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Iron Maiden was formed in 1975 by the current bassist Steve Harris. The original band consisted of Steve Harris on bass, Paul Day as lead singer, Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance were the guitarists, and Ron Mathews was the drummer. The band would undergo several changes before achieving wide stream success.

Iron Maiden is a British heavy metal rock band that is famous for such hits as “Run to the Hills”, “The Trooper”, and “The Flight of Icarus”. The name “Iron Maiden” was taken from the name of a medieval torture device, and the most recognizable member of the band is the zombie “Eddie”, who is found on virtually all Iron Maiden merch.

The first album released by Iron Maiden was aptly named “Iron Maiden”, which was released on April 14, 1980. By this time, the lineup had changed to Steve Harris on bass, Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton on guitar, Clive Burr on drums, and Paul Di’Anno on vocals. Shortly after the release of Iron Maiden, the band opened for Kiss on the European leg of their “Unmasked” tour. Shortly After the tour, guitarist Dennis Stratton was fired from the band due to creative and personal differences.

Bruce Dickenson was brought in as the lead singer, and after the third album “The Number of the Beast” was released in 1982, the success of Iron Maiden skyrocketed. The album kicked off a world tour. The protests, along with album burning parties gave Iron Maiden even more publicity, and may have contributed even more to the bands success.

The follow up album “Piece of Mind”, released in 1983 was the first album to go platinum in the United States. The band continued wide stream success during the eighties with albums “Powerslave”, “Somewhere in Time”, and “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”. Iron Maiden video and other merch was selling very well.

Bailey’s vocals were very different than Dickerson’s, and his inclusion in the band met with limited success. The album “The X Factor” suffered from poor sales, and a follow up album “Virtual XI” released in 1998 suffered the poorest sales ever.

In 1999 Bruce Dickenson and Adrian Smith rejoined the band, and they embarked on a world tour. Once again you could see Iron Maiden merch everywhere. During April this year the band released the film “Iron Maiden: Flight 666″, which follows the band on their first leg of the “Somewhere Back in Time Tour”. In Sau Paulo Brazil on March 16, 63000 people attended the show, the most ever for an Iron Maiden concert.Fans are waiting for their new album due sometime this year. Needless to say Iron Maiden is expected to add a new generation of fans to the huge legions of old fans.

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Alice in Chains, a great grunge metal band that we haven’t seen in quite a while has returned.  Being a fan of their music (and seeing the guitarist Jerry Cantrell once live in Philadelphia) this news seems almost shocking.  Perhaps shocking in the sense that Alice in Chains could even exist after the tragic loss of the great vocalist Layne Staley in 2002.  

Layne will always be remember as their greatest vocalist (the Facelift and Jar of Flies albums are must haves) but that doesn’t mean the new singer, William Duvall can’t be an awesome lead vocalist.  His voice fits in well with Alice in Chains older material as well as the new album. So the new album is called Black Gives Way To Blue and there has been some good good buzz on it and deserves to be buzzing out of my speakers.

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One extremely popular metal band that rose to fame in the 80s and 90s is Slayer. Originating in California this band was first formed during 1981. Two talented guitarists gave the band a firm foundation. This duo was Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, and thanks in large part to their talents the group became known as one of the Big 4 heavy metal bands. A bass guitar player was quickly recruited (Tom Araya) for guitar and vocals and they met their future percussionist Dave Lombardo when he was delivering pizzas to King. This heavy hitting band is now compared to musical royalties such as Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth.

In the early days of this band they created a mix of controversy to go along with their music as they played at small events and parties in the southern California area. The group would play their own versions of hits by groups like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. They would also use satanic symbols, pentagrams, and heavy makeup as props during their performances. Strangely, one myth that still persists is that this band came up with the name Dragonslayer and then shortened it, but King continues to insist that none of them have any idea how this urban legend began.

Huge raves were generated from critics and fans alike with the release of the band’s 1986 album “Reign in Blood”. Many people still consider this to be the heaviest of all heavy metal albums ever produced. The group has written and performed numerous songs that they look at from their own perspective, but this does not mean that they have sympathies for what they are describing. This bands values lie with songwriting and performing for the sake of music and the emotional connection this creates with their audience.

