Was Made For Lovin' You (No.11)
15. Sure Know Something (No.47)
16. Shandi (No.47)
17. A World Without Heroes (No.56)
18. Lick It Up (No.66)
19. Heaven's On Fire (No.49)
20. Tears Are Falling (No.51)
21. Crazy, Crazy Nights (No.65)
22. Reason to Live (No.64)
23. Hide Your Heart (No.66)
24. Forever (No.8)
25. Let's Put The X In Sex (No.97)
26. Rise To It (No.81)

Chart History: Sweet

2007-03-29T11:08:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Sweet. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1973: The Sweet (No.191)
1975: Desolation Boulevard (No.25)
1976: Give Us A Wink (No.27)
1977: Off the Record (No.151)
1978: Level Headed (No.52)
1979: Cut Above The Rest (No.151)

Singles:
1. Co-Co (No.99)
2. Blockbuster (No.73)
3. Little Willy (No.3)
4. Ballroom Blitz (No.5)
5. Fox On The Run (No.5)
6. Action (No.20)
7. Funk It Up (David's Song) (No.88)
8. Love Is Like Oxygen (No.8)
9. California Nights (No.76)

Chart History: Aerosmith

2007-03-20T11:21:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Aerosmith. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1973: Aerosmith (No.21)
1974: Get Your Wings (No.74)
1975: Toys In The Attic (No.11)
1976: Rocks (No.3)
1977: Draw The Line (No.11)
1978: Live Bootleg (No.13)
1979: Night In The Ruts (No.14)
1982: Rock In A Hard Place (No.32)
1985: Done With Mirrors (No.36)
1986: Classics Live (No.84)
1987: Permanent Vacation (No.11)
1989: Pump (No.5)
1993: Get A Grip (No.1)
1997: Nine Lives (No.1)
1998: A Little South Of Sanity (No.12)
2001: Just Push Play (No.2)
2004: Honkin' On Bobo (No.5)
2005: Rockin' The Joint: Live at The Hard Rock Hotel (No.24)

Singles:
1. Dream On (No.59)
2. Sweet Emotion (No.36)
3. Dream On (No.6) Re-chart
4. Home Tonight (No.71)
5. Last Child (No.21)
6. Back In The Saddle (No.38)
7. Draw The Line (No.42)
8. Walk This Way (No.10)
9. Come Together (No.23)
10. Kings and Queens (No.70)
11. Chip Away The Stone (No.77)
12. Remember (Walking In The Sand) (No.67)
13. Dude (Looks Like A Lady) (No.14)
14. Angel (No.3)
15. Rag Doll (No.17)
16. Love In An Elevator (No.5)
17. Janie's Got A Gun (No.4)
18. What It Takes (No.9)
19. The Other Side (No.22)
20. Amazing (No.24)
21. Cryin' (No.12)
22. Livin' On The Edge (No.18)
23. Blind Man (No.48)
24. Crazy (No.17)
25. Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees) (No.35)
26. Hole In My Soul (No.51)
27. Pink (No.27)
28. I Don't Want To Miss A Thing (No.1)
29. Jaded (No.7)
Co-Hits
30. Walk This Way w/Run DMC (No.3)

Chart History: Grand Funk Railroad

2007-03-15T10:50:00.000-05:00

This week we are going to move away from the videos a bit and focus on chart history. We will use this time over the next week to catch up and reload some new videos on the site. It seems a lot of videos on YouTube are being taken off and I'll have to find ones to replace them.

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Grand Funk Railroad. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1969: On Time (No.27)
1970: Grand Funk (No.11)
1970: Closer To Home (No.6)
1971: Live Album (No.5)
1971: Survival (No.6)
1972: E Pluribus Funk (No.5)
1972: Phoenix (No.7)
1973: We're An American Band (No.2)
1974: Shinin' On (No.5)
1975: All The Girls In The World Beware!!! (No.10)
1975: Caught In The Act (No.21)
1976: Born To Die (No.47)
1977: Good Singin' Good Playin' (No.52)
1981: Grand Funk Lives (No.149)

Singles:
1. Mr. Limousine Driver (No.97)
2. Time Machine (No.48)
3. Closer To Home (No.22)
4. Heartbreaker (No.72)
5. Feelin' Alright (No.54)
6. Gimme Shelter (No.61)
7. Mean Mistreater (No.47)
8. Footstompin' Music (No.29)
9. Rock N' Roll Soul (No.29)
10. Upsetter (No.73)
11. We're An American Band (No.1)
12. Shinin' On (No.11)
13. Walk Like A Man (No.19)
14. The Loco-Motion (No.1)
15. Bad Time (No.4)
16. Some Kind Of Wonderful (No.3)
17. Can You Do It (No.45)
18. Sally (No.69)
19. Take Me (No.53)

Chart History: Foghat

2007-03-14T10:44:00.000-05:00

This week we are going to move away from the videos a bit and focus on chart history. We will use this time over the next week to catch up and reload some new videos on the site. It seems a lot of videos on YouTube are being taken off and I'll have to find ones to replace them.

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Foghat. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1972: Foghat (No.127)
1973: Foghat II (No.67)
1974: Energized (No.34)
1975: Rock And Roll Outlaws (No.40)
1976: Fool For The City (No.23)
1977: Night Shift (No.36)
1977: Foghat Live (No.11)
1978: Stone Blue (No.25)
1979: Boogie Motel (No.35)
1980: Tight Shoes (No.106)
1981: Girls To Chat & Boys To Bounce (No.92)
1982: In The Mood For Something Rude (No.162)
1983: Zig-Zag Walk (No.192)

Singles:
1. I Just Want To Make Love To You (No.83)
2. What A Shame (No.82)
3. Fool For The City (No.45)
4. Slow Ride (No.20)
5. Drivin' Wheel (No.34)
6. I Just Want To Make Love To You (No.33) re-release
7. I'll Be Standing By (No.67)
8. Stone Blue (No.36)
9. Stranger In My Home Town (No.81)
10. Third Time Lucky (No.23)

Chart History: T.Rex

2007-03-13T10:12:00.000-05:00

Chart History: BTO

2007-03-12T16:36:00.000-05:00

This week we are going to move away from the videos a bit and focus on chart history. We will use this time over the next week to catch up and reload some new videos on the site. It seems a lot of videos on YouTube are being taken off and I'll have to find ones to replace them.

