Thursday, March 28, 2019

Pungent Stench (1988-1995,2001-2007,2013-?)

Formed by members from the band Carnage (split-up in 1987) in February 1988. The band split up in 1995 and reunited again in 2001 without Jacek Perkowski.

Three members were also in a band named Los Tres Hombres, which played covers of classic rock and pop songs with death metal twist and only played in Vienna. The only song ever released by this side-project was "Love Hurts" (originally by the Everly Brothers) on the Soulrape compilation.

The members have a side project with Dr Heathen from Mentors.

Due to international and domestic disputes with labels and each other, the band decided to split up in mid-August 2007. Though, El Cochino promised to release the planned album nonetheless, as Pungent Stench or as a new project.

The band was reactivated by Martin Schirenc on his own in August 2013 (along with Danny Vacuum on bass and Mike G. Mayhem (Hollenthon) on drums), using the name The Church of Pungent Stench for live shows to avoid legal trouble. Nevertheless, Alex Wank announced in November 2013 that he considers this reunion neither official nor legitimate and intends to pursue legal action against Schirenc. Full comment: "The attempt of an Pungent Stench member to start this band again and to present it as a "Reunion" is pure nonsense and a fake. Pungent Stench was formed, created & lead by Mr. Stench and nobody else. The goal was reached with the other guy, but that doesn't allow him to "re-form" the band again under the Pungent Stench moniker (or anything related). This attempt was made to cheat the supporters and promoters to make some quick cash and nothing else. By no means I will sit back and see my creation abused - legal action has already been taken. This Church is foul – and this Church will burn! -Mr. Stench/Alex Wank" (source)

The band also collaborated with the notorious Viennese shock rock band Drahdiwaberl on their 1994 album Sperminator with the song 'Madcatmachopsychoromantik'.

Compilation Appearances:
- "Festered Offals" and "Pungent Stench" on The Pleasures in Life (Nuclear Blast, 1989)
- "Suspended Animation" (remix) on Death...Is Just the Beginning (Nuclear Blast, 1990)
- "Suspended Animation" on Ich Zahl' Nicht Mehr! (Steamhammer, 1992)
- "The Ballad of Mangled Homeboys" on Rock Hard Presents Monsters of Death (R/C, 1992)
- "Daddy Cruel" on Death...is Just the Beginning II (Nuclear Blast, 1992)
- "Tony" on Death...is Just the Beginning III (Nuclear Blast, 1994)
- "Nunsense" on "Death... is Just the Beginning VII" (Nuclear Blast, 1996)

Monday, March 25, 2019

Unseen Terror



The band formed after the demise of arguably the first UK Death Metal band WARHAMMER. (Line up: Wayne Aston, Mike Clarke, Mitch Dickinson, Shane Embury).

UNSEEN TERROR was named after Mitch Dickinson was listening to the classic Boise, Idaho band SEPTIC DEATH. The song "Terrorain" by SEPTIC DEATH has the lyric "Unseen Death - Terrorain". The Chernobyl disaster was very fresh in the minds of many at the time, and Mitch thought of the term "Unseen Terror", as the radiation in the air around the area of the disaster was invisible. It WAS literally an Unseen Terror. Incidentally, The band was not named after the S.O.B track "Unseen Terror" as some internet sources state. The song "Unseen Terror" by S.O.B in fact came a while later.

This short-lived, but highly influential group was founded in early 1986 by singer/guitarist Mitch Dickinson and Shane Embury.

Mitch and Shane wrote many songs together as a two piece band during mid 1986 - mid 1987. These tracks were recorded on to cassette during rehearsals (mainly at Mitch's father's house). These rehearsal tapes were subsequently distributed on an international level via the tape trading network of the time. These tapes caught the attention of Digby Pearson who later founded Earache Records.

A few months into 1987 the band were invited to contribute two tracks to the compilation LP Diminished Responsibility, a 1987 Thrash compilation album,[2] the group landed a record contract at Earache Records.

Just after the recording the tracks for this compilation LP, the band recruited Pete Giles (from the then, very far away, Essex) as their bass player. Pete came to the pairs attention via his penpal generated collaboration with ex WARHAMMER guitarist Wayne Aston. Pete and Wayne wrote songs together which came to light under the moniker of AZAGTHOTH. Incidental note: Shane was invited to play drums on the AZAGTHOTH demo "Shredded Flesh". This relationship between the various musicians involved in such a small geographical location led to Shane and Mitch asking Pete to collaborate in UNSEEN TERROR on bass guitar. Unfortunately, this line up did not last very long. Earache Records (with very little notice) booked the recording studio for the recording of "Human Error" during a time when there were various difficulties occurring (both logistically and personally) for the band. These unchangeable dates for the recording ultimately meant that Shane and Mitch had no choice but to fulfill the agreement with Earache. Pete, due to work and personal commitments was unfortunately unable to record the album.

