Iron Maiden

Metal2Fingers -- Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris, who is their only remaining original member. Since their inception, the group have released a collective total of thirty-one albums: fifteen studio albums; seven live albums; four EPs; and five compilations.

Pioneers of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Iron Maiden achieved success during the early 1980s. After several line-up changes, the band went on to release a series of platinum and gold albums. These include the US platinum-selling albums The Number of the Beast in 1982, Piece of Mind in 1983, Powerslave in 1984, the live album Live After Death in 1985, Somewhere in Time in 1986, and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son in 1988. Their 2006 album A Matter of Life and Death peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 and at number four in the UK; it is one of the few rock albums to be certified platinum in India. Their newest album, The Final Frontier, was released on 13 August 2010 in some countries, and worldwide on 16–17 August 2010, peaking at number one in 30 different countries.

Considered one of the most successful heavy metal bands in history, Iron Maiden have sold over 85 million albums worldwide, releasing 15 studio albums during a recording career of 30 years - with little radio or television support. The band won the Ivor Novello Award for international achievement in 2002, and were also inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk in Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California during their United States tour in 2005. As of October 2009, the band has played over 2000 live shows during their career.

For the past 30 years, the band has been supported by their famous mascot, "Eddie", who has appeared on almost all of their album and single covers, as well as their live shows.

Plane

Deranged

Metal2Fingers -- Deranged is Death Metal band from sweden (Hjärup) with lyrical theme(s) are about Murder, Death, Gore. Formed in 1991 with label Sevared Records.

Current line-up
Martin Schönherr - Vocals (2007-) (RazorRape, Splattered Mermaids, Virgin Sin)
Thomas Ahlgren - Guitars (Arsonist (Swe), End (Swe), Monolith (Swe), Pandemonium (Swe))
Andreas Johansson - Bass
Rikard Wermén - Drums (Enuresis, Killaman, Murder Corporation)

Former/past member(s)
Vocals:
Per Gyllenbäck (1991-1996)
Fredrick Sandberg (1997-1999) (Moonstruck (Swe))
Andreas Deblèn (Spiteful (Swe), Satanic Slaughter, Morgue (Swe), Höst)

Guitars:
Johan Axelsson (Killaman, Murder Corporation, Thorium)

Bass:
Dan Bengtsson (Inverted (Swe), Crowpath, Murder Corporation, Murinus, Pyramido)
Jean-Paul Asenov
Jörgen Bylander (Celeborn, Sanctification (Swe), Defaced Creation)
Johan Anderberg (1999-2001, also vocals) (Murder Corporation)
Calle Fäldt (2002-2007, also vocals) (Feared Creation)

Slayer

Metal2Fingers -- Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981. The band was founded by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax.

Slayer's musical traits involve fast tremolo picking, atonal guitar solos, double bass drumming, and shouting vocals. The band's lyrics and album art, which cover topics such as serial killers, Satanism, religion and warfare, have generated album bans, delays, lawsuits and strong criticism from religious groups and the public.
Since their debut album in 1983, the band has released two live albums, one box set, six videos, two extended plays, and eleven studio albums, four of which have received gold certification in the United States. The band has received five Grammy nominations, winning one in 2007 for the song "Eyes of the Insane", and one in 2008 for the song "Final Six". They have played music festivals worldwide, including Unholy Alliance, Download and Ozzfest.

Current Lineup

Tom Araya – vocals, bass (1981–present)

Jeff Hanneman – guitar (1981–present)

Kerry King – guitar (1981–present)

Dave Lombardo – drums (1981–1986, 1987–1992, 2001–present)

Anthrax

Metal2Fingers -- Anthrax is an American thrash metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released 9 studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene. When thrash metal began to gain a major following in the mid-to-late 1980s, Anthrax were dubbed one of the "big four" of thrash metal alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer.

Current Lineup

Scott Ian – rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1981–present)

Charlie Benante – drums, percussion (1983–present)

Joey Belladonna - lead vocals (1984–1992, 2005–2007, 2010–present)

Frank Bello – bass, backing vocals (1984–present)

Rob Caggiano – lead guitars (2001–2005, 2007–present)

Megadeth

Metal2Fingers -- Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1983. Founded by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson following Mustaine's departure from Metallica, the band has since released 12 studio albums, three live albums, two EPs, 26 singles, 32 music videos, four compilations and one box set. As a pioneer of the American thrash metal movement, Megadeth rose to international fame in the 1980s and was ranked as one of the "Big Four of Thrash," along with Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, who were responsible for creating, developing and popularizing the thrash metal sub-genre.

