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Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. The band's discography has grown to 41 albums, including 17 studio albums, 13 live albums, four EPs, and seven compilations. They have also released 47 singles and 20 video albums. Two electronic games have been released with Iron Maiden soundtracks, and the band's music is featured in a number of other video games.

As pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal movement, Iron Maiden achieved initial success during the early 1980s. After several line-up changes, the band went on to release a series of UK and US platinum and gold albums, including 1980's debut album, 1981's Killers, 1982's The Number of the Beast, 1983's Piece of Mind, 1984's Powerslave, 1985's live release Live After Death, 1986's Somewhere in Time, 1988's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1990's No Prayer for the Dying, and 1992's Fear of the Dark. In 1982 the band released its album The Number of the Beast, the first with Bruce Dickinson, who replaced Paul Di'Anno as lead singer. This was a turning point in their career, helping establish Iron Maiden as one of heavy metal's most important artists. The Number of the Beast is among the most popular heavy metal albums of all time, having sold almost 20 million copies worldwide.

Since the return of lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith in 1999, the band has undergone a resurgence in popularity, with a series of new albums and highly successful tours. Their 2010 album, The Final Frontier, peaked at No. 1 in 28 countries and received widespread critical acclaim. The sixteenth studio album, The Book of Souls, was released on 4 September 2015 to similar success, debuting at number one in the album charts of 24 countries with physical sales and summary in 43 territories with physical and digital sales. The seventeenth studio album Senjutsu was released on 3 September 2021 and eventually reached No. 1 in 23 countries.

By 2017, Iron Maiden had sold well over 100 million copies of their albums worldwide,despite little radio or television support.According to many sources by 2021 all audio-visual releases of the band have sold in over 200 million copies worldwide, including regular albums, singles, compilations, and video releases. Iron Maiden have become one of the most influential and revered rock bands of all time and helped spawn an entire genre of music. According to many critics the band elevated heavy metal to an art form, proving that academic and musical inspirations can coexist.

The band and its musicians have received multiple industry awards including the Grammy Awards and its equivalents in other countries. The other accolades of the band are Brit Awards, Silver Clef Award, Nordoff-Robbins Award, Ivor Novello Awards,Juno Awards, Guinness Book of World Records, Public Choice International, Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards, ECHO Awards, Honorary Doctorates, State Prizes,sales recognition, charity and sport awards among many others. Iron Maiden were inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk, BPI Hall of Fame and Kerrang! Hall of Fame. The band is also a part of permanent exhibitions of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, British Music Experience and Wacken Open Air Hall of Fame.

Iron Maiden's lyrics cover such topics as history, literature, war, mythology, society and religion. Many of their songs are based on history, classic literature and film.As of October 2019, the band have played some 2500 live shows, performing for tens of millions of fans. For over 40 years, the musicians have been supported by their famous mascot, "Eddie", who has appeared on almost all of their album and single covers, videos and merchandise. Originally designed by Derek Riggs, Eddie became the main attraction of Iron Maiden live shows, which feature theatrical elements like coloured backdrops, inflatables, pyrotechnics, elaborate lighting rigs, props and stage sets.

Former members include Michael Thomas, Jason James and Nick Crandle; the latter were on bass. They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana. Jeff Killed John recorded six songs which were not released; two of these tracks were reworked later in their career as Bullet for My Valentine. A change of style from that of Jeff Killed John led the band to change their name.[1] In 2002, the band secured a five-album deal with Sony BMG. The band has stated that their music is influenced by classic metal acts such as Metallica, Iron Maiden and Slayer. The band is part of the Cardiff music scene.

Bullet for My Valentine's debut album The Poison was released on 3 October 2005 in the United Kingdom and on 14 February 2006 in the United States to coincide with Valentine's Day, in a nod to the band's name. The album entered the U.S. Billboard 200 at number 128. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The band made appearances at the Download Festival and Kerrang! XXV, and undertook a U.S. tour with Rob Zombie. Bullet for My Valentine's second studio album, Scream Aim Fire, was released on 28 January 2008 and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The band's third album, Fever, was released on 26 April 2010 and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. On 8 February 2013, the band released their fourth studio album, Temper Temper,[2] which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200. On 14 August 2015, the band released their fifth studio album, Venom, which peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200. On 29 June 2018, the band released their sixth studio album, Gravity. Their self-titled seventh studio album was released on 5 November 2021. The band has sold over one million albums in the United States and over 3,000,000 albums worldwide[3] and are the most-successful act in the Kerrang! Awards category of Best British Band with three wins.

Jeff Killed John and record deal (1998–2005)

Jeff Killed John was the forerunner band to Bullet for My Valentine and was formed in 1998 by Matthew Tuck, Michael "Padge" Paget, Nick Crandle, and Michael "Moose" Thomas while studying music at Bridgend College. They started playing Nirvana and Metallica cover songs. In 1999, the band released their first ever EP, Better Off Alone. They released another two-track EP in 2002, You/Play with Me, which was produced by Greg Haver. The EP was financed through the Pynci scheme for new Welsh musicians and the release garnered radio airplay on BBC Radio 1's broadcast at Newport's T.J.'s.[4] Jeff Killed John's music followed the nu metal trend set by bands such as Korn and Limp Bizkit.[4] Shortly after, the band released another two-track EP titled Eye Spy. In 2003, their second EP was released titled Don't Walk Away. This was a promotional CD and was shipped to different record companies, as well as being given out locally in Bridgend. Bassist Crandle left the band on the eve of entering the recording sessions for the band's self-titled EP and was replaced by Jason James.[4] The band then changed their name to Bullet for My Valentine and reworked their musical strategy; they decided to play heavy metal songs with "harmony guitars and big angelic choruses," according to frontman Tuck.[5] In late 2003, they released their final EP before record labels actually began to notice their potential. This happened due to the sudden change in their strategy and sound, which the band claims came "directly out of their heads."[6] Their self-titled EP consisted of five songs; most of the songs became precursors of tracks from The Poison.

Roadrunner Records showed interest in Bullet for My Valentine and offered the band a deal. The offer was ultimately turned down, and the band signed a five-album record deal with Sony BMG and a UK licensing deal with Visible Noise. According to Tuck, they chose Sony because, "We thought that a lot more doors would be open to us."[5] A self-titled EP was released on 15 November 2004 in the UK. Produced by Colin Richardson, it featured five tracks and marked the band's first official release.[4] A second EP, Hand of Blood, was released on 22 August 2005 through Trustkill Records and was only available in the U.S.; the release contained one extra track than the self-titled EP, "4 Words (To Choke Upon)." Daniel Lukes of Decibel Magazine reviewed the EP by stating, "The worst part is that the music itself isn't all that bad, for the genre." He went on to comment that the band should be "embarrassed" about the release.[7] Zero Magazine's Josh Joyce complimented the band on "how technical they can get without confusing the kids."[8]

The Poison (2005–2007)

Bullet for My Valentine's debut album, The Poison, was released on 3 October 2005 in the UK and on Valentine's Day 2006 in the US. It entered the Billboard 200 at number 128,[9] and attained number 11 on the Independent Albums chart.[10] On 30 January 2009, the album was certified gold by the RIAA after 500,000 copies were sold in the US.[11] Four singles were released from The Poison: "4 Words (To Choke Upon)", "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)", "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)", and "Tears Don't Fall".[12] Bullet for My Valentine promoted the album by touring across the world. In 2005, with increased popularity, they played on the larger Download Festival Snickers stage;[13] in 2006, the band were moved to near the top of the main stage bill.[14] Other tours included opening for Metallica and Guns N' Roses in the summer of 2006,[15] the Vans Warped Tour and Earthday Birthday.

The band's headline performance at Kerrang XXV, a one-off gig at Brixton Academy in London on 28 January 2006, was filmed for their first DVD, The Poison: Live at Brixton.[16][17] During June 2007, Tuck suffered from laryngitis, which led to an emergency tonsillectomy in July.[18] Bullet for My Valentine were forced to cancel several shows, including supporting Metallica for three dates on their Sick of the Studio '07 tour on 29 June in Bilbao, 5 July in Vienna, and 8 July at the recently completed Wembley Stadium in London.[19] Unable to speak, Tuck wrote that as soon as doctors cleared him he would be in the studio working on the band's next album.[20]

Scream Aim Fire (2007–2008)

The band's second studio album, Scream Aim Fire, was recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios and was produced by Colin Richardson.[21] Tuck commented at the time, "It's a lot more up tempo, a lot more aggressive."[22] The album was released in the U.S. on 29 January 2008.[23] It sold 53,000 copies in its first week and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200.[24] Three songs were released as singles: "Scream Aim Fire," "Hearts Burst into Fire" and "Waking the Demon."

In support of the new album, the band toured North America and Australia in the spring of 2008 for the Taste of Chaos tour alongside Atreyu, Blessthefall and Avenged Sevenfold. Bullet for My Valentine cut short the Canada portion of the tour and flew back home to support the daughter of James who was in hospital.[25] The band performed in North America again in the summer of 2008 as part of the No Fear Tour with Bleeding Through, Cancer Bats and Black Tide.[26] In late 2008, the band toured Europe, supported by Lacuna Coil, Bleeding Through, and Black Tide.[27] In December 2008, Scream Aim Fire was re-released with four bonus tracks that were recorded during the album's studio sessions, but with re-recorded vocal-lines.[28]

Fever (2009–2011)

Matt Tuck spoke to Daniel Marez of Metal Hammer in March 2009 about the band's progress on writing and recording their third album. Tuck stated that there were four or five songs that were finished and that "usually we write and record 14 tracks that I then have to write vocal lines for, but this time I'm trying to write the vocals as I write the music."[28] Bullet for My Valentine confirmed in August 2009 that they were aiming for an early 2010 release for the new album, while Tuck stated that the upcoming record is "a lot more mature-sounding, it's a lot more classic. It'll stand the test of time [more] than both the previous things we've done."[29] In a January 2010 interview with Rock Sound, Tuck stated explained details for the album: it would be titled Fever, and the 11-track record would have a sound closer to The Poison rather than Scream Aim Fire and contain no ballads.[30]

During the summer of 2009, Bullet for My Valentine toured across the United States as part of the Mayhem Festival,[31] alongside Killswitch Engage, Slayer and Marilyn Manson on the main stage;[32] they also appeared on the UK leg of the Sonisphere tour at Knebworth, headlining the second stage.[33] The band headlined the second stage at the Download Festival 2010 on the Friday night.[34] The band was also confirmed for Nova Rock,[35] Metaltown,[36] Rock am Ring,[37] Rock on the Range,[38] The Bamboozle,[39] Bilbao Live Festival,[40] Fortarock[41] and Graspop.[42] In addition, Bullet for My Valentine also played alongside the Big Four on the Greek leg of Sonisphere.[43] Fever was released on 27 April 2010.[44] A free download of a new track called "Begging For Mercy" was released on the band's website on 14 February 2010 as part of a Twitter promotion.[45] The song "Your Betrayal" was chosen as the lead single for the album and was set to release on 9 March 2010, but, unexpectedly, was released earlier on 2 March 2010 as a digital single on iTunes Store. The second single is called "The Last Fight" and was released on 19 April. The album artwork for this studio album was released on the official website on 5 March 2010.[44] Bullet for My Valentine announced the start their US tour in support of Fever. It began on 30 April with the bands Airbourne and Chiodos as support.[46] On 12 March the band released the music videos for "The Last Fight" and "Your Betrayal."[47] The band revealed the track listing on their website on 15 March, as well as other various sources that include an email to all of their subscribers on the mailing list.[48] On 26 April the band played a secret show in London to celebrate the release of Fever. This was their only UK headline show until the end of the year.[49]

Temper Temper (2012–2013)

On 28 January 2011, Michael Paget stated that the group had already drawn proportions for the next studio album and will sound a lot like Fever. He followed-along with stating that the band plans to have the songs for it written within 2011 and will begin recording the album by the end of the year. A couple tracks left from the Fever sessions might be re-done, re-arranged and re-recorded for the new record.[50] The band played at Uproar Festival 2011, after which they began writing material for a fourth studio album.

On 7 October, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records. With the shutdown, the band (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release their future material (including their next studio album) on the RCA Records brand.[51][52] Also in October, frontman Matt Tuck announced that he will be working on a new side project which he has described as "metal as fuck", influenced by bands such as Pantera and Slipknot.[53] On 1 May 2012 it was revealed that the project will be called AxeWound, and will feature Liam Cormier, Mike Kingswood, Joe Copcutt and Jason Bowld. In May 2012 it was announced that Bullet for My Valentine would be playing at the South African music festival Oppikoppi, as well as a once-off gig in Cape Town alongside Seether and Enter Shikari. They were slated to play in the country for the Coke Zero Fest of 2009, but pulled out at the last minute to record Fever.[54] It was confirmed on 6 August that the final recording session of the band's fourth studio record was complete, and that the album would be out sometime in late 2012.[55] Later that month on the 17th, the second line-up for the Australian music festival Soundwave was announced, containing Bullet for My Valentine.[56][57]

Bullet for My Valentine released the track "Temper Temper" on 25 November in the UK and 30 October worldwide across all digital providers. The song was debuted live by the band on Monday 22 October at BBC Radio 1's Rock Week where they performed at Maida Vale studios.[58] It was announced the day prior to the performance that the band's fourth studio album would also be named Temper Temper.[59] The release date was confirmed to be 12 February 2013.[60]

The band began touring in support of Temper Temper on 10 February 2013, and finished the tour on 3 November 2013.[61][62] The tenth show of the tour, held at Birmingham's O2 Academy, was filmed by music video website Moshcam.com.[63]

Venom (2013–2015)

In an interview, Matt Tuck said that Bullet for My Valentine were going to start work on a new album before the Rule Britannia Tour, which took place between 1 and 6 December 2013 in which the band played arenas in Britain supported by Young Guns and Asking Alexandria. In the interview Matt also said that they were strongly considering working with Terry Date, who has worked with bands such as Pantera and Deftones. He also said the band would bring back the thrash metal elements from Scream Aim Fire.[64][65]

In November 2013, Bullet for My Valentine revealed though their Facebook page they were working on a new song. A short snippet of the song, titled "Raising Hell," was released on Matt Tuck's Vine profile on the 15th. The song was first played three days later via BBC Radio 1's Rock Show.[66] It was made available for streaming and a music video for the song was released a week later.[67]

In 2014, Matt announced on Twitter that the band were entering the studio to record a fifth album.[68] On 28 August the band appeared on paranormal television show Most Haunted for an investigation at the Newton House in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire.[69]

In an interview with Kerrang! on 21 January 2015, Matt revealed that Bullet for My Valentine will be hitting the studio next month with producer Colin Richardson who produced both The Poison and Scream Aim Fire, rather than Terry Date, who was the suggested producer initially. Tuck also said that their fifth album will be their heaviest album yet.[70] On 9 February 2015, Bullet for My Valentine announced the departure of bassist Jason James, adding that they would announce a replacement when they felt "the time was right." They went on to say that until the announcement, they'd be busy and focused on recording their new record.[71]

It was announced on the band's Facebook page in 2015 that a new song, "No Way Out," would debut on BBC Radio 1 on 17 May 2015.[72] The band also revealed their fifth studio album to be titled Venom and their new bassist was going to be Jamie Mathias, formerly of metal band Revoker.[73] Venom was set for release on 14 August 2015, the same day an expansive UK tour was announced. It was also revealed that Bullet for My Valentine will headline London's Camden Rocks festival which takes place on 30 May 2015.[74]

Gravity (2016–2020)

In 2016, Bullet for My Valentine announced that drummer Michael Thomas would sit out for a few months to be with his wife as they were expecting their first child. Jason Bowld, former drummer of Pitchshifter and Tuck's bandmate from AxeWound, became Thomas' replacement.[75] In April, they signed a new worldwide deal with Spinefarm Records.[76] Matt Tuck later tweeted "Here we go again. #BFMV6" which implied the band had started working on their sixth effort.[77] Later in the year, the band released a new single titled "Don't Need You". A music video was released with the video as well.[78] At the end of 2017, Michael Thomas was replaced by Jason Bowld full-time.[79]

On 1 April 2018, the band debuted a new song, "Over It", on BBC Radio 1. The song was the first single off their sixth studio album, Gravity, which was confirmed for release on 29 June 2018.[80] On 26 April, the song "Piece of Me" was released.[81] On 18 May, the band released another new song, "Letting You Go", and released a music video for the song on 3 June.[82][83][84] On 15 October, the band released a music video for the track "Not Dead Yet".[85]

Self-titled seventh album (2020–present)

On 19 May 2020, in an interview with Rock Sound, Tuck announced that the band was in the process of writing a new album. After several mixed-to-negative reviews by critics on Gravity, they decided to working on a new record which would be 'heavier' compared to the latest album. However, the production of the upcoming release, confirmed to be once again produced by Carl Bown, has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tuck commented about the upcoming album: "So it's not ideal, and we did have a lot of plans for the rest of the year for writing and making the record, which are on the backburner now until further notice. [...] It's pretty brutal, to be honest. It couldn't be more of a contrast with Gravity in a ferocious style. It's very technical. [...] The riffs are crushing. There's probably 60 percent aggressive vocals, 40 [percent] clean, which is a ratio we've never really dabbled with before. [...] It's very heavy, it's very technical. For the Bullet fans out there that kind of like that side of this band, it's very cool and very exciting. It feels good."[86][87]

On 11 June 2021, Bullet for My Valentine unveiled a new Patreon page, The Army of Noise, posting that it is "the only place to get the latest BFMV news, early tix, BTS, merch discounts and exclusive items, signed gifts and more. Plus, a portion of each sub goes to the Teenage Cancer Trust." On 15 June, ahead of their headline slot at this weekend's Download Pilot, the band announced that they are planning to release new music on Friday, 18 June, with a 30-second video teaser hinting at some potentially heavy new music.[88][89] On that day, the band officially released the new single "Knives" along with its music video. At the same time, they officially announced that their self-titled seventh studio album was set for release on 22 October 2021 while also revealed the album cover and the track list.[90][91] On 23 July, the band released the second single "Parasite" and its corresponding music video.[92][93] On 10 September, the band released the third single "Shatter" alongside an accompanying music video.[94][95] On 20 September, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and manufacturing delays, the band announced that they pushed back the release of the album to 5 November.[96][97] On 1 October, one month before the album release, the band released the fourth single "Rainbow Veins".[98][99] On 8 April 2022, the band released the fifth single "Omen" while also announcing the deluxe edition of the album which is set to be released on 8 July. At the same time, the band officially revealed the album cover and the track list.[100][101]

Musical style and influences

Bullet for My Valentine has been described as metalcore,[102][103][104] heavy metal,[105][106][107] thrash metal,[108][109][110] hard rock,[111][112] emo,[113][114] screamo,[7] alternative metal,[115] and post-hardcore.[116] According to Decibel, Bullet for My Valentine's music consists of " 'heavy metal' leads" and " 'post-hardcore' vocals".[7] According to AllMusic, Bullet for My Valentine blend "muscular riffs and emo harmonies" and also "take cues from '80s metal bands and punk-infused metal to make melodic, metallic, dark rock songs."[105] The band describe two of their albums, The Poison and Fever, as having a "super dark" tone.[117]

Bullet for My Valentine member Matt Tuck said, "…we're a hard rock band with metal influences, and I've said that from day one."[30] Kirk Miller of Decibel praised the band for the effort in synchronised song structures.[118] When asked of their views on their looks, members of the band have stated that they would not change their sound or image for a commercial approach; Tuck also said, "Without sounding harsh, we're more interested in what our music sounds like than what our fucking hair looks like."[119] Matt Tuck told Exclaim! : "A lot of people already think we're more of an emo band just because of the name of the band. People need to give the music a fair listen musically before they decide to judge it. I say we're a melodic metal band, really. That's how I'd describe us."[120] Tuck said he prefers people call Bullet for My Valentine a heavy metal band instead of categorizing the band under specific subgenres.[121] In an interview with Robert Gray from Ultimate-Guitar.com on 15 April 2010, Tuck said that when making the album Scream Aim Fire, Bullet for My Valentine were bothered by critics and journalists who criticized the band and said the band aren't "real metal". Tuck said that the band tried to please people like critics and journalists with Scream Aim Fire. Tuck said: "Scream Aim Fire was an album we wrote to try to prove people wrong, and wasn't an album we made for ourselves. Fever is an album that was a hundred percent us; we didn't listen to anyone's opinions, what critics' opinions were, or what people thought we should do, or how we should sound."[122] Tuck also said about Scream Aim Fire: "Some of it was written a hundred percent for us, but we tried a little bit too hard to be metal when we should've just carried on doing what we did really - like we did on all of The Poison material."