Regarding The original album back cover photo: Photos were taken on location in Broseley, Shropshire, England (by Earache Founder Digby Pearson).

As stated: The album Human Error was recorded by Mitch Dickinson and Shane Embury as a two piece band during September 1987. After their debut-album, Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris joined the band as singer. The band were invited via a phone call from John Walters to a recording session for BBC Radio One legend John Peel,[3] and a one-off performance in Nottingham with bassist Wayne Aston. Incidentally, Wayne Aston did not appear on the Peel sessions recordings.

The Peel sessions were released as a limited 12" EP )in the UK) and a CD (with uncomissioned artwork) in the USA. See Discogs for info. These releases remained as collectors items until the recent releases of the session on the Earache compilation "Grind Madness at the BBC" 3 CD collection. The Peel session was more recently released on vinyl again via Earache in a collaborative pressing with HERESY and INTENSE DEGREE.

Band members
Mitch Dickinson - vocals, guitar (1986-1990)
Shane Embury - drums (1987-1990)
Former members
Carl Stokes - bass
Wayne Aston - bass (1987)
Pete Giles - bass (1987)
Mick Harris - vocals (1987-1989)

Discography
Rehearsal demo tape (1987)
Diminished Responsibility (Comp LP), 1987
Human Error (Album, Earache Records, 1987)
Hardcore Holocaust, 1989
Hardcore Holocaust II, 1989
The Peel Sessions (12", Strange Fruit Records, 1989)
21 Years of Alternative Radio One, 1989
Grindcrusher (Compilation album, (Earache Records, 1990)
Human Error CD Reissue (with bonus tracks), 2001
Grind Madness at the BBC (3 CD Compilation), 2010

https://oke.io/bBAuVR

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Megadeth



Thrash Metal (Heavy Metal) band from Los Angeles, California (USA).

The band was formed by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine and bass guitarist David Ellefson in the year 1983.. Despite countless line-up changes, Megadeth is partly responsible for the popularization of Thrash Metal in the late 1980s. The band was also notorious for its substance abuse, a contributing factor to their continuous revolving door of band members. The group nonetheless found sobriety and a stable line up with 1990's Rust In Peace, a trend which continued until 1998 with the departure of drummer Nick Menza. 

Dave Mustaine disbanded Megadeth in 2002 due to a nerve injury he had suffered on his left arm. Following a year of physical therapy Mustaine began work on what was to be his first solo album, however contractual obligations forced The System Has Failed to be released under the Megadeth name, following which, Mustaine decided to reform the band.

The band reformed in 2004. By the time the band released Megadeth - The System Has Failed.

https://oke.io/tTIGom

Monday, June 25, 2018

Tankard


Tankard is a thrash metal band from Frankfurt am Main, Germany, founded in 1982.[1] Along with Kreator, Destruction and Sodom, Tankard is often considered one of the "Big Teutonic 4" of Teutonic thrash metal. They released their first record in 1986 and continue to write and record in the same vein: fast metal songs in honour of alcohol.

Formation and early years (1982-85)
Tankard was formed in 1982 by three classmates, bassist Andreas "Gerre" Geremia, guitarist Axel Katzmann and vocalist Frank Thorwarth. Thorwarth and Gerre soon switched roles; at the same time the trio added drummer Oliver Werner and second guitarist Bernhard Rapprich. They chose their name from a dictionary upon seeing its definition as "beer mug".[citation needed] Their earliest written song was called "Ray Death", a song about nuclear war and their first gig was played in a local classroom in 1983. As drinking alcohol in the school was banned, they smuggled their beer in with milk cartons. Soon after, Bernhard Rapprich left the band as his conservative father did not want him "hanging around with a bunch of drunks" and he was replaced by Andy Bulgaropoulos.