Even though Slayer faces strong criticism from the public this has done little to dissuade the group from speaking their own mind. They are known for double drumming, fast tremolo riffs and insane guitar solos, but they are also known for pricking the sensitivities of millions. The controversy this band attracts is mostly a result of the group’s album covers, lyrics, and performances because the members tackle often taboo subjects such as suicide, serial killing, Satanism, anarchism, necrophilia, and death with enthusiasm and abandon.

Slayer are renown for doing things as they please. They have always performed the music and songs that they wanted to do at concerts all across the world. Heavy metal fans buy the recordings and Slayer merch with almost equal enthusiasm. Having shirts, hats, and posters of this legendary metal act brings the fans the feeling that they have established solidarity with the group.

Rewards Slayer has received include 3 separate Grammy nods and won two of them. They were awarded a Grammy in 2007 for “Eyes of the Insane” and again in 2008 for “Final Six”. With 9 albums recorded in studios under their belts, they also have a cover album, 3 DVDS, and 2 live album releases. Four of the Slayer albums have been certified gold.

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The band behind the Grove Metal genre. The band behind the hits listed in the great hall of all heavy metal music. The crew behind a 10-year running glam rock band. When you are already convinced that Pantera’s glory days have ended, it actually has just begun.

During the 80s, Texan cowboys Vinnie Paul and Darrel Abbott came up with a band called Pantera. Little did they know, their bold move to come up with an all heavy metal band will take them in the most exciting ride of their lives. While heavily influenced by the more popular bands Van Halen and Kiss, Pantera experienced the phase of finding their own image and music style. While they changed crew line-ups in their first few years, they managed to successfully create and establish an image concept that is entirely their own. Pantera was the band that popularized Grove Metal, a sub-genre of thrash. Wild hair, goth or unusually dark makeup with matching metal accessories and spandex simply describe the band’s popularized image. While their music initially received little attention, their first ten years mark the glory days of their career.

Ten years of hard work, that was what delivered Pantera towards the peak of their popularity. Their distinct musical stylistics in heavy metal genre made them earn millions of fans and rave reviews, particularly at the southern states where they initially toured. Their career milestones were marked by their albums: Metal Magic in 1983, Project Jungle in 1984, I am Night in 1985, Power Metal in 1988, Cowboys from Hell in 1990, Vulgar Display of Power in 1992, The Great Southern Trendkill in 1996 and Reinventing the Steel in 2000.

While Pantera warmed up to their fans, the band crew struggled in keeping the team together due to their problems and issues. For one, crew members were infamous for their drug and substance abuse, particularly their fondness on heroin. Eventually, some of the crew would fail showing up in rehearsals and miss concerts due to the effects of the addiction. Some were even hospitalized for drug overdose. These problems mainly concern the band’s lead vocalist, Anselmo. Many times, he starts trouble and argues with the other crew. His unpredictable ways and behavior only caused the band’s problem to escalate. While his drug and alcohol issues hurt his personal reputation, his issues also affected his performance in the band.

After making a few chart topping hits, the Pantera crew decided to take a break in 2001 in hope of making a reunion album in the future. However, the unresolved issues concerning some members pushed the band to finally end their run. Expectedly, the decision has caused a war of words between Anselmo and Vinnie. 2003 marks the year when the band officially ended their run. Thankfully, some of the band members decided to create a new band. Vinnie and Darrel stayed together and established a new rock band called Damageplan. However, a fateful event has ended the team’s continuing musical journey. While performing in a concert in Columbus, Ohio, Darrel was shot and killed by a mentally unstable fan.