Bullet for My Valentine's influences include Judas Priest, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Pantera, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Testament, Stuck Mojo, Megadeth, Slayer, Machine Head, Sepultura, Nirvana, Guns N' Roses, Queen, Led Zeppelin, and Dire Straits.[123][124][125][126][127] According to Michael Thomas, these are the bands that inspire Bullet for My Valentine's "catchy vocals, aggressive riffs and melodies,"[128] Matt Tuck has stated in an interview, his songwriting is highly influenced by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger and Bob Dylan. He goes on to say that "these bands just are proper old school songwriters."[129]

Killswitch Engage rose to fame with its 2004 release The End of Heartache, which peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the RIAA in December 2007 for over 500,000 shipments in the United States. The title track, "The End of Heartache", was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Metal Performance, and a live DVD titled (Set This) World Ablaze was released in 2005. Killswitch Engage has performed at festivals such as Soundwave Festival, Wacken Open Air, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Ozzfest, Download Festival, Rock on the Range, Rock am Ring, Mayhem Festival, Monsters of Rock, Pointfest, Knotfest and Heavy MTL. The band has sold over four million records in the U.S. and has been considered notable within the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, and has also been considered one of the earliest leading forces of the metalcore genre.[1]

Early years and debut album (1999–2001)

Killswitch Engage formed following the disbandment of metalcore bands Overcast and Aftershock in 1999.[2] After Overcast broke up in 1998, bassist Mike D'Antonio collaborated with Aftershock guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. Dutkiewicz, now playing drums, recruited guitarist Joel Stroetzel from Aftershock and vocalist Jesse Leach of the band Nothing Stays Gold (who were signed to a record label owned by Dutkiewicz's brother Tobias, who was also the vocalist in Aftershock) to form a new band, Killswitch Engage.[2] The band's name is derived from an episode of the television series The X-Files entitled "Kill Switch", written by William Gibson, who gave the episode this title after meeting the industrial band Kill Switch...Klick.[3]

In 1999, Killswitch Engage recorded a demo containing four tracks, including "Soilborn", the first song written by the band.[4] The demo was first released at the band's first show, opening for melodic death metal act In Flames, in November 1999.[2][4] They released their self-titled debut album the following year. Although initially the album was not a financial success and did not land on any charts, it attracted the interest of Carl Severson, who worked at Roadrunner Records at the time. Severson handed Killswitch Engage to several Roadrunner representatives. Mike Gitter, a talent agent of the company, contacted D'Antonio, attended several of the band's shows, and offered the band a recording contract with Roadrunner. Realizing that Roadrunner had the resources to promote and distribute Killswitch Engage releases, the band accepted his offer, declining several offers from smaller labels.[5]

Line-up changes and Alive or Just Breathing (2001–2004)

For a brief time in 2000 and 2001, ex-Overcast guitarist Pete Cortese joined Killswitch Engage, but left when he became a father.[5] Killswitch Engage began writing new material for their second album in November 2001. Mixed in January at Backstage Studios by producer Andy Sneap,[6] the album was titled Alive or Just Breathing, after lyrics in the song "Just Barely Breathing". A music video for the single "My Last Serenade" increased the band's exposure, and the album peaked at number 37 on the Top Heatseekers chart.[7]

Following Alive or Just Breathing's release, the album having been written and recorded for two guitarists, the band decided to expand and become a fivesome; Dutkiewicz moved to guitar and former Aftershock drummer Tom Gomes filled in the vacant drummer position. After Leach was married on April 20, 2002 and began touring again he fell into a depression. Leach left the band a few days before the band was meant to play a show and sent the band members an e-mail telling them he had quit. On Leach's end, he remarked "I didn't have the mental energy to face them, or even call them on the phone rather. I was at a point in my life where I just didn't want to face any of them so I wrote them a long email explaining, like, I'm just done", while D'Antonio said in an interview that "after three years of hanging out with the dude, and considering him a brother, to just get an email was a little bit harsh."[8]

The band immediately started to search for a replacement vocalist and found Howard Jones of Blood Has Been Shed. Jones disliked the band's sound when he first heard it. He commented, "I was like, 'Meh.' I come from hardcore and dirtier metal, and Killswitch sounded so clean. But the more I listened to it, I realized there's some really good songs here".[9] After hearing about Leach's vocal problems, Jones contacted the band and was accepted as the replacement. Philip Labonte of All That Remains tried out for lead vocals but lost to Jones, who had to quickly memorize seven songs for his debut at the 2002 Hellfest.[9]

The new lineup played on the Road Rage tour in Europe in 2002 with 36 Crazyfists and Five Pointe O[citation needed]. Touring continued through the New Year's Day, and in 2003 the first song to feature Jones, "When Darkness Falls", appeared on the soundtrack of the 2003 horror film Freddy vs. Jason.[10] Following the 2003 Ozzfest, drummer Gomes left the band because he wished to spend more time with his wife, to pursue his band Something of a Silhouette, and because he was tired of touring.[11] He was replaced by Justin Foley of Blood Has Been Shed, and Foley's first tour with the band was the MTV2 Headbangers Ball in 2003.[12][13]

The End of Heartache (2004–2006)

The End of Heartache was released on May 11, 2004, and peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200 with 38,000 sales in its first week,[14] and it also peaked at number 39 on the Australian Albums Chart.[15] The album went on to sell more than 500,000 copies in the U.S and was certified gold on December 7, 2007.[16] The album received mostly positive reviews, with Jon Caramanica of Rolling Stone calling the album a "stunning collection, retaining much of their signature musical brutality".[17] Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic commented "riffs upon riffs are piled sky-high into each number that follows, it's the unpredictable rhythmic shifts used to build and then relieve internal pressure that fuel the Killswitch Engage power source".[18]

"The End of Heartache" became the main single for the movie Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and in 2005 the song was nominated for Best Metal Performance for the 47th Grammy Awards. In late 2004, The End of Heartache was re-released as a special edition album, with a second disc featuring various live performances, a Japanese bonus track, and a re-recorded version of "Irreversal". During the summer of 2005, the band returned for Ozzfest, and on November 1, 2005, Alive or Just Breathing was re-released as part of Roadrunner Records' 25th anniversary. On November 22, 2005, the live DVD (Set This) World Ablaze was released, which contained a live concert at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts, an hour-long documentary, and all the band's music videos. The DVD was certified gold in the US on April 8, 2006.[16]

As Daylight Dies (2006–2007)

Killswitch Engage played the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2006, having already played Australian dates without Dutkiewicz, who was suffering from back problems and needed corrective surgery. On May 23, 2006, the song "This Fire Burns" was released on the WWE Wreckless Intent album.[19] The track was intended to be the new theme song for WWE wrestler Randy Orton; however, it was scrapped and later became the theme song for the WWE Judgment Day 2006 pay-per-view. "This Fire Burns" was used as the entrance theme for WWE wrestler CM Punk (along with his stables the Straight Edge Society and The New Nexus) from 2006 until 2011 and was later re-released as "This Fire" on the As Daylight Dies Special Edition.[20]

Recorded in three months, As Daylight Dies was released on November 21, 2006 and peaked at number 32 on the Billboard 200 chart with 60,000 sales in its first week. "As Daylight Dies" proved to be one of their biggest albums yet.[21] It also entered the Australian Albums Chart at number 29.[15] Mixed by Dutkiewicz, the album received mostly positive reviews—Thom Jurek of Allmusic called it "a Top Five metal candidate for 2006 for sure".[22] Decibel Magazine contributor Nick Terry said "To call As Daylight Dies addictive would be an understatement. That it outdoes its already impressive enough predecessor could almost go without saying".[23] Cosmo Lee of Stylus Magazine commented "the album is astonishingly badly sequenced", though he praised the album as being "less emotionally heavy-handed, and a lot more fun".[24] As of November 27, 2007, As Daylight Dies has sold more than 500,000 units in the US.[25]

The album's first single, "My Curse", peaked at number 21 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and is featured in the video games Sleeping Dogs, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Burnout Dominator and Burnout Paradise and is available as downloadable content for the Rock Band series. "The Arms of Sorrow" peaked at number 31 on the same chart. The band's cover of Dio's "Holy Diver", originally recorded for a Kerrang! compilation album titled High Voltage,[26] peaked at number 12 on the Mainstream Rock charts.[27] Early in 2007, the band had to cancel three of its European tour dates with The Haunted due to Dutkiewicz's back problems. He required emergency back surgery and was replaced on the tour by Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers.[28]

Due to Dutkiewicz's back problems in early 2007, he was replaced by Damageplan and The Mercy Clinic frontman Patrick Lachman during the No Fear Tour.[29] Dutkiewicz recovered and was able to finish the No Fear tour, and the band began filming its video for As Daylight Dies's second single, "The Arms of Sorrow". On August 6, 2007, Dutkiewicz was forced to leave the Warped Tour so he could fully recover from his back surgery and continue daily physical therapy. He was replaced by Killswitch's guitar technician Josh Mihlek for select songs, until his return on August 14, 2007.[30]

Second self-titled album (2007–2011)

Killswitch Engage entered the studio in October 2008 to start recording their next album with Dutkiewicz and Brendan O'Brien co-producing the album.[31] In mid-February, bassist Mike D'Antonio confirmed in an interview with Metal Hammer that "drums were finished", and that he had "finished up the last few bass fixes". He also stated that Howard [Jones] was in Atlanta finishing vocals, and that "it shouldn't be too much longer now."[32] From March to May, Killswitch Engage was a part of Disturbed's Music as a Weapon IV festival along with Lacuna Coil, Chimaira, Suicide Silence, Bury Your Dead and more. On April 14, the band announced the name of their album as Killswitch Engage, the second time the band has self-titled an album. The album was released on June 30, 2009,[33] debuting at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, marking the band's highest chart position for an album.[34] In July and August, Killswitch Engage took part in Mayhem Festival with headliners Marilyn Manson, Slayer, Bullet for My Valentine and others. In February 2010, Killswitch Engage announced that vocalist Howard Jones would not be performing with Killswitch Engage during their winter tour with The Devil Wears Prada and Dark Tranquillity; during the time, All That Remains vocalist Philip Labonte was substituting for Jones until he could return.[35] At least one source speculated that Jones' hiatus was due to back pain.[36] On March 18, 2010, original vocalist Jesse Leach returned to the band for a series of songs. From then on, Leach and Labonte performed as substitute vocalists for the remainder of the tour.[37]

In 2010, the band contributed the track "My Obsession" to the God of War: Blood & Metal soundtrack.[38] The band was later added as late replacement to 2010's Download Festival in June, after original sub-headliner, Wolfmother could not attend as scheduled.[39] Afterward, Killswitch Engage took a break from the road, and its members pursued other interests. Adam Dutkiewicz formed the band Times of Grace with Leach and released the debut album "The Hymn of a Broken Man" on January 18, 2011.[40] Along with Dutkiewicz and Leach, Times of Grace added Joel Stroetzel to their tour lineup.[41] Justin Foley provided the drum tracking for the band Unearth on their album "Darkness in the Light", released on July 5, 2011. Foley also traveled with the band for their 2011 summer tour.[42] D'Antonio started the hardcore band Death Ray Vision, with Shadows Fall vocalist Brian Fair and former Killswitch Engage guitarist Pete Cortese.

Jones' departure, Leach's return and Disarm the Descent (2011–2015)

In an interview with FTC, Gun Shy Assassin, Mike D'Antonio had stated that the band was currently in the works for a sixth studio album. D'Antonio stated, "Currently, everyone is individually writing demos for the next Killswitch Engage record. There is no release date yet, but I would assume it will be out early 2012."[43] Adam Dutkiewicz followed that up with a statement on the Killswitch Engage Facebook, saying "YO! Its Adam D! We're about to begin writing our new record. Thanks to all of our fans for waiting so friggin' patiently...now let's turn on the "riff faucet" and RAGE!"[44] On December 1, 2011, Mike D'Antonio posted online that Killswitch Engage should be entering the studio around February/March 2012 to record their sixth album expected around summer 2012. He also stated that the band had eight demos finished for the new record.[45]

On January 4, 2012, the band announced via the band's official website, along with their other official sources, that Howard Jones had left the band after his nine-year membership with them.[46] In the statement, the band did not disclose the reason for this decision out of respect for Jones, but simply thanked him for his nine years with the band and wished him well, as well as thanking the fans for their support as they began the search for a new lead singer;[46][47] Jones later explained he departed the band to manage his type 2 diabetes which was worsened by a hectic touring lifestyle.[48] Soon after the announcement of Jones's departure, rumors began that Phil Labonte of All That Remains would officially take over lead vocals due to his previous history with the band, although Labonte quickly dispelled the rumor.[49] Many vocalists were considered in the search for a new one for the band. The band's search for a new singer concluded in February with the announcement that original lead vocalist Jesse Leach would return to the band, as the band felt that Leach's energy, as well as his overall comfort and command of both the old and new material, made him the clear choice during auditions.[50] Following Leach's return, the band continued to the process of recording their new album and touring. On April 22, 2012, the band performed Leach's first show since 2002 at the New England Metal and Hardcore Fest.

On June 20, 2012, the demo version of a new song titled "This Is Confrontation" was leaked on YouTube. Not long after the song was leaked, the videos were soon deleted. Later, the band took part in Metal Hammer's "Trespass America Festival" headlined by Five Finger Death Punch with additional support from God Forbid, Emmure, Pop Evil, Trivium and Battlecross.[51] The band performed this song live, confirming the song's title "No End in Sight". Not long after the album was confirmed, the song was streamed publicly again. In October 2012, with Jesse back at the helm, Killswitch Engage announced they would be celebrating the ten-year anniversary of their seminal album Alive or Just Breathing with a US Tour through November/December 2012, in which the band played the album live in its entirety. Support on the tour came from fellow Massachusetts natives Shadows Fall and Acaro.[52]

The album Disarm the Descent was released April 1, 2013 in the UK. The album debuted at #15 in the UK charts while debuting at #7 in the Billboard top 200[53] April 2 in the US. The first single "In Due Time" was released on February 5, 2013.[54] The album has received critical acclaim from reviewers, and has been labeled as a "true standout" and "nothing short of amazing". It was announced in December 2013 that "In Due Time" was nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 2014 Grammy Awards,[55] but lost to "God Is Dead?" by Black Sabbath.[56] A tour in May 2013 was done to promote the new album. With Miss May I, Darkest Hour, The Word Alive and Affiance as support. As I Lay Dying was originally supposed to be on the tour but dropped due to criminal charges from frontman Tim Lambesis. The band also did a co-headliner with fellow Heavy Metal act Lamb of God in the October 2013 with Testament and Huntress as support for both bands. The band did a small headliner on the east coast for Halloween 2014, with All That Remains, Death Ray Vision and City of Homes supporting.

Incarnate (2015–2017)

In an interview with Wikimetal, Jesse Leach announced that the band will start demoing new material "in the coming months".[57]

On February 25, 2015, the band released a 40-second snippet of a new single titled "Loyalty". The track appears on the Catch The Throne: The Mixtape Volume 2 to promote the HBO TV series Game of Thrones. The mixtape also features appearances from various other metal and rap acts such as Anthrax and Snoop Dogg.[58]

On March 30, 2015, Mike D'Antonio stated that the band had completed demoing material for its next studio album.[59]

Killswitch Engage took part in a summer tour in July 2015, opening up for Rise Against with support from letlive.

On December 10, 2015, the band premiered a new song entitled "Strength of the Mind" on Revolver.[60] The band also did a small Christmas 2015 tour on the East Coast with Unearth, Act of Defiance and '68.

On December 16, 2015, it was revealed that the band's upcoming seventh album, released on March 11, 2016, would be titled Incarnate, with a tour being took part in March of that year with Memphis May Fire and 36 Crazyfists as supporters.

On September 27, 2016, Leach revealed on his Instagram page that the band would be releasing a documentary compiled of live footage since 2012.[61]

On November 25, 2016, the band released a Blu-ray/CD called Beyond The Flames: Home Video Vol.2. The Blu-ray contains live performances that were recorded around the world from 2012 to 2016 and an hour long documentary taking place right after the band's (Set This) World Ablaze had left off, as well as music videos, personal band member profiles and more, plus a bonus live CD containing live tracks from the band's legendary 2014 Monster Mosh show. The two disc set had a one day exclusive sale in record stores everywhere on Black Friday. The set is now available for online purchase and digital download on the Killswitch Engage store.

Atonement (2017–present)

On August 30, 2017, the band announced on their Instagram page that they were in the process of demoing material for their upcoming eighth studio album.[62]

In April 2018, it was revealed that their former singer Howard Jones will appear on their new album performing a duet with Jesse Leach during a song that was revealed to be titled "The Signal Fire".[63]

The band cancelled their tour dates from April 26 to May 5 due to the need of vocalist Jesse Leach undergoing surgery on his vocal cords.[64]

During an interview with the Wall of Sound: Up Against the Wall podcast in October 2018, Jesse Leach revealed more details about the song with former singer Howard Jones stating: "He does a verse, I do a verse, we sing the chorus together it's a real heavy shitkicker" and that the song was inspired by Howard's new band name Light the Torch and their friendship.[65] On April 24, 2019, the band posted on their Instagram that the follow up to the 2016 album Incarnate would be released in the autumn.

According to Music Week, the band has signed with Metal Blade Records for the USA, Music for Nations for the UK, and an international contract with Columbia/Sony. These labels released the band's eighth studio album, Atonement, on August 16, 2019.[66]

On August 20, 2019, the band released their music video for Atonement's third single "The Signal Fire", the song they recorded with former frontman Howard Jones (now of Light the Torch).[67]

Early career (1990–1994)

At the Gates were formed in late 1990 by former members of the death and black metal band Grotesque. They recorded a debut EP, Gardens of Grief, for the Dolores record label.[3] The EP led the label Peaceville Records to sign the band, and they released their debut album, The Red in the Sky Is Ours in 1992.[3]

After the recording of their second studio album, With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness, founding member and guitarist Alf Svensson left the band in 1993,[3] to pursue tattoo artistry, graphic novel illustration and his solo electronic-opera-black metal project, Oxiplegatz. He was soon replaced by former House of Usher guitarist Martin Larsson,[3] who the band knew from underground tape trading. The band continued touring Europe, and were filmed for a Headbangers Ball special feature in Nottingham, England in July 1993.

Success and breakthrough (1994–1996)

In 1994, At the Gates released their third album, Terminal Spirit Disease, which was hailed as a breakthrough album.[4]

The band continued touring and in 1995 released their most commercially and critically successful album: Slaughter of the Soul, on Earache Records.[3] The album is regarded as their strongest death metal effort, compared to previous albums.[5] This album firmly rooted the band as one of the leaders of the Swedish metal scene, the "Gothenburg sound" of melodic death metal.[6] The band received international attention for the album, gaining them several U.S. tours and heavy rotation of the music video for Blinded by Fear on MTV in America, but despite this international success, the Björler brothers departed in 1996.[3] The remaining members decided it would be impossible to continue without them, so the band broke up.[7]

Post-breakup (1996–2007)

When At the Gates broke up in 1996, drummer Adrian Erlandsson, bassist Jonas Björler, and guitarist Anders Björler formed The Haunted.[3] Tomas Lindberg went on working with different bands including Skitsystem, The Crown, Lock Up, and Nightrage. Erlandsson left in 1999 to join Cradle of Filth. In 2001, Peaceville Records released an At the Gates retrospective called Suicidal Final Art.

Reunion (2007–2008)

On 18 October 2007, At the Gates announced several reunion shows for mid-2008, including Getafe Electric Festival, Roskilde Festival, Ruisrock, Wacken Open Air, Graspop Metal Meeting, Sweden Rock Festival, Gods of Metal, Hellfest Summer Open Air and Bloodstock Open Air,[8] as well as a tour of Japan with The Dillinger Escape Plan, Into Eternity, Pig Destroyer, and Mayhem in May 2008.[9] Throughout July 2008, they toured the US and Canada on what was dubbed the "Suicidal Final Tour",[10] and played their final UK show at Bloodstock Open Air on Sunday on 17 August 2008. They finished their last show in Athens, Greece, with guest The Ocean on 21 September 2008. The band's performance at Wacken Open Air in 2008 is available on The Flames of the End DVD boxed set, which also includes clips of songs from other venues and a documentary that covers the history of the band in its entirety.

At War with Reality (2014–2016)

On 21 January 2014, At the Gates released a video on YouTube showing a distorted video with lines of text on it, followed by text saying "2014", possibly hinting toward possible lyrics for an upcoming album. On 27 January, the band revealed on Facebook via a new cover photo and profile picture, that their confirmed fifth record would be titled At War with Reality and would be released in the fall of 2014 through Century Media.[11]

When asked whether At War with Reality is At the Gates' final album or if the band will continue recording, Tomas Lindberg replied, "We can't say really. We have no plans of stopping but we've broken promises before so it's best not to say anything."[12] In numerous recent interviews members of the band have expressed interest in doing a follow-up album. At the Gates concluded the touring cycle for At War with Reality in August 2016 with a festival appearance at Elb Riot in Hamburg, Germany.

To Drink from the Night Itself and The Nightmare of Being (2017–present)

On 8 March 2017, in an official statement released by the band, they announced that Anders Björler had departed from the band. Despite Anders' departure, they went on to confirm that they were working on a follow-up to 2014's At War with Reality, which they were aiming to record and release in 2018.[13] In September 2017, Jonas Stålhammar was announced as the new guitarist to take the place of Björler on a permanent basis, but he had joined too late to be involved in the writing process of the new album. They entered the studio to begin recording the album in November 2017, titled To Drink from the Night Itself, which was released through Century Media Records on 18 May 2018.

At the Gates released their seventh studio album, The Nightmare of Being, on 2 July 2021.[14] While the album remains rooted in the Gothenburg metal tradition, it also features a wider range of musical styles, influences, and instrumentation. The ideas in the album are influenced by the writings of horror philosophers such as Thomas Ligotti and Eugene Thacker.[15]

Musical style and legacy

At the Gates' musical style has been described as melodic death metal[16][2] and death metal.[17] The band's early work invented a "progressive, complex way of crafting songs of dextrous melodic fluidity and variation", which would influence progressive death metal, but also the black metal of e.g. Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger.[18] Most of this material was composed by Alf Svensson, who, according to guitarist Anders Björler, fused the Swedish melancholy of Nordic folk music with death metal and classical music.[19]

The style of later At the Gates "would inspire the whole Gothenburg region",[20] but as Svensson had left the band, the commercial breakthrough Slaughter of the Soul was composed of more traditional song structures:[21] "[...] a stripped-down, no-frills melodic death album that hit all the basic points of the style",[5] or, as Deathmetal.org notes, a mere heavy metal album with "a basic sense of pentatonic harmonics."[22]

Awards

At the Gates were nominated for a Swedish Grammy (Grammis) for Slaughter of the Soul in 1996, but didn't win.[23] They won the Swedish Grammy (Grammis) in February 2015 for the 2014 comeback album At War with Reality.[24] The band were also awarded the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Inspiration Award in June 2015.

In 1985, Megadeth released its debut album, Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!, on the independent record label Combat Records, to moderate success. It caught the attention of bigger labels, which led to Megadeth signing with Capitol Records. Their first major-label album, Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?, was released in 1986 and was a major hit with the underground metal scene. Band members' substance abuse issues and personal disputes had brought Megadeth negative publicity during the late 1980s. Nonetheless, the band went on to release a number of platinum-selling albums, including So Far, So Good... So What! (1988), Rust in Peace (1990), and Countdown to Extinction (1992). These albums, along with worldwide tours, brought them public recognition.

Megadeth has had numerous guitarists, drummers and bassists throughout its 39-year career, with Mustaine being the only remaining original member of the group. The band temporarily disbanded in 2002 when Mustaine suffered an arm injury and re-established in 2004 without Ellefson, who had taken legal action against him. Ellefson settled out of court and rejoined in 2010, but was fired from the band in 2021 amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Megadeth's current lineup includes Mustaine, guitarist Kiko Loureiro and drummer Dirk Verbeuren; former bassist James LoMenzo currently serves as touring bassist.

Megadeth has sold 38 million records worldwide,[1] earned platinum certification in the United States for six of its fifteen studio albums,[2] and received twelve Grammy nominations. Megadeth won its first Grammy Award in 2017 for the song "Dystopia" in the Best Metal Performance category.[3] The band's mascot, Vic Rattlehead, regularly appears on album artwork and live shows. The group has drawn controversy for its music and lyrics, including album bans and canceled concerts; MTV refused to play two of the band's music videos that the network considered to condone suicide.[4] Megadeth has hosted its own music festival Gigantour, several times since July 2005, and held its first annual MegaCruise in October 2019.

