 | | Originally known by the less-than-subtle moniker Burn the Priest, Richmond, Virginia-based Lamb of God decided to change their name shortly after the release of a self-titled debut in 1998. |
 | | The preeminent metal band of the early to mid-'90s, Pantera put to rest any and all remnants of the '80s metal scene, almost single-handedly demolishing any notion that hair metal, speed metal, power metal, et al. |
 | | Slayer were one of the most distinctive, influential, and extreme thrash metal bands of the 1980s. Their graphic lyrics dealt with everything from death and dismemberment to war and the horrors of hell. |
 | | From their humble beginnings in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Sepultura went on to become the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history. |
 | | Influential West Coast heavy metal quartet Machine Head formed in 1992 around the talents of ex-Vio-Lence guitar players Robert Flynn and Phil Demmel, bass player Adam Duce, and drummer Chris Kontos. |
 | | After he left Metallica in 1983, guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine formed the thrash metal quartet Megadeth. |
 | | The New Haven, Connecticut-based Hatebreed got together in 1993 for the purpose of creating a "back to basics" hardcore band with heavy metallic guitars, screaming vocals, and 30-second songs. |
 | | Nearly as much as Metallica or Megadeth, Anthrax were responsible for the emergence of speed and thrash metal. |
 | | Described as "the world's greatest cultural force," the virtual death metal band Dethklok star in the Adult Swim television show Metalocalypse. |
 | | The four bandmembers who came together and created Killswitch Engage already had strong fan followings. |
 | | Fear Factory were one of the first bands to fuse the loud, crushing intensity of death metal with the cold harshness of industrial electronics and samples, producing a more varied sonic palette with which to express their bleak, pessimistic view of modern, technology-driven society. |
 | | Slipknot's mix of grinding, post-Korn alternative metal, Marilyn Manson-esque neo-shock rock, and rap-metal helped make them one of the most popular bands in the so-called nu-metal explosion of the late '90s. |
 | | Following the dissolution of Marilyn Manson/Korn-aping, nu-metal also-rans Coal Chamber, vocalist Dez Fafara hooked up with guitarists Evans Pitts and Jeffrey Kendrick, bassist Jon Miller, and drummer John Boecklin to form DevilDriver -- a rather more extreme band dedicated to the subsequent hardcore-meets-death metal trends. |
 | | Tool's greatest breakthrough was to meld dark underground metal with the ambition of art rock. Although Metallica wrote their multi-sectioned, layered songs as if they were composers, they kept their musical attack ferociously at street level. |
 | | Formed in 1998, the Cleveland, OH-based hardcore sextet Chimaira consists of singer/screamer Mark Hunter, guitarists Matt DeVries (who replaced Jason Hager in mid-2001) and Rob Arnold, bassist Jim LaMarca, drummer Andols Herrick, and electronic specialist Chris Spicuzza. |
 | | For metalheads who thought bands like W.A.S.P. and Mötley Crüe just weren't menacing or heavy enough, White Zombie was the perfect antidote for a period of time during the mid- to late '90s, as they fused B-horror movie visuals and subject matter with heavy music and growled vocals. |
 | | Upon his exit from Sepultura in late 1996, singer/guitarist/songwriter Max Cavalera almost automatically set out to form his next musical endeavor, the ultra-heavy Soulfly. |
 | | Although their music sometimes bears strong similarities to the technical, progressive brand of death metal centered around Gothenburg, Sweden and epitomized by bands like In Flames, Shadows Fall actually hail from Massachusetts. |
 | | One of the first punk-metal fusion bands, Corrosion of Conformity (C.O.C. for short) were formed in North Carolina by guitarist Woody Weatherman during the early '80s. |
 | | Testament were the biggest thrash metal band never to reach the platinum plateau. In fact, the San Francisco quintet seemed on the verge of challenging Metallica (their most obvious influence) in the melodic thrash sweepstakes, but their run toward the top was eventually derailed by inconsistency, bad business decisions, and the genre's dwindling appeal. |
 | | Down is an all-star heavy metal side project whose original lineup consisted of members from Pantera (singer Phil Anselmo), Corrosion of Conformity (guitarist Pepper Keenan), and Crowbar (guitarist Kirk Windstein, bassist Todd Strange, and drummer Jimmy Bower). |
 | | Deftones were one of the first groups to alternate heavy riffs and screamed vocals with more ethereal music and hushed singing -- spawning a fair amount of imitators in their wake. |
 | | After falling out with mentor Ozzy Osbourne following the recording sessions for 1995's Ozzmosis, guitarist Zakk Wylde struck out on his own with his first solo album, Book of Shadows, in 1996. |
 | | During his time in the seminal hardcore band the Misfits, vocalist Glenn Danzig displayed a fascination with outlandish, graphic, often gory imagery; in forming the more heavy metal-oriented band Samhain, Danzig's lyrics delved into typical metal subject matter, but took the concept of darkness to an extreme. |
 | | Rammstein were formed in 1993 by an assembly of factory-weary proletarians raised in East Germany. They took their name (adding an "m") from the location of a German tragedy where 80 people were hurt and killed as the result of a crash during an American Air Force flight show. |