With the lineup now stabilised, the band released their first demo, titled Heavy Metal Vanguard, in 1984. After this, the band toured with fellow German thrashers Sodom. SPV were interested in signing both bands, but allegedly SPV retracted a deal after seeing the band perform live.In 1985 they released a second demo, Alcoholic Metal, which cemented their thrash metal style and lyrical themes. Both of these demos were very popular in the underground, and on the strength of this demo they signed with Noise Records. The eight-track demo also features rough versions of four songs that would later appear on their debut album, Zombie Attack

The Noise years (1986-95)
Zombie Attack was released in July 1986. In October 1987 their sophomore album, Chemical Invasion, was released, with the album art being the first of eight done for the band by artist Sebastian Krüger,[4] followed a year later by The Morning After. Both of these albums were produced by Harris Johns, who would go on to produce all of the band's albums up to 2000. However, shortly after the release of compilation Hair of the Dog, original drummer Oliver Werner quit the band to be replaced by Arnulf Tunn, and the band released three albums with this lineup: The Meaning of Life, Stone Cold Sober and Two-Faced. They also recorded the live album Fat, Ugly and Live during this time. This lineup then folded when Tunn was replaced by Olaf Zissel, who remains in the band to this day, in May 1994 and the next year founding member Katzmann was forced to leave due to osteoarthritis in the wrist.[5] That year the band released The Tankard, which is widely viewed as a very good album by fans and critics alike,[6] and is their final album with Noise.[7]

Later career (1995-present)
The band decided not to replace Katzmann and remain a one guitar band.[citation needed] Also, after the release of The Tankard, the band signed with Century Media Records. After the release of Disco Destroyer, longtime guitarist Andy Bulgaropulos left the band to spend more time with his family.[8] He was replaced by Andreas Gutjahr, forming the current lineup of the band. The first album released with Gutjahr was Kings of Beer, which was their second and final studio album with Century Media. The band signed with AFM Records and release five studio albums in a decade with the label, starting with B-Day and ending with Vol(l)ume 14. On 27 July 2012, the band announced their signing with Nuclear Blast and released their first album with the label, A Girl Called Cerveza, that day. Also that year, they released a four way split with Sodom, Kreator and Destruction called de:The Big Teutonic 4. This release cemented them as a major force in German metal. They released another studio album, R.I.B. on June 20, 2014.

In 2015, Olaf Zissel was hospitalised with what was suspected to be a stroke. He was replaced temporarily by Gerd Lücking of Holy Moses. Their latest album achieved no. 41 on the German charts. While they have built a fan base, they continue to have day jobs.

Their 17th studio album titled One Foot in the Grave was released on 2 June, 2017.

Current Line-up:
Andreas "Gerre" Geremia - vocals
Andreas "Andy" Gutjahr - guitars
Frank Thorwarth - bass
Olaf Zissel - drums

Past members:
Bernhard Rapprich - guitar(1982)
Axel Katzmann - guitar (1982-1995)
Andy Boulgaropoulos - guitar (1982-1998)
Oliver Werner - drums (1982-1989)
Arnulf Tunn - drums(1989-1993)


Loudness Discography


Loudness (ラウドネス Raudonesu) is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in 1981 by guitarist Akira Takasaki and drummer Munetaka Higuchi.[1][2] They were the first Japanese metal act signed to a major label in the United States, releasing twenty-six studio albums (five in America) and nine live albums by 2014 and reaching the Billboard Top 100 in their moment of maximum international popularity, as well as charting on Oricon dozens of times.Despite numerous changes in their roster, with Takasaki the sole constant member, the band continued their activities throughout the 1990s, finally reuniting the original line-up in 2001. This incarnation released a further seven albums until November 30, 2008, when original drummer Munetaka Higuchi died from liver cancer at a hospital in Osaka at age 49. He was replaced with Masayuki Suzuki.

Ronnie James Dio Discography


Born as Ronald James Padavona in Cortland, NY, on July 10th 1942. Ronnie adopted the surname "Dio" sometime in the early '60's, taking inspiration from mobster Johnny Dio. He is considered one of the greatest heavy metal singers of all time and is known for his fantasy-based lyrics and "sword and sorcery" image.

Ronnie James Dio first began to gain national notice in the '70s when he fronted the rock group ELF (3), but his career stretched back to the mid '50s when he performed and recorded with local rockabilly, doo wop, and rock and roll groups in his native upstate New York (these recordings, some of which date to the late '50s, are now highly prized collector's items). Elf caught the attention of Deep Purple and the two groups toured together a number of times in the early '70s (Ian Paice and Roger Glover also produced Elf's debut LP). Ritchie Blackmore recruited most of Elf for his new band, Rainbow in 1975. Rainbow was the first time that Dio experienced some international stardom and also saw his first steps into the genre of heavy metal. In 1978, after 3 successful studio albums, Dio and Blackmore parted company when Blackmore decided to take Rainbow in a more commercial direction.