1983–1987: Formation, Killing Is My Business, and Peace Sells

On April 11, 1983, Dave Mustaine was fired from Metallica just prior to the band recording their debut album Kill 'Em All due to substance abuse and personal conflicts with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. As Metallica's lead guitarist since 1981, Mustaine had composed some of the group's early songs and helped hone the band into a tight live unit.[5][6] Afterward, Mustaine vowed revenge by forming a band that was faster and heavier than Metallica.[7] On the bus trip back to Los Angeles, Mustaine found a pamphlet by California senator Alan Cranston that read: "The arsenal of megadeath can't be rid no matter what the peace treaties come to."[8] The term "Megadeath" stuck with Mustaine and he wrote a song with the spelling slightly changed to Megadeth, which, according to Mustaine, represented the annihilation of power.[9]

After arriving back in Los Angeles, Mustaine began the search for new bandmates for his band. He formed the band Fallen Angels, and after numerous band members, the band's name was changed to Megadeth. As the founder of the band, he added to the band his new neighbors David Ellefson and Greg Handevidt, who had moved from Minnesota to Los Angeles and played bass and guitar.[10]

While Handevidt would only last a few months, Mustaine and Ellefson formed a tight musical bond. Despite his enthusiasm, Mustaine had trouble finding other members to fill out the lineup. He and Ellefson auditioned about 15 drummers, hoping to find one who understood meter changes in music. After briefly playing with Dijon Carruthers, they selected Lee Rausch. Following six months of trying to find a lead singer, Mustaine decided to perform lead vocals himself.[11]

In 1984, Megadeth recorded a three-song demo tape featuring Mustaine, Ellefson, and Rausch.[12] The demo tape, Last Rites, was released on March 9, 1984. It featured early versions of "Last Rites/Loved to Death", "The Skull Beneath the Skin", and "Mechanix", all of which appeared on the band's debut album.[13] The band was unable to find a compatible second guitarist. Kerry King of Slayer filled in on rhythm guitar for several shows in the San Francisco area in the spring of 1984.[12] Afterwards, King went back to Slayer and Megadeth replaced Rausch with jazz fusion drummer Gar Samuelson; he officially joined Megadeth on October 24, 1984. Samuelson had previously been in the jazz band the New Yorkers with guitarist Chris Poland. After seeing Samuelson perform with Megadeth as a trio, Poland went backstage and suggested an impromptu audition as lead guitarist for the band; he joined Megadeth in December 1984.[7]

After considering several labels, Mustaine signed the band to Combat Records, a New York-based Independent record label that offered Megadeth the highest budget to record and tour.[12] In 1985, Combat Records gave the band $8,000 to record and produce its debut album. After spending $4,000 of the budget on drugs, alcohol, and food, the band fired the original producer and finished the recording themselves.[14]

Despite its low-fidelity sound,[15] Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! was relatively successful in underground metal circles and attracted major-label interest.[16] Music writer Joel McIver praised its "blistering technicality" and stated that the album "raised the bar for the whole thrash metal scene, with guitarists forced to perform even more accurately and powerfully".[17] The front cover marked the debut of band mascot Vic Rattlehead, who regularly appeared on subsequent album artwork.[18]

Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! features "Mechanix", a song Mustaine wrote during his time with Metallica. Though Mustaine told the band after his dismissal not to use the music he had written, Metallica recorded a different version of the song, "The Four Horsemen", with a slower tempo and a melodic middle section.[19] The album also included a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," at a faster tempo and with altered lyrics. Megadeth's version generated controversy during the 1990s, when its writer, Lee Hazlewood, called Mustaine's changes "vile and offensive".[20] Under threat of legal action, the song was removed from pressings released from 1995 to 2001.[21]

In mid-1985, on a bill with Canadian speed metal band Exciter, Megadeth played its first North American tour: the Killing for a Living Tour. Touring guitarist Mike Albert replaced Poland, who was battling drug addiction.[22] Poland rejoined Megadeth in October 1985, shortly before the group began recording its second album for Combat.[23]

According to Mustaine, Megadeth was under pressure to deliver another successful album: "That sophomore offering is the 'be-all or end-all' of any band. You either go to the next level, or it's the beginning of the nadir."[26] The songs were developed relatively quickly in an old warehouse south of Los Angeles before recording began.[23] Mustaine composed the music, with the other members adding arrangement ideas.[27]

The album was produced on a $25,000 budget from Combat Records. Dissatisfied with its financial limitations, the band left Combat and signed with Capitol Records. Capitol bought the rights to the album, and hired producer Paul Lani to remix the earlier recordings. Released in late 1986, Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? has clearer production and more sophisticated songwriting.[28] Mustaine wanted to write socially conscious lyrics, unlike mainstream heavy metal bands who sang about "hedonistic pleasures".[29] The album was noted for its political commentary and helped Megadeth expand its fanbase.[30] The title track was the album's lead single and was accompanied by a music video that received regular airplay on MTV.[31]

In February 1987, Megadeth was the opening act on Alice Cooper's Constrictor tour,[33] and the following month began its first headlining world tour in the United Kingdom. The 72-week tour was supported by Overkill and Necros, and continued in the United States.[34] During the tour, Mustaine and Ellefson considered firing Samuelson for his drug abuse.[35] According to Mustaine, Samuelson had become too much to handle when intoxicated. Drummer Chuck Behler traveled with Megadeth for the last dates of the tour as the other band members feared Samuelson would not be able to continue.[36] Poland quarreled with Mustaine, and was accused of selling band equipment to buy heroin.[35] As a result, Samuelson and Poland were asked to leave Megadeth in 1987, with Behler becoming the band's full-time drummer.[34]

Poland was initially replaced by Jay Reynolds of Malice, but as the band began working on its next record, Reynolds was replaced by his guitar teacher, Jeff Young, when Megadeth was six weeks into the recording of its third album.[36]

1987–1991: So Far, So Good... So What! and Rust in Peace

With a major-label budget, the Paul Lani-produced So Far, So Good... So What! took over five months to record. The production was plagued with problems, partially due to Mustaine's struggle with drug addiction. Mustaine later said: "The production of So Far, So Good... So What! was horrible, mostly due to substances and the priorities we had or didn't have at the time." Mustaine clashed with Lani, beginning with Lani's insistence that the drums be recorded separately from the cymbals, an unheard-of process for rock drummers.[37] Mustaine and Lani became estranged during the mixing, and Lani was replaced by Michael Wagener, who remixed the album.[38]

So Far, So Good... So What! was released in January 1988 and was well received by fans and critics.[39] The album featured a cover version of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K."; Mustaine changed the lyrics, later saying that he had simply heard them incorrectly. To support the album, Megadeth embarked on a world tour that lasted for nearly eight months. The band (along with Savatage) opened for Dio on the Dream Evil tour and supported Iron Maiden on their Seventh Son of a Seventh Son tour, both in the United States.[40] They also headlined a North American tour with Warlock and Sanctuary (whose debut album Refuge Denied was produced by Mustaine), and a European trek with Testament, Nuclear Assault, Flotsam and Jetsam and Sanctuary.[41]

In June 1988, Megadeth appeared in Penelope Spheeris' documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.[42] The documentary chronicled the Los Angeles heavy metal scene of the late 1980s, and Spheeris, who had directed Megadeth in the video for "Wake Up Dead", decided to include them to feature a more serious band in contrast to the glam metal groups.[43][44] Mustaine remembered the film as a disappointment, as it aligned Megadeth with "a bunch of shit bands".[45]

In August, the band appeared at the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington in the United Kingdom, performing to an audience of more than 100,000. One show featured a guest appearance by Metallica drummer (and Mustaine's former bandmate) Lars Ulrich. The band was added to the Monsters of Rock European tour, but left after the first show due to Ellefson's drug problems, for which he was treated immediately.[46] Megadeth was replaced by Testament.[47]

Shortly after the Monsters of Rock appearance, Mustaine fired Behler and Young and canceled Megadeth's Australian tour. "On the road, things escalated from a small border skirmish into a full-on raging war," Mustaine later recalled. "I think a lot of us were inconsistent because of [drugs]."[48] During the tour, Mustaine noticed problems developing with Behler and brought in drummer Nick Menza as Behler's drum technician. As with Samuelson, Menza was expected to take over if Behler could not continue the tour. Menza replaced Behler in 1989.[49] Young's dismissal resulted from Mustaine's suspicions that he was having an affair with Mustaine's girlfriend, an allegation Young denied.[50]

The band was unable to quickly find a suitable replacement for Young. Although 1989 marked the first time since its inception that Megadeth did not tour nor perform at least one show, they recorded a cover version of Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy" which appeared on the soundtrack to the Wes Craven horror movie Shocker.[51] The video was directed by Penelope Spheeris, who recalled the filming as a "Herculean task" as Mustaine was unable to play guitar because of his drug addiction.[42] During the March 1989 auditions for a new lead guitarist, Mustaine was arrested for driving under the influence and possession of narcotics after crashing into a parked vehicle occupied by an off-duty police officer.[52] Mustaine entered court-ordered drug rehabilitation shortly afterwards, and became drug-free for the first time in ten years.[42]

With Mustaine sober, Megadeth continued searching for a new lead guitarist. Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash had been jamming with Mustaine and Ellefson, and although it seemed that he might join Megadeth, he remained with Guns N' Roses.[53] Dimebag Darrell of Pantera was offered the job, but the deal fell through after Mustaine refused his request to recruit his brother, Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, as he had already hired Menza.[54] The offer was also extended to Criss Oliva who also declined as he did not want to leave Savatage.[55] Jeff Loomis, who would later go on to form progressive metal titans Nevermore, also auditioned though Mustaine deemed him too young to join as Loomis was only 18 at the time.[56]

Marty Friedman filled the guitarist position at the recommendation of Ron Laffitte, a member of Capitol management. Laffitte had heard Dragon's Kiss, a solo recording by Friedman when he was in Cacophony.[57] Mustaine and Ellefson were satisfied with Friedman's style and thought that he understood Megadeth's music.[58] With Friedman in the group, the band completed what fans consider the definitive Megadeth lineup.[59] The revitalized band entered the studio at Rumbo Recorders in March 1990 with co-producer Mike Clink to begin Megadeth's most critically acclaimed album, Rust in Peace. Clink was the first producer to complete a Megadeth album without being fired.[60] Its recording was documented in Rusted Pieces, a home video released in 1991 with six music videos and an interview with the band.[61]

Released in September 1990, Rust in Peace debuted at number 23 in the United States and number eight in the United Kingdom.[62][63] Mustaine had developed a writing style with a rhythmically complex, progressive edge, and the songs featured longer guitar solos and frequent tempo changes.[64] Described as a genre-defining work by Decibel,[57] the album solidified Megadeth's reputation in the music industry.[11] It features the singles "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" and "Hangar 18", both of which were accompanied by music videos and became live staples. Rust in Peace received a Grammy nomination in 1991 for Best Metal Performance,[3][65] and was the group's third platinum album, certified in December 1994.[66]

Early in 1990, Megadeth joined Slayer, Testament, and Suicidal Tendencies for the successful European Clash of the Titans tour, featuring several American thrash metal bands.[67] An American leg began the following year featuring Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax, with Alice in Chains as a supporting act. The tour was considered a multi-headliner, as the three main bands alternated time slots.[68] In addition to the Clash of the Titans tour, Megadeth (along with Testament) supported Judas Priest on their Painkiller tour in North America late in 1990 and appeared at the second Rock in Rio festival in January 1991.[69] In July 1991 the song "Go to Hell" was featured in the film Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey and on its soundtrack.[70]

1991–1996: Countdown to Extinction and Youthanasia

The music for Megadeth's fifth studio album was written in two different sessions. The first session occurred after the conclusion of the Clash of the Titans tour, while the second session happened in the fall of 1991 following a one-month break.[72] Recording sessions for the album began in January 1992 at Enterprise Studios in Burbank, California. Max Norman was chosen to produce, as the band was pleased with his mixing of Rust in Peace.[73] Megadeth spent nearly four months in the studio with Norman, writing and recording what became the band's most commercially successful album, Countdown to Extinction.[74] The album, whose title was suggested by Menza, features songwriting contributions from each band member.[75] Ellefson explained that the band changed its approach to songwriting for this album, beginning to write more melodic songs.[76]

Released in July 1992, Countdown to Extinction entered the Billboard 200 chart at number two and was certified double platinum in the United States.[2][77] The album's overseas success helped the band to develop a larger following outside the US.[78] It received a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 1993 Grammy Awards,[79] and its title track won a Genesis Award from the Humane Society in 1993 for raising awareness for animal rights issues.[80] Ellefson later said that he and Friedman were disappointed that Megadeth did not win the Grammy: "It was such a bizarre moment, because it was as if the amount of work it had taken to ramp up to that hopeful night was literally gone in a second."[81]

A world tour in support of the album was launched in late 1992, with Pantera and White Zombie as supporting acts.[81] The tour included a North American leg in early 1993, with Stone Temple Pilots as the opening act. One month into the leg, the remaining shows, including dates in Japan, were canceled when Mustaine returned to substance abuse, ending up in a hospital emergency room.[82] After seven weeks in rehab, Mustaine emerged sober again and the band returned to the studio to record "Angry Again". The song is featured on the soundtrack of the 1993 film Last Action Hero and received a Grammy nomination in 1994.[83]

During mid-1993, Megadeth performed at a number of shows with Metallica in Europe. The first was at Milton Keynes Bowl in England, and included Diamond Head.[81] In July, Megadeth was added as the opening act for Aerosmith's Get a Grip Tour, but was removed from the bill after three shows.[84] Aerosmith said that Megadeth was "dumped" because of Mustaine's erratic behavior, while Capitol Records said it was due to "artistic restrictions".[85] After the canceled US tour, Megadeth returned to the studio to record "99 Ways to Die", which appeared on The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience, a compilation album released in November featuring songs interspersed with commentary by the main characters of the animated series Beavis and Butt-Head. The song was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 1995 Grammy Awards.[86] During these sessions, Megadeth recorded a cover version of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", which appeared on the Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black; it was nominated for a Grammy the following year.[87]

In early 1994, Megadeth reunited with producer Max Norman for the follow-up to Countdown to Extinction. With three band members living in Arizona, initial work began at Phase Four Studios in Phoenix.[88] A few days into pre-production, problems with Phase Four's equipment forced the band to look for another studio. Mustaine insisted on recording in Arizona, but no suitable recording facility could be found. At Norman's request, the band built its own recording studio in Phoenix in a rented warehouse, later called "Fat Planet in Hangar 18".[89] During the studio's construction, much of the pre-production songwriting and arrangements were done at Vintage Recorders in Phoenix.[34] At Norman's suggestion, the tracks on Youthanasia had a slower tempo than previous albums, at about 120 beats per minute.[90] The band abandoned the progressive approach from its previous albums and focused on stronger vocal melodies and more accessible, radio-friendly arrangements.[91] For the first time, Megadeth wrote and arranged the entire album in the studio, including basic tracks recorded live by the entire band. The album's recording was video recorded and released as Evolver: The Making of Youthanasia in 1995.

After eight months of studio work, Youthanasia was released in November 1994. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and charted in several European countries.[92] The album was certified gold in Canada the day it was released,[93] and was certified platinum in the US two months later.[2] Megadeth hired fashion photographer Richard Avedon to enhance the band's image. Avedon had the band members exchange their jeans and T-shirts for a more conscious appearance.[94] To promote Youthanasia, the band played a Halloween show in New York City called "Night of the Living Megadeth", which was broadcast live on MTV.[90] In November, the band performed twice on the Late Show with David Letterman, playing "Train of Consequences" on the first appearance and "A Tout le Monde" on the second.[95][96]

An eleven-month tour began in South America in November 1994. In 1995, Megadeth played in Europe and North America with several opening acts, including Corrosion of Conformity, Korn and Fear Factory.[97] The tour culminated with an appearance at the Monsters of Rock festival in Brazil, co-headlining with Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne.[98] In January 1995, Megadeth appeared on the soundtrack of the horror movie Demon Knight with the song "Diadems".[99] In July, Megadeth released Hidden Treasures, an extended play featuring songs which originally appeared on movie soundtracks and tribute albums.[100]

After completing the extensive world tour in support of Youthanasia, Megadeth took time off in most of 1996, making it the second time in their career, following 1989, that the band had not done any live shows in a single year. During this hiatus, Mustaine began work on MD.45, a side project with vocalist Lee Ving of Fear. The duo hired drummer Jimmy DeGrasso, who had played with Alice Cooper on the South American Monsters of Rock tour earlier that year.[101] Marty Friedman built a studio in his new home in Phoenix and completed his fourth solo album, released in April 1996.[102]

1996–2000: Cryptic Writings and Risk

In September 1996, Megadeth went to London to work on songs for the next album. The songwriting was closely supervised by new manager Bud Prager, who contributed musical ideas and lyrics; many lyrics and song titles were changed at his request.[103] Regarding Prager's influence, Mustaine later wrote: "I figured maybe this guy [Prager] could help me get that intangible number one record I so badly wanted."[104] The album, recorded in Nashville, was Megadeth's first collaboration with country pop producer Dann Huff, who had met Mustaine in 1990.[105]

Cryptic Writings was released in June 1997. The album peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200,[62] and was eventually certified gold in the United States. Its lead single, "Trust", became Megadeth's highest charting song on the Mainstream Rock Tracks at number five,[106] and was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards.[107] Although all four singles from the album entered the top 20 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart,[108] press response to the album was mixed. The album featured a diverse set of songs which the Los Angeles Times described as a "rousing balance" between older material and experimental songs.[109] Asked about the album's eclecticism, Mustaine said that Cryptic Writings was divided into thirds. One part was based around faster, more aggressive material, another was "radio-orientated music like Youthanasia", and the final third was more melodic.[102]

After more than a year since the band's last concert, Megadeth returned as a live act in June 1997, beginning a world tour with the Misfits and touring in the United States with Life of Agony and Coal Chamber.[98] In July, the band participated in Ozzfest '98 but, halfway through the tour, Menza reportedly discovered a tumor on his knee and left to undergo surgery.[110] Jimmy DeGrasso, who had collaborated with Mustaine in MD.45, was hired to replace Menza for the remainder of the tour.[111] Though initially meant to be a temporary replacement, DeGrasso joined the band permanently after the tour. Mustaine later said that he dismissed Menza from the band because he believed the drummer had lied about having cancer.[54]

Following the band's mainstream radio success with Cryptic Writings, Megadeth again worked with Dann Huff on its eighth studio album. The band began writing in January 1999, supervised by manager Bud Prager, who was credited with co-writing five of the album's twelve songs.[112] With high expectations following the chart success of "Trust", Prager convinced Mustaine to grant Huff even more control over the album's recording, a decision Mustaine later regretted.[113]

Risk, released in August 1999, was a critical and commercial failure and led to backlash from many longtime fans. Although its two predecessors incorporated rock elements alongside a more traditional heavy metal sound, Risk was virtually devoid of metal.[114][115] About the band's musical direction, Dave Mustaine said: "We hit the nadir of our career with Risk, and I vowed after that we were going to get back to our roots. It took a little bit of time to do that."[116] Despite this, Risk was certified gold in the United States.[117] The album's lead single, "Crush 'Em", appeared on the soundtrack for Universal Soldier: The Return and was used as an entrance theme for NHL hockey games and professional wrestling events.[118]

On July 14, 1999, former drummer Gar Samuelson died of liver failure at age 41 in Orange City, Florida.[119] Eleven days later, during Megadeth's performance at Woodstock 1999, Mustaine dedicated "Peace Sells" to Samuelson's memory. That month, Megadeth also recorded a cover version of the Black Sabbath's "Never Say Die" for the second Nativity in Black tribute album.[120] The band began a world tour in support of Risk in September, playing with Iron Maiden during the European leg. Three months into the tour, Friedman announced his resignation from Megadeth, citing musical differences.[121] Mustaine later said: "I told [Marty] after Risk that we had to go back to our roots and play metal, and he quit."[122] In January 2000, guitarist Al Pitrelli, formerly of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, became Friedman's replacement.[123]

2000–2004: The World Needs a Hero, breakup, and hiatus

In April, Megadeth returned to the studio to work on its ninth studio album. A month into production, the band received an offer to join the Maximum Rock tour with Anthrax and Mötley Crüe. Megadeth put the recording on hold and toured North America during the second quarter of 2000.[98] Early in the tour, Anthrax was removed from the bill, allowing Megadeth to play an extended co-headlining set.[124] The tour, however, had poor ticket sales.[125]

After 15 years with Capitol Records, Megadeth left the label in July 2000. According to Mustaine, the departure was due to ongoing tensions with Capitol management.[126] Capitol returned the band's newest recordings and released a greatest hits album, Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years, with two new tracks: "Kill the King" and "Dread and the Fugitive Mind".[127] In November, Megadeth signed with Sanctuary Records. The band returned to the studio in October to finish its next album, The World Needs a Hero, which was near completion when Megadeth joined the Maximum Rock tour six months earlier. Following the negative response to Risk,[128] Mustaine fired Bud Prager and produced the album himself.[129] The songs were written by Mustaine alone, except for "Promises", which had contributions from Pitrelli.[130] Two days before the release of The World Needs a Hero, Megadeth appeared in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music showcasing Mustaine, Ellefson, several past members, and Mustaine's old Metallica bandmates James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.[131]

The World Needs a Hero was released in May 2001 and debuted at number sixteen on the Billboard 200. It was banned in Malaysia when the national government determined that the album's artwork was "unsuitable for the nation's youth". Consequently, the band canceled its concert of August 2 in Kuala Lumpur.[132] The album marked Megadeth's return to a more aggressive sound after the stylistic variations of its previous two albums,[130] but critics felt it fell short of expectations.[133] Mustaine compared the album to a huge ship at sea, turning and trying to right itself to get back on course.[126] Its lead single, "Moto Psycho", reached number 22 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.[134]

A European tour with AC/DC in support of The World Needs a Hero began in mid-2001, followed by an American tour with Iced Earth and Endo in September.[131] Mustaine allowed fans to choose the setlist in each American city.[132] However, the tour was cut short following the September 11 attacks; all dates were canceled, including a DVD shoot in Argentina. The band instead played two shows in Arizona on November 16 and 17, which were filmed and released as Megadeth's first live release, Rude Awakening.[135] That year, Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! was remixed and remastered; the reissue featured modified artwork and several bonus tracks.[136]

In January 2002, Mustaine was hospitalized for the removal of a kidney stone and was administered pain medication that triggered a relapse of his drug addiction. Following his stay, Mustaine checked himself into a treatment center in Texas. While there, Mustaine fell asleep with his left arm over the back of a chair, causing compression of the radial nerve. He was subsequently diagnosed with radial neuropathy, which left him unable to grasp or make a fist with his left hand.[137][138]

On April 3, Mustaine announced in a press release that he was disbanding Megadeth, as his arm injury rendered him unable to play guitar.[139] For the next four months, he had physical therapy five days a week, and slowly began to "re-teach" his left hand.[140] To fulfill contract obligations to Sanctuary, Megadeth released the compilation album Still Alive... and Well?. The first half of the album contains live tracks recorded at the Web Theatre in Phoenix, and the second half has studio recordings from The World Needs a Hero.[141]

Following nearly a year of recovery, including physical and electroshock therapy, Mustaine began work on what was to have been his first solo album. The new material was recorded with session musicians Vinnie Colaiuta and Jimmie Lee Sloas in October 2003. The project was put on hold when Mustaine agreed to remix and remaster Megadeth's eight-album back catalog on Capitol Records,[142] re-recording portions that were missing or altered without his knowledge in the original mixing.[143]

2004–2006: Reformation, The System Has Failed, and Gigantour

In May 2004, Mustaine returned to his solo project. Contractual obligations to the band's European label, EMI, resulted in the recording's release as a Megadeth album.[144] Mustaine reformed the band and contacted the fan-favorite Rust in Peace lineup to re-record backing tracks. While drummer Nick Menza agreed to return, both Marty Friedman and David Ellefson were unable to come to an agreement with Mustaine.[145] Menza was sent home shortly after rehearsals began, a few days before the start of a tour supporting Megadeth's upcoming album. Mustaine said Menza was insufficiently prepared for the physical demands of a US tour, and "it just didn't work out".[146] This was the first album without Ellefson. Chris Poland, who played lead guitar on Megadeth's first two albums, was hired to contribute guitar solos to the new album, working with Mustaine for the first time since the 1980s. Poland opted to serve only as a session musician, wanting to remain focused on his jazz fusion project OHM.[147]

The System Has Failed was released in September 2004. Critics heralded it as a return to form; Revolver gave the album a favorable review, calling it "Megadeth's most vengeful, poignant and musically complex offering since 1992's Countdown to Extinction".[148] The album marked a shift toward the band's earlier sound; journalist Amy Sciarretto of CMJ New Music Report wrote that the album contained "neo-thrash riffing with biting, politically charged lyrics".[149] The System Has Failed debuted at number eighteen on the Billboard 200[62] and was led by "Die Dead Enough", which reached number 21 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.[134] Mustaine announced that the album would be the band's last and would be followed by a farewell tour, after which he would focus on a solo career.[150]

Megadeth began the Blackmail the Universe world tour in October, enlisting touring bassist James MacDonough of Iced Earth and guitarist Glen Drover of Eidolon and King Diamond. Five days before the first show, Menza was replaced by Shawn Drover, who remained with the band as a regular member.[151] The band toured the US with Exodus and Europe with Diamond Head and Dungeon.[152][153] In June 2005, Capitol released a greatest-hits compilation, Greatest Hits: Back to the Start, featuring remixed and remastered versions of songs chosen by fans from Megadeth's Capitol albums.[154]

In mid-2005, Mustaine organized an annual thrash metal festival tour, Gigantour. Megadeth headlined the inaugural tour with acts such as Dream Theater, Nevermore, Anthrax, and Fear Factory. Performances at the Montreal and Vancouver shows were filmed and recorded for a live DVD-and-CD set released in the second quarter of 2006.[155] On October 9, following the successes of The System Has Failed and the Blackmail the Universe world tour, Mustaine announced to a sold-out crowd at the Pepsi Music Rock Festival in Argentina that Megadeth would continue to record and tour.[156] The concert, held at Obras Sanitarias stadium in Buenos Aires in front of 25,000 fans, was filmed and released on DVD as That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires in 2007.[157]