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on BTO. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1973: Bachman-Turner Overdive (No.4)
1974: BTO II (No.4)
1974: Not Fragile (No.1)
1975: Four Wheel Drive (No.5)
1976: Head On (No.23)
1977: Freeways (No.70)
1978: Street Action (No.130)
1979: Rock N' Roll Nights (No.165)

Singles:
1. Blue Collar (No.68)
2. Let It Ride (No.23)
3. Takin' Care of Business (No.12)
4. Free Wheelin' (No.1)
5. You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet (No.1)
6. Roll On Down The Highway (No.14)
7. Hey You (No.21)
8. Down To The Line (No.43)
9. Looking Out For #1 (No.65)
10. Gimme Your Money Please (No.70)
11. Take It Like A Man (No.33)
12. Heartaches (No.60)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Def Leppard II

2007-03-08T14:58:00.000-05:00

This second video from Def Leppard is off the 10-million selling Hysteria.

This was a hair metal anthem in the 80s - "Pour Some Sugar on Me."

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Def Leppard

2007-03-08T14:45:00.000-05:00

Def Leppard, in many ways, was the definitive hard rock band of the '80s. There were many bands that rocked harder, and were more dangerous, than the Sheffield quintet, but few others captured the spirit of the times quite as well. Emerging in the late '70s as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the group actually owed more to the glam rock and metal of the early '70s.

Def Leppard had their origins in a Sheffield-based group Rick Savage (bass) and Pete Willis (guitar) formed in their late teens in 1977. A few months later, vocalist Joe Elliott, a fanatic follower of Mott the Hoople and T. Rex, joined the band, bringing the name Deaf Leopard. After a spelling change, the trio, augmented by a now-forgotten drummer, began playing local Sheffield pubs, and within a year they had added guitarist Steve Clark, as well as a new drummer. Later in 1978, the recorded their debut EP, Getcha Rocks Off, and released it on their own label, Bludgeon Riffola. The EP became a word-of-mouth success, earning airplay on the BBC. The group members were still in their teens.

Following the release of Getcha Rocks Off, Rick Allen was added as the band's permanent drummer, and Def Leppard quickly became the subject of the British music weeklies. Soon, they signed with AC/DC's manager, Peter Mensch, who helped them secure a contract with Mercury. On Through the Night, the band's full-length debut, was released in 1980 and instantly became a hit in the U.K., also earning significant airplay in the U.S., where it reached number 51 on the charts. Over the course of the year, Def Leppard relentlessly toured Britain and America, including opening slots for Ozzy Osbourne, Sammy Hagar, and Judas Priest. High 'n' Dry followed in 1981, and it became the group's first platinum album in the U.S., thanks to MTV's strong rotation of "Bringin' on the Heartbreak." MTV would be vital to the band's success in the '80s.

As the band recorded the follow-up to High 'n' Drywith producer Mutt Lange, Pete Willis was fired from the band for alcoholism, and Phil Collen, a former guitarist for Girl, was hired to replace him. The resulting album, 1983's Pyromania, became an unexpected blockbuster, due not only to Def Leppard's skillful, melodic metal, but also to MTV's relentless airing of "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages." Pyromania went on to sell ten million copies, establishing Def Leppard as one of the most popular bands in the world. Despite their success, the band was about to enter a trying time for their career. Following an extensive international tour, the group re-entered the studio to record the follow-up, but producer Lange was unavailable, so they began sessions with Jim Steinman, the man responsible for Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell. The pairing turned out to be ill-advised, so the group turned to its former engineer, Nigel Green. One month into recording, Allen lost his left arm in a New Year's Eve car accident. The arm was reattached, but it had to be amputated once an infection set in.

Without a drummer, Def Leppard's future looked cloudy, but by the spring of 1985 — just a few months after his accident — Allen began learning to play a custom-made electronic kit assembled for him by Simmons. Soon, the band resumed recording, and within a few months Lange was back on board, but once he joined the team, he judged the existing tapes inferior and had the band begin work all over again. The recording continued throughout 1986, and that summer, the group returned to the stage for the European Monsters of Rock tour. Def Leppard finally completed their fourth album, now titled Hysteria, early in 1987, releasing it that spring to lukewarm reviews; many critics felt that the album compromised Leppard's metal roots for sweet pop flourishes.

The record was slow out of the starting gates — "Women," the first single, failed to really take hold. But with the second single, "Animal," Hysteria began to take off. It became the group's first Top 40 hit in the U.K., but more importantly, it began a string of six straight Top 20 hits in the U.S., which also included "Hysteria," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Love Bites," "Armageddon It," and "Rocket," the latter of which arrived in 1989, a full two years after the release of Hysteria. During those two years, Def Leppard was unavoidable — they were the kings of high-school metal, ruling the pop charts and MTV, and teenagers and bands alike replicated their teased hair and ripped jeans, even when the grimy hard rock of Guns N' Roses took hold in 1988.

Hysteria proved to be the peak of Leppard's popularity, yet their follow-up remained eagerly awaited in the early '90s as the band set to work on the record. During the recording, Steve Clark died from an overdose of alcohol and drugs. Clark had long had a problem with alcohol, and following the Hysteria heyday, the band forced him to take a sabbatical; he did enter rehab, but to no apparent effect. In fact, his abuse was so crippling that Collen had to play the majority of the guitar leads on Hysteria.

Following Clark's death, Def Leppard resolved to finish their forthcoming album as a quartet, releasing Adrenalize in the spring of 1992. Adrenalize was greeted with mixed reviews, and even though the album debuted at number one and contained several hit singles, including "Let's Get Rocked," "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad," and "Make Love Like a Man," the record was a commercial disappointment in the wake of Pyromaniaand Hysteria. After the release of Adrenalize, the group added former Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell.