Overall, Pantera’s 16-year musical journey brings bittersweet memories among the fans. However, the great Pantera hits will keep the band’s memory alive. To pay tribute to the great band, as well as its crew, select Pantera merch are now sold online to complete everyone’s Pantera memorabilia collections. From albums to concert tickets and trinkets, Pantera items are now up for grabs. Fans are now enjoying the appreciated value of their Pantera merchandise, thanks to the recent honors which the band has received. MTV puts Pantera on their top 5 list of the greatest all heavy metal bands. VH1 presents Pantera on their Top 45 slot of top 100 great rock artists.

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Metal has a huge string of guitar players who completely destroy and own the stage as though nothing else mattered. Lets talk about three guitarists who influenced the sound of heavy metal, and how they still impact on the genre even today.

• Randy Rhoads. Known more for his work with Ozzy Osbourne, rather than his earlier work with LA band Quiet Riot, Randy Rhoads helped bring classical playing into metal. Randy Rhoads was instrumental in the writing of Ozzy classics ‘Crazy train,’ and ‘Dee’. Randy’s classical influence and background can be seen on the first two solo Ozzy albums which he played on. 1980’s ‘Blizzard of Oz’ album and 1981’s ‘diary of a madmen’. It is much discussed what Rhoads would’ve done after that, it is widely thought he would’ve gone on to further down the classical route and was looking to study at UCLA. The specialist guitars that Jackson had made for him are extremely popular with metal guitar players. Rhoads lost his life in a plane crash in 1982 and guitar playing and character has been paid tribute to numerous times throughout the years.
• Chuck Schulidner. Main songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of pioneering metal band ‘Death’. Although hailed as the father of ‘death metal’, it was a term the man himself didn’t agree with. Chuck had a great impact of the playing and sound of modern extreme metal. Death’s first release, ’scream bloody gore’, could be said as setting the tone for death metal, but each album featured not only different line ups, but changes in song writing and direction. Death release a further 4 albums with the band, ‘Human, ‘Spiritual healing’,'Symbolic’ and ‘The sound of perseverance’ before folding Death to play guitar for ‘Control denied’, which released ‘The fragile art of existance’ in 1999. Chuck Schulidner died in 2001 after a long standing battle with brain cancer, which had seen the metal community rally round to try and raise funds for his operations.
• ‘Dimebag’ Darrell. The guitar player of Pantera and Damageplan, who also played guitar for the ‘rebel meets rebel’ project. Pantera started life in 1981 as a glam metal band in Texas, but adopted a heavier, more groove laden approach for the 1989 album ‘Cowboys from hell’. Their next album 1992’s ‘Vulgar display of power’ was the band breakthrough album, featuring the songs ‘this love’,'walk’, and ‘a new level’. Next album ‘Far beyond driven’ jumped to the top of the US charts on its release, proving at the time that metal was still ‘alive’. Pantera brought out 2 more albums before a breakdown in communication split the band into two camps, never reconciling before the guitarists death. Dimebag was tragically shot while performing onstage with Damageplan in December 2004, which saw the metal community grieve as a collective once again.

Inspired to get playing some electric guitars? Come to these guys to get a great deal on guitars

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The 20th of April saw the London premier of Rockumentary ‘Iron Maiden:Flight 666′, filmed by Samm Dunn of ‘metal: a headbanger’s journey’ fame.The band members will be at the showing themselves, with a guest appearance from Maiden’s zombie mascot Eddie.

The film is a behind the scenes look the at the first leg of Iron Maiden’s Somewhere back in time tour from last year, where the band flew to abroad venues on their own special jet ‘Ed force one’, as piloted by Maiden’s own pilot, Bruce Dickinson. The Somewhere back in time tour saw the band play songs from Powerslave up to the Seven son of a seventh son album, featuring the classic 1984 Powerslave set, which has been hailed by one of the greatest tours ever. That tour lasted for a good few years, which nearly sent the band mad, but it was worth it -i think so anyway.

Flight 666 has already won the 24 beats per second award at the South by South West festival in Texas for best musical documentary. The movie will also be shown in 42 different countries at Odeon cinemas for one night only, giving Maiden fans who couldnt make the premier a chance to see the movie. Any maiden fan unlucky enough to miss out on both screenings need not worry -the film will be available on Blue Ray and DVD from may 25th. Which admittedly, for anyone missing the show, may seem like a long time. Also being released is the soundtrack of the movie featuring the live tracks from concert footage of the gigs Iron Maiden played during the tour, on cd and picture disc vinyl from the same date.