In February 2006, bassist James MacDonough left the band over "personal differences".[158] He was replaced by James LoMenzo, who had worked with David Lee Roth, White Lion, and Black Label Society.[159] The new Megadeth lineup made its live debut headlining the Dubai Desert Rock Festival in the United Arab Emirates with Testament.[160] In March, Capitol released a two-disc DVD, Arsenal of Megadeth, which included archive footage, interviews, live shows, and many of the band's music videos. Due to licensing issues, soundtrack and non-Capitol videos were not included.[161] The second Gigantour began during the third quarter of 2006; Megadeth again headlined, this time with Lamb of God, Opeth, Arch Enemy and Overkill.[162] The 2006 tour included three dates in Australia, supported by Soulfly, Arch Enemy, and Caliban.[163]

2006–2011: United Abominations and Endgame

In May 2006, Megadeth announced that its eleventh studio album, United Abominations, was near completion. Originally scheduled for release in October, Mustaine said that the band was "putting the finishing touches on it" and postponed its release to May of the following year.[164] He commented on the release: "Metal needs a really good old-school record again. I believe I have delivered."[165] United Abominations was the band's first album to feature Glen Drover, Shawn Drover, and James Lomenzo. It also has a newer version of "A Tout le Monde" entitled "À Tout le Monde (Set Me Free)". The 2007 version is a duet with Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil; it was recorded at a slightly faster tempo than the original and contains an extended solo.[166]

Released in May 2007, United Abominations debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200, selling 54,000 copies in the first week.[167] In March, Megadeth began a North American tour opening for the newly reformed Heaven & Hell. The band played with Down for Canadian shows and with Machine Head for the US dates.[168] A European summer festival tour followed. Late in the year, Megadeth returned to the United States to headline its Tour of Duty.[169] In November, the band brought Gigantour to Australia with a lineup including Static-X, DevilDriver and Lacuna Coil.[170]

In January 2008, Glen Drover quit Megadeth, stating that he was tired of the frequent touring and wanted to spend more time with his family. He also cited personal issues with other band members.[171] Drover was replaced by Chris Broderick, formerly of Nevermore and Jag Panzer.[172] Broderick was initially asked by Mustaine's management company at the end of 2007 if he would be interested in auditioning for Megadeth. After an informal meeting at Mustaine's house, Broderick was introduced as the band's new guitarist.[173] Mustaine complimented Broderick's playing skills and called him "the best guitarist Megadeth has ever had".[174] Broderick's former Nevermore bandmate, Van Williams, congratulated Megadeth on "getting one hell of a good player, more importantly they're getting a great guy to hang out with and a true friend".[175]

The new lineup made its live debut at the Helsinki Ice Hall on February 4. The 2008 Gigantour, with 29 North American dates, began shortly afterwards.[176] Mustaine wanted a shorter lineup, allowing each band a chance to perform well. The third tour featured In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job for a Cowboy and High on Fire.[177] Megadeth continued the Tour of Duty in South America and Mexico in May and June. A compilation album, Anthology: Set the World Afire, was released in September 2008.[178]

In February 2009, Megadeth and Testament were scheduled on the European "Priest Feast" tour, with Judas Priest as headliners.[179] At this time, Metallica, who had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, invited Mustaine to attend the ceremony. Mustaine was informed that he would not be inducted to the Hall of Fame because such honors were granted only to those members who received recording credit on a Metallica album.[180] Mustaine congratulated the group respectfully, and honored his commitment to the European tour with Judas Priest.[181] In April, Megadeth and Slayer co-headlined the Canadian Carnage. This was the first time they had performed together in more than 15 years. Machine Head and Suicide Silence opened for the four shows that occurred later in June.[182]

In May, Megadeth finished recording its twelfth album, Endgame.[183] The release date for Endgame was announced on the Megadeth official website, and Metal Hammer was the first to review the album track-by-track.[184] Megadeth began its Endgame tour in October, and finished it in December. The tour featured a number of supporting acts, including Machine Head, Suicide Silence, and Warbringer.[185] In January 2010, Megadeth was set to embark on the American Carnage tour with Slayer and Testament, but the tour was postponed due to Tom Araya's back surgery.[186] Several weeks later, Megadeth's "Head Crusher" was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 2010 Grammy Awards, the band's eighth Grammy nomination in 19 years.[187]

In March, Megadeth embarked on the Rust in Peace 20th Anniversary Tour, which took place in North America and had support from Testament and Exodus. During the tour, Megadeth played Rust in Peace in its entirety.[188] Prior to the start of the tour, original bassist Ellefson rejoined Megadeth after eight years. In an interview for Classic Rock, he stated that Shawn Drover contacted him, informing him that bassist LoMenzo was leaving the band, saying "if ever there was a time for you and Dave [Mustaine] to talk, now is it".[189]

Megadeth, along with Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, collectively known as the "big four" of thrash metal, agreed to perform on the same bill during mid-2010. These performances were part of the Sonisphere Festival and were held in a number of European countries.[190] One such performance in Sofia, Bulgaria, was filmed and released as a video album entitled The Big Four: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria.[191] These shows continued the following year in the United States. The first took place in Indio, California, and was the only scheduled show in the United States at the time,[192] although a second American production was held at Yankee Stadium in New York City shortly afterwards.[193]

In July 2010, after the European "big four" shows, Megadeth and Slayer commenced the first leg of the American Carnage Tour, where Megadeth played Rust in Peace in its entirety, while Slayer performed its album Seasons in the Abyss, both of which were released in 1990.[194] From these shows onward, Vic Rattlehead started making sustained onstage appearances, to improve the visual facet of Megadeth's live performances.[195] Shortly afterward, the two bands united with Anthrax for the Jägermeister Music Tour in late 2010.[196] During the final show of the tour, Kerry King joined Megadeth on stage at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Hollywood to perform Megadeth's "Rattlehead". It was the first time that King had performed onstage with Megadeth as the latter's early shows in 1984.[197] Megadeth and Slayer again shared the stage for the European Carnage Tour in March and April 2011.[198] Megadeth also headlined the fourth annual Rockstar Mayhem Festival in July and August the same year.[199]

In September, the band released the DVD album Rust in Peace Live, recorded at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.[200] Later that month, Megadeth released "Sudden Death" for the video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.[201] The song was commissioned by the publishers of the Guitar Hero franchise, who wanted the track to feature dark lyrics and multiple guitar solos.[202] It was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 2011 Grammy ceremony.[203]

2011–2015: Thirteen and Super Collider

Megadeth returned to its own Vic's Garage studio in 2011 to record its thirteenth album, to be produced by Johnny K, because Andy Sneap, the producer of Megadeth's previous two albums, was unavailable.[204] The album was titled Thirteen and featured previously released tracks such as "Sudden Death" and "Never Dead".[205] The album was released in November 2011, and charted at number eleven on the Billboard 200; its lead single "Public Enemy No. 1" received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, but did not win.[206] Shortly after the album was released, Dave Mustaine stated that, after a four-year hiatus, there would be a new Gigantour tour in early 2012.[207] The lineup consisted of Motörhead, Volbeat, and Lacuna Coil alongside Megadeth.[208] After the conclusion of Gigantour, Rob Zombie and Megadeth embarked on a nine-date co-headlining US tour in the summer of 2012.[209]

In September 2012, it was announced that Megadeth would re-release Countdown to Extinction in honor of the album's 20th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Megadeth launched a tour in which the band performed the album live in its entirety.[210] One performance, filmed at the Pomona Fox Theater, was released as a live album, Countdown to Extinction: Live, the following year.[211] Another track from Thirteen, "Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)", was nominated for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance at the 2013 Grammy Awards, but lost to Halestorm's "Love Bites (So Do I)".[212]

In August, Megadeth announced the recording of its fourteenth album with producer Johnny K.[213] At the start of 2013, Megadeth left Roadrunner Records for Mustaine's newly founded label, Tradecraft, distributed through Universal Music Group.[214][215] The album, Super Collider, was released in June and debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, the band's highest chart position since 1994's Youthanasia.[216] Critical reaction to the album, however, was largely negative.[217] Shortly after the release of Super Collider, Mustaine stated that he had already started thinking about a fifteenth Megadeth album. He said this had been spurred by the death of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, which gave him a sense of mortality.[218] Mustaine elaborated: "You know, time is short. Nobody knows how long they're gonna live. You see what happened with Jeff Hanneman, so I wanna write as much as I can while I can."[219]

The 2013 edition of Gigantour featured Black Label Society, Hellyeah, Device, and Newsted as opening bands.[220] At the final show, Jason Newsted, Metallica's former bassist, joined Megadeth onstage to perform "Phantom Lord", a song Mustaine had co-written during his stint with Metallica.[221] Early in 2014, Megadeth was slated to play the Soundwave festival in Australia, but pulled out over a disagreement with tour promoter A. J. Maddah concerning the band's sideshows with Newsted.[222] Icon, an eleven-song compilation of Megadeth's Capitol-era material, was released as part of Universal Music's Icon series in February.[223]

The band encountered several setbacks through the second half of 2014. The August concert in Tel Aviv was canceled due to an armed conflict between Israel and Gaza.[224] Megadeth was scheduled to appear on Motörhead's Motörboat cruise in late September, but withdrew because of Mustaine's complications following his cervical spine surgery.[225] In late November, Drover quit the band after ten years, wanting to pursue his own musical interests. This was quickly followed by the departure of Broderick, due to artistic and musical differences.[226] Ellefson denied rumors that Megadeth would disband, and said he and Mustaine would continue working on new music.[227] Mustaine said that one of the reasons for Broderick's and Drover's departure was the frustration caused by Megadeth's fan base demanding a reunion with Friedman and Menza.[228]

2015–2019: Dystopia

Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler and guitarist Kiko Loureiro of Angra were brought in to perform on Megadeth's fifteenth studio album after Mustaine unsuccessfully attempted to reunite the Rust in Peace lineup.[229] In October 2015, Megadeth streamed "Fatal Illusion" off the album Dystopia, which was released in January 2016.[230] In support of Dystopia, Megadeth embarked on a North American tour in February and March with Suicidal Tendencies, Children of Bodom and Havok (though Havok was soon removed from the tour by Megadeth's management following a dispute over a contract).[231] Mustaine announced that Adler, who was performing with both Lamb of God and Megadeth, was no longer in the band due to scheduling conflicts between the two bands. He was replaced by Dirk Verbeuren from Soilwork, on Adler's recommendation.[232] A second US tour took place in September and October, with support from Amon Amarth, Suicidal Tendencies, Metal Church,[233] and Butcher Babies.[234] Former drummer Menza died of a heart attack on May 21, 2016, while performing with OHM at a jazz club in Los Angeles.[235]

Asked about any further Big Four gigs, Mustaine called for "the powers-that-be" to help put together a new Big Four tour in 2017 as all the respective bands were promoting new albums.[236] Dystopia's title track won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 2017 Grammy Awards, the band's first win after 12 nominations.[3] Mustaine, Loureiro, Ellefson, and Verbeuren attended the ceremony; however, album drummer and award recipient Chris Adler[237] did not. While accepting the award, the house band played Mustaine's former band Metallica's "Master of Puppets" causing some controversy among fans.[238]

In a June 2017 interview with No Brown M&Ms, Mustaine said that Megadeth would enter the studio at the end of the year to begin working on their sixteenth studio album.[239] A month later, Mustaine stated on Twitter that he had begun "collecting ideas" for the new album, but stated that they would "probably" enter the studio in mid-2018 to begin recording it for a 2019 release.[240] The band joined with Scorpions for a co-headlining tour in the fall of 2017.[241]

In 2018, Megadeth marked their 35th anniversary by re-releasing their 1985 debut album Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!, dubbed Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! - The Final Kill on June 8, 2018 as a deluxe package containing remastered versions of all songs to Mustaine's intended vision, a re-cut version of "These Boots" lyrically adjusted to Lee Hazlewood's version, rare live performances of songs off the album during Alice Cooper's Live in the Flesh Tour and the 1984 three song demo.[242] The band was scheduled to perform on the first-ever MegaCruise to coincide with the release of the next album,[243] due to sailing in October 2019 from Southern California to Mexico and back, including performances by multiple heavy metal acts,[244] however, Mustaine was not present due to illness. The cruise featured an impromptu all-star performance of Kiss songs.[245][246] On November 6, Mustaine shared a video on Instagram teasing a track from the band's upcoming album,[247] which was originally set for release in 2019.[248]

2019-present: The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead

The band was originally scheduled to perform on the first-ever MegaCruise to coincide with the release of the next album,[249] due to sail on October 13, 2019 from Los Angeles and hit ports of San Diego and Ensenada before returning on October 18, including performances by heavy metal acts such as Lamb of God, Anthrax, Testament, Overkill, Corrosion of Conformity, Queensrÿche, Armored Saint, Metal Church, Suicidal Tendencies, DragonForce, Doro, John 5, Death Angel and Toothgrinder,[250][251][252][253] however, Mustaine was not present due to his illness. It was instead a live performance featuring members of each respective band playing Kiss songs.[254][255]

On May 10, 2019, Megadeth entered the studio in Franklin, Tennessee to begin pre-production of the next album, once again teaming up with Dystopia co-producer Chris Rakestraw.[256] On June 17, the band announced that all shows scheduled in 2019 (with the exception of the MegaCruise) would be cancelled due to Mustaine being diagnosed with throat cancer;[257] of all the cancelled dates, the band was scheduled to support Ozzy Osbourne on the North American leg of the No More Tours II tour,[258] which had been postponed from the summer of 2019 to the summer of 2020 due to Osbourne sustaining an injury while dealing with pnemonia. They were replaced by Marilyn Manson instead.[259] Despite Mustaine's illness, the band vowed to continue working on their new album.[260] On November 6, Mustaine shared a video on Instagram teasing a track from the band's upcoming album,[261] which was originally set for release in 2019.[262] On July 17, Megadeth announced their partnership with Gimme Radio and Richard Childress Racing on the No. 2 Gimme Radio Chevrolet Camaro, which was driven by Xfinity Series driver Tyler Reddick at the New Hampshire 200 on July 20.[263] On August 21, the band announced that they would embark on their first tour since Mustaine's illness in January and February 2020, with Five Finger Death Punch and Bad Wolves supporting on the European tour.[264][265]

Megadeth was originally scheduled to embark on a co-headlining tour in North America with Lamb of God dubbed "The Metal Tour of the Year" in the summer of 2020, with Trivium and In Flames as support acts,[266] but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour was rescheduled for the summer of 2021,[267] with Hatebreed replacing In Flames due to the latter being forced to withdraw from the line-up due to international visa issues caused by the pandemic.[268] Megadeth re-entered the studio in Nashville in mid-2020 to resume recording their new album, tentatively planned for release in 2021.[269][270][271]

While hosting a Masterclass "Front Row Live" for fans via Zoom on January 9, 2021, Mustaine announced the title of the upcoming album would be called The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!, however he indicated that the title might be subject to change.[272] On May 24, following leaked private videos,[273] Mustaine announced that the band had once again parted ways with Ellefson.[274] Ellefson later confirmed that he had actually been dismissed ten days earlier on May 14; the videos originally surfaced on May 10.[275] As a result, Mustaine stated that there would be no chance for Ellefson to rejoin the band ever again.[276]

On Mustaine's Gimme Radio program The Dave Mustaine Show on June 17, he said that the bass tracks recorded by Ellefson in May 2020 would not appear on the upcoming album and would be re-recorded by a different bassist,[277] which was completed a short time later, but did not say who it was. He also revealed a song title from the album called "The Dogs of Chernobyl".[278] Mustaine confirmed soon after that a new bassist was chosen with a picture showing the neck of the bass guitar and the unknown member being shown on the floor behind a chair, however, he did not reveal the name, but would announce it soon.[279] Former bassist James LoMenzo filled in for the band's tour,[280] while Steve Di Giorgio of Testament performed as a session bassist on The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!, which will be released on July 8, 2022.[281]

Controversies

Mustaine has made numerous inflammatory statements in the press,[282] usually regarding issues with former Metallica bandmates. The feud stemmed from his ejection from the band, how it was conducted, and disagreements on songwriting credits.[283] Mustaine expressed his anger in the movie Metallica: Some Kind of Monster,[284] in a scene he later disapproved of as he felt he was mischaracterized, and that it did not represent the full extent of what happened during the meeting.[285]

During a live performance of "Anarchy in the U.K." at a 1988 show in Antrim, Northern Ireland, Mustaine drunkenly and confusedly dedicated the song to "the cause" of "giving Ireland back to the Irish!"[nb 1] Before the final song, Mustaine said, "This one's for the cause! Give Ireland back to the Irish!"[60] This elicited a riot and fighting between Catholics and Protestants among the audience. The band had to travel in a bulletproof bus back to Dublin.[124] Mustaine later said that he had been misled by T-shirt bootleggers about the meaning of the expression "the cause". This incident served as inspiration for the song "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due".[287]

Controversial and misinterpreted lyrics have caused complications for the band. In 1988, MTV deemed that the song "In My Darkest Hour" encouraged suicide and banned the video.[288] The station banned the video for "A Tout le Monde" for the same reason, though Mustaine said the song was written from the perspective of a dying man saying his last words to his loved ones.[166] According to him, MTV considered the videos for "Skin o' My Teeth" and "Symphony of Destruction" a "little bit too harsh" and refused to play them.[289]

During a world tour in 2001, the Malaysian government canceled the band's show in the nation's capital because the authorities had a negative perception of the group's image and music.[290] The government pointed the band's mascot Vic Rattlehead as inappropriate and told the members that they would be arrested if they performed.[291] Dave Mustaine responded: "I recognize what the Malaysian government is trying to do, and it is admirable of them trying to protect the young people in the country. But it just shows the degree of ignorance and apathy that the government has toward the problem."[126]

In 2003, after recovering from an arm injury that threatened to end his career, Mustaine became a born-again Christian.[292] Minor controversy was sparked by Mustaine's announcement that Megadeth would not play certain songs live due to his conversion.[293] In May 2005, Mustaine allegedly threatened to cancel shows in Greece and Israel with extreme metal bands Rotting Christ and Dissection due to the bands' anti-Christian beliefs. This caused the two bands to cancel appearances.[294]

In July 2004, former bassist Ellefson sued Mustaine for $18.5 million in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ellefson alleged that Mustaine short-changed him on profits including tour merchandise and publishing royalties.[295] The suit was dismissed in 2005, and Mustaine filed a countersuit alleging that Ellefson had used the band's name in an advertisement for musical equipment;[296] the suit was settled out of court.[297]

On May 10, 2021, sexually explicit videos of Ellefson were posted on Twitter. The videos, reportedly recorded by a fan that Ellefson was in correspondence with, initially led to accusations of child grooming. However, Ellefson and the other party both denied the accusations and she publicly claimed she was a consenting adult and the videos were unknowingly released by a third party. The Scottsdale Police Department was contacted by Ellefson, who sought to seek charges for revenge porn. Ellefson took a polygraph test to affirm his claims and presented police with a photo of her driver’s license to prove she was of age. He also shared screen shots of Snapchat and WhatsApp messages to SPD, that related to the allegations. Ellefson’s partner admitted that she had shared the video with some friends but wasn’t sure how it got leaked out to others. In the SPD reports, she states, “She was remorseful and agreed to send out a social media statement on her Instagram account that she had been a willing consenting adult during their mutual virtual sexual encounter.” Ellefson then posted her statement and one of his own on May 10, asserting that the allegations of grooming were false. Ellefson stated she has not extorted him in any way, and he believes she did not intentionally leak the videos of their consensual adult encounter.[298] An official statement released the next day from Megadeth stated that the situation was being "watched closely".[273] Mustaine later announced Ellefson was fired from the band on May 24, 2021.[299]

Influences and style

Traditional heavy metal bands such as UFO, Black Sabbath, Budgie,[300] new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) bands such as Raven,[301] Judas Priest, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, and Venom, and punk rock bands such as the Sex Pistols and Ramones had a significant influence on Megadeth's sound.[302] Hard rock bands such as AC/DC,[303] Queen,[304] and Led Zeppelin,[305] as well as German acts like Scorpions[306] and Accept,[307] were also influential on the group's guitar style. Although the music has roots in punk,[308] university professor Jason Bivins wrote that Megadeth followed the basic blueprint of Motörhead and Iron Maiden. He described the style as a mix of "the instrumental virtuosity of the NWOBHM with the speed and aggression of hardcore punk", while also drawing lyrical inspiration from the horror-obsessed punk band Misfits.[309] Mustaine has also listed albums by the Beatles and David Bowie as recordings that influenced him.[310]

Mustaine is the band's primary songwriter. He develops songs starting with a particular riff that, with modifications, becomes the central part of the song.[311] He has said that song fragments are composed separately, and then the band makes a compact structure from them.[312] Drummer Shawn Drover stated that Mustaine had saved many riffs over the years and that some recent material is based on those demo recordings.[313] Ellefson stated that the band constantly creates new material, and that making a recording begins with exchanging ideas after which the band enters the studio and discusses the concept, direction, artwork, and song titles.[314] The lyrics are usually written after the music is arranged.[315] Discussing the band's lyrics, Mustaine said that many of the themes are derived from literature, such as the novels of George Orwell.[316]

The music of Megadeth and its underground metal contemporaries from the 1980s featured harsh vocals, double bass drum patterns, staccato riffing, power chords, tremolo picking, and screeching lead guitar work; albums from this period were produced on low budgets.[317] After forming Megadeth, Mustaine followed the thrash metal style of his previous band, Metallica, with more emphasis on speed and intensity.[318] Megadeth's music is characterized by its neat instrumental performance, featuring fast rhythm sections, complex arrangements, and snarling vocals.[78] When asked to describe Megadeth's guitar style, Mustaine answered: "When you go to a show and see a guitar player who just stands there, that's a guitar player. A thrash guitar player is a guy who plays like he wants to beat the guitar's guts out."[33] Most of the songs are recorded in standard guitar tuning as Mustaine believes it to provide a superior melody to alternative methods of tuning.[319] In 2017, David Ellefson talked in an interview about how the band recently started to use a lower tuning saying: "it's just natural with age, for singers it can be a struggle, so rather than quit, than not play, how do you work it around? Well, let's drop the guitars, let's find a way to work around it."[320]

During the band's early days, Mustaine was the rhythm guitarist, while Chris Poland played lead. Poland performed only on Megadeth's first two albums at the time of the book's release; (he would go on to play on the 2004 album The System Has Failed); music journalists Pete Prown and Harvey P. Newquist credit him with making the music more colorful because of his jazz influences.[11] According to former Metal Maniacs editor Jeff Wagner, the band's songwriting techniques peaked with the fourth album, Rust in Peace, which he described as a "flurry of precision and fluidity, making good on Megadeth's claim to being the world's state-of-the-art speed metal band".[321] Musicologist Glenn Pillsbury stated the guitar work on the album was a mixture of Mustaine's "controlled chaos" and the "technical brilliance" of Marty Friedman.[64] Studio efforts released in the mid- and late 1990s featured songs with compact structures and less complicated riffing.[322]

Megadeth's lyrics often focus on death, war, politics, and religion.[323] The lyricism centers on nihilistic themes, but occasionally deals with topics such as alienation and social problems.[77] The earliest releases featured themes such as occultism, graphic violence, and Satanism.[21][324] Nuclear warfare and government conspiracy were preoccupations on albums such as Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction.[68] During Megadeth's commercial peak, Mustaine elaborated on more personal themes such as addiction and intimate relationships. For the lyrics on Cryptic Writings, Mustaine said that he wanted to write songs that had more appeal to a wider audience.[325] The title of United Abominations is a satiric play on the name of the United Nations; Mustaine criticized the organization's ineffectiveness on a number of songs on that album.[326] Later albums contained lyrics in a similar vein.[78]

Legacy

Having sold about 38 million units worldwide, Megadeth is one of the few bands from the 1980s American underground metal scene to have achieved mass commercial success.[327] Along with contemporaries Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, Megadeth is regarded as one of the core founding groups of thrash metal.[328] These bands are often referred to as the "big four" of thrash metal,[329] responsible for the genre's development and popularization. Loudwire ranked Megadeth the third best thrash metal band of all time, praising the group's "provoking lyrics and mind-warping virtuosity".[330] CMJ New Music Report called the band's debut album a seminal release and a representative of "the golden age of speed metal".[331] Billboard called the band's second album Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? a "landmark of the thrash movement" whose lyrics it found still relevant.[332] MTV also recognized the band as an influential metal act, highlighting the technical aspect of the early albums.[333]

Megadeth is considered one of the most musically influential groups that originated in the 1980s. As part of the early American thrash metal movement, the band's music was a direct influence on death metal.[317] Sociologist Keith Kahn-Harris wrote that the mainstream success of Megadeth was one of the reasons for the expansion of extreme metal to countries where it had previously been unknown.[334] The band's sound and album artwork influenced a number of thrash metal bands in the 21st century,[335] including Toxic Holocaust and Warbringer.[313][336] According to Nielsen SoundScan, Megadeth has sold 9.2 million copies of its albums in the United States between 1991 and 2014.[337]

In addition to their development and popularization of the groove metal subgenre, Pantera is credited (along with others, such as Testament, Sepultura, and Machine Head) for being part of the second wave of thrash metal scene from the late 1980s to early-to-mid 1990s.[2][3] Pantera is regarded as one of the most successful and influential bands in heavy metal history, having sold around 20 million records worldwide[4] and having received four Grammy nominations.[5]

Having started as a glam metal band, Pantera released three albums in the mid-1980s with lead vocalist Terry Glaze (Metal Magic, Projects in the Jungle, and I Am the Night) with little success. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera hired Anselmo in 1987 and released Power Metal in 1988. They secured a record deal with major label Atco the following year. Their fifth album, 1990's Cowboys from Hell, popularized the groove metal genre, while its 1992 follow-up Vulgar Display of Power achieved an even heavier sound. Far Beyond Driven (1994) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.[6]

Tensions began to surface among the band members when Anselmo became addicted to heroin in 1995; he almost died from an overdose in 1996. These tensions resulted in the recording sessions for The Great Southern Trendkill (1996) being held separately. The ongoing tension lasted for another seven years, during which only one studio album, Reinventing the Steel (2000), was recorded. Pantera went on hiatus in 2001 but lingering disputes led to the band breaking up in 2003. The Abbott brothers went on to form Damageplan while Anselmo continued to work on several side projects, including Down, which Brown joined as well.