The band continues to tour and record but has yet to recapture their glory days when everything they touched turned to gold.

Chart History: MC5

2007-03-06T11:17:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

This week we focus on MC5. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1969: Kick Out The Jams (No.30)
1970: Back In The USA (No.137)

Singles:
1. Kick Out The James (No.82)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Y&T II

2007-03-05T17:53:00.000-05:00

The closest Y&T ever had to a legitimate hit on the charts. This was a summertime staple for hair metal fans in the mid-80s.

It's "Summertime Girls" from their Down for the Count album. Oh the memories from that song.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Y&T

2007-03-05T17:41:00.000-05:00

Y&T were within reach of the Grail of rock & roll stardom many times in their long career. Unfortunately for the group, the ultimate prize always seemed to elude them in the end due to a series of mistakes and sheer bad luck. A legendary live band, the group never managed to translate their electric on-stage intensity into the studio, and despite their 20 years of service, they have now become little more than a blot on the American hard rock canvas.

Taking their name from a Beatles album, Yesterday. . . and Today, Yesterday & Today formed in San Francisco around 1973 with Dave Meniketti on vocals and lead guitar, Phil Kennemore on bass and Leonard Haze on drums. After stealing rhythm guitarist Joey Alves from a rival band, the foursome began to gig constantly around the Bay Area, opening for such heavyweights as Journey and the Doobie Brothers.

They were eventually picked up by London Records, which released their eponymous debut in 1976 and followed it with Struck Down two years later. Neither album ended up being successful, though, and after being dropped from the label, the band spent another two years struggling to stay alive.

Their perseverance finally paid off in early 1981, when they inked a long-term deal with A&M Records and shortened their name to Y&T in the process. Earthshaker, their first album for the label came out later that year and was a resounding success, earning the band a number of high-profile opening slots with AC/DC and Kiss.

The group's newfound success culminated in a performance at the prestigious Monsters of Rock festival in Donington, England. An optimistic Y&T returned to England the following year to begin work on Earthshaker's follow-up, Black Tiger. But despite its strong material, the record was let down by an uncharacteristically lifeless production job from veteran Chris Tsangarides and failed to meet the lofty expectations of both the media and their label.

Inexplicably, the group reunited with Tsangarides for 1983's Mean Streak, obtaining equally disappointing results despite scoring a decent international hit with "Midnight in Tokyo." Subsequent releases such as In Rock We Trust (1984) and Down for the Count (1985) fared no better, and by the time they found redemption with the blistering power of their first live set, Open Fire, the band had been forgotten and surpassed by an entire generation of younger bands. The band's association with A&M finally came to an end later that year and was effectively buried with the obligatory greatest-hits set, Best of Y&T (1981-1985).

Y&T wasn't ready to give up yet, though. Signed to Geffen by A&R guru John Kalodner — best known for resurrecting the career of Aerosmith — the group decided to revamp their image in order to fit into the late-'80s hair band scene. The band continue to release albums that received sporadic sales and called it quits in 1997.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Whitesnake II

2007-03-02T12:04:00.000-05:00

This video was from the huge album "Whitesnake" in 1987. This video had everything. Led Zep riffs and vocals and very hot Tawney Kitaen as the video vixen of the month.

Good song, little too much of a Zeppelin ripoff, but good nonetheless. This is when hair metal ruled the airwaves.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Whitesnake

2007-03-02T11:53:00.000-05:00

After recording two solo albums, former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale formed Whitesnake around 1977. In the glut of hard rock and heavy metal bands of the late '70s, their first albums got somewhat lost in the shuffle, although they were fairly popular in Europe and Japan. During 1982, Coverdale took some time off, so he could take care of his sick daughter.

When he re-emerged with a new version of Whitesnake in 1984, the band sounded revitalized and energetic. Slide It In may have relied on Led Zeppelin's and Deep Purple's old tricks, but the band had a knack for writing hooks; the record became their first platinum album. Three years later, Whitesnake released an eponymous album which was even better.

Portions of the album were blatantly derivative — "Still of the Night" was a dead ringer for early Zeppelin — but the group could write powerful, heavy rockers like "Here I Go Again" that were driven as much by melody as riffs, as well as hit power ballads like "Is This Love." Whitesnake was an enormous international success, selling over six million copies in the U.S. alone.

Before they recorded their follow-up, 1989's Slip of the Tongue, Coverdale again assembled a completely new version of the band, featuring guitar virtuoso Steve Vai. Although the record went platinum, it was a considerable disappointment after the across-the-board success of Whitesnake. Coverdale put Whitesnake on hiatus after that album.

1997 saw Coverdale resurrect Whitesnake (guitarist Adrian Vandenberg was the only remaining member of the group's latter lineup), issuing Restless Heart the same year. Surprisingly, the album wasn't even issued in the United States. On the ensuing tour, Coverdale and Vandenberg performed an "unplugged" show in Japan, which was recorded and issued the following year under the title Starkers in Tokyo. By the late '90s however, Coverdale once again put Whitesnake on hold, as he concentrated on recording his first solo album in nearly 22 years.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Saxon II

2007-03-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

Here's another from NWOBHM rockers Saxon. It's the name of this blog. This is title track from the great album "Denim and Leather."

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Saxon

2007-03-01T11:07:00.000-05:00

Saxon was one of the early leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, along with Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. The band was formed in Barnsley in 1977 by vocalist Biff Byford, guitarists Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn, bassist Steve Dawson, and drummer Pete Gill.

Originally calling themselves Son of a Bitch, they soon decided to find a more subtle name, settling on Saxon. Like many young metal bands of the day, Saxon found it difficult to land a record deal in post-punk England, but eventually signed with French-based Carrere Records.

Though Saxon's 1979 self-titled debut album was marred by a lightweight production job, the band built a strong following touring Britain as support group to Motörhead and Nazareth. The band capitalized on this exposure with their sophomore effort the following year. Wheels of Steel featured a much heavier, metallic sound which finally did their songs justice. The album was immediately heralded as a NWOBHM classic by fans and critics alike and the band was apparently on their way.

