The official "Metal/Rock Band Bio" Thread
 

I did a search, found nothing, though surprised.
Post a small Biography for your favorite metal band. Make sure you inlcude

their name
what sub genre they are
the link to the site you got the information from.
and if you can, a medium size picture of the band.

and it can not be over the post limit. No multiple posts for one band.


Here is Rammstein
Genre: Industrial Metal
Link:http://herzeleid.com/en/band

http://herzeleid.com/files/images/gallery/group/2.jpg

Rammstein was started by Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein. In 1989 he escaped from East Germany over the border between Austria and Hungary. He eventually ended up in West Berlin and started a band in 1993 (Orgasm Death Gimmicks). At that time he was very influenced by American music. After the wall came down, he moved back home to Schwerin where Till Lindemann worked as a basket weaver and played drums in the band First Arsch.

At this time, Richard lived with Oliver Riedel (of the band The Inchtabokatables) and Christoph Doom Schneider (of Die Firma). Richard realized that the music he had previously made was not right for him. He envisioned something with machines and hard guitars together. The three started working together on a new project.

Richard soon found it hard to write music and lyrics at the same time. He got Till to join them as he had often heard him singing while working. A contest for new bands was announced and the prize was studio time. The four of them recorded the first Rammstein demo and won. Paul Landers knew them all and wanted to know what they were doing. After listening, he agreed to join. At this point, all they needed for the machine-sound was a keyboarder. They tried to get Christian "Flake" Lorenz to join, as he had played with Paul before in the band Feeling B. Flake was not entirely thrilled with the idea at first and didn't want to join for a long time. But, he eventually agreed.

About the time the band was formed, they all had relationship problems which provided the foundation for their debut album Herzeleid (Heartache) in 1995. Since then, they have reached gold and platinum status for their music and have become Germany's number one music export.

The Name

Three Italian air force jets collided on August 28, 1988 at an air show at the US airbase in Ramstein, Germany. About 40 spectators died in the first minutes and several hundred were injured. In the next two months, the death toll rose to 69. In short, it was a disaster.

The name was all over the media at the time and just got stuck in their heads. They changed it from Ramstein (with one M) to Rammstein (with two). It is not a real German word, but literally means "Ram-stone". They chose it to provoke and because the meaning seemed to fit their music. Their first song, "Rammstein" was about this tragedy.

The Members

Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein
Instrument: Guitars
Birth date: June 24, 1967
Previous Bands: Orgasm Death Gimmicks
Previous Job: Salesman

Till Lindemann
Instrument: Vocals
Birth date: January 4, 1963
Previous Bands: First Arsch
Previous Job: Basket weaver

Christoph Doom Schneider
Instrument: Drums
Birth date: May 11, 1966
Previous Bands: Die Firma
Previous Job: Telephone installation

Oliver Riedel
Instrument: Bass
Birth date: April 11, 1971
Previous Bands: The Inchtabokatables
Previous Job: Plasterer

Paul Landers
Instrument: Guitars
Birth date: December 9, 1964
Previous Bands: Feeling B
Previous Job: Boiler

Christian "Flake" Lorenz
Instrument: Keyboards
Birth date: November 6, 1966
Previous Bands: Feeling B
Previous Job: Toolmaker

dont be afraid to post some of your own ;)

NameCannibal Corpse
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5733/woooohhh18xt.jpg
Genre Death Metal
Bio

It has been 11 years since a small band out of Buffalo, New York released their gorified Metal Blade Records debut EATEN BACK TO LIFE, and in their decade+ existence, CANNIBAL CORPSE have accomplished much more than getting their music and concerts banned. CANNIBAL CORPSE have been repeatedly targeted by the morality police (Gore, PMRC, Lieberman, Dole), appeared in a blockbuster Hollywood feature film (Ace Venture: Pet Detective), debuted as the only Death Metal band to rank on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart, graced the covers of virtually every Metal magazine in the world, toured the globe routinely and sold millions of records. All of this with zero commercial radio airplay and no exposure from MTV, save the periodic obligatory controversial news segment. On February 26th, 2002, GORE OBSESSED, the band's eighth full-length studio album, will redefine the Death Metal genre and reign as CANNIBAL CORPSE's most accomplished and scrutinized recording to date. While not infringing on their trademark sound, CANNIBAL CORPSE and multi-platinum first time CORPSE producer NEIL KERNON (Queensryche, Nevermore, Skrew, Macabre and many more) focused on technically powerful guitars and unmatched bass & drum syncopation that will leave the current crop of corporate makeup metallers slack jawed. "Pit Of Zombies" rips with alternating tempos and time changes that never leaves the listener behind, but drags them screaming into the pit. "Mutilation Of The Cadaver" is another prime chunk of meat that sees vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher easily spewing forth his finest vocal fury on record (including an unnerving fourteen second scream).

Eight albums in and CANNIBAL CORPSE have never defied their core fan base, continually strengthening their place as the most enduring, relevant and uncompromising Death Metal band ever. With GORE OBSESSED introducing future classics "Sanded Faceless", "Hung And Bled", "When Death Replaces Life" and "Dormant Bodies Bursting", CANNIBAL CORPSE have buried any and all possibility of being dethroned as the reigning purveyors of aural gore and sonic splatter. Sure to once again peek the interest of those who feel it their responsibility to protect the moral fiber of America's youth culture, CANNIBAL CORPSE again turned to long time friend and artist VINCENT LOCK to create a visual representation of GORE OBSESSED that could match the band's musical depiction. Having set a high standard with album covers for BUTCHERED AT BIRTH and TOMB OF THE MUTILATED, LOCKE, as expected, delivered the gore, and more. The CD cover for GORE OBSESSED will be masked for retail outlets as no "censored" cover will be available domestically. Upon the release of GORE OBSESSED, CANNIBAL CORPSE will headline the 2002 SPRING NECK BREAK U.S. Tour, which, in its second year will once again feature the top extreme Metal bands in the world.

