The German heavy metal outfit, Rage, originally formed in the early '80s, and although the group has issued albums on a steady basis ever since, lead singer/bassist Peter "Peavey" Wagner is the only original member still in attendance. First known as Avenger, the group issued a pair of recordings (Prayer of Steel and Depraved to Black) before switching their name to Rage, to avoid confusion with a British band of the same name. 1986's Reign of Fear signaled the group's first album to be released under their new name, as they continued on in the same heavy hitting musical direction on subsequent releases; although they used some orchestral flourishes on their late-'90s experimental albums Lingua Mortis (1996) and XIII (1999)…
Universally hailed as the reigning king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century…
Singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist Peter Hammill is a veteran of the rock genre, recording in excess of 40 albums both alone and as a band leader for more than 30 years. A frequent collaborator and friend of Peter Gabriel, Hammill achieved high regard in his native Great Britain and across Europe. Hammill and Gabriel played an important role in the development of progressive rock, leading the art-prog-rock bands Van der Graaf Generator and Genesis respectively and singing in a theatrical, wordy, typically English style…
The German heavy metal outfit, Rage, originally formed in the early '80s, and although the group has issued albums on a steady basis ever since, lead singer/bassist Peter "Peavey" Wagner is the only original member still in attendance. First known as Avenger, the group issued a pair of recordings (Prayer of Steel and Depraved to Black) before switching their name to Rage, to avoid confusion with a British band of the same name. 1986's Reign of Fear signaled the group's first album to be released under their new name, as they continued on in the same heavy hitting musical direction on subsequent releases; although they used some orchestral flourishes on their late-'90s experimental albums Lingua Mortis (1996) and XIII (1999)…
Formed Seattle in 1982, Metal Church consisted of vocalist David Wayne, guitarists Kurdt Vanderhoof and Craig Wells, bassist Duke Erickson, and drummer Kirk Arrington. Their 1985 self-titled debut album, recorded when the thrash/speed metal genre was still evolving, made a huge splash on the scene, as did its similar follow-up, The Dark…
X-Legged Sally (XLS) is a Belgian avant-garde rock/jazz-band founded in 1988 by composer Peter Vermeersch, and disbanded in 1997. They were one of the first bands from Belgium to combine a set of very different musical styles (jazz, rock, improvisation and classical), becoming a starting point for the Belgian indie music scene that developed in the nineties. Initially, X-Legged Sally was formed to compose and perform the music Peter Vermeersch wrote for dance productions, such as Immer das Selbe Gelogen (Always the Same Lies), released as a live cd in 1991. Vermeersch' composing style was becoming too demanding for the constraints of sheet music such as was used in his earlier band Maximalist! From the beginning, improvisation played an important role in XLS' songs. The first X-Legged Sally concert took place in November 1988. Soon, XLS became a band in its own right, although there would be cooperations with dance ensembles throughout the existence of the group.
Tim "Ripper" Owens, who had previously sung in a Judas Priest tribute band called British Steel, was hired in 1996 as Judas Priest's new singer. This line up released two albums, Jugulator and Demolition, as well as two live double-albums – '98 Live Meltdown and Live in London…