On December 8, 2004, Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed on stage by a mentally unstable fan during a Damageplan concert in Columbus, Ohio. Vinnie Paul went on to form Hellyeah after his brother's death, and died of heart failure in 2018,[7] leaving Brown and Anselmo as the only surviving members of the band's best-known lineup.

The band was originally named Gemini, then Eternity, before finally settling on Pantera[8] and consisted of Vinnie Paul Abbott on drums, Darrell Abbott on lead guitar, and Terry Glaze on rhythm guitar; the line-up was completed with two more unofficial members, lead vocalist Donny Hart and bassist Tommy D. Bradford. In 1982, Hart left the band and Glaze became the group's lead vocalist. Later, Glaze stopped playing rhythm guitar, leaving Darrell as the sole guitarist, doing both lead and rhythm duties. Later that year, Bradford also departed and was replaced by Rex Brown (then known as Rex Rocker) on bass.

Pantera became an underground favorite, though its regional tours in this era never took them beyond Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The band began supporting fellow heavy metal/glam metal acts such as Stryper, Dokken, and Quiet Riot.

Pantera released their first studio album, Metal Magic, in 1983. Metal Magic was released on the band's record label of the same name and produced by the Abbott brothers' father, Jerry Abbott, at Pantego Studios.[9]

In 1984, Pantera released their second studio album, Projects in the Jungle. Although still very much a glam metal album, the band members crafted songs that had less overbearing melodic influences than songs from the previous album.[10] Another change was Terry Glaze's name, as he was henceforth credited as "Terrence Lee". In addition, a music video for the album's lead track, "All Over Tonight", was eventually created. Projects in the Jungle was also released on the band's independent Metal Magic Records label and produced by Jerry Abbott.

In 1985, Pantera released their third studio album, titled I Am the Night. As with Projects in the Jungle, this album saw Pantera's sound becoming heavier (though still rooted in glam metal),[10] and the heavy metal press took more notice of the band. Because of poor distribution, I Am the Night turned out to be a costly album to many fans. Around 25,000 copies of the album were sold. Pantera's second music video was produced for the track "Hot and Heavy".

Anselmo's introduction and Power Metal (1986–1988)

The years 1986 and 1987 saw the release of several landmark thrash metal albums that would prove influential to Pantera's developing musical style. Among the most prominent of these were Metallica's Master of Puppets, Slayer's Reign in Blood, Anthrax's Among the Living, and Megadeth's Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?.[11] When Anselmo joined the band, he would bring his mixtapes with him and play bands such as Exhorder, Slayer, and Rigor Mortis to the other band members.[12]

Glaze's glam approach did not fit the band's developing style and he and the other members parted ways,[13] beginning a search for his replacement. Pantera initially auditioned Matt L'Amour, a David Coverdale lookalike. He sang a number of shows with Pantera in Los Angeles during the winter of 1986, but it became somewhat apparent that L'Amour could not hit the high notes Glaze (or Anselmo) was capable of. Together, with his lack of stage presence, this meant that Pantera could only play cover songs, leading to L'Amour's departure.[14] Pantera next auditioned El Paso native Rick Mythiasin, later to sing for Steel Prophet and Agent Steel; however, cultural and image differences – Mythiasin failed to adapt to the Southern culture of the other members – meant his tenure was even shorter than that of L'Amour.[15] A former schoolmate of the Abbott brothers, David Peacock of the band Forced Entry (who had supported Warlock),[16] joined the band as lead vocalist in the spring of 1986, but despite Pantera doing most of the work for their fourth album during the summer with Peacock, Rex and the Abbotts found Peacock's voice to be unsuited to the musical direction Pantera wished for.[17] By the end of the year, Pantera even revisited original frontman Donny Hart, but Hart himself knew that he was not the right man Pantera were seeking and Jerry Abbott was to fire him.

During 1986, New Orleans native Phil Anselmo had heard Pantera were looking for a singer.[18] At the end of the year, they invited him to audition, and the eighteen-year old Anselmo was hired as the new vocalist on the spot.[19] Anselmo had previously been the vocalist for the bands Samhain[9] (not to be confused with Glenn Danzig's band of the same name) and Razor White.[20] Upon playing with Pantera, Anselmo immediately clicked with the other three members.[19]

In 1988, with Anselmo as the new vocalist, Pantera released their fourth studio album, titled Power Metal.[10] Power Metal, like Pantera's previous three albums, was released by Metal Magic Records, but showcased a change in their sound.[19] By far the band's heaviest album at this point, Power Metal had little resemblance to the power metal subgenre, but was a mix of 1980s glam metal and thrash metal, sometimes blending both styles in a single song.[19] Complementing the band's new sonic approach were Anselmo's harder-edged vocals compared to those of Terry Glaze.[19] After the release of Power Metal, the band members decided to seriously reconsider their glam metal image and sound.[19] Referring to the band's spandex appearance, Vinnie Paul remarked at a band meeting that "These magic clothes don't play music; we do. Let's just go out there and be comfortable, jeans, t-shirt, whatever, and see where it goes."[11][21] The band members would later ignore their independent releases, including Power Metal, as they sculpted a new, heavier image to accompany their later groove metal sound. Their four independent albums are not listed on the band's official website and have become hard-to-find collector's items.

Cowboys from Hell (1989–1991)

Shortly after Power Metal was released, Megadeth needed a guitarist and phoned "Diamond Darrell", as he was then known, to join the band. Darrell insisted that his brother, bandmate Vinnie Paul, be included. However, Megadeth had already hired Nick Menza as their new drummer so Darrell declined the offer, and Dave Mustaine instead decided on Marty Friedman.[22] The Abbott brothers refocused their attention on Pantera, and in 1989 they were given their first shot at commercial success. That year was also when the band formed their relationship with Walter O'Brien at Concrete Management (the management arm of Concrete Marketing), who remained their manager until they disbanded in 2003.[23]

After being turned down "28 times by every major label on the face of the Earth",[24] Atco Records representatives Mark Ross and Stevenson Eugenio were asked by their boss Derek Shulman, who was interested in signing Pantera, to see the band perform in Texas. Ross was so impressed by the band's performance that he called his boss that night, suggesting that the band should be signed to the label. Atco Records accepted, and at the conclusion of 1989, the band recorded its major label debut at Pantego Studios and hired Terry Date to produce it, in large part because of his work with Soundgarden, Metal Church and Overkill, the latter of whose latest album at the time The Years of Decay was one of the sources of inspiration behind Pantera's transition away from glam/traditional heavy metal to thrash/groove metal, as well as Diamond Darrell's guitar tone on the album.

Looking for their first big breakthrough, Pantera released their fifth studio album, titled Cowboys from Hell, on July 24, 1990, which was produced by Pantera and Date. Pantera showed a more extreme style on this outing, leaving behind its glam metal influences in favor of mid-tempo thrash metal dubbed "power groove" (groove metal) by the band. Although Anselmo still used some Rob Halford-influenced vocals, he also adopted a more abrasive delivery. Darrell's more complex guitar solos and riffs, along with his brother's faster-paced drumwork were evidence of the band's extreme transformation. The album marked a critical juncture in the band's history. Many fans, as well as the band itself, consider it Pantera's "official" debut.[30] Cowboys included the tracks "Cemetery Gates", a brooding seven-minute piece that focuses on death and religion, and the thrashing title track, which gave the band members their nickname and asserted their raucous personality and style.

To promote its latest album, Pantera began the Cowboys from Hell tour alongside thrash acts Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies. In 1991, Rob Halford performed with the band onstage, which led Pantera (along with Annihilator) to open for Judas Priest on its first show in Europe. They also opened for other bands like Sepultura, Fates Warning, Prong, Mind Over Four, and Morbid Angel, and co-headlined a North American tour with Wrathchild America.[31] The band eventually landed a billing for "Monsters in Moscow" with AC/DC and Metallica in September 1991, where they played to a crowd of over 500,000 in attendance to celebrate the new freedom of performing Western music in the Soviet Union shortly before its downfall three months later. The band was often found at the Dallas club "the Basement", where the band shot the videos for "Cowboys from Hell" and "Psycho Holiday". Pantera's 2006 home video compilation 3 Vulgar Videos from Hell features performances of "Primal Concrete Sledge", "Cowboys from Hell", "Domination", and "Psycho Holiday" from the show in Moscow.

Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven (1992–1995)

Pantera's unique "groove" style came to fruition when it released their sixth studio album, titled Vulgar Display of Power, on February 25, 1992. On this album, the power metal falsetto vocals were replaced with a hardcore-influenced shouted delivery and heavier guitar sound, which firmly cemented the band's popularity among mainstream and underground fans alike. Two other singles from the album became two of Pantera's most notable ballads: "This Love", a haunting piece about lust and abuse, and "Hollow", somewhat reminiscent of "Cemetery Gates" from the previous album. The band would play the song "Domination" (from Cowboys from Hell) leading into the ending of "Hollow" (what is roughly the last 2:30 of the album version), forming a medley referred to as "Dom/Hollow", as can be heard on the band's 1997 live album. Singles from Vulgar also received significant airplay on radio as did the companion music videos on MTV. The album entered the American charts at No. 44.[6] Pantera went on tour again, visiting Japan for the first time in July 1992 and later performing at the "Monsters of Rock" festival co-headlined by Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath in Italy. It was around this time that Darrell Abbott dropped the nickname "Diamond Darrell" and assumed "Dimebag Darrell", and Rex Brown dropped the pseudonym "Rex Rocker".

Pantera released their seventh studio album, titled Far Beyond Driven, on March 22, 1994, which debuted at No. 1 in both United States[6] and Australian album charts. The album's first single, "I'm Broken", earned the band's first Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance" in 1995. The album saw Pantera continue its groove metal approach, while taking an even more extreme direction with its musical style. The album's original artwork (a drill bit impaling an anus) was banned, so it was re-released with the familiar skull impaled with a drill bit. A limited edition was released with a slip-cover case. Also, a boxed set called Driven Down Under Tour '94 Souvenir Collection was released in Australia and New Zealand to coincide with the tours there. It featured Far Beyond Driven (with its original banned artwork) with a bonus 13th track, "The Badge" (a Poison Idea cover), the 5-track aLIVE and hostile e.p., and the Japanese collector's edition Walk EP, all presented in a special cardboard box with an 8-page color biography.

Pantera began touring again, starting in South America, along with being accepted into another "Monsters of Rock" billing. At that festival on June 4, 1994, the Abbott brothers got into a scuffle with journalists from the music magazine Kerrang! over unflattering cartoon depictions of drummer Vinnie Paul. Then in late June, Anselmo was charged with assault for attacking a security guard after he prevented fans from getting on stage. Anselmo was released on a $5,000 bail the next day.[32][33] The trial was delayed three times.[34] In May 1995, he apologized in court and pleaded guilty to attempted assault and was ordered to undergo 100 hours of community service.[35][36] Pantera continued their tour of the United Kingdom in 1994 and eventually ended it in the United States where the band was opened for by fellow groove metal band Prong.

Band tensions and The Great Southern Trendkill (1995–1996)

According to the Abbott brothers, Anselmo began behaving strangely and distanced himself from the band when they returned to the road in 1995. The rest of the band members first thought that Pantera's perception of his fame had gotten to Anselmo, but Anselmo cited back pain from years of intense performances as the reason for his erratic behavior. Anselmo attempted to alleviate his pain through alcohol, but this, as he admitted, was affecting his performances and "putting some worry into the band."[11] Doctors predicted that with surgery, Anselmo's back problem could be corrected, but that the recovery time could take up a whole lot more time than before. Unwilling to spend that much time away from the band, Anselmo refused, and began using heroin as a painkiller.

Anselmo's on-stage remarks became notorious during this time. After stating at a Montreal concert that "rap music advocates the killing of white people", Anselmo denied accusations of racism, and later issued an apology,[37] stating that he was drunk and that his remarks were a mistake.[9] In 1995, the supergroup Down, one of Anselmo's many side projects, rose to expectations. Their 1995 debut, NOLA, was a success, but shortly afterwards, the group members returned to their respective bands, leaving Down inactive for several years.

Pantera's eighth studio album, The Great Southern Trendkill, was released on May 7, 1996,[38] and is often considered their "overlooked" album.[24] Anselmo recorded the vocals for this release in Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor's studio in New Orleans while the rest of the band recorded in Dallas, evidence of the continued distancing between Anselmo and the rest of the band. In comparison to the band's previous efforts, there was a heavier emphasis on vocal overdubbing in a somewhat "demonic" fashion. Drug abuse is a recurring theme in Trendkill, as exemplified by tracks such as "Suicide Note Pt. I", "Suicide Note Pt. II", "10's", and "Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath)". "Drag the Waters" became the album's only music video, and likewise, the only track from the album to appear on the band's compilation album. The album's other single, "Floods", achieved acclaim largely because of Darrell's complex guitar solo in the song, which ranked No. 15 on Guitar World magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" of all-time.[39]

Overdose, Official Live: 101 Proof, and side projects (1996–1999)

On July 13, 1996, during their tour with Eyehategod and White Zombie,[40] Anselmo overdosed on heroin an hour after a Texas homecoming gig.[41][42] After his heart stopped beating for almost five minutes, paramedics gave Anselmo a shot of adrenaline (or possibly Narcan) and sent him to the hospital. After he woke up in the hospital, the nurse working in his room said "Welcome back to life, oh and you have overdosed on heroin." Anselmo apologized to his bandmates the next night, and said that he would quit using drugs.[43] The revelation of heroin use came as a shock to Vinnie and Darrell, who were embarrassed by Anselmo's actions, according to Rita Haney, the guitarist's girlfriend. Anselmo said that he relapsed twice after this and was overcome with guilt.[11]

Pantera released their first live album, Official Live: 101 Proof, on July 29, 1997, which included fourteen live tracks and two new studio recordings: "Where You Come From" and "I Can't Hide". Two weeks before the live album's release, Pantera received its first platinum album, for Cowboys from Hell. Just four months later, both Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven were awarded platinum as well.[44] The band also received their second and third "Best Metal Performance" Grammy Nominations for The Great Southern Trendkill's "Suicide Note (Pt. I)" and Cowboys' "Cemetery Gates" in 1997 and 1998, respectively. The release of their video 3 Watch It Go earned them a 1997 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award, when it was voted Best Video Cassette.[45]

Also in 1997, Pantera played on the mainstage of Ozzfest alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Marilyn Manson, Type O Negative, Fear Factory, Machine Head, and Powerman 5000. Additionally, the band played on the 1998 UK Ozzfest tour alongside Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Foo Fighters, Slayer, Soulfly, Fear Factory, and Therapy?, as well as touring with Clutch and Neurosis.[46]

Around this time, Anselmo ventured into more side projects, such as playing guitars on Necrophagia's 1999 release Holocausto de la Morte, where he went as the alias "Anton Crowley", which combines the names of Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey and occultist Aleister Crowley. He also temporarily joined the black metal supergroup Eibon and contributed vocals to that band's only 2 songs. Another one of Anselmo's "Anton Crowley" projects was black metal band Viking Crown. The Abbott brothers and Rex Brown began their own country metal crossover project, Rebel Meets Rebel with David Allan Coe, around the same time.

The band wrote a song for the NHL's Dallas Stars during the team's 1999 Stanley Cup Championship run, "Puck Off", which in recent years has been used as the Stars' goal song at American Airlines Center. Throughout the season, members of the team befriended members of Pantera. During a Stanley Cup party hosted by Vinnie Paul, the Stanley Cup was damaged when Guy Carbonneau attempted to throw the Cup from the balcony of Vinnie Paul's house into his pool. The Cup landed short on the concrete deck and had to be repaired by NHL commissioned silversmiths.[47][48]

Reinventing the Steel and break-up (1999–2003)

Pantera returned to the recording studio with Anselmo in 1999, releasing their ninth and final studio album, Reinventing the Steel, on March 21, 2000. The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200[6] and included two singles; "Revolution Is My Name" and "Goddamn Electric", the latter of which featured a Kerry King outro solo recorded backstage in one take during Ozzfest in Dallas. "Revolution Is My Name" became the band's fourth nomination for Best Metal Performance in the 2001 Grammys. In 2000, Pantera played on the mainstage of Ozzfest alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Godsmack, Static-X, Methods of Mayhem, Incubus, P.O.D., Black Label Society, Queens of the Stone Age, and Apartment 26. In November, the band canceled their planned tour after Anselmo broke his ribs after falling during his eighth annual House of Shock event.[49]

In 2001, the band once again returned to touring, playing with fellow metal bands Morbid Angel, Skrape, Slayer, and Static-X as part of the Extreme Steel Tour of North America.[50] They were also guest musicians on the show SpongeBob SquarePants in the episode "Pre-Hibernation Week", performing the song "Death Rattle" from Reinventing the Steel. Following the Extreme Steel tour, a planned tour of Europe was cut short as a result of the September 11 attacks, which left the band stranded in Dublin, Ireland for six days as a result of all flights being canceled. Pantera played their last show in Yokohama, Japan at the 'Beast Feast' festival on August 28, 2001. This would be the last time the members of Pantera performed together. Back home, the band planned to release its fourth home video in Summer 2002 and record another studio album later that year, but neither came about.[51]

Anselmo again engaged in numerous side projects. In March 2002, Down released its second studio album, Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow, which featured Rex Brown on bass following Todd Strange's departure in 1999. Brown remained Down's full-time bassist until 2011, having appeared on their subsequent release in 2007. Also, in May of that year, Anselmo's Superjoint Ritual released its debut album, Use Once and Destroy. Vinnie Paul claimed that Anselmo told him that he would take a year off following the events of September 11, 2001, but Anselmo's touring and recording output for both Superjoint Ritual and Down contradicted this. The Abbott brothers were frustrated, and held out for an indefinite period of time, assuming that Anselmo would return. However, according to Anselmo, taking a break from Pantera was a "mutual thing" between each of the band members.[52]

The Abbott brothers officially disbanded Pantera in November 2003,[53] also the year when their best-of compilation album was released, when the Abbott brothers concluded that Anselmo had abandoned them and would not return. The disbandment of the band was not amicable and subsequently a war of words was waged between the former bandmates via the press. Anselmo's comment in a 2004 issue of Metal Hammer magazine, saying that Dimebag would "attack him" verbally and "deserves to be beaten severely", typified Pantera's internal conflicts; Anselmo insisted that this comment was tongue-in-cheek, and he was upset that his comment ended up on the cover of the "god damn" magazine.[11] This explanation was soon dismissed by Vinnie Paul, who said shortly after the 2004 murder of his brother that he had personally listened to the audio files of the interview and that Anselmo had not been misquoted or misrepresented, but said the exact words which appeared in the article.[11] Caught up in the torrent was Rex Brown, who later said "It was a bunch of he said, she said nonsense that was going on, and I wasn't going to get in the middle of it."[11] In July 2004, Vulgar Display of Power went double-platinum, and The Great Southern Trendkill went platinum the next month.[44]

Damageplan and the murder of Dimebag Darrell (2003–2004)

After Pantera's disbandment, Darrell and Vinnie formed a new band, Damageplan, with vocalist Pat Lachman and bassist Bob Zilla. Damageplan released their first and only studio album, New Found Power, on February 10, 2004. The album was a commercial success; over 44,000 copies were sold in its first week alone and within a year over 100,000 copies were sold. However, some fans felt that Damageplan's material did not measure up to that of Pantera.[11]

On December 8, 2004, less than a minute into the first song of a Damageplan show at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, a 25-year-old man named Nathan Gale walked onto the stage with a gun, shooting and killing Darrell. Gale also killed fan Nathan Bray, 23, club employee Erin Halk, 29, and Pantera security official Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, 40, and injured longtime Pantera and Damageplan drum technician John "Kat" Brooks and Damageplan tour manager Chris Paluska before being shot dead by Columbus police officer James Niggemeyer.[54]

No motive has been given as to why Gale killed Dimebag Darrell and the other victims, but early theories, which were dismissed by police, suggested that Gale, who was reported to have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was apparently upset over Pantera's breakup. In a number of interviews, some of Gale's friends suggested that he claimed that he had written songs that were stolen by Pantera.[55]

A week after the shooting, it was reported that album sales of both Damageplan and Pantera albums jumped sharply.[56]

After Damageplan

When Anselmo called in the aftermath of the murders, Rita Haney, Darrell's girlfriend, told him she would "blow Anselmo's head off" if he attended Darrell's funeral.[11] He was buried with Eddie Van Halen's black and yellow-striped Charvel electric guitar (sometimes referred to as "Bumblebee"), which was pictured with Van Halen on the inner sleeve and back cover of the album Van Halen II. Dimebag had asked for one of these guitars in 2004, shortly before his death. Eddie Van Halen originally agreed to make Darrell a copy of the guitar, but upon hearing of Abbott's death, offered to place the actual guitar in his casket. Dimebag was buried in a Kiss Kasket (a casket inspired by the band Kiss). Kiss co-founder Gene Simmons said, "There were a limited number made and I sent mine to the family of 'Dimebag' Darrell. He requested in his will to be buried in a Kiss Kasket, as he sort of learned his rock 'n' roll roots by listening to us for some strange reason." Not long after Darrell's murder, Anselmo received a heated message from Vinnie, which (according to Anselmo) "went along the lines that my (Anselmo's) day was coming." Anselmo's rebuttal was that everybody's day is coming and that if his day should end before Vinnie's it would not change anything, except for Vinnie to go through "losing another brother".

