 | | Originally broadcast on network TV in 1978, ex-Monty Python member Eric Idle's satire of the Beatles' legend was one of the very few successful rock parodies; only Spinal Tap, perhaps, has outdone it. |
 | | Although their career was, at the very best, of marginal importance when it came to the bigger picture of pop charts and even the hard rock and heavy metal subculture, Persian Risk were one of Wales' best contributions to the early stages of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. |
 | | As the lead singer and bassist of the band bearing his last name, Kip Winger rode the '80s pop-metal explosion to short-lived stardom, before beginning a solo career in the late '90s. |
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 | | Chicago's 7000 Dying Rats have been around in one form or another since 1992, playing a style they refer to as straight-up comedy grind. |
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 | | Bad News, the parody of a bad heavy metal band, began as a 1983 episode from the Comic Strip, an English comedy troupe whose members numbered three of the four Young Ones (Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmonson, and Nigel Planer) and writer Peter Richardson (other members included Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders). |
 | | Though they enjoyed a reasonably long career by New Wave of British Heavy Metal standards, Wakefield, England's Vardis never really fit in with the genre's standard denim-and-leather credo. |
 | | Although Gene Simmons found fame as a blood-spurting, fire-breathing, bass-playing demon with Kiss, his early years were about as far removed as you can possibly get from the notorious heavy metal band. |
 | | Iron Maiden may have enjoyed their biggest commercial success with singer Bruce Dickinson at the helm, but it was original singer Paul Di'Anno who played an important role in the British metal quintet's early formative days. |
 | | In a genre of music where survival of the fittest is not just a cliché but a way of life, Jani Lane embodied the spirit of a decade of excess, hedonism, and rock & roll. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Mötley Crüe were one of the most influential hair metal bands of the '80s, boasting a striking visual presence and hedonistic reputation rivaled only by Guns N' Roses. |
 | | For a brief spell during the mid-'80s, the heavy metal quintet Dio were 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. |
 | | Judas Priest was one of the most influential heavy metal bands of the '70s, spearheading the New Wave of British Heavy Metal late in the decade. |
 | | With their brutal, simple riffs and aggressive, fast tempos, Accept were one of the top metal bands of the early '80s, and a major influence on the development of thrash. |
 | | Side projects emerging from a parent band's downtime -- between tours, recording albums, general time off, whatever the reason -- are nothing new, and the idea of a metal band's sidemen taking on a more humorous and/or satirical tack is probably even less surprising. |
 | | Originally, there was a band called Alice Cooper led by a singer named Vincent Damon Furnier. Under his direction, Alice Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical and violent brand of heavy metal that was designed to shock. |
 | | Best known for their suprise Top 40 hit "Three Little Pigs" (as well as the song's claymation video, which became a staple on MTV in 1993), Green Jelly began their career as Green Jellö in 1981. |
 | | One of the heavier bands to come out of the early-'80s L.A. metal scene, W.A.S.P. quickly rose to national infamy thanks to their shock rock image, lyrics, and live concerts. |
 | | 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. |
 | | A product of New York City's early-'70s glam rock scene, Twisted Sister were eager students of the New York Dolls, with the theatrics of Kiss and the shock rock of Alice Cooper thrown in for good measure. |
 | | At a time when pop was dominated by dance music and pop-metal, Guns N' Roses brought raw, ugly rock & roll crashing back into the charts. |
 | | 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. |
 | | After recording two solo albums, former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale formed Whitesnake around 1977. |
 | | AC/DC's mammoth power chord roar became one of the most influential hard rock sounds of the '70s. In its own way, it was a reaction against the pompous art rock and lumbering arena rock of the early '70s. |
 | | Saxon was one of the early leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, along with Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. |
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 | | Heavy metal outfit Nitro boasted "the fastest, loudest, highest sound around" -- frontman Jim Gillette's chief claim to fame was his ability to achieve a scream so high-pitched and piercing that it literally shattered the imported crystal wine goblets he carried on-stage for each performance. |
 | | In many ways, Def Leppard were the definitive hard rock band of the '80s. There were many bands that rocked harder (and were more dangerous) than the Sheffield-based quintet, but few others captured the spirit of the times quite as well. |
 | | Danish band featuring vocalist King Diamond, guitarists Hank Shermann and Michael Denner, bassist Timi Hansen, and drummer Kim Ruzz. |
 | | Nearly as much as Metallica or Megadeth, Anthrax were responsible for the emergence of speed and thrash metal. |
 | | Although he forged a brief solo career in the late '80s, guitarist Vinnie Vincent is best known for his short stint in Kiss, from 1982-1984. |
 | | Soundgarden made a place for heavy metal in alternative rock. Their fellow Seattle rockers Green River may have spearheaded the grunge sound, but they relied on noise rock in the vein of the Stooges. |
 | | Comedy metal troupe the Dave Brockie Experience consists of vocalist/bassist Dave Brockie (also a member of GWAR), guitarist Mike Derks, and drummer Brad Roberts, who endeavor to splice the disparate strains of hard rock and metal with comedy. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Founded in San Diego by vocalist Veronica Freeman and guitarist Pete Wells, heavy metal quartet Benedictum released their first album, Uncreation, in 2006. |
 | | Rightfully hailed as "the greatest band on Earth," the super-sized acoustic metal/comedy duo Tenacious D was an unlikely success story. |
 | | Although the formation of Psychostick took place as the new millennium dawned, the story of this out of control, satirical and riff heavy metal act began a bit earlier, in the wilds of Odessa, Texas a short time earlier. |
 | | Switzerland's most successful hard rock band, Krokus enjoyed international popularity in the 1980s and onward for their aggressive, straightforward variety of European metal. |
 | | Best known for his long stint in support of Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Zakk Wylde was born and raised in New Jersey; although he began studying music at age eight, he soon quit, not returning to his lessons until his mid-teens. |
 | | Although Tesla emerged during the glory days of hair metal, the band's music was equally indebted to contemporary blues and '70s-style hard rock, a fusion that helped differentiate albums like The Great Radio Controversy from its contemporaries. |
 | | While one infamous nightclub show eclipsed their previous achievements, the hard rock/heavy metal band Great White would much rather you remember their Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance, the over six million records they sold, and their double platinum album . |
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 | | New York thrash quartet Overkill were formed in 1984 by vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and guitarist Bobby Gustafson, and also included bassist D. |
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