Friday, August 17, 2007

Nirvana


1) Nirvana was a popular American band from Seattle. With the lead single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from the band's 1991 album Nevermind, Nirvana exploded into the mainstream, bringing along with it an offshoot of punk and alternative rock that the mainstream media of the time referred to as grunge. Other Seattle grunge bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden also gained in popularity, and, as a result, alternative rock became a dominant genre on American and Canadian radio and music television during the early-to-mid '90s.

As Nirvana's frontman, Kurt Cobain found himself referred to in the media as the "spokesman of a generation", with Nirvana the "flagship band" of "Generation X". Cobain was uncomfortable with the attention, and placed his focus on the band's music, challenging the band's audience with their much more abrasive third studio album In Utero, cosidered to be a conscious attempt to shed their audience. While Nirvana's mainstream popularity waned in the months following its release, their core audience cherished the band's dark interior, particularly after their 1993 performance on MTV Unplugged with the Meat Puppets, a band that Cobain had always idolised, performing with them the songs Oh, Me, Plateau and Lake of Fire. It was later released and topped the charts in 1994.
Nirvana's brief run ended with the suicide of Cobain in 1994, but the band's popularity expanded in the years that followed. Eight years after Cobain's death, "You Know You're Right", an unfinished demo that the band recorded two months prior to Cobain's death, topped radio playlists around the world. Since their debut, the band has sold more than fifty million albums worldwide, including more than ten million copies of Nevermind in the US alone. Nirvana remains a consistent presence on radio stations worldwide.

In 2004, the box set "With the Lights Out", a collection of radio sessions, home demos, studio demos and outtakes, was released. A year later, "Sliver: The Best of the Box" was released, a compilation of selected "WTLO" tracks, but with 3 new tracks including a track from the famous "Fecal Matter" demo.

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2) Nirvana is a UK-based progressive rock band formed in 1967, primarily active in the late 1960s and early 1970s - and still sporadically active to the present day.

The band was formed in the summer of