On May 11, 2006, the VH1 Behind the Music episode on Pantera premiered. While focusing heavily on Darrell's murder and burial, the episode also detailed the band's glam metal beginnings, the band's rise in popularity after the change in musical direction, and the conflicts between Anselmo and the Abbott brothers in the band's later years that would tear them apart. When asked by Crave Music in 2006 if there was any chance of reconciling with Phil Anselmo, Vinnie Paul answered "Absolutely not. That's it."[57] The former Pantera drummer subsequently began work on Hellyeah, a collaboration between him and members from Mudvayne and Nothingface. Both Anselmo and Brown reunited with Down, and supported Heaven & Hell and Megadeth on their 2007 Canadian tour, as well as supporting Metallica on the first half of their World Magnetic Tour.

In interviews in 2009 and 2010, both Rita Haney and Phil Anselmo stated that, after a meeting at Download 2009, they had patched up their differences and are once again on speaking terms.[58] On March 30, 2010, Pantera released a greatest-hits compilation album, titled 1990–2000: A Decade of Domination. It was made available exclusively at Walmart stores and is made up of 10 tracks that were remastered.[59]

On April 11, 2012, at the Revolver Golden God Awards a new song, titled "Piss", was debuted after being discovered in the Pantera "vaults" by Vinnie Paul. A music video was made for "Piss" and shown at the awards show and, according to Vinnie Paul, this is the only complete previously unheard Pantera track. It was recorded during the Vulgar Display of Power sessions.[60] During a 2012 appearance on That Metal Show, when asked about the possibility of a Pantera reunion, Vinnie Paul said that it would be possible if Dimebag Darrell were still alive. Despite being proud of his Pantera years, however, he indicated that there were no plans for a reunion, adding that "some stones are better left unturned."[61] On March 22, 2014, Pantera released a 20-year anniversary edition of Far Beyond Driven. All songs were remastered, and as a bonus, they released a live recording of their 1994 Monsters of Rock performance.[62]

Public comments made by Anselmo following the shooting suggested that he had considered reuniting with the band prior to Darrell's death.[63] However, one year after the murder, Paul stated in an interview that this reunion was never going to happen.[64] Comments about a potential one-off reunion concert resurfaced periodically, with Zakk Wylde often being suggested as the stand-in replacement for Darrell.[65][66] Paul, however, had been strictly resistant to the idea.[67][68] Despite several overtures towards reconciliation by Anselmo towards Paul, the two men remained permanently estranged.

In a July 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Anselmo spoke out against Pantera and his other band's usage of the Confederate flag claiming it was a mistake to use it on their merchandise, albums and other promotional material. Anselmo said "These days, I wouldn't want anything to fucking do with it because truthfully... I wouldn't. The way I feel and the group of people I've had to work with my whole life, you see a Confederate flag out there that says 'Heritage, not hate.' I'm not so sure I'm buying into that." Anselmo said originally that Pantera used the image because they were huge fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd but it was never about promoting hate.[69]

Also in 2015, Anselmo and Brown were interviewed at length about Pantera for the book Survival of the Fittest: Heavy Metal in the 1990s, by author Greg Prato. Brown also penned the foreword for the book, while a concert photo from 1994 of Anselmo and Darrell was used for the book's cover image.[70]

On June 22, 2018, Paul died at the age of 54, making him the second founding member of Pantera (following his brother) to die.[7] Sources initially said that the cause of his death was a massive heart attack in his sleep,[71] but on August 27, 2018, the official cause of death was revealed to be dilated cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease.[72]

In November 2018, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals, while on tour supporting their second full-length album, played their first setlist composed entirely of Pantera songs.[73] The trend continued all throughout the rest of the year as well as in 2019, with the tour being dubbed as "Pantera tribute".[74]

On January 28, 2020, Pantera surpassed one billion streams across most major streaming music services (Amazon, Apple Music, Deezer, Google, and Spotify).[75]

Musical style, influences, and legacy

Pantera are generally considered a groove metal band.[76][77][78][79] The band's early albums in the 1980s were glam metal with New Wave of British Heavy Metal influences.[79] Pantera also has been described as thrash metal.[80][81] Nonetheless, groove metal, pioneered by Pantera, was an offshoot inspired by thrash metal.[76] The band also has been influential to the development of nu metal, metalcore, and several other movements.[82] They have been called one of the pioneers of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal.[83] PopMatters has claimed that, "[Dimebag Darrell]'s influence on the entire genre of heavy metal is massive; after Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display of Power, every notable young American metal band since has, in some way or another, copied their guitar style from those records: Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Hatebreed, Lamb of God, Shadows Fall... the list is endless."[84]

Pantera toured on Ozzfest as main stage acts twice; the band played at the second annual Ozzfest in 1997 and the fifth Ozzfest in 2000. Over the course of their career, Pantera's members became known for their excessive partying and debauchery, even acquiring an official drink called the "Black Tooth Grin". The "Black Tooth Grin" ("Black Tooth", "The Grin", or "BTG", alternatively), named after lyrics from Megadeth's "Sweating Bullets", is a mixture of Crown Royal or Seagram 7 whisky (or both) and Coca-Cola.

Pantera also adopted a self-described "take no shit" attitude, epitomized in its song "5 Minutes Alone" from the album Far Beyond Driven. According to Vinnie Paul, the song originated when, during a show in San Diego, California, Anselmo was annoyed by a heckler and encouraged the crowd to beat him up. Consequently, the band was sued by the father of the heckler who said he wanted "five minutes alone" with Anselmo to prove who was the "big daddy", and Anselmo responded that he would use those "five minutes alone" with the father to "whoop his ass."[24]

Despite being a standard glam metal band early in their career, the band members perceive themselves to have subsequently had an uncompromising career in which they never "sold out" or gave into trends. This is most noticeably highlighted in the themes and title of The Great Southern Trendkill. Anselmo said:

We've survived every fucking trend—heavy metal, "grunge metal", funk metal, rap metal—and we're still here. We put everyone on notice that we don't fuck around. Our fans know we're true right down to the fucking core.[85]

Similarly, the die-hard attitude of "We'll Grind That Axe for a Long Time" (from Reinventing the Steel) is, according to Anselmo, "in a way, our motto."[85]

Aside from their post-glam, thrash metal influences, the band members cite heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath as one of their favorite bands. As a tribute, Pantera has recorded three different covers of Black Sabbath songs (all from the Ozzy Osbourne era). The first was "Planet Caravan", a slower, quieter song planned for the first Sabbath tribute album, Nativity in Black, that eventually became the final track on Far Beyond Driven. The band performed Sabbath's "Electric Funeral" on the second Nativity in Black. A previously unreleased cover of Sabbath's "Hole in the Sky" was included on the band's 2003 compilation album, The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits! Pantera's affinity for Black Sabbath is also shown through the lyrics, "Your trust is in whiskey and weed and Black Sabbath", in "Goddamn Electric". The same song also mentions Slayer, one of the band's thrash metal influences.

Exhorder controversy

The New Orleans band Exhorder have suggested that Pantera copied their sound during the change from glam metal to groove metal. Pantera's Cowboys from Hell, marking a major stylistic shift, was released just before Exhorder's debut, Slaughter in the Vatican. However Exhorder self-released two demos in the late 1980s (around the time that Pantera was still playing glam metal). Exhorder's members allege Pantera copied these demos.[86]

A review at AllMusic noted some "striking similarities" between the two bands, both emphasizing mid-tempo songs and "gruff but very expressive" lead singers – similarities that fueled debate about whether one band imitated the other. In disagreement with the opinion that Exhorder is "Pantera minus the good songs", AllMusic's review of Slaughter in the Vatican expresses that "perhaps a more accurate billing would be to call them Pantera without the major label backing." In explaining Exhorder's much less successful career, AllMusic also point to the fact that the title of their debut, along with the blatantly provocative album cover, "certainly didn't help [their] cause any."[87]

However, some critics dispute any notion that Pantera imitated Exhorder's sound. Brian Davis, a contributor to Internet radio station KNAC, addresses the issue as follows:

Exhorder's main "claim to fame" is the common opinion that they're the band that Pantera stole their sound from. That's total bullshit. There are minor similarities in guitar style, and on occasion, vocalist Kyle Thomas spits out a line or scream that will bring Pantera to mind, but to go so far as to say that Pantera is an Exhorder clone is ludicrous.[88]

Although originally decrying Pantera as a rip-off of their sound, Exhorder lead vocalist Kyle Thomas has stated that he does not care about any of the criticism and is sick of seeing Exhorder's name tied to Pantera's. He also stated that he and the members of Pantera were great friends who used to tour together, and that he mourns the loss of Dimebag Darrell.[89][90] Guitarist Marzi Montazeri, however, who worked with Anselmo on one of his solo projects, said that Anselmo "ripped off" Thomas' vocal style, "'cause he was doing Rob Halford stuff back then, when he first joined Pantera. And when Cowboys came, he wanted to be in Exhorder so bad, he went back and said, 'We're gonna sound like these guys.' And he took it, simplified it, and became the biggest band in the world. But the formula was that."

Avenged Sevenfold is known for its diverse rock sound and dramatic imagery in album covers and merchandise.[1] The band emerged with a metalcore sound on their debut album Sounding the Seventh Trumpet and continued this sound through their second album Waking the Fallen. However, the band's style had evolved by the group's third album and first major label release, City of Evil, into a heavy metal and hard rock style. The band continued to explore new sounds with its self-titled release and enjoyed continued mainstream success before their drummer, James "The Rev" Sullivan, died in 2009. Despite his death, Avenged Sevenfold continued on with the help of drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), and released and toured in support of their fifth album Nightmare in 2010, which debuted on the top spot of the Billboard 200, their first number one debut.[2]

In 2011 drummer Arin Ilejay joined the band on tours and recording. The band's sixth studio album Hail to the King, which was released in 2013, marked the only Avenged Sevenfold album featuring Ilejay. Hail to the King charted as number 1 on the Billboard 200, the UK Albums chart, as well as the Finnish, Brazilian, Canadian, and Irish charts. In late 2014, Ilejay left the band, and was replaced by former Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman, but the lineup change was not announced to the public until 2015. The band then surprise-released their seventh studio album titled The Stage on October 28, 2016, which debuted as number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US. The Stage is their first conceptual album and it marked another stylistic change for the band, moving towards a progressive metal sound.

To date, Avenged Sevenfold has released seven studio albums, one live album/DVD, two compilation albums and eighteen singles and have sold over 8 million albums worldwide,[3] and their records have received numerous certification awards, including five platinum album awards from their home country's institution (RIAA). They have also created four original songs for the Call of Duty: Black Ops series, all of which were compiled together in the 2018 EP Black Reign. The band were ranked No. 47 on Loudwire's list of Top 50 Metal Bands of All Time.[4]

Formation and Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (1999–2002)

Avenged Sevenfold was formed in March 1999 in Huntington Beach, California by Matt Sanders, James Sullivan and Matt Wendt.[5] Although they are not a religious band, Sanders came up with the name as a reference to the story of Cain and Abel from the Bible, which can be found in Genesis 4:24.[6] Shortly after their formation, they were joined by an acquaintance from high school, Zachary Baker, who played in the punk band MPA (short for Mad Porn Action) at the time.[5]

Avenged Sevenfold's first creative output was a three-track-demo recorded in early 1999.[7][8] In early 2000, they were asked by Sadistic Records to contribute to two compilations.[5] To that end, they recorded two new songs and released them along with the previously recorded songs on a second demo.[8] They sent this demo to the Belgian label Good Life Recordings and were subsequently signed.[9] Afterwards, the band participated in another two compilation albums, their label's GoodLife 4 and Novocaine Records' Scrape III compilations.[10] Around this time, Matt Wendt left for college and Justin Meacham, the previous bassist of Suburban Legends, joined Avenged Sevenfold. In late 2000, the foursome took on their initial stage names – M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, Justin Sane and The Rev – and recorded their debut album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet.[11] In early 2001, lead guitarist and old friend Synyster Gates joined the band and they re-recorded the introductory track "To End the Rapture" for the album's lead-single/EP, Warmness on the Soul, released in April 2001. Although their debut album's release was initially planned for the same month, it was pushed back multiple times and eventually released on July 24, 2001, on Good Life Recordings.[12]

Around August 2001, Meacham attempted suicide by drinking excessive amounts of cough syrup.[13][14] This event was the reason for Avenged Sevenfold to join the Take Action Tour in 2003.[13] During Meacham's hospitalization, he remained in poor condition and had to leave the band.[14] In an interview, lead singer M. Shadows said of Meacham that "he perma-fried his brain and was in a mental institution for a long time, and when you have someone in your band who does that, it ruins everything that's going on all around you, and it makes you want to do something to prevent it from happening to other people."[14] His replacement was Frank Melcom, stage name Dameon Ash, who performed with the band for the following months, but does not appear on any releases.

On January 18, 2002, Avenged Sevenfold left Good Life Recordings and signed with Hopeless Records.[15] They re-released their debut album on March 19 and also appeared on the Hopelessly Devoted To You Vol. 4 sampler in April. The band started to receive recognition, performing with bands such as Mushroomhead and Shadows Fall.[16] They spent the year touring in support of their debut album and participated in the Vans Warped Tour. In September, Dameon Ash left Avenged Sevenfold and their current bassist Johnny Christ joined them, completing their best known line-up.[17]

Waking the Fallen and City of Evil (2003–2005)

Having found a new bassist, the group released their second studio album titled Waking the Fallen on Hopeless Records in August 2003. The album featured a more refined and mature sound production in comparison to their previous album. The band received profiles in Billboard and The Boston Globe, and again played on the Vans Warped and Take Action tours.[18][19][20] In 2004, Avenged Sevenfold toured again on the Vans Warped Tour and recorded a video for their song "Unholy Confessions" which went into rotation on MTV2's Headbangers Ball.[21] Shortly after the release of Waking the Fallen, Avenged Sevenfold left Hopeless Records and were officially signed to Warner Bros. Records on November 1, 2003.[22]

City of Evil, the band's third album and major label debut, was released on June 6, 2005, and debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 30,000 copies in its first week of release.[23][24] It utilized a more classic metal sound than Avenged Sevenfold's previous albums, which had been grouped into the metalcore genre.[25][26] The album is also notable for the absence of screamed and growled vocals; M. Shadows worked with vocal coach Ron Anderson—whose clients have included Axl Rose and Chris Cornell—for months before the album's release to achieve a sound that had "grit while still having the tone".[25][27] The album received positive reviews from several magazines and websites and is credited for propelling the band into international popularity.

Avenged Sevenfold (2006–2008)

After playing Ozzfest in 2006, Avenged Sevenfold memorably beat out R&B Singers Rihanna and Chris Brown, Panic! at the Disco, Angels & Airwaves and James Blunt for the title of Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, thanks in part to their Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-inspired song "Bat Country."[28] They returned to the Vans Warped Tour, this time headlining and then continued on their own "Cities of Evil Tour."[29] In addition, their lead single "Bat Country" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts, No.6 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts and the accompanying video made it to No. 1 on MTV's Total Request Live.[30] Propelled by this success, the album sold well and became Avenged Sevenfold's first Gold record.[31] It was later certified platinum in August 2009. Avenged Sevenfold was invited to join Ozzfest tour on the main stage, alongside other well known rock/heavy metal acts such as DragonForce, Lacuna Coil, Hatebreed, Disturbed and System of a Down for the first time in 2006.[32] That same year they also completed a worldwide tour, including the US, The United Kingdom (as well as mainland Europe), Japan, Australia and New Zealand. After a sixteen-month promotion of City of Evil, the band announced that they were cancelling their Fall 2006 tour to record new music.[33] In the interim, the band released their first DVD titled All Excess on July 17, 2007.[34] All Excess, which debuted as the No. 1 DVD in the US, included live performances and backstage footage that spanned the band's eight-year career. Two tribute albums, Strung Out on Avenged Sevenfold: Bat Wings and Broken Strings and Strung Out on Avenged Sevenfold: The String Tribute were also released in October 2007.

On October 30, 2007, Avenged Sevenfold released their self-titled album, the band's fourth studio album. It debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with over 90,000 copies sold.[35] Two singles, "Critical Acclaim" and "Almost Easy" were released prior to the album's debut. In December 2007, an animated video was made for "A Little Piece of Heaven". Due to the song's controversial subject matter, however, Warner Brothers only released it to registered MVI users over the internet. The third single, "Afterlife" and its video was released in January 2008. Their fourth single, "Dear God", was released on June 15, 2008. Although critical reception was generally mixed the self-titled album went on to sell over 500,000 copies and was awarded "Album of the Year" at the Kerrang! Awards.[36]

Avenged Sevenfold headlined the 2008 Taste of Chaos tour with Atreyu, Bullet for My Valentine, Blessthefall and Idiot Pilot.[37] Footage from their last show in Long Beach was used for the band's next release, Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough, released on September 16, 2008. Its content includes live DVD from their performance at Long Beach, and a CD containing B-sides from Avenged Sevenfold, and other rarities, such as covers from Pantera's "Walk", Iron Maiden's "Flash of the Blade", and Black Sabbath's "Paranoid".[37][38][39]

Death of The Rev and Nightmare (2009–2011)

In January 2009, M. Shadows confirmed that the band was writing the follow-up to their self-titled fourth album within the upcoming months.[40] They also played at Rock on the Range, from May 16–17, 2009.[41] On April 16, they performed a version of Guns N' Roses' "It's So Easy" onstage with Slash, at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.[42] On December 28, 2009, the band's drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan was found dead at his home at the age of 28.[43] Autopsy results were inconclusive,[44] but on June 9, 2010, the cause of death was revealed to have been an "acute polydrug intoxication due to combined effects of Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Diazepam/Nordiazepam and ethanol".[45] In a statement by the band, they expressed their grief over the death of The Rev and later posted a message from Sullivan's family which expressed their gratitude to his fans for their support.[46][47] The band members admitted in a number of interviews that they considered disbanding at this point in time.[48][49] However, on February 17, 2010, Avenged Sevenfold stated that they had entered the studio, along with now-former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, to drum for the album, in place of The Rev.[50]

The single "Nightmare" was digitally released on May 18, 2010.[51][52] A preview for the song was released on May 6, 2010, on Amazon.com, but was removed soon after for unknown reasons.[52] Mixing for the album had been completed in New York City, and Nightmare was finally released on July 27, 2010,[53] in the United States. It met with mixed to positive reviews from music critics but was well received by the fans. Nightmare beat sales projections easily, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with sales of 163,000 units in its first week.[54] After finishing recording, in December, Portnoy and the band posted simultaneous statements on their websites stating that he would not be their replacement for The Rev. However, Portnoy did travel with the band overseas in December 2010 for three shows in Iraq and Kuwait sponsored by the USO. They played for U.S. Soldiers at Camp Adder, Camp Beuhring, and Balad Air Base.[55] On January 20, 2011, Avenged Sevenfold announced via Facebook that former Confide drummer Arin Ilejay would begin touring with them that year. He was not yet considered a full-time member at this point.[56][57]

Avenged Sevenfold performed at the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals on June 3–5, 2011 alongside other bands such as Alter Bridge, System of a Down, and In Flames.[58] In April 2011, the band headlined the Golden God Awards held by Metal Hammer. The same night the band won three awards for "Best Vocalist" (M. Shadows), "Epiphone Best Guitarist(s)" (Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance), and "Affliction's Album of The Year" for Nightmare, while Mike Portnoy won the award for "Drum Workshop's Best Drummer" for his work on the album.

Avenged Sevenfold headlined the 2011 Uproar Festival with supporting acts Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet for My Valentine, Escape the Fate, among others.[59] In November and December 2011, the band went on their "Buried Alive" tour with supporting acts Hollywood Undead, Asking Alexandria, and Black Veil Brides.[60]

Hail to the King and Waking the Fallen: Resurrected (2012–2014)

On April 11, 2012, Avenged Sevenfold won the award for "Best Live Band" and "Most Dedicated Fans" at the Revolver Golden Gods awards.[61] The band toured through Asia into April and early May, and played at the Orion Music + More, Festival on June 23 and 24 in Atlantic City, New Jersey alongside Metallica and Cage the Elephant among many others.[62]

On September 24, 2012, Avenged Sevenfold released a new song, titled "Carry On"; it was featured in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II.[63] On November 15, 2012, vocalist M. Shadows said that the band had been working on a new album since the recording of "Carry On" in August 2012.[64] The band began recording material for the album in January 2013.[65] The band then started streaming snippets of the album in May 2013 on their new radio app.[66] There, Arin Ilejay was confirmed as an official band member and replacement of deceased The Rev. M. Shadows said that the album would sound more blues rock-influenced and more like classic rock/metal like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.[67]

The band was confirmed to play at the 2013 Rock in Rio festival on September 22, 2013.[68] On May 24, 2013, the band have announced dates for their European tour with Five Finger Death Punch and Device serving as their support bands.

The album, entitled Hail to the King, was released on August 23, 2013.[69] This is the first Avenged Sevenfold album without any musical contributions from late drummer, The Rev. The album's lead single and title track was released on July 15, 2013. Hail to the King charted as No. 1 on the US Billboard 200, the UK albums chart, as well as the Finnish, Brazilian, Canadian, and Irish charts, and was commercially and critically acclaimed. The band headlined Monster Energy's Welcome to Rockville two-day music festival in Jacksonville, Florida, April 26–27, 2014, joined by more than 25 rock acts, such as Motörhead, Rob Zombie, Chevelle, Korn, Staind, Alter Bridge, The Cult, Five Finger Death Punch, Volbeat, Black Label Society, and Seether.[70] On June 13, the band headlined the Friday night of Download Festival 2014. The band also headlined the Mayhem Festival 2014 with Korn, Asking Alexandria, and Trivium.

In March 2014, vocalist M. Shadows revealed in an interview with Loudwire that the band had plans in the works to put something out for the overdue 10th anniversary of Waking the Fallen.[71] Waking the Fallen: Resurrected was released August 25, 2014.[72] The reissue charted No. 10 on the US Billboard 200.[73]

Drummer change and The Stage (2015–2017)

In October 2014, M. Shadows confirmed that the band would begin writing their seventh album during mid-2015.[74]

In July 2015 the band announced on their website that they would part ways with drummer Arin Ilejay, due to "creative differences".[75] In October 2015, the band announced on their website that they had been working with a new drummer for over a year, making sure that it was a good fit before making sudden changes.[76] On October 21, in an interview with Kerrang! magazine, guitarist Zacky Vengeance revealed that the band had been working on the new album for the past couple of months and that a couple of songs had already been completely written.[77] On November 4, 2015, the band announced that Brooks Wackerman would replace Arin Ilejay as the drummer for Avenged Sevenfold.[78] In an interview with Kerrang! magazine on December 3, guitarist Zacky Vengeance said that the new album went in all sorts of aggressive and melodic directions and described it as very "aggro".[79]

On January 14, 2016, Billboard reported that Avenged Sevenfold had been sued by Warner Bros. for trying to leave the label. The band later released a statement clarifying that they wanted to leave because a majority of the executives who helped sign the band to Warner Bros were no longer at the label. They also revealed that the band was going to be entering the studio to record their new album very soon, intending to release it later in 2016.[80] On March 31, the band posted a teaser of their upcoming album on their website.[81]

On August 18, 2016, the band performed a free live show for 1500 people in Minnesota, marking it the first live performance with new drummer Brooks Wackerman.[82] The band was announced as support for Metallica with Volbeat in the U.S. Bank Stadium on August 20, 2016, making it the first ever rock show in the stadium.[83] The band was announced as a headliner of Monster Energy Rock Allegiance 2016, along with Alice in Chains, Slayer, The Offspring, Breaking Benjamin and others.[84] Avenged Sevenfold also performed on "Louder Than Life" festival as headliners on October 1, with Slipknot, Slayer, Disturbed, Korn and other artists.[85] On June 21, the band announced a U.S. Fall tour with Volbeat, Killswitch Engage, and Avatar.[86] The band also announced a UK tour for January 2017 with Disturbed and In Flames.[87] Avenged Sevenfold was announced as a headliner of 2016 edition of Knotfest Mexico.[88] The band also announced the European Tour for February and March 2017 along with Disturbed and Chevelle.