They released two more fine albums, Strong Arm of the Law and Denim and Leather, over the next year while touring relentlessly across Britain, Europe, and the U.S. Even the loss of founding drummer Pete Gill to Motörhead (replaced by Nigel Glockler) didn't slow their momentum, and a live album, The Eagle Has Landed, capped their hot streak in 1982.

Though they'd barely dented America, Saxon's early success was only rivaled by Iron Maiden, and the band seemed poised on the brink of worldwide success. Then a strange thing happened. A series of unfocused, lackluster albums (Power and the Glory and Crusader) stopped the band cold in its tracks. And when they attempted to follow the trend set by other British bands like Whitesnake (who cracked the U.S. with a peroxide-fueled fashion makeover), the band's career went into an irreversible slide.

Despite never being able to break in America, Saxon remains a solid act in Europe and Japan.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Cheap Trick II

2007-02-28T20:28:00.000-05:00

Here's Power Rock icons Cheap Trick with the cool theme to "That 70s Show."

"We're all alright. We're all alright!"

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Cheap Trick

2007-02-28T20:12:00.000-05:00

Combining a love for British guitar pop songcraft with crunching power chords and a flair for the absurd, Cheap Trick provided the necessary links between '60s pop, heavy metal, and punk. Their sound provided a blueprint for both power pop and arena rock; it also had a surprisingly long-lived effect on both alternative and heavy metal bands of the '80s and '90s, who also relied on the combination of loud riffs and catchy melodies.

Cheap Trick's roots lie in Fuse, a late-'60s Rockford, IL, band formed by Rick Nielsen and bassist Tom Petersson, who released an unsuccessful album on Epic in 1969. After the record failed to gain any attention, the band relocated to Philadelphia and changed their name to Sick Man of Europe. The group toured Europe unsuccessfully in 1972, returning to Illinois in 1973.

Not long after their return to Rockford, Nielsen and Petersson changed their band's name to Cheap Trick, adding drummer Bun E. Carlos and vocalist Randy "Xeno" Hogan. Hogan was fired the following year and ex-folksinger Robin Zander joined the group. Between 1975 and the band's first album in 1977, Cheap Trick toured constantly, playing over 200 concerts a year, including opening slots for the Kinks, Kiss, Santana, AC/DC, and Queen. During this time, the band built up a solid catalog of original songs that would eventually comprise their first three albums; they also perfected their kinetic live show.

Cheap Trick signed with Epic Records in 1976, releasing their self-titled debut in early 1977. The record sold well in America, yet it failed to chart. However, the group became a massive success in Japan, going gold upon release. Later that year, the band released their second album, In Color. It backed away from the harder-rocking Cheap Trick, featuring a slicker production and quieter arrangements that spotlighted the band's melodic skills. Due to their constant touring, the record made it into the U.S. charts, peaking at number 73; in Japan it became another gold-seller. The band realized that they were virtual superstars in Japan when they toured the country in early 1978. Their concerts were selling out within two hours and they packed Budokan Arena.

Cheap Trick's concerts at Budokan Arena were recorded for release — the record appeared after their third album, 1978's Heaven Tonight. That third album captured both the loud, raucous energy of their debut and the hook-laden songcraft of In Color, leading to their first Top 100 single, "Surrender," which peaked at number 62. However, the live performances on At Budokan (1979) captured the band's energetic, infectious live show, resulting in their commercial breakthrough in the U.S.

The album stayed on the charts for over a year, peaking at number four and eventually selling over three million copies; a live version of "I Want You to Want Me" became their first Top Ten hit. Later that year, the group released their fourth studio album, Dream Police, which followed the same stylistic approach of Heaven Tonight. It also followed At Budokan into the Top Ten, selling over a million copies and launching the Top 40 hit singles "Voices" and "Dream Police." In the summer of 1980, the group released an EP of tracks recorded between 1976-1979 called Found All the Parts.

Following the recording of the George Martin-produced All Shook Up, Petersson left the group in the summer of 1980 to form a group with his wife, Dagmar; he was replaced by Jon Brant. The band experienced a rapid commercial decline for most of the 80s. That is until 1988.

Petersson rejoined the band in 1988 and the group began working on a new record with the help of several professional songwriters. The resulting record, Lap of Luxury, was a platinum Top 20 hit, featuring the number one power ballad "The Flame" and a Top Ten version of Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel."

Cheap Trick weren't able to maintain its newfound success, but still tour and record to this day.

Chart History: Humble Pie

2007-02-27T01:17:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

This week we focus on BOC. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1971: Rock On (No.118)
1971: Rockin' The Fillmore (No.21)
1972: Lost and Found (No.37)
1972: Smokin' (No.6)
1973: Eat It (No.13)
1974: Thunderbox (No.52)
1975: Street Rats (No.100)
1980: On To Victory (No.60)
1981: Go For The Throat (No.154)

Singles:
1. I Don't Need No Doctor (No.73)
2. Hot 'N' Nasty (No.52)
3. Fool For A Pretty Face (Hurt By Love) (No.52)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Brownsville Station

2007-02-26T20:50:00.000-05:00

A Detroit-area rock & roll band formed in 1969 by guitarist Cub Koda. Original members also included Mike Lutz (guitar), T.J. Cronley (drums), and Tony Driggins (bass). Initially influenced by Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and other '50s rockers, their early albums included inspired covers and genre-faithful originals, all presented in Marshall stack, double-bass-drum bigness.

Far more effective as a live act (with Koda's onstage banter influencing everyone from J. Geils' Peter Wolf to Alice Cooper), the group finally hit paydirt in late 1973 with their number-three hit, the Koda-penned "Smokin' in the Boys' Room." Unfortunately, the band never was able to have any follow-up success after "Smokin' in the Boys' Room." After disbanding the group in 1979, Koda went on to a career as a solo recording artist and as a journalist for several music magazines.