The following year, Ronnie joined Black Sabbath, who, at the time, were mired in a creative and commercial slump. The addition of Dio reinvigorated Black Sabbath and their first album together, 1980's "Heaven And Hell", became a major hit. The album allowed Dio to explore darker and heavier territories than he had been able to do in the past and is still cited by the singer as his favorite release of his career. Dio recorded another studio album with the band, but tensions ran high between Ronnie and Sabbath mainstays Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler. The situation dissolved completely during the mixing of the live album "Live Evil" (1982) and Dio departed the group, forming his own band, Dio (2) with Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice.

Dio experienced more success with 1983's "Holy Diver" and 1984's "Last in Line". By the beginning of the 1990s, though, both Black Sabbath's and Dio's careers were in commerical and critical decline. In 1992, Dio rejoined Black Sabbath to record the "Dehumanizer" album. By most accounts, the reunion was an uneasy one and Dio quit the group again when Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler agreed to open a show for original Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne without consulting their current vocalist. Ronnie resurrected the Dio band and continued on with them for the rest of the decade and beyond.

In 2007, having put their animosities behind them, Iommi and Dio reunited to write three new tunes for a Dio-era Black Sabbath compilation that was being assembled by Rhino Records (2). This resulted in a reunion with Butler and Appice for the recording of the new songs and tour to celebrate the compilation's release. Deciding that they only wanted to focus on the Dio-era of the band, the quartet decided to tour under the name Heaven & Hell (2). The tour was such a success that Heaven & Hell decided to press forward with new material, recording and releasing a new studio album in 2009.

In late 2009, Ronnie was diagnosed with stomach cancer. On the morning of May 16th, 2010, Ronnie James Dio passed away due to complications to his disease.

He was married to Wendy Dio who also was his manager.

Deep Purple


Hard Rock band from Hertford, England (United Kingdom).

The band formed in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre. They were once listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as "the loudest pop group", and have sold over 100 million albums worldwide. Deep Purple were ranked #22 on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock programme.

Dark Tranquility Discography


Dark Tranquillity is a metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, founded in December 1989 under the name Septic Broiler by Anders Fridén (vocals, later frontman of In Flames), Niklas Sundin (guitar) and Mikael Stanne (guitar), Martin Henriksson (bass) and Anders Jivarp (drums). Having recording the demo "Enfeebled Earth, they changed name to Dark Tranquillity in 1991. Together with At The Gates and In Flames, Dark Tranquillity is often considered to be on of the creators of so-called Gothenburg metal or melodic death metal style.

In 1991 the bands first demo, "Trail of Life Decayed", was recorded and was followed by "A Moonclad Reflection". In 1993 they finally released their first full-length album, "Skydancer" which featured guest vocalists Stefan Lindgren and Anna-Kajsa Avehall. In 1995 the EP "Of Chaos and Eternal Night" was released. Shortly after vocalist Anders Fridén left the band so Stanne had to take over vocals and let the new member Fredrik Johansson take care of his guitar role.

Same year the band was signed to Osmose Productions and then they released "The Gallery" which featured Frasse Franzen and Eva-Marie Larsson (vocals). The bands success increased and a year later they released the MCD "Enter Suicidal Angels". In 1997 "The Mind's I" was released and, again, featured guests, one of them being previous vocalists Anders Fridén. After the release they left Osmose Productions and were instead signed to Century Media. In 1999 "Projector" was released.

After the release Fredrik Johansson left the band but the bands bassist Martin Henriksson took over his part as guitarist. Two other members then joined the band, Martin Brändström (keyboards) and Michael Niklasson (bass). In 2000 "Haven" was released and then in 2001 the band went on a tour with drummer Robin Engström as Jivarp couldn't.

"Damage Done" followed in 2002 and the compilation album "Exposures - In Retrospect and Denial" in 2004.

Character was the seventh release from Dark Tranquillity, released in 2005, and was held in much critical praise. It featured the first music video released by Dark Tranquillity to feature the band itself, with the single "Lost to Apathy." In 2007, Fiction was released, which in turn, saw a return of Mikeal Stanne's clean vocals, and the first female guest vocalist since Projector.

In August 2008 the band announced that bass player Michael Nicklasson had left the band due to personal reasons with no hard feelings between him and the band.
Replacement was announced on September 19th 2008 when Daniel Antonsson, former guitarist of the band Soilwork, joined the band. Antonsson quit the band in 2013 and Anders Iwers (of Tiamat) filled in as a live bass player.

In March 2016 the band announced that founding member Martin Henriksson had quit the band after 26 years. In September 2016 Anders Iwers became a permament member of the group.