On October 3, 2016, the band's logo Deathbat started appearing as a projection in London. After that, Deathbat also started appearing in Berlin, Toronto and Paris, indicating a release of the new album. On October 12, Chris Jericho posted an Instagram photo of the Deathbat logo with a date 12/9/16 underneath it. He then revealed the supposed title of the album, Voltaic Oceans,[89] It was later revealed that the new album would actually be called The Stage, a concept album about artificial intelligence, which was released on October 28, 2016, via Capitol Records.[90] The album was released to generally favorable reviews,[91] and the band decided to make a unique stage production for it, hiring Cirque du Soleil directors for its making.[92]

Avenged Sevenfold was announced as the main support act on Metallica's WorldWired 2017 stadium summer tour in the US and Canada, alongside Volbeat and Gojira.[93] The band also announced a series of 2017 US headlining summer shows of The Stage World Tour, with Volbeat, Motionless in White, and A Day to Remember as special guests across various dates.[94]

On December 22, 2017, the band released a deluxe edition of The Stage that included one new original track, six cover songs, and four live tracks from their European tour earlier that year.

In a December 2017 interview with Billboard, M. Shadows revealed that the band are planning "a big US summer 2018 tour", and that the band would start working on the follow-up to The Stage in late 2018.[95] End of the World tour with Prophets of Rage was later announced for summer 2018.[96][97] The band was also announced as one of the headliners of 2018's Rock on the Range and Download Festival, in addition to appearing at Hellfest, Graspop Metal Meeting, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park the same year.[98][99] Due to a blood blister forming in M. Shadows' throat, the band cancelled remaining dates from their summer tour with Prophets of Rage.[100]

Avenged Sevenfold was nominated at 60th Annual Grammy Awards in "Best Rock Song" category for The Stage.[101]

The band released a single titled "Mad Hatter" in September 2018, which was made specifically for the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.[102] It would later be a part of the Black Reign EP released later that month, which comprises all four of the songs Avenged Sevenfold made for the Call of Duty franchise.[103]

Upcoming eighth studio album (2018–present)

In a December 2017 interview with Billboard, M. Shadows revealed that the band are planning "a big US summer 2018 tour", and that the band would start working on the follow-up to The Stage in late 2018.[95] Bassist Johnny Christ in a May 2018 interview confirmed that the band is currently getting ideas and writing in their own studios to start the next record in September or October 2018.[104]

In September 2018, Synyster Gates revealed in an interview with Loudwire that the band has started working on their eighth studio album, saying "It's still early on, but we're working on a bunch of stuff".[105] In March 2019, Zacky Vengeance stated the band would take the rest of the year off tour to concentrate on the upcoming album, saying the band is really focused on the new material.[106] In January 2020, Avenged Sevenfold released "Set Me Free", an unreleased song recorded during the Hail to the King recording sessions. They also announced that the song would be included in a remastered re-release of Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough, released on March 6. A limited edition clear vinyl of Diamonds in the Rough was also released.[107]

Nonpoint was formed in January 1997 emerging from the popular burgeoning South Florida metal scene of the mid-to-late 1990s by drummer Robb Rivera and vocalist Elias Soriano. The name Nonpoint came from a Believer song named "Nonpoint." Soriano recalls: "I dug the name so I started using it around that time. It has no real meaning to us. It has something to do with pollution, but to us it just sounded cool."[1] The band self-released their first album, Separate Yourself in late 1997. The band's first commercially released album Struggle was released on May 18, 1999, on the now-defunct Jugular Records.

The band released their debut major label album Statement on October 10, 2000, via MCA Records. To promote the album, as well as the band on a nationwide scale, Nonpoint toured with such artists as Hed PE, Mudvayne, Fuel, Taproot, and Drowning Pool, with their main tour appearing on the United States leg of the 2001 Ozzfest tour. A year after its release, the album entered the Billboard 200 charts, where it peaked at No. 166. The first single from the album, "What a Day", peaked at No. 24 on the Mainstream Rock charts.

Nonpoint's second album Development was released on June 25, 2002. The album entered the Billboard charts at No. 52, with the first single released from the album, "Your Signs", peaking at No. 36 on the Mainstream Rock charts. Nonpoint completed a successful second appearance at Ozzfest, during the Donington Park leg of the European tour. Other tours included Sevendust on the first Locobazooka tour, dates with Filter, Sunset Black, and Papa Roach. A second single, "Circles", was featured in NASCAR Thunder 2003, as well as the soundtrack for Hot Wheels AcceleRacers.[2]

Two years after the release of Development, Nonpoint released their third major album Recoil on August 3, 2004, via their new label Lava Records. The album entered the Billboard charts at No. 115. The album's first single, "The Truth", peaked at No. 22 on the Mainstream Rock charts. Another single, "Rabia" was later released.

Middle years (2005–2009)

After departing from Lava Records, Nonpoint signed with independent label Bieler Bros. Records. The label's co-owner, Jason Bieler, produced the band's previous three albums. Nonpoint re-emerged with their fourth major album To the Pain on November 8, 2005. The album entered the Billboard charts at No. 147, with approximately 9,000 copies sold during its first week of release.[3] The single, "Bullet with a Name", peaked at No. 22 on the Mainstream Rock charts and was featured on the game WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 and 2007 film The Condemned. The album's second single, "Alive and Kicking", peaked at No. 25. The song was also featured on the game WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007. "In the Air Tonight", which was previously featured on the Recoil album, was the theme song for the Miami Vice movie. It made a belated appearance on the Mainstream Rock charts, peaking at No. 34. Beginning in late 2005, Nonpoint toured extensively with Sevendust for three months, later concluding the tour in New Hampshire. Nonpoint toured on the third annual Music as a Weapon Tour with Disturbed, Stone Sour and Flyleaf. The band also did tours with Sevendust and Buckcherry.

Nonpoint released a CD and DVD set, Live and Kicking, on November 7, 2006. The live album was recorded at the band's April 29, 2006, show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The album sold 3,475 copies during its first week of release.[4]

As of 2019, To the Pain has sold over 130,000 copies in the United States.[5]

On November 6, 2007, Nonpoint released their fifth major album, Vengeance, under Bieler Bros. Records. The album sold 8,400 copies in the first week.[6] Vengeance peaked at 129th on the Billboard charts. The first single, "March of War", was released early on the band's Myspace page, as well as a sample of the lead track "Wake Up World". For the second year in a row one of their songs was featured in the franchise of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008. The song was a remix of "Everybody Down" from the album.

They went on the first ever Great American Rampage Tour. Nonpoint headlined the What Does Not Kill You tour with 12 Stones and Anew Revolution. The band announced that in February 2009 they would embark on a tour with Mudvayne and In This Moment.

On January 20, 2009, drummer Robb Rivera announced that the band had parted ways with Bieler Bros. and were seeking a new label and management. Nonpoint later signed on with Split Media LLC.

Nonpoint recorded demos in Phoenix in May 2009. Nonpoint released a new acoustic EP digitally through their own label, 954 Records, on December 8. Dubbed, Cut The Cord, the outing features acoustic renditions of "What a Day", "Circles", "Rabia", "Victim", and "Your Signs".

Nonpoint streamed a cover of Pantera's "5 Minutes Alone" on their MySpace. The track is a bonus track for the Metal Hammer magazine tribute to "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott which was made available on December 16.[7] The Pantera cover was later featured on their sixth studio album, Miracle.

Recent years (2010–present)

The band started work on their sixth studio album in late 2009, with plans to release it early to mid-2010. In February 2010, they released the first single and title track off the new album, "Miracle", along with a release date of April 27. About a month later, the release was pushed back a week to May 4.

At the time of its release, Miracle was No. 59 on the Billboard 200, the second highest debut of the band's career, also reaching No. 5 on the Rock Albums chart in the week following the release. The second single, "Frontlines", was released in August, and was inspired by the military and their daily risk-taking to protect the United States.

During late February and early March, the band performed at Soundwave in Australia. This marked the first time the band had played there in their career. They also released a free download of their cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean".

The Icon compilation—part of a series released by the label with other artists—spanned the band's earlier major label work and included a number of rarities, including an acoustic version of their song "What a Day", plus the rare songs "Across The Line" and "Pickle". The set surfaced through UMG on April 5. The song "Across the Line" made its appearance in NASCAR Thunder 2004 before appearing in the greatest hits album.

The band stated that they had been writing new music and that they planned to start recording a new album at the end of the year through Razor & Tie. They released a free advanced mix of a song off the album titled "I Said It". Another track, "Left For You" was later released.

It was confirmed through Nonpoint's Facebook page that they would be recording for a DVD when they play their show in their hometown on May 8.

The band later announced that the album would be released on September 18, 2012.[9] It was pushed to October 9, 2012. Nonpoint released a music video for Left For You on October 1, 2012.[10]

In early January 2014, Nonpoint announced on Facebook that they were working on a new album: "Update. We are writing a new album. Really blown away with what we have done so far. If you liked the last album then you will dig this new stuff. From what I can hear we are digging deeper into our influences. Really exciting."

Nonpoint signed with Metal Blade Records for areas outside of North America. They remain signed to Razor & Tie for North American releases.[11]

The band's new album titled The Return was released on September 30, 2014. Also Nonpoint released the song "Breaking Skin" as the album's lead single on August 12, 2014. Not long after the album's release, BC Kochmit (Eye Empire, Switched) took over Dave Lizzio's role as Nonpoint's lead guitarist.[12]

While playing a show at Amos Southend in Charlotte, North Carolina on the Crack the Sky tour with 10 Years, the band revealed they had begun work on their ninth studio album and that they would enter begin recording in February 2016. It was announced on October 15, 2015, that the band had signed with Spinefarm Records. In early May the band announced the 14-track album and the first song, "Generation Idiot" via their official Facebook page. The Poison Red was released on July 8, 2016. Nonpoint revealed plans to take a hiatus from touring in 2018.[13]

The band's tenth album, X, was released on August 24, 2018.[citation needed] The band released a lyric video for the song "Dodge Your Destiny" on June 22 while simultaneously releasing "Chaos and Earthquakes" as the first radio single[citation needed], with an official video for the latter premiering on the band's YouTube channel on August 16.

In April 2021, Nonpoint announced that they had created their own independent record label called 361 Degrees Records.[citation needed]

Musical style and influences

Nonpoint have been described as groove metal,[14][15] hard rock,[16] heavy metal,[17][18] rap metal,[19][20] nu metal,[16][18][21][22][23] and alternative metal.[20][24][25] When asked if he viewed Nonpoint as a metal band or a rock band, vocalist Elias Soriano stated "Both, I think. A heavy rock band. Yeah, we're definitely both. We don't try to pigeonhole ourselves."[26]

Originally playing an aggressive style, Nonpoint moved to more melodic sounds with their 2002 album Development, due to pressure from their record label MCA.[26][27] The 2004 album Recoil marked a return to the band's heavier roots.[26] In a 2000 interview, Soriano reflected on the band's musical influences, stating "We all have a lot of separate influences. My drummer comes from a more metal/hardcore background. My bass player is from the straight edge hardcore, Earth Crisis, Hatebreed, stuff like that. My guitar player is really into Stevie Ray Vaughan and blues and a lot of industrial stuff like Nine Inch Nails. Me personally, I grew up on a lot of R&B, a lot of rap. I'm into that smooth, soulful sound."[28]

Nonpoint frequently use frog symbolism (specifically that of the coquí, a group of several species native to Puerto Rico)[29] on their album covers, as well as in vocal samples in Development.

After the breakup of Attack Attack!, drummer Andrew Wetzel, though initially apprehensive, decided to pursue a new band after being put in contact with guitarist Andrew Baylis through a mutual friend.[3] In 2014, they announced the new project initially with Devon Voisine on bass and Sam Sky as lead vocalist,[4] though Sky was replaced in July 2015 with current vocalist Chris Parketny and guitarist Evan McKeever.[5]

After the band's lineup was solidified in 2017, they began work on their self-produced debut EP, Misery. The work's main themes revolve around the bitterness of the group's past experiences and breakups within the music industry, with the album artwork depicting the band "having the soul sucked out of them."[6] The EP was released on April 7, 2017,[7] and was preceded by the lead single "King of Mercy", which had crossed 1 million Spotify streams by February 2018.[8] The band toured with Hinder and Nonpoint in support of "Misery" across the United States in April and May 2017.[1]

In a Mascot Records' press release on May 31, 2018, it was announced that the band was in the studio with producer Dan Korneff working on their debut full-length LP.[9]

Hard Rock and the Seminole Tribe of Florida: the perfect marriage of two kindred spirits. Hard Rock's philosophy has always been based on strong values, including the importance of being authentic and independent and a shared service for preserving our wildlife and protecting our planet.

Hard rock or heavy rock[1] is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by a heavy use of aggressive vocals, distorted electric guitars, bass guitar, and drums, sometimes accompanied with keyboards. It began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard rock music was produced by the Kinks, the Who, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. In the late 1960s, bands such as the Jeff Beck Group, Iron Butterfly, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Golden Earring, Steppenwolf and Deep Purple also produced hard rock.

The genre developed into a major form of popular music in the 1970s, with the Who, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple being joined by Queen, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Kiss, and Van Halen. During the 1980s, some hard rock bands moved away from their hard rock roots and more towards pop rock.[2][3] Established bands made a comeback in the mid-1980s and hard rock reached a commercial peak in the 1980s, with glam metal bands such as Bon Jovi and Def Leppard and the rawer sounds of Guns N' Roses which followed with great success in the later part of that decade.

Hard rock began losing popularity with the commercial success of R&B, hip-hop, urban pop, grunge and later Britpop in the 1990s. Despite this, many post-grunge bands adopted a hard rock sound and the 2000s saw a renewed interest in established bands, attempts at a revival, and new hard-rock bands that emerged from the garage rock and post-punk revival scenes. Out of this movement came garage rock bands like The White Stripes, the Strokes, Interpol and later the Black Keys. In the 2000s, only a few hard-rock bands from the 1970s and 1980s managed to sustain highly successful recording careers.

Hard rock is a form of loud, aggressive rock music. The electric guitar is often emphasised, used with distortion and other effects, both as a rhythm instrument using repetitive riffs with a varying degree of complexity, and as a solo lead instrument.[5] Drumming characteristically focuses on driving rhythms, strong bass drum and a backbeat on snare, sometimes using cymbals for emphasis.[6] The bass guitar works in conjunction with the drums, occasionally playing riffs, but usually providing a backing for the rhythm and lead guitars.[7] Vocals are often growling, raspy, or involve screaming or wailing, sometimes in a high range, or even falsetto voice.[8]

In the late 1960s, the term heavy metal was used interchangeably with hard rock, but gradually began to be used to describe music played with even more volume and intensity.[9] While hard rock maintained a bluesy rock and roll identity, including some swing in the back beat and riffs that tended to outline chord progressions in their hooks, heavy metal's riffs often functioned as stand-alone melodies and had no swing in them.[5] In the 1980s heavy metal developed a number of subgenres, often termed extreme metal, some of which were influenced by hardcore punk, and which further differentiated the two styles.[7] Despite this differentiation, hard rock and heavy metal have existed side by side, with bands frequently standing on the boundary of, or crossing between, the genres.[10]

History

The roots of hard rock can be traced back to the mid to late 1950s, particularly electric blues,[11][12] which laid the foundations for key elements such as a rough declamatory vocal style, heavy guitar riffs, string-bending blues-scale guitar solos, strong beat, thick riff-laden texture, and posturing performances.[11] Electric blues guitarists began experimenting with hard rock elements such as driving rhythms, distorted guitar solos and power chords in the 1950s, evident in the work of Memphis blues guitarists such as Joe Hill Louis, Willie Johnson, and particularly Pat Hare,[13][14] who captured a "grittier, nastier, more ferocious electric guitar sound" on records such as James Cotton's "Cotton Crop Blues" (1954), featuring Pat Hare playing power chords with distortion.[14] Other antecedents include Link Wray's instrumental "Rumble" in 1958,[15] and the surf rock instrumentals of Dick Dale, such as "Let's Go Trippin'" (1961) and "Misirlou" (1962).

Origins (1960s)

In the 1960s, American and British blues and rock bands began to modify rock and roll by adding harder sounds, heavier guitar riffs, bombastic drumming, and louder vocals, from electric blues.[11] Early forms of hard rock can be heard in the work of Chicago blues musicians Elmore James, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf,[16] the Kingsmen's version of "Louie Louie" (1963) which made it a garage rock standard,[17] and the songs of rhythm and blues influenced British Invasion acts,[18] including "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks (1964),[19] "My Generation" by the Who (1965),[5] "Shapes of Things" (1966) by the Yardbirds, "Inside Looking Out" (1966) by the Animals, "Twist and Shout" by The Beatles, and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965) by the Rolling Stones.[20] From the late 1960s, it became common to divide mainstream rock music that emerged from psychedelia into soft and hard rock.[citation needed] Soft rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies.[21] In contrast, hard rock was most often derived from blues rock and was played louder and with more intensity.[5]

Blues rock acts that pioneered the sound included Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and the Jeff Beck Group.[5] Cream, in songs like "I Feel Free" (1966) combined blues rock with pop and psychedelia, particularly in the riffs and guitar solos of Eric Clapton.[22] Cream's best known-song, "Sunshine of Your Love" (1967), is sometimes considered to be the culmination of the British adaptation of blues into rock and a direct precursor of Led Zeppelin's style of hard rock and heavy metal.[23] Jimi Hendrix produced a form of blues-influenced psychedelic rock, which combined elements of jazz, blues and rock and roll.[24] From 1967 Jeff Beck brought lead guitar to new heights of technical virtuosity and moved blues rock in the direction of heavy rock with his band, the Jeff Beck Group.[25] Dave Davies of the Kinks, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Pete Townshend of the Who, Hendrix, Clapton and Beck all pioneered the use of new guitar effects like phasing, feedback and distortion.[26] The Beatles began producing songs in the new hard rock style beginning with their 1968 double album The Beatles (also known as the "White Album") and, with the track "Helter Skelter", attempted to create a greater level of noise than the Who.[27] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic has referred to the "proto-metal roar" of "Helter Skelter",[28] while Ian MacDonald called it "ridiculous, with McCartney shrieking weedily against a massively tape-echoed backdrop of out-of-tune thrashing".[27]

Groups that emerged from the American psychedelic scene about the same time included Iron Butterfly, MC5, Blue Cheer and Vanilla Fudge.[29] San Francisco band Blue Cheer released a crude and distorted cover of Eddie Cochran's classic "Summertime Blues", from their 1968 debut album Vincebus Eruptum, that outlined much of the later hard rock and heavy metal sound.[29] The same month, Steppenwolf released its self-titled debut album, including "Born to Be Wild", which contained the first lyrical reference to heavy metal and helped popularise the style when it was used in the film Easy Rider (1969).[29] Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968), with its 17-minute-long title track, using organs and with a lengthy drum solo, also prefigured later elements of the sound.[29]

By the end of the decade a distinct genre of hard rock was emerging with bands like Led Zeppelin, who mixed the music of early rock bands with a more hard-edged form of blues rock and acid rock on their first two albums Led Zeppelin (1969) and Led Zeppelin II (1969), and Deep Purple, who began as a progressive rock group in 1968 but achieved their commercial breakthrough with their fourth and distinctively heavier album, Deep Purple in Rock (1970). Also significant was Black Sabbath's Paranoid (1970), which combined guitar riffs with dissonance and more explicit references to the occult and elements of Gothic horror.[30] All three of these bands have been seen as pivotal in the development of heavy metal, but where metal further accentuated the intensity of the music, with bands like Judas Priest following Sabbath's lead into territory that was often "darker and more menacing", hard rock tended to continue to remain the more exuberant, good-time music.[5]

Expansion (1970s)

In the early 1970s the Rolling Stones further developed their hard rock sound with Exile on Main St.[31] (1972). Initially receiving mixed reviews, according to critic Steve Erlewine it is now "generally regarded as the Rolling Stones' finest album".[32] They continued to pursue the riff-heavy sound on albums including It's Only Rock 'n' Roll[33] (1974) and Black and Blue (1976).[34] Led Zeppelin began to mix elements of world and folk music into their hard rock from Led Zeppelin III[35] (1970) and Led Zeppelin IV (1971). The latter included the track "Stairway to Heaven",[36] which would become the most played song in the history of album-oriented radio.[37] Deep Purple continued to define hard rock, particularly with their album Machine Head (1972), which included the tracks "Highway Star" and "Smoke on the Water".[38] In 1975 guitarist Ritchie Blackmore left, going on to form Rainbow and after the break-up of the band the next year, vocalist David Coverdale formed Whitesnake.[39] 1970 saw the Who release Live at Leeds, often seen as the archetypal hard rock live album, and the following year they released their highly acclaimed album Who's Next, which mixed heavy rock with extensive use of synthesizers.[40] Subsequent albums, including Quadrophenia (1973), built on this sound before Who Are You (1978), their last album before the death of pioneering rock drummer Keith Moon later that year.[41]

Emerging British acts included Free, who released their signature song "All Right Now" (1970), which has received extensive radio airplay in both the UK and US.[42] After the breakup of the band in 1973, vocalist Paul Rodgers joined supergroup Bad Company, whose eponymous first album (1974) was an international hit.[43] The mixture of hard rock and progressive rock, evident in the works of Deep Purple, was pursued more directly by bands like Uriah Heep and Argent.[44] Scottish band Nazareth released their self-titled début album in 1971, producing a blend of hard rock and pop that would culminate in their best selling, Hair of the Dog (1975), which contained the proto-power ballad "Love Hurts".[45] Having enjoyed some national success in the early 1970s, Queen, after the release of Sheer Heart Attack (1974) and A Night at the Opera (1975), gained international recognition with a sound that used layered vocals and guitars and mixed hard rock with heavy metal, progressive rock, and even opera.[2] The latter featured the hit single "Bohemian Rhapsody".[46]

In the United States, shock-rock pioneer Alice Cooper[47] achieved mainstream success with School's Out (1972), which was followed by Billion Dollar Babies in 1973.[48] Also in 1973, blues rockers ZZ Top released their classic album Tres Hombres and Aerosmith produced their eponymous début, as did Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd and proto-punk outfit New York Dolls, demonstrating the diverse directions being pursued in the genre.[49] Montrose, including the instrumental talent of Ronnie Montrose and vocals of Sammy Hagar released their first album in 1973.[50] Former bubblegum-pop family act the Osmonds recorded two hard rock albums in 1972 and had their breakthrough in the UK with the hard-rock hit "Crazy Horses."[51][52] Kiss built on the theatrics of Alice Cooper and the look of the New York Dolls to produce a unique band persona, achieving their commercial breakthrough with the double live album Alive! in 1975 and helping to take hard rock into the stadium rock era.[17] In the mid-1970s Aerosmith achieved their commercial and artistic breakthrough with Toys in the Attic[53] (1975) and Rocks (1976),[54] Blue Öyster Cult, formed in the late 1960s, picked up on some of the elements introduced by Black Sabbath with their breakthrough live gold album On Your Feet or on Your Knees (1975), followed by their first platinum album, Agents of Fortune (1976), containing the hit single "(Don't Fear) The Reaper".[55] Journey released their eponymous debut in 1975[56] and the next year Boston released their highly successful début album.[57] In the same year, hard rock bands featuring women saw commercial success as Heart released Dreamboat Annie and the Runaways débuted with their self-titled album. While Heart had a more folk-oriented hard rock sound, the Runaways leaned more towards a mix of punk-influenced music and hard rock.[58] The Amboy Dukes, having emerged from the Detroit garage rock scene and most famous for their psychedelic hit "Journey to the Center of the Mind" (1968), were dissolved by their guitarist Ted Nugent, who embarked on a solo career that resulted in four successive multi-platinum albums between Ted Nugent (1975) and his best selling Double Live Gonzo! (1978).[59] "Goodbye to Love" by The Carpenters, a duo whose music was otherwise almost exclusively soft rock, drew hate mail for its incorporation of a hard rock fuzz guitar solo by Tony Peluso.[60]

From outside the United Kingdom and the United States, the Canadian trio Rush released three distinctively hard rock albums in 1974–75 (Rush, Fly by Night and Caress of Steel) before moving toward a more progressive sound with the 1976 album 2112.[61][62] The Irish band Thin Lizzy, which had formed in the late 1960s, made their most substantial commercial breakthrough in 1976 with the hard rock album Jailbreak and their worldwide hit "The Boys Are Back in Town". Their style, consisting of two duelling guitarists often playing leads in harmony, proved itself to be a large influence on later bands. They reached their commercial, and arguably their artistic peak with Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979).[63] The arrival of the Scorpions from Germany marked the geographical expansion of the subgenre.[30] Australian-formed AC/DC, with a stripped back, riff heavy and abrasive style that also appealed to the punk generation, began to gain international attention from 1976, culminating in the release of their multi-platinum albums Let There Be Rock (1977) and Highway to Hell (1979).[64] Also influenced by a punk ethos were heavy metal bands like Motörhead, while Judas Priest abandoned the remaining elements of the blues in their music,[65] further differentiating the hard rock and heavy metal styles and helping to create the new wave of British heavy metal which was pursued by bands like Iron Maiden, Saxon, and Venom.[66]

With the rise of disco in the US and punk rock in the UK, hard rock's mainstream dominance was rivalled toward the later part of the decade. Disco appealed to a more diverse group of people and punk seemed to take over the rebellious role that hard rock once held.[67] Early punk bands like the Ramones explicitly rebelled against the drum solos and extended guitar solos that characterised stadium rock, with almost all of their songs clocking in under three minutes with no guitar solos.[68] However, new rock acts continued to emerge and record sales remained high into the 1980s. 1977 saw the début and rise to stardom of Foreigner, who went on to release several platinum albums through to the mid-1980s.[69] Midwestern groups like Kansas, REO Speedwagon and Styx helped further cement heavy rock in the Midwest as a form of stadium rock.[70] In 1978, Van Halen emerged from the Los Angeles music scene with a sound based around the skills of lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen. He popularised a guitar-playing technique of two-handed hammer-ons and pull-offs called tapping, showcased on the song "Eruption" from the album Van Halen, which was highly influential in re-establishing hard rock as a popular genre after the punk and disco explosion, while also redefining and elevating the role of electric guitar.[71] In the 1970s and 80s, several European bands, including the German Michael Schenker Group, the Swedish band Europe, and Dutch bands Golden Earring, Vandenberg and Vengeance experienced success both in Europe and internationally.