Koda died of kidney failure in 2000.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Status Quo II

2007-02-23T14:18:00.000-05:00

The second video from boogie rock pioneers Status Quo is the tune Paper Plane (couldn't find a video for Pictures of Matchstick Men).

The band found a formula that worked and stuck with it. The hard boogie sound was pioneered by Savoy Brown, Foghat and the Quo in the early to mid-seventies.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Status Quo

2007-02-23T13:42:00.000-05:00

Status Quo is one of Britain's longest-lived bands, staying together for over 30 years. During much of that time, the band was only successful in the UK, where they racked up a string of Top Ten singles that ran into the '90s. In America, the group was ignored after they abandoned psychedelia for heavy boogie rock in the early '70s. Before that, the Quo managed to reach number 12 in the US with the psychedelic classic "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (a Top Ten hit in the UK).

Following that single, the band suffered a lean period for the next few years, before deciding to refashion themselves as a hard-rock boogie band in 1970 with their Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon album. Over the next 25 years, the Quo have basically recycled the same simple boogie on each successive album and single, yet their popularity has never waned in Britain. If anything, their very predictability has ensured the group a large following.

The origins of Status Quo lie in a London-based beat group called the Spectres. Francis Rossi (vocals, guitar) and Alan Lancaster (bass) were the core members of the Spectres from their inception; within a few years, the band had addied drummer John Coughlan and organist Roy Lynes. The Spectres released three unsuccessful singles before changing their style to psychedelia and adopting the name Traffic Jam and releasing the unsuccessful single, "Almost But Not Quite There." After it flopped, the group added Rick Harrison (guitar, vocals), formerly of the cabaret band, the Highlights. When Harrison joined the band in August 1967, the group again changed their name, this time to Status Quo.

"Pictures of Matchstick Men," the group's debut single, was released toward the end of the year and quickly shot to number seven on the UK charts; within a few months, it was a number 12 in the US as well. The immediate follow-up single, "Black Veils of Melancholy," was a flop, but "Ice in the Sun," written by former British pop star Marty Wilde, became Status Quo's second Top Ten hit in the fall of 1968. Over in America, the single barely registered, squeaking to number 70; it was the last time the group would ever chart in the US.

For the next year, Status Quo tried to replicate the success of their first two singles with similar psychedelic material, but they had little luck. Finally, they revamped their sound — and jettisoned organist Lynes — in the summer of 1970, debuting their new heavy, bluesy boogie rock with the single "Down the Dustpipe." The single reached number 12, yet the full-fledged hard-rock album Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon didn't gain much attention.

Status Quo began playing concerts regularly across England, slowly building up a strong following in England. Following well-received sets at 1972's Reading and Great Western festivals, the band became a hot property. The group signed with Vertigo Records and their first single for the label, "Paper Plane," cracked the Top Ten in early 1973, while their first album for Vertigo, Piledriver reached number five. Later that year, Hello entered the charts at number one, while its accompanying single "Caroline" reached number five. Also in 1973, keyboardist Andy Bown, formerly of the Herd and Judas Jump, became the band's unofficial keyboardist.

Throughout the '70s, each album Status Quo released went into the Top Five, while their singles — including the number one "Down Down" (1974), "Roll Over Lay Down" (1975), "Rain" (1976), "Wild Side of Life" (1976), and a cover of John Fogerty's "Rockin' All Over the World" (1977) — consistently hit the Top Ten and frequently went gold. Since they were experiencing a great deal of success, they didn't change their sound at all, they just kept churning out the same heavy boogie. America basically ignored Status Quo, yet their eponymous album managed to chart at 148 in 1976.

Status Quoe continue to record and tour and still remain popular in their native England.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Beck, Bogart & Appice

2007-02-22T15:29:00.000-05:00

Although the all-star power trio of guitarist Jeff Beck, bassist Tim Bogert, and drummer Carmine Appice discussed a potential collaboration as early as 1970, the project went on indefinite hiatus after Beck suffered a fractured skull in an automobile wreck. With the guitarist on the sidelines for well over a year, Bogert and Appice — who previously teamed in Vanilla Fudge — opted instead to form Cactus with singer Rusty Day and guitarist Jim McCarty, issuing a series of boogie rock LPs for Atlantic before dissolving.

In the meantime, following his recovery Beck founded a new incarnation of his Jeff Beck Group, releasing a pair of albums before disbanding the project in 1972; with Bogert and Appice again available, the threesome immediately set to work on recording, issuing Beck, Bogert and Appice to solid sales in 1973. A much sought after live album was subsequently issued in Japan only, but while working on a second studio effort, the famously mercurial Beck abruptly dissolved the trio in early 1974.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Vanilla Fudge II

2007-02-21T12:30:00.000-05:00

This second video by psychedelic power rock act Vanilla Fudge is the hit remake of the Supremes classic, "You Keep Me Hanging On."

Check out the hair and the outfits. You've just gotta love psychedelic rock. Seriously though, drummer Carmine Appice went on to perform with a variety of hard rock acts in the 70s and 80s - like Cactus, Beck, Bogart and Appice, KGB, Ted Nugent and Blue Murder. Believe it or not, Appice also co-write "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" and "Young Turks" with Rod Stewart.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Vanilla Fudge

2007-02-21T12:14:00.000-05:00

Vanilla Fudge was one of the few American links between psychedelia and what soon became heavy metal. While the band did record original material, they were best known for their loud, heavy, slowed-down arrangements of contemporary pop songs, blowing them up to epic proportions and bathing them in a trippy, distorted haze.

Originally, Vanilla Fudge was a blue-eyed soul cover band called the Electric Pigeons, who formed on Long Island, NY, in 1965. Organist Mark Stein, bassist Tim Bogert, and drummer Joey Brennan soon shortened their name to the Pigeons and added guitarist Vince Martell. They built a following by gigging extensively up and down the East Coast, and earned extra money by providing freelance in-concert backing for girl groups.