The film will be shown on Monday April 20th at the Odeon Kensington cinema from 7pm. Need a venue for your London events or events? Look no further.

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Here’s a few of the events that are happening in London that you may want to keep an eye out on.

• London’s international music show 2009. Going from the London Guitar Show up to upgrading to a full on music expo. With Unplugged, Drummer live and the Sound Recording Technology Show all coming in to help make it the biggest show to date, its sure to have you walking away with new musical gear -at good prices. With a masterclass from legendary guitarist Steve Vai and blues hero Albert Lee on guitar and Iron Maiden’s Nikko McBrain and Journey’s Steve Smith forming the drumming section to make sure this event returns next year as well. Its running the 11th June to the 14 June at the Excel arena.
• Nine Inch Nails. This has to been seen by all fans of Trent Reznor. What is the final NIN show in the UK before they take a hiatus that Reznor himself is the only man that knows when it will end. It could be your last time to see then. Taking to the road with them will be Jane’s Addiction, the 90’s rock band on the ‘NINJA’ tour -anyone smart enough to see what they’ve done there? More for those who don’t have a ticket for SonicSphere, but still want to see Reznor. July 15th at the O2 arena.
• Motorhead. Lemmy, an icon of British rock and his legendary band, return to the UK again to tour in November. One of the most hardworking bands in rock and roll return to blow out your eardrums with such classics as ‘Iron fist’, ‘Overkill’ and ‘Ace of Spades’. Expect nothing but a full on lesson in hard rock as the ‘world’s loudest band’ go into London intent on drinking the place dry and making sure you leave scarred for life. With Girlschool, Motorhead’s notorious touring buddies who will rock harder than any male band out there joining them this is going to be a chaotic event onstage at least. November 28th at -you’ve guessed it -Hammersmith.
• The Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards. Taking place exactly after the Download festival, do you need more of a reason to make your weekend longer? Not only an awards ceremony but see the following bands tear the place down in the name of heavy metal: Trivium, Amon Amarth, Saxon, Devildriver and Anvil will be supplying the fire power to make your festival weekend last just a little bit longer. Taking place the day after Download, June 15th at the Indigo arena.

In need of a venue for your London events?

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We all have our favorite album artwork that means something to us, or reflect on us what the album stands for, or is just that damn awesome we had to buy the album. I’m gonna write about two men who had an impact on the artwork of album covers in metal.

• Cannibal Corpse and Vince Locke. There’s no denying Locke’s artwork has contributed towards the success of Cannibal Corpse. The artwork has not only helped Cannibal Corpse rise to the top of the death metal ‘elite’, but also given their infamy, causing the covers to be banned. The covers seem to mix perfectly with the music -your under no illusion that your getting something else with that artwork. The latest album ‘Evisceration Plague’ isn’t as gruesome as usual, but there was uproar when the album ‘Kill’ didn’t have his artwork on it.

• Derek Riggs- Iron Maiden. Number of the beast is Iron Maiden’s classic album, and the first to feature a bloke you may have heard of- Bruce Dickinson. You have to wonder how many albums got shifted just because of the artwork of Eddie being controlled by the devil, who in turn is being controlled by Eddie. Just who is manipulating who in that artwork? It was originally done for the album single ‘Run to the Hills’, but manager Rod Smallwood thought it was far too good to be used for a single and kept it for the album. Riggs has since had Eddie lobotomized, being a futuristic bounty hunter and missing the bottom half of his torso. Although he hasn’t done any studio album artwork since ‘No Prayer for the Dying, surely were due a new one soon. Please?

Looking for print services or colour laser printing for your album artwork?

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Anyone at the 02 arena on Saturday to see Metallica play their final dates of their ‘World Magnetic’ tour? Gotta say, its good to see them back and playing a lot of material from the new album. With the St Anger tour it felt that we were just getting all the Metallica classics, but nothing new.