Current line-up:
Mikael Stanne - Guitar (1991-1993), Vocals (1993- )
Anders Jivarp - Drums (1991- )
Niklas Sundin - Guitars (1991- )
Martin Brändström - Keyboards, electronics (1999- )
Anders Iwers - Bass (2016- )



Angra


Angra is a Brazilian heavy metal band formed in 1991 that has gone through some line-up changes since its foundation. They have released eight regular studio albums, five EPs and three live CD/DVDs to date. Led by Rafael Bittencourt, the band has gained a degree of popularity in Japan and Europe

Angra was formed in November 1991[3] by Santa Marcelina Music College students vocalist Andre Matos and guitarists Rafael Bittencourt and André Linhares. They were joined by Bittencourt's former bandmate Marcos Antunes (drums) and bassist Luís Mariutti (ex-Firebox).

This line-up composed a number of the earliest songs, with Rafael Bittencourt and Andre Matos emerging as the main songwriters. Two of the first songs written were "Time" and "Angels Cry", which both featured on the band's first album. The song "Queen of the Night", composed by Matos and Bittencourt, was originally titled "Rainha" ("Queen") and had been one of the songs from Bittencourt and Antunes previous band. The song "Carry On" was composed by Andre Matos and brought to the band. In the beginning of 1992, André Linhares was replaced by André Hernandes. His stay was equally brief and Kiko Loureiro joined the band in late 1992. It was during Hernandes' time in the band that the song "Evil Warning" was written. Finally they added "Reaching Horizons" by Bittencourt. These six songs resulted in a demo-tape Reaching Horizons that was released in 1993 through Limb Music in Germany.

Metallica Discography

Thrash Metal (Heavy Metal) band from Los Angeles, California (USA).

Metallica formed in 1981 by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. The duo first met through an ad in a Los Angeles-based music newspaper. At the time, Ulrich had little musical experience and no band but managed to secure a slot on an upcoming compilation record called “Metal Massacre”. Metallica’s contribution, “Hit The Lights”, featured Hetfield, Ulrich and lead guitarist Lloyd Grant. Afterwards, Ron McGovney became the band's bassist and Dave Mustaine joined the band as lead guitarist. This line-up would re-record "Hit The Lights" for subsequent re-pressings of "Metal Massacre" and would also issue several demos. In 1983, McGovney quit the group and was replaced by Cliff Burton, which also saw the band relocate to San Francisco. Metallica then traveled to New York after signing a deal with Megaforce Records. However, once in New York, the band fired Mustaine. It would mark the beginning of a long feud between Mustaine and Metallica, mostly fueled by remarks Mustaine would make to the press. Mustaine was replaced by Kirk Hammett of Exodus.

Metallica's debut LP, "Kill 'Em All", was released in 1983. It was followed in 1984 by "Ride The Lightning". This led to a major label deal with Elektra. In 1986, the band released "Master Of Puppets", which is considered by many to be one of the greatest heavy metal records of all time. In September of that year, while on tour in Sweden, the band was involved in a bus accident which took the life of Cliff Burton. Eventually, Jason Newsted (of Flotsam And Jetsam) was hired as the band's new bassist and he made his debut on 1987's "Garage Days Re-Revisited", an EP of cover tunes.

In 1990, Metallica hooked up with producer Bob Rock for a self-titled release that would become better known as "The Black Album", due to its cover art. Released in 1991, the black album would become one of the best-selling rock albums of all time, selling over 16 million copies in the US alone.

In 1996, the band experimented with Rock music style Alternative Rock, this could be heard on the album "Load". The following year, "Reload" appeared which had the similiar formula as ''Load''. The albums continued the band’s trend of more accessible music. In 1999, the group released an album and accompanying film called "S&M", which featured Metallica performing their songs with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

In 2001, as the band was preparing to begin work on a new album, Newsted quit the group, citing personal and musical reasons. Work on the new album was further complicated when Hetfield entered rehab for alcohol abuse. The album, called "St. Anger", was eventually completed in 2003 with producer Bob Rock handling the bass. Upon its release, "St. Anger" drew mostly negative reviews. Following the recording, Robert Trujillo, formerly of Suicidal Tendencies, was hired as bassist. The making of the album was captured in the documentary “Some Kind Of Monster”.

In 2008, "Death Magnetic", produced by Rick Rubin, would surface and was hailed by many as Metallica's return to thrash metal. The following year, Metallica was inducted into Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Former bassist Jason Newsted was present and Cliff Burton's father appeared on Cliff's behalf. Dave Mustaine, who was not inducted, was invited to the ceremony by the band but declined to attend. In 2011, Metallica collaborated with Lou Reed on the album, “Lulu”, which was largely panned by critics and ignored by consumers.

Full Albums

Unofficial Releases: https://oke.io/oVMv5B
Official Live: https://oke.io/AkZ7Pdl
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