Inspired by the Vagrants, another band on the club circuit led by future Mountain guitarist Leslie West, the Pigeons began to put more effort into reimagining the arrangements of their cover songs. They got so elaborate that by the end of the year, drummer Brennan was replaced by the more technically skilled Carmine Appice. In early 1967, their manager convinced producer George "Shadow" Morton (who'd handled the girl group the Shangri-Las and had since moved into protest folk) to catch their live act. Impressed by their heavy, hard rocking recasting of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On," Morton offered to record the song as a single; the results landed the group a deal with the Atlantic subsidiary Atco, which requested a name change.

The band settled on Vanilla Fudge, after a favorite ice cream flavor. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" didn't perform as well as hoped, but the band toured extensively behind its covers-heavy, jam-oriented debut album Vanilla Fudge, which gradually expanded their fan base. Things started to pick up for the band in 1968: early in the year, they headlined the Fillmore West with the Steve Miller Band, performed "You Keep Me Hangin' On" on The Ed Sullivan Show, and released their second album, The Beat Goes On. Despite its somewhat arty, indulgent qualities, the LP was a hit, climbing into the Top 20.

That summer, Atco reissued "You Keep Me Hangin' On," and the second time around it climbed into the Top Ten. It was followed by Renaissance, one of Vanilla Fudge's best albums, which also hit the Top 20. The band supported it by touring with Jimi Hendrix, opening several dates on Cream's farewell tour, and late in the year touring again with the fledgling Led Zeppelin as their opening act.

In 1969, the band kept touring and released their first album without Morton, the expansive, symphonic-tinged Near the Beginning. Exhausted by the constant touring, the band decided that their late-1969 European tour would be their last. Following the release of their final album, Rock & Roll, Vanilla Fudge played a few U.S. farewell dates and disbanded in early 1970. Bogert and Appice first formed the hard rock group Cactus, then later joined up with Jeff Beck in the aptly named Beck, Bogert & Appice. Appice went on to become an active session and touring musician, working with a variety of rock and hard rock artists.

Chart History: Blue Oyster Cult

2007-02-20T14:14:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

This week we focus on BOC. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included - only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1972: Blue Oyster Cult (No.172)
1973: Tyranny And Mutation (No.122)
1974: Secret Treaties (No.53)
1975: On Your Feet Or On Your Knees (No.22)
1976: Agents of Fortune (No.29)
1977: Spectres (No.43)
1978: Some Enchanted Evening (No.44)
1979: Mirrors (No.44)
1980: Cultosaurus Erectus (No.34)
1981: Fire of Unknown Origin (No.24)
1982: Extraterrestrial Live (No.29)
1983: The Revolution By Night (No.93)
1986: Club Ninja (No.63)
1988: Imaginos (No.122)

Singles:
1.(Don't Fear) The Reaper (No.12)
2. In Thee (No.74)
3. Burnin' For You (No.40)
4. Shooting Shark (No.83)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Van Halen

2007-02-19T22:42:00.000-05:00

The second video from Van Halen is off the 1984 record. VH made a lot of good tunes, but this is my personal favorite.

I loved the groove, the guitar and the video back then.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Van Halen

2007-02-19T22:09:00.000-05:00

With their 1978 eponymous debut, Van Halen simultaneously rewrote the rules of rock guitar and hard rock in general. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen redefined what electric guitar could do, developing a blindingly fast technique with a variety of self-taught two-handed tapping, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and effects that mimicked the sounds of machines and animals.

It was wildly inventive and over the top, equaled only by vocalist David Lee Roth, who brought the role of a metal singer to near-performance art standards. Roth wasn't blessed with great technique, unlike Eddie, but he had a flair for showmanship that was derived as much from lounge performers as Robert Plant. Together, they made Van Halen into the most popular American rock & roll band of the late '70s and early '80s, and in the process set the template for hard rock and heavy metal for the '80s.

Throughout the '80s, it was impossible not to hear Van Halen's instrumental technique on records that ranged from the heaviest metal to soft pop. Furthermore, Roth's irony-drenched antics were copied by singers who took everything literally. One of these was Sammy Hagar, an arena rock veteran from the '70s who replaced Roth after the vocalist had a falling out with Van Halen in 1985.

Hagar stayed with the band longer than Roth, helping the group top the charts through the late '80s and early '90s. However, the group's sales began to slide in the mid-'90s, just as tensions between Hagar and Eddie began to arise. In one of the most disastrous publicity stunts in rock history, Hagar was fired (or quit) and Roth was brought back on, seemingly as a permanent member, but only for two songs on a greatest-hits album. He was subsequently replaced by Gary Cherone, a former member of Extreme.

Through all the upheaval over lead vocalists, Eddie Van Halen and his prodigious talent remained the core of Van Halen. The son of a Dutch bandleader, Eddie and his family moved from the Netherlands to Pasadena, CA, in 1967, when he was 12 years old and his older brother, Alex, was 14. As their father supported the family by playing in wedding bands, Eddie and Alex continued their classical piano training. Soon, both boys were enraptured by rock & roll.

Eddie learned how to play drums and Alex took up the guitar, eventually switching instruments. The brothers began a hard rock band called Mammoth and began playing around Pasadena, eventually meeting David Lee Roth. At the time, Roth, who had been raised in a wealthy Californian family, was singing in Redball Jet. Impressed by the Van Halen brothers, he joined forces with the group. Shortly afterward, bassist Michael Anthony, who was singing with Snake, became a member of Mammoth. After discovering that another band had the rights to the name Mammoth, the group decided to call themselves Van Halen in 1974, rejecting the proposed Rat Salad.

For the next three years, Van Halen played throughout Pasadena, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles, playing both clubs and hotel bars. The band's repertoire covered everything from pop and rock to disco, but they eventually worked in their own original material. Within a few years, they had become the most popular local band in Los Angeles, and Eddie became well known for his groundbreaking technique. In 1977, Kiss' Gene Simmons financed a demo recording session for Van Halen after seeing them at the Starwood Club. On the strength of Simmons' recommendation, Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman signed Van Halen to Warner Bros., releasing the band's debut the following year.