Megadeth has experienced numerous line-up changes, due partly to the band's notorious substance abuse problems. From 1983 to 2002 — and as of February 8, 2010 — Mustaine and Ellefson are the only original members of the band, with Mustaine being the only constant member. After finding sobriety and securing a stable line-up, Megadeth went on to release a string of platinum and gold albums, including the platinum-selling landmark Rust in Peace in 1990 and the Grammy nominated, multi-platinum Countdown to Extinction in 1992.

2010 - Megadeth Lineup

Dave Mustaine – lead vocals, guitar (1983–2002, 2004–present)

David Ellefson – bass, backing vocals (1983–2002, 2010–present)

Chris Broderick – guitar, backing vocals (2008–present)

Shawn Drover – drums, percussion (2004–present)

Megadeth disbanded in 2002 after Mustaine suffered a severe nerve injury to his left arm. However, following extensive physical therapy, Mustaine reformed the band in 2004 and released The System Has Failed, followed by United Abominations in 2007; the albums debuted on the Billboard Top 200 chart at #18 and #8, respectively. Megadeth, along with their new lead guitarist Chris Broderick, released their twelfth studio album, titled Endgame, on September 15, 2009, which debuted at #9 on the Billboard 200, marking Megadeth's fifth top 10 album.

In the band's 25 active years, there have been over 20 individuals that have all officially been a part of the group at different times, with Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson being the only original members. Megadeth is known for its distinctive, technical instrumental style, often featuring dense, intricate passages and trade off guitar solos, as well as for Mustaine's recurring lyrical themes including politics, war, addiction, personal relationships and religious themes. Megadeth has sold over 25 million albums worldwide, with five consecutive albums being certified platinum or multi-platinum in the USA. The band has also been nominated nine consecutive times for Best Metal Performance.

Metallica

Metal2Fingers -- Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1981. The band was founded when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. Metallica's line-up has primarily consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, while going through a number of bassists (Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton, Jason Newsted). The spot is currently held by Robert Trujillo. The band's original lead guitarist, before Hammett, was current Megadeth guitarist and lead vocalist Dave Mustaine.

Metallica's early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the "big four" of the thrash metal subgenre alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax during the genre's development into a popular style. The band earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and critical acclaim, with the 1986 release Master of Puppets described as one of the most influential and "heavy" thrash metal albums. The band achieved substantial commercial success with their eponymous fifth album (also known as The Black Album), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With this release the band expanded its musical direction resulting in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience.

In 2000, Metallica was among several artists who filed a lawsuit against Napster for sharing the band's copyright-protected material for free without any band member's consent. A settlement was reached, and Napster became a pay-to-use service. Despite reaching number one on the Billboard 200, the release of St. Anger alienated many fans with the exclusion of guitar solos and the "steel-sounding" snare drum. A film titled Some Kind of Monster documented the recording process of St. Anger and the turmoil within the band during that time.

Metallica has released nine studio albums, three live albums, two EPs, 24 music videos, and 45 singles. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, and has had five consecutive albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200, making Metallica the first band to do so; this record was later matched by the Dave Matthews Band. The band's 1991 album, Metallica, has sold over 15 million copies in the United States, and 22 million copies worldwide, which makes it the 25th-highest-selling album in the country. In December 2009, it became the highest-selling album of the SoundScan era, surpassing 1997's Come On Over by country artist Shania Twain. The band has sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide as of the release of their latest album, Death Magnetic. As of December 2009, Metallica is the fourth best-selling music artist since the SoundScan era began tracking sales on May 25, 1991, selling a total of 52,271,000 albums in the United States alone.

Sepultura

Metal2Fingers -- Sepultura (Portuguese for "grave") is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk, industrial music and extreme metal.

Sepultura have released eleven studio albums so far, the latest being A-Lex (2009). Their most successful records are Arise (1991), Chaos A.D. (1993), and Roots (1996). Sepultura has sold over 30 million units in the USA, gaining multiple gold and platinum records across the globe, including in countries as diverse as France, Australia, Indonesia, United States, Cyprus and their native Brazil.

Current Lineup

Derrick Green – lead vocals, occasional rhythm guitar (1997–present)

Andreas Kisser – lead guitar, backing vocals (1987–present)

Paulo Jr. – bass (1984–present)

Jean Dolabella – drums, percussion (2006–present)