Taken from http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/

Members

George Fisher: Vocals
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/976/george6vb.jpg
Pat O'Brien: Guitar
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/204/pat4sj.jpg
Alex Webster: Bass
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/9749/alexx6kl.jpg
Paul Mazurkiewicz: Drums

Shadows Fall

sub - melodic

SHADOWS FALL unveils their most aggressive morsel to date while shattering the boundaries of traditional metal expectations. The War Within is a well-crafted opus challenging the hard rock community to embrace a record equally as revolutionary as the classic Master of Puppets was to Metallica’s career. The five-piece stays true to their melodic edge while their musical proficiency and technical prowess show on tracks such as “The Light That Blinds,” “Inspiration on Demand” and “The Power of I and I.” It is the stunning emotional epic tracks, however, that give their fourth album added depth and intensity on songs like “Ghosts of Past Failures” and “Stillness.” The War Within continues to separate the group from their peers by showcasing their ability.
SHADOWS FALL released their debut album, Somber Eyes To The Sky, in 1997 on guitarist Matt Bachand’s label, Lifeless Records. This helped garner them an immense amount of attention throughout their Massachusetts home that quickly spread across the globe. The buzz caught the interest of Century Media Records who have been home to the band ever since. The group’s first release for the label, Of One Blood, marked the introduction of new vocalist Brian Fair and exposed the band to a worldwide audience as they went on tour with an array of diverse artists such as Candiria, Misfits, King Diamond, Glassjaw and In Flames.

Their critically praised third release, The Art of Balance, was released in September of 2002 and proved to be the band’s most cohesive and dynamic offering to date. With new drummer Jason Bittner in tow along with original member Paul Romanko on bass, they now had an unstoppable rhythm section. Produced by Zeuss (Hatebreed, Blood Has Been Shed, Sworn Enemy) at Planet Z Studios, each track brought finer melodic focus and power while retaining the band’s renowned musicianship. It was this album coupled with their undying work ethic that would soon introduce the band to a whole new audience.

After touring the world with the likes of Hatebreed, Kittie, Mushroomhead, Children of Bodom and The Dillinger Escape Plan, the band was invited to take part in Ozzfest 2003. They were heralded as the breakout band of the year and consistently sold more records every week than any other side-stage band. SHADOWS FALL solidified their fan base and was certifiably the new leaders of the genre. This led to being the only band invited for a two-year stint at Japan’s Beast Feast, the 4th annual Take Action Tour (alongside Avenged Sevenfold and Poison The Well) and then co-headlining the first annual MTV2 Headbanger’s Ball Tour with Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God. Videos for the tracks “Thoughts Without Words,” “Destroyer of Senses” and “The Idiot Box” were greatly embraced by U.S. television programs Headbanger’s Ball on MTV2 and Uranium on Fuse; two shows where the band appeared as guests several times. All of this exposure enabled SHADOWS FALL to watch both their fan base and record sales explode. The Art of Balance went on to SoundScan over 100,000 copies in the U.S. becoming the first album in Century Media history to reach this illustrious milestone.

SHADOWS FALL spent the first half of 2004 crafting their anticipated fourth release. The group’s new offering, The War Within, produced again by Zeuss, shows them collectively taking a step forward and evolving as a unit, which Fair states is extremely necessary to do. “We are all incredibly excited about the new songs. This record covers so much ground without stepping outside of the sound we have always crafted. Some tunes are full-on brutality, some are all-out thrash fests and some have such a rock ‘n’ roll vibe. All of this combines into what we believe is our best work to date. This record is definitely not The Art Of Balance part two. We have always prided ourselves on continual evolution and try to push our sound into new worlds.”

It is that constant desire to evolve and triumph that earns SHADOWS FALL numerous accolades from the press, fans and other bands alike. The group was recently named one of Alternative Press’ Top Five Bands in Metal Today, voted Best New Talent by the readers of Revolver (beating out both Evanescence and Lamb of God) and crowned with a Golden God Award for Best Underground Act during the first annual Metal Hammer Awards. The stellar guitar work of Bachand and Jon Donais has also landed the dynamic duo a monthly column in Guitar World, whose readers voted them Best New Talent in this year’s poll. They also ranked in the publication’s coveted Top 100 Guitarists of All Time lists. Bittner scored similar accolades in Modern Drummer as he was named the #1 Up and Coming Drummer in the 2004 reader’s poll. Preceding the album’s release, the band has already toured Europe as part of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal (NWOAHM) tour together with Killswitch Engage, Chimaira and God Forbid and will headline the U.S. on the first ever Strhess Tour that is sponsored by well-known artist Derek Hess.

SHADOWS FALL understands the delicate balance between skill and brutality, classic metal influences and new-school characteristics. This album is an expertly crafted equilibrium. The War Within will reroute the path that hard music takes in 2004 and lead the revolution going forward.

http://www.shadowsfall.com