Van Halen became a hit due to strong word of mouth, constant touring, and support from AOR radio. Within three months the album had gone gold, and five months later it went platinum. It would eventually sell over six million copies, thanks to the album rock staples "You Really Got Me," "Jamie's Cryin'," and "Runnin' With the Devil." Van Halen II, released in 1979, continued the band's success, as "Dance the Night Away" became their first Top 20 single. Women and Children First (1980) didn't have any charting singles, but was a success on the album charts, reaching number six.

The band supported the album with their first headlining, international arena tour, and the group was quickly on their way to being superstars. Released in 1981, Fair Warning wasn't quite as popular as their previous records, yet it still peaked at number six. Diver Down, released in 1982, was a huge hit, spawning a number 12 cover of Roy Orbison's "(Oh) Pretty Woman" and reaching number three.

While all of their previous albums were successful, Van Halen didn't become superstars until 1984, when their album 1984 became an across-the-board smash. Released on New Year's Day, 1984 rocketed to number two on the strength of the number one single "Jump." Like many songs on the album, "Jump" was driven by Eddie's new synthesizer, and while Roth was initially reluctant to use electronics, the expansion of the group's sound was widely praised. Throughout 1984, Van Halen gained steam, as "I'll Wait" and "Panama" became Top 15 singles and "Hot for Teacher" became a radio and MTV staple.

Despite the band's breakthrough success, things were not well within the band. During their 1984 tour, each member played separate solo sets and were physically separated on the stage. Roth was unhappy with Eddie's appearance on Michael Jackson's 1983 hit "Beat It," and Eddie grew tired of the comic antics of Roth. In 1985, Roth released a solo EP, Crazy from the Heat, which spawned hit covers of "California Girls" and "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody."

When Roth delayed the recording of Van Halen's follow-up to 1984, he was fired from the band. Most observers were taken by surprise when Sammy Hagar was named as Roth's replacement. The former lead singer of Montrose, Hagar's solo career had been sporadically successful, highlighted by such arena metal hits as "Three-Lock Box" and "I Can't Drive 55."

Though many critics suspected Hagar wouldn't be able to sustain Van Halen's remarkable success, his first album with the band, 1986's 5150, was a huge hit, reaching number one and spawning the hit singles "Why Can't This Be Love," "Dreams," and "Love Walks In." Released in 1988, OU812 was just as successful, earning stronger reviews than its predecessor and generating the hits "When It's Love" and "Finish What You Started." For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, released in 1991, was another number one hit, partially due to the hit MTV video for "Right Now." Van Halen followed the album with their first live record, the double album Van Halen Live: Right Here, Right Now in 1993.

Hagar was fired in 1995 after the Balance album and Roth was rehired and he recorded two songs for the bands Best of Vol. 1 release. Eddie fired Roth again and hired former Extreme singer Gary Cherone to record Van Halen III. The album was a commercial failure. Eddie went into seclusion after announcing publicly his battle with cancer.

With his cancer in remission, Eddie anounced that Roth was rejoining the band for a new album and world tour in 2007. Alas, the original Van Halen will not be together - bassist Michael Anthony was fired after 32 years in the band. Eddie's son Wolfgang has replaced Anthony on bass.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Motorhead II

2007-02-16T13:59:00.000-05:00

The second video from metal masters Motorhead is the the title track from the Iron Fist album.

This is what a true metal band is supposed to sound like. Awesome stuff.

"You know me..the devil's whip the iron fist."

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Motorhead

2007-02-16T13:43:00.000-05:00

Motörhead'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 Kilminster, had his roots in the hard-rocking space rock band Hawkwind, Motörhead didn't bother with his old group's progressive tendencies, choosing to amplify the heavy biker rock elements of Hawkwind with the speed of punk rock.

Motörhead wasn't punk rock — they formed before the Sex Pistols and they loved the hell-for-leather imagery of bikers too much to conform with the safety-pinned, ripped T-shirts of punk — but they were the first metal band to harness that energy and, in the process, they created speed metal and thrash metal. Unlike many of their contemporaries, Motörhead continued performing into the next century. Although the band changed its lineup many, many times — Lemmy was its only consistent member — they never changed their raging sound.

The son of a vicar, Lemmy Kilmister first began playing rock & roll in 1964, when he joined two local Blackpool, England, R&B bands, the Rainmakers and the Motown Sect. Over the course of the '60s, he played with a number of bands — including the Rockin' Vickers, Gopal's Dream, and Opal Butterfly — as well as briefly working as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix. In 1971, he joined the heavy prog rock band Hawkwind as a bassist. Lemmy was originally slated to stay with the band only six months, yet he stayed with the group for four years. During that time, he wrote and sung several songs with the band, including their signature song, the number three U.K. hit "Silver Machine" (1972).

Lemmy was kicked out of Hawkwind in the spring of 1975, after he spent five days in a Canadian prison for drug possession. Once he returned to England, Kilminster set about forming a new band. Originally, it was to have been called "Bastard," but he soon decided to call the band Motörhead, named after the last song he wrote for Hawkwind. Lemmy drafted in Pink Fairies guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox to round out the lineup. Motörhead made its debut supporting Greenslade in July. Two months later, the group headed into the studio to make its debut album for United Artists with producer Dave Edmunds. Motörhead and Edmunds clashed over the direction of recording, resulting in the group firing the producer and replacing him with Fritz Fryer. At the end of the year, Fox left the band and Lemmy replaced him with his friend, Philthy Animal (born Philip Taylor), an amateur musician.

Motörhead delivered its debut album to UA early in 1976, but the label rejected the album. Shortly afterward, former Blue Goose and Continuous Performance guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke joined the band. Following one rehearsal as a four-piece, Wallis left the band, leaving Motörhead as a trio; this is the lineup that would later be recalled as the group's classic period. However, the band spent most of 1976 struggling, performing without a contract or manager and generating little money. At the end of the year, they cut a single, "White Line Fever"/"Leavin' Here," for Stiff Records which wasn't released until two years later. By the summer of 1977, the group had signed a one-record contract with Chiswick Records, releasing their eponymous debut in June; it peaked at number 43 on the U.K. charts. A year later, the band signed with Bronze Records.

Overkill, Motörhead's first album for Bronze, was released in the spring of 1979. The album peaked at number 24, while its title track became the band's first Top 40 hit. Motörhead continued to gain momentum, as their concerts were selling well and Bomber, the follow-up to Overkill, reached number 12 upon its fall release. The band was doing so well that UA released the rejected album at the end of the year as On Parole. Ace of Spades, released in the fall of 1980, became a number four hit, while the single of the same name reached number 15.

Ace of Spades became Motörhead's first American album, yet the group was making little headway in the U.S., where they only registered as a cult act. Back in England, the situation could hardly have been more different. Motörhead was at the peak of its popularity in 1981, releasing a hit collaboration with the all-female group Girlschool entitled Headgirl and entering the charts at number one with their live album, No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith. Though the group was rising commercially, there was tension within the band, particularly between Clarke and Lemmy. Clarke left the band during the supporting tour for 1982's Iron Fist, reportedly angered by Kilmister's planned collaboration with Wendy O. Williams. Former Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson replaced Clarke.

Lineup changes were constant through the 80s and 90s, but Motorhead continues strong as a recording and touring act. Their new album is called Kiss of Death, released in 2006.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Budgie

2007-02-15T11:51:00.000-05:00

Often thought of as a cross between Black Sabbath (due to their plodding, molten-heavy riffs) and Rush (due to their singer's high-pitched, Geddy Lee-esque wail), the somewhat obscure British metal outfit Budgie has influenced countless outfits, despite enduring countless lineup shifts throughout their history.

The group originally formed in 1967 in Cardiff, Wales, comprised of members Burke Shelley (vocals, bass), Tony Bourge (guitar), and Raymond Phillips (drums), and by the early '70s, they'd inked a deal with MCA Records. This early lineup remains Budgie's most definitive, due to the fact that it spawned three of the group's finest albums — 1971's self-titled debut, 1972's Squawk, and 1973's Never Turn Your Back on a Friend — while the group's quirky song titles became somewhat of a trademark for the trio (such ditties as "Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman," "Hot as a Docker's Armpit," "In the Grip of a Tyrefitter's Hand," and "You're the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk").

Despite building a sizeable following in their homeland (while never breaking out of cult status stateside), Phillips left the group prior to their fourth album, 1974's In for the Kill!, replaced by newcomer Pete Boot, which would in turn set off a flurry of steady lineup changes over the years for the group (the only constant Budgie member from the beginning was Shelley). Further releases were issued throughout the '70s, including 1975's Bandolier, 1976's If I Were Brittania I'd Wave the Rules, and 1978's Impeckable, but each appeared to be less inspired than its predecessor.

The emergence of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal gave Budgie renewed popularity in the early 80s as the band headlined the famous Reading Festival in 1980 and 1982. The band released four more albums before calling it quits in 1983.

But almost as soon as they disbanded, several high-profile groups began covering Budgie classics, including Metallica ("Crash Course in Brain Surgery" and "Breadfan"), Iron Maiden ("I Can't See My Feelings"), and Soundgarden ("Homicidal Suicidal"), while back in their early club days Van Halen was known to cover the title track from In for the Kill!

Budgie was a hard rock band when many weren't playing. During the bands peak years, disco and punk dominated the minds of listeners and sadly Budgie is relatively unknown in America - despite their influence on many US metal groups.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Uriah Heep

2007-02-14T14:09:00.000-05:00

The second video from Uriah Heep is a live rendtion of their prog-metal classic "Return To Fantasy."

The Heep, along with Rush were the founders of what came to be known as progressive metal.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Uriah Heep

2007-02-14T13:52:00.000-05:00

Uriah Heep's by-the-books progressive heavy metal made the British band one of the most popular hard rock groups of the early '70s. Formed by vocalist David Byron and guitarist Mick Box in the late '60s, the group went through an astonishing number of members over the next two decades — nearly 30 different musicians passed through the band over the years.

Byron and Box were members of the mid-'60s rock band called the Stalkers; once that band broke up, the duo formed another group called Spice. Spice would eventually turn into Uriah Heep in the late '60s, once Ken Hensley (guitar, keyboards, vocals) and bassist Paul Newton joined the pair. Former Spice drummer Alex Napier was the band's drummer for a brief time; he was quickly replaced by Nigel Olsson.

Uriah Heep released their debut album Very 'eavy...Very 'umble (called Uriah Heep in the U.S.) in 1970. After its release, Keith Baker became the group's drummer; he recorded Salisbury, the group's second album, before deciding he couldn't keep up with the band's extensive touring and was replaced by Ian Clarke. Salisbury, featuring a 16-minute title track recorded with a 26-piece orchestra, showcased the band's more progressive tendencies.

Later that year, Ian Clarke was replaced by Lee Kerslake and Mark Clarke replaced Newton; Mark Clarke quickly left the band and Gary Thain became the group's bassist. This lineup of Uriah Heep was its most stable and popular; beginning with 1972's Demons and Wizards, they released five albums between 1972 and 1975.

After 1975, the band's popularity began to slip. Byron left the band in 1977 and was replaced by John Lawton, yet the group's fortunes kept declining right into the early '80s. However, Uriah Heep soldiered on, continuing to release albums into the '90s and 2000s.

Chart History: Slade

2007-02-13T14:39:00.000-05:00

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

This week we focus on Slade. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included - only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1972: Slayed (No.54)
1972: Slade Alive (No.158)
1973: Sladest (No.129)
1974: Stomp Your Hands, Clap Your Feet (No.168)
1975: In Flames (No.93)
1984: Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply (No.33)
1985: Rogues Gallery (No.132)

Singles:
1. Take Me Back 'Ome (No.97)
2. Cum On Feel The Noize (No.98)
3. Mama Weer All Crazee Now (No.76)
4. Gudbuy T' Jane (No.68)
5. Run Runaway (No.20)
6. My Oh My (No.37)
7. Little Shiela (No.86)