Glam metal era (1980s)

The opening years of the 1980s saw a number of changes in personnel and direction of established hard rock acts, including the deaths of Bon Scott, the lead singer of AC/DC, and John Bonham, drummer with Led Zeppelin.[72] Whereas Zeppelin broke up almost immediately afterwards, AC/DC pressed on, recording the album Back in Black (1980) with their new lead singer, Brian Johnson. It became the fifth-highest-selling album of all time in the US and the second-highest-selling album in the world.[73] Black Sabbath had split with original singer Ozzy Osbourne in 1979 and replaced him with Ronnie James Dio, formerly of Rainbow, giving the band a new sound and a period of creativity and popularity beginning with Heaven and Hell (1980). Osbourne embarked on a solo career with Blizzard of Ozz (1980), featuring American guitarist Randy Rhoads.[74] Some bands, such as Queen, moved away from their hard rock roots and more towards pop rock,[2][3] while others, including Rush with Moving Pictures (1981), began to return to a hard rock sound.[61] The creation of thrash metal, which mixed heavy metal with elements of hardcore punk from about 1982, particularly by Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer, helped to create extreme metal and further remove the style from hard rock, although a number of these bands or their members would continue to record some songs closer to a hard rock sound.[75][76] Kiss moved away from their hard rock roots toward pop metal: firstly removing their makeup in 1983 for their Lick It Up album,[77] and then adopting the visual and sound of glam metal for their 1984 release, Animalize, both of which marked a return to commercial success.[78] Pat Benatar was one of the first women to achieve commercial success in hard rock.[79]

Often categorised with the new wave of British heavy metal, in 1981 Def Leppard released their second album High 'n' Dry, mixing glam-rock with heavy metal, and helping to define the sound of hard rock for the decade.[80] The follow-up Pyromania (1983) was a big hit and the singles "Photograph", "Rock of Ages" and "Foolin'", helped by the emergence of MTV, were successful.[80] It was widely emulated, particularly by the emerging Californian glam metal scene. This was followed by US acts like Mötley Crüe, with their albums Too Fast for Love (1981) and Shout at the Devil (1983) and, as the style grew, the arrival of bands such as Ratt,[81] White Lion,[82] Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot.[83] Quiet Riot's album Metal Health (1983) was the first glam metal album, and arguably the first heavy metal album of any kind, to reach number one in the Billboard music charts and helped open the doors for mainstream success by subsequent bands.[84]

Established bands made something of a comeback in the mid-1980s. After an 8-year separation, Deep Purple returned with the classic Machine Head line-up to produce Perfect Strangers (1984) which was a platinum-seller in the US.[85] After somewhat slower sales of its fourth album, Fair Warning, Van Halen rebounded with Diver Down in 1982, then reached their commercial pinnacle with 1984. Heart, after floundering during the first half of the decade, made a comeback with their eponymous ninth studio album which contained four hit singles.[86] The new medium of video channels was used with considerable success by bands formed in previous decades. Among the first were ZZ Top, who mixed hard-edged blues rock with new wave music to produce a series of highly successful singles, beginning with "Gimme All Your Lovin'" (1983), which helped their albums Eliminator (1983) and Afterburner (1985) achieve diamond and multi-platinum status respectively.[87] Others found renewed success in the singles charts with power ballads, including REO Speedwagon with "Keep on Loving You" (1980) and "Can't Fight This Feeling" (1984), Journey with "Don't Stop Believin'" (1981) and "Open Arms" (1982),[56] Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is",[88] Scorpions' "Still Loving You" (both from 1984), Heart's "What About Love" (1985) and Boston's "Amanda" (1986).[89]

Bon Jovi's third album, Slippery When Wet (1986), mixed hard rock with a pop sensitivity selling 12 million copies in the US while becoming the first hard rock album to spawn three hit singles.[90] The album has been credited with widening the audiences for the genre, particularly by appealing to women as well as the traditional male dominated audience, and opening the door to MTV and commercial success for other bands at the end of the decade.[91] The anthemic The Final Countdown (1986) by Swedish group Europe was an international hit.[92] This era also saw more glam-infused American hard rock bands come to the forefront, with both Poison and Cinderella releasing their multi-platinum début albums in 1986.[93][94] Van Halen released 5150 (1986), their first album with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals sold over 6 million copies.[71] By the second half of the decade, hard rock had become the most reliable form of commercial popular music in the United States.[95]

Established acts benefited from the new commercial climate, with Whitesnake's self-titled album (1987) selling over 17 million copies, outperforming anything in Coverdale's or Deep Purple's catalogue before or since. It featured the rock anthem "Here I Go Again '87" as one of 4 UK top 20 singles. The follow-up Slip of the Tongue (1989) went platinum, but according to critics Steve Erlwine and Greg Prato, "it was a considerable disappointment after the across-the-board success of Whitesnake".[96] Aerosmith's comeback album Permanent Vacation (1987) would begin a decade long revival of their popularity.[97] Crazy Nights (1987) by Kiss was the band's biggest hit album since 1979 and the highest of their career in the UK.[98] Mötley Crüe with Girls, Girls, Girls (1987) continued their commercial success[99] and Def Leppard with Hysteria (1987) hit their commercial peak, the latter producing six hit singles (a record for a hard rock act).[80] Guns N' Roses released the best-selling début of all time, Appetite for Destruction (1987). With a "grittier" and "rawer" sound than most glam metal, it produced three hits, including "Sweet Child O' Mine".[100] Some of the glam rock bands that formed in the mid-1980s, such as White Lion and Cinderella experienced their biggest success during this period with their respective albums Pride (1987) and Long Cold Winter (1988) both going multi-platinum and launching a series of hit singles.[82][94] In the last years of the decade, the most notable successes were New Jersey (1988) by Bon Jovi,[101] OU812 (1988) by Van Halen,[71] Open Up and Say... Ahh! (1988) by Poison,[93] Pump (1989) by Aerosmith,[97] and Mötley Crüe's most commercially successful album Dr. Feelgood (1989).[99] New Jersey spawned five hit singles. In 1988 from 25 June to 5 November, the number one spot on the Billboard 200 album chart was held by a hard rock album for 18 out of 20 consecutive weeks; the albums were OU812, Hysteria, Appetite for Destruction, and New Jersey.[102][103][104][105] A final wave of glam rock bands arrived in the late 1980s, and experienced success with multi-platinum albums and hit singles from 1989 until the early 1990s, among them Extreme,[106] Warrant[107] Slaughter[108] and FireHouse.[109] Skid Row also released their eponymous début (1989), but they were to be one of the last major bands that emerged in the glam rock era.[110]

Grunge and Britpop (1990s)

Hard rock entered the 1990s as one of the dominant forms of commercial music. The multi-platinum releases of AC/DC's The Razors Edge (1990), Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II (both in 1991),[100] Ozzy Osbourne's No More Tears (1991),[111] and Van Halen's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991) showcased this popularity.[71] Additionally, the Black Crowes released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker (1990), which contained a bluesy classic rock sound and sold five million copies.[112][113] In 1992, Def Leppard followed up 1987's Hysteria with Adrenalize, which went multi-platinum, spawned four Top 40 singles and held the number one spot on the US album chart for five weeks.[114]

While these few hard rock bands managed to maintain success and popularity in the early part of the decade, alternative forms of hard rock achieved mainstream success in the form of grunge in the US and Britpop in the UK. This was particularly evident after the success of Nirvana's Nevermind (1991), which combined elements of hardcore punk and heavy metal into a "dirty" sound that made use of heavy guitar distortion, fuzz and feedback, along with darker lyrical themes than their "hair band" predecessors.[115][116][117] Although most grunge bands had a sound that sharply contrasted mainstream hard rock, several, including Pearl Jam,[118] Alice in Chains, Mother Love Bone and Soundgarden, were more strongly influenced by 1970s and 1980s rock and metal, while Stone Temple Pilots managed to turn alternative rock into a form of stadium rock.[119][120] However, all grunge bands shunned the macho, anthemic and fashion-focused aesthetics particularly associated with glam metal.[115] In the UK, Oasis were unusual among the Britpop bands of the mid-1990s in incorporating a hard rock sound.[5] Welsh band Manic Street Preachers emerged in 1991 with a sound Stephen Thomas Erlewine proclaimed to be "crunching hard-rock".[121] By 1996, the band enjoyed remarkable vogue throughout much of the world, but were commercially unsuccessful in the U.S.[121]

In the new commercial climate glam metal bands like Europe, Ratt,[81] White Lion[82] and Cinderella[94] broke up, Whitesnake went on hiatus in 1991, and while many of these bands would re-unite again in the late 1990s or early 2000s, they never reached the commercial success they saw in the 1980s or early 1990s.[116] Other bands such as Mötley Crüe[99] and Poison[93] saw personnel changes which impacted those bands' commercial viability during the decade. In 1995 Van Halen released Balance, a multi-platinum seller that would be the band's last with Sammy Hagar on vocals. In 1996 David Lee Roth returned briefly and his replacement, former Extreme singer Gary Cherone, was fired soon after the release of the commercially unsuccessful 1998 album Van Halen III and Van Halen would not tour or record again until 2004.[71] Guns N' Roses' original lineup was whittled away throughout the decade. Drummer Steven Adler was fired in 1990, guitarist Izzy Stradlin left in late 1991 after recording Use Your Illusion I and II with the band. Tensions between the other band members and lead singer Axl Rose continued after the release of the 1993 covers album The Spaghetti Incident? Guitarist Slash left in 1996, followed by bassist Duff McKagan in 1997. Axl Rose, the only original member, worked with a constantly changing lineup in recording an album that would take over fifteen years to complete.[122] Slash and McKagan eventually rejoined the band in 2016 and went on the Not in this Lifetime... Tour with them.

Some established acts continued to enjoy commercial success, such as Aerosmith, with their number one multi-platinum albums: Get a Grip (1993), which produced four hit singles and became the band's best-selling album worldwide (going on to sell over 10 million copies), and Nine Lives (1997). In 1998, Aerosmith released the hit "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing".[97] AC/DC produced the double platinum Ballbreaker (1995).[123] Bon Jovi appealed to their hard rock audience with songs such as "Keep the Faith" (1992), but also achieved success in adult contemporary radio, with the hit ballads "Bed of Roses" (1993) and "Always" (1994).[101] Bon Jovi's 1995 album These Days was a bigger hit in Europe than it was in the United States,[124] spawning four hit singles in the UK.[125] Metallica's Load (1996) and ReLoad (1997) each sold in excess of 4 million copies in the US and saw the band develop a more melodic and blues rock sound.[126] As the initial impetus of grunge bands faltered in the middle years of the decade, post-grunge bands emerged. They emulated the attitudes and music of grunge, particularly thick, distorted guitars, but with a more radio-friendly commercially oriented sound that drew more directly on traditional hard rock.[127] Among the most successful acts were the Foo Fighters, Candlebox, Live, Collective Soul, Australia's Silverchair and England's Bush, who all cemented post-grunge as one of the most commercially viable subgenres by the late 1990s.[117][127] Similarly, some post-Britpop bands that followed in the wake of Oasis, including Feeder and Stereophonics, adopted a hard rock or "pop-metal" sound.[128][129]

Survivals and revivals (2000s)

A few hard rock bands from the 1970s and 1980s managed to sustain highly successful recording careers. Bon Jovi were still able to achieve a commercial hit with "It's My Life" from their double platinum-certified album Crush (2000).[101] and AC/DC released the platinum-certified Stiff Upper Lip (2000)[123] Aerosmith released a platinum album, Just Push Play (2001), which saw the band foray further into pop with the hit "Jaded", and a blues cover album, Honkin' on Bobo.[97] Heart achieved their first hit album since the early 90s with Red Velvet Car in 2010,[130] becoming the first female-led hard rock band to earn Top 10 albums spanning five decades. There were reunions and subsequent tours from Van Halen (with Hagar in 2004 and then Roth in 2007),[131] The Who (delayed in 2002 by the death of bassist John Entwistle until 2006)[132] and Black Sabbath (with Osbourne 1997–2006 and Dio 2006–2010)[133] and even a one-off performance by Led Zeppelin (2007),[134] renewing the interest in previous eras. Additionally, hard rock supergroups, such as Audioslave (with former members of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden) and Velvet Revolver (with former members of Guns N' Roses, punk band Wasted Youth and Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland), emerged and experienced some success. However, these bands were short-lived, ending in 2007 and 2008, respectively.[135][136] The long-awaited Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy was finally released in 2008, but only went platinum and failed to come close to the success of the band's late 1980s and early 1990s material.[137] More successfully, AC/DC released the double platinum-certified Black Ice (2008).[123] Bon Jovi continued to enjoy success, branching into country music with "Who Says You Can't Go Home", and the rock/country album Lost Highway (2007). In 2009, Bon Jovi released The Circle, which marked a return to their hard rock sound.

The term "retro-metal" has been applied to such bands as Texas based the Sword, California's High on Fire, Sweden's Witchcraft and Australia's Wolfmother.[138] Wolfmother's self-titled 2005 debut album combined elements of the sounds of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.[139] Fellow Australians Airbourne's début album Runnin' Wild (2007) followed in the hard riffing tradition of AC/DC.[140] England's the Darkness' Permission to Land (2003), described as an "eerily realistic simulation of '80s metal and '70s glam",[141] went quintuple platinum in the UK. The follow-up, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005) was also a hit, but the band broke up in 2006.[142] Los Angeles band Steel Panther managed to gain a following by sending up 80s glam metal.[143] A more serious attempt to revive glam metal was made by bands of the sleaze metal movement in Sweden, including Vains of Jenna,[144] Hardcore Superstar[145] and Crashdïet.[146]

Although Foo Fighters continued to be one of the most successful rock acts, with albums like In Your Honor (2005), many of the first wave of post-grunge bands began to fade in popularity. Acts like Creed, Staind, Puddle of Mudd and Nickelback took the genre into the 2000s with considerable commercial success, abandoning most of the angst and anger of the original movement for more conventional anthems, narratives and romantic songs. They were followed in this vein by new acts including Shinedown and Seether.[147] Acts with more conventional hard rock sounds included Andrew W.K.,[148] Beautiful Creatures[149] and Buckcherry, whose breakthrough album 15 (2006) went platinum and spawned the single "Sorry" (2007).[150] These were joined by bands with hard rock leanings that emerged in the mid-2000s from the garage rock, Southern Rock, or post punk revival, including Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Kings of Leon,[151] and Queens of the Stone Age[152] from the US, Three Days Grace from Canada,[153] Jet from Australia[154] and The Datsuns from New Zealand.[155] In 2009 Them Crooked Vultures, a supergroup that brought together Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones attracted attention as a live act and released a self-titled debut album that was a hit the US and UK.

Attack Attack! was formed around 2006 when Johnny Franck, Andrew Whiting, Nick White and Andrew Wetzel met Austin Carlile while playing in local high school bands.[4] Caleb Shomo joined the band as the keyboardist, and they changed the name to Attack Attack! In 2007 the band entered a local studio where they recorded material that was put up on Myspace to promote their music.[4] As the oldest member of the band, Wetzel also acted as their manager for most of the year. The band was taken on by manager Eric Rushing of The Artery Foundation who signed them to Rise Records in May 2008.[4] As members of the band were still underage at this point, contractual discussions required parental consent.[4] The material recorded in 2007 was put together on the EP If Guns Are Outlawed, Can We Use Swords? (2008). All 8 musicians involved in recording the demos are shown on the cover which include Ricky Lortz and John Holgado (who would replace original bassist Nick White). The band was also signed by booking agent David Shapiro of the Agency Group that resulted in nationwide tours.[4] In November 2008 they released their debut full-length album, Someday Came Suddenly, on Rise.[5][6] Many songs on the album were re-recorded tracks originally released on the If Guns Are Outlawed EP. Upon the release the album peaked on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and reached number 193 on the Billboard 200, with sales of more than 3,600 in its first week despite its mediocre reviews.[7]

Lineup change (2009)

Later, halfway through a tour supporting Maylene and the Sons of Disaster,[8] vocalist Austin Carlile was ejected from the band and replaced with Nick Barham, brother of former Sleeping With Sirens drummer Gabe Barham[9] Attack Attack! then toured with Escape the Fate, William Control, Black Tide and Burn Halo early in 2009.[10] The band was part of the Warped Tour 2009 where they appeared on one of the smaller stages.[11]

Attack Attack! released a music video for their song "Stick Stickly". The "Stick Stickly" video has led to a number of criticisms, including lengthy pieces by Buddyhead and the British newspaper The Guardian.[12][13] It also lead to the creation of the internet meme "crabcore" mocking the "crab-like" stance of Attack Attack!'s guitarist featured in the music video.[14][15][16] The band also has a "live" video for the song "Dr. Shavargo Pt. 3".[17]

On October 19, 2009, lead vocalist Nick Barham announced his departure from Attack Attack! just two days short of their headliner tour, he stated in his blog on MySpace that "It was just time for change," and that there was no conflict between him and the other band members.[18][better source needed] The band then made the decision of Caleb Shomo to be moved as the band's primary vocalist but still remaining at his place as the keyboardist as well.[19][better source needed]

Self-titled album and Franck's departure (2010–2011)

The band's self-titled album was released on June 8, 2010. They headlined the This Is a Family Tour in November 2010.[20][better source needed]

On November 10, 2010, Johnny Franck announced he had departed from the band to focus on his relationship with God.[21][better source needed] He has started a new project called The March Ahead.[22][23] With this news also came a clip of a new song featuring Caleb Shomo on lead vocals.[24] The music video for "Smokahontas" was released on January 21, 2011, and was directed by Thunder Down Country films.[25] The music video featured Johnny Franck on guitar and singing, and Caleb Shomo on unclean vocals.[26]

This Means War and second lineup change (2011–2012)

On November 14, 2011, it was announced that the band's third full-length, This Means War would be released on January 17, 2012. The entire album was produced by Caleb Shomo at his home studio.[27] Along with this news, they also posted dates for the "This Means War Tour" with supporting acts from The Ghost Inside, Sleeping with Sirens, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, and Dream On, Dreamer. More news and the album artwork was released in the Hot Topic website "News."[28] On December 13, 2011, they premiered a song from the album titled "The Motivation". 30 seconds of the whole track list were released on Amazon.com and pre-orders were also opened in many stores. On January 12, 2012. the band debuted the music video for the first single off the album, "The Wretched".[29]

The band announced in 2012 their departure from Rise Records, simultaneous with an announcement that they have completed ten songs, produced by John Feldmann, for another album, although Wetzel said on his formspring "they're somewhere in Feldmann's hard drive" for they "would be too much work legally to get them released" The band stated that they "don't have another record label or anything lined up and [are] probably not planning on going to another one.", also that Wetzel "has [his] own label now [Oxide Entertainment] and will probably just use that"[30] The band headlined the This World Is Ours Tour with Escape The Fate and the Word Alive.

On December 18, 2012, Caleb Shomo officially announced his departure from Attack Attack!, along with confirming the new vocalist of the band to be Phil Druyor of I Am Abomination.[31][better source needed]

On December 19, 2012, the band released a new song titled "No Defeat" through Alternative Press which song features the brand new line-up and was the first song to feature Phil Druyor on vocals and Tyler Sapp on bass.[32] Jason Pettigrew of Alternative Press describes the song as "an intriguing mix of '80s FM-rock swagger and the electronic flourishes they built their career on". Andrew Wetzel also stated that the band will record more songs after "No Defeat". Attack Attack! released two video updates about their 4th studio album, which was never released.[33]

Departure from label, final tours and the rise & fall of Nativ (2013)

In early 2013, Attack Attack! started touring in Europe again with the new members. On April 22, 2013, Attack Attack! said that the Back in Action tour was going to be their last tour and the band would be "laid to rest" .[34][better source needed]

Drummer Andrew Wetzel confirmed on his Formspring that In Fear and Faith guitarist Sean Bell left In Fear and Faith to become an official final member of Attack Attack! as well as a member of the new band that the former members made.[35][better source needed]

The final lineup of Attack Attack! had formed a new band, Nativ. Andrew Wetzel confirmed that the last lineup of Attack Attack! will stay together and stated, "the album that was going to be Attack Attack!'s final untitled album will be released through his and Whitings' new band." Nativ's band-members consisted of Phil Druyor, Andrew Wetzel, Andrew Whiting, Tyler Sapp, and William Honto. On November 13, 2013, Nativ was delayed due to a physical altercation between Andrew Wetzel and Andrew Whiting leading to a legal battle.[36]

Return (2020–present)

On October 2020, the band had returned and were in the studio with producer Joey Sturgis writing new material, with a new single titled "All My Life" that was released on December 7, 2020.[37][38][39] The new lineup was later confirmed to consist of original members Andrew Wetzel and Andrew Whiting, as well as new members, bassist Jay Miller and vocalist Chris Parketny.

On April 20, 2021, Attack Attack! released a short new song titled, "Kawaii Cowboys". It features a blend of style described as country, J-pop, and metalcore.[40] On April 30, 2021, the band released a new song titled "Brachyura Bombshell"