Metallica’s new album ‘Death Magnetic’ receives unfair comparisons to their 1986 classic ‘Master of Puppets.’ This is probably because its the closest album we have to compare it to. Death Magnetic doesn’t have the raw production values of ‘Kill ‘Em All’ or ‘And justice for All’s technicality. ‘That was Just Your Life’ and ‘End of the Line,’ which open up the album feel as if ‘Battery’ and the title track of ‘Master of Puppets’ got an update for 2008/9. The same with instrumental track ‘Suicide and Redemption’ and ‘My Apocalypse’ -you cant shake the feeling that they wanted another ‘Orion’ and ‘Damage Inc’ to stick onto the album. The album surprised a lot of people who were ready to to write it off- myself included.

After main support Machine Head built the crowd up into a frenzy, its up to Metallica to deliver, and they don’t disappoint. Starting with the opening two tracks from the new album and don’t let up the pace by playing 3 tracks from the much loved ‘And Justice for All’. Perhaps aware that its Justice’s 20th anniversary? I was just happy to get the epic ‘One’, ‘Harvester of Sorrow’ and all nine minutes of the albums title track.

The surprise of the evening came from the album ‘Ride the Lightning’ in the song ‘Fight Fire with Fire’, which rarely gets an outing. The trip to London was instantly made worthwhile. Metallica played a total of six tracks from the new album and they were clearly relishing the chance to play the new material. With Lars bouncing around on the kit with added ‘oomph’ and Hetfield having the energy of a 20 year old, running to all four mics onstage at any given time. A much called for encore sees them cover Motorhead’s ‘Overkill’ and ‘Kill ‘Em All’ favorites ‘Hit the lights’ and ‘Seek and destroy’.

I last saw them at Download 2006 when they played all of the Master of Puppets album, an amazing set which I didn’t think they would ever top. I was wrong and glad of it. Metallica proved with Death Magnetic they could still write fast aggressive music, and tonight proved (to me anyway) they can still deliver a set full of surprises and fist pounding metal.

Just a shame about the trains then huh? Thinking about holding a riverside event near the O2 or want to keep up with London events?

Congratulations to Metallica for being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

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A famous American grunge band is Alice in Chains.  Alice in Chains Dirt was the name of their second studio album.  Here is more about both the group and the album.

alice in chains dirt

The group got their start long before creating Alice in Chains Dirt.  They formed in Seattle, Washington.  They were a grunge and heavy metal band.  They rose to grunge prominence in the early 1990s.  14 million of their albums sold during that decade.  They were number one on the Billboard 200 twice.  11 of their singles made it to the top.  In addition, there were six Grammy nominations.

Before producing Alice in Chains Dirt the group was quite prolific.  They signed with Columbia records in 1989 and became a top priority for that label.  Their first album was rushed into production after an early hit single.  They released Facelift on August 21, 1990.  It only rose as far as 42 on the Billboard 200.  After six months only 40,000 copies had been sold.  But after it was featured on MTV 400,000 copies sold in six weeks.  It became both a critical and retail success.

alice in chains albums

Drug abuse and depression is featured heavily in Alice in Chains Dirt.  That was due to the addiction of one of the band members.  He had just exited rehab.  When he came out of rehab he says that he went back to using heroin.  The band claims they were using marijuana while recording

The band was touring while writing Alice in Chains Dirt.  If you’ve ever been involved in a long road tour, you know how difficult that can be.  The album was very dark.  The bandits as they accumulated demons in the day and exercised those demons at night.

One of the band members drew the album cover for Alice in Chains Dirt.  His girlfriend was featured.  Everyone liked it.  It was June of 1992 when the album was finished.  It made it as far as number six on the Billboard’s top 200.  It  vaulted the group to fame.  It was certified four times platinum in the United States, platinum in Canada, and gold in the UK.

alice and chains

There’s no doubt that Alice in Chains Dirt is one of the greatest albums ever produced.

http://dirtcrazy.com

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