 | | Static-X's roots trace to the Midwest, where vocalist/guitarist Wayne Static grew up in Michigan and drummer Ken Jay in Illinois. |
 | | Like many late-'90s metal bands, System of a Down struck a balance between '80s underground thrash metal and metallic early-'90s alternative rockers like Jane's Addiction. |
 | | New York goth metal quartet Type O Negative were led by vocalist/bassist/songwriter Peter Steele and featured guitarist Ken Hickey, keyboardist Josh Silver, and drummer Johnny Kelly. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Clutch combined elements of funk, Led Zeppelin, and metal with vocals inspired by Faith No More. Formed in 1991 in Germantown, MD, the group included Neil Fallon (vocals), Tim Sult (guitar), Dan Maines (bass), and Jean-Paul Gaster (drums). |
 | | After leaving Ceremonial Oath to form In Flames, founding member and guitarist Jesper Strömblad saw this project as a way of expressing his songwriting creativity rather than being stuck in the background. |
 | | Heavy metal quartet Mudvayne formed in Peoria, IL, in 1996, its members adopting the unusual pseudonyms sPaG (M. |
 | | Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul started forming up Damageplan in early 2003, soon after the demise of their previous band, thrash metal heroes Pantera. |
 | | Hailing from central Florida, Trivium formed in 2000 and quickly built a buzz around Orlando's metal community with a blend of metalcore, thrash, and progressive metal flourish. |
 | | GWAR (popularly thought to be an acronym for God What an Awful Racket, despite the band's protests to the contrary) are thrash metal's answer to the more mainstream satire of Spinal Tap. |
 | | The longtime frontman for metal superstars White Zombie, Rob Zombie was born Robert Cummings on January 12, 1966, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, forming the group soon after moving to New York City circa 1985. |
 | | Coal Chamber broke out of the Los Angeles alternative metal scene in 1997 with a sound often compared to Korn, although both bands formed around the same time and are quality representations of the scene's overall sound -- the heavy, detuned guitars of the murkiest Black Sabbath, grungy, noisy textures reminiscent of White Zombie or Tool, the white-knuckle intensity of Pantera and hardcore punk, and perhaps a few hip-hop-influenced beats á la Biohazard. |
 | | Like many influential bands, Helmet were born out of an unusual set of influences. Oregon-born guitarist and founder Page Hamilton had actually moved to New York City to study jazz, but found inspiration in the late '80s through post-punk acts Sonic Youth, Killing Joke, and Big Black, and envisioned a group that combined then-unusual tunings (particularly dropped D) with uneven and jazz-like time signatures and harmonies. |
 | | Formed by Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan and former Tool guitar tech Billy Howerdel, A Perfect Circle is an extension of the alt-metal-fused-with-art rock style popularized by Tool in the early to mid-'90s. |
 | | Known for its theatrical live show and the black masks that most of its members wear on-stage, Mushroomhead is one of the more unique and adventurous alternative metal outfits that emerged in the 1990s. |
 | | Primus is all about Les Claypool; there isn't a moment on any of their records where his bass isn't the main focal point of the music, with his vocals acting as a bizarre side-show. |
 | | Otep got their start in late 2000, when singer/band namesake Otep Shamaya brought her Marilyn Manson-meets-Kim Gordon style of singing to a crew of musicians known only as Rob, Moke, and eViL j. |
 | | British black metal band Cradle of Filth were formed in 1991, originally comprised of vocalist Dani Filth (born Daniel Lloyd Davey), guitarist Paul Ryan, his keyboardist brother Benjamin, bassist John Richard, and drummer Darren. |
 | | Rising out of the expansive early '90s thrash metal landscape, New York's Prong carved a niche all their own with their minimalist urban take on the genre. |
 | | Known for such powerful hits as "Two Minutes to Midnight" and "The Trooper," Iron Maiden were and are one of the most influential bands of the heavy metal genre. |
 | | Metallica was easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the '80s. Responsible for bringing the genre back to Earth, the bandmates looked and talked like they were from the street, shunning the usual rockstar games of metal musicians during the early '80s. |
 | | Offering a complex form of metal that combined the sweeping adventurism of math rock, the oddball tempos of experimental jazz, and the stunning brutality of thrash metal, Meshuggah raised the bar for metal bands everywhere upon their debut. |
 | | Love him or hate him, the self-proclaimed "Antichrist Superstar" -- Marilyn Manson -- was indisputably among the most notorious and controversial entertainers of the 1990s. |
 | | Combining elements of melodic death metal, power metal, neo-classical, and thrash, Children of Bodom have been one of the world's most expansive and hard to define bands since their formation in 2003. |
 | | Korn's cathartic alternative metal sound positioned the group among the most popular and provocative to emerge during the post-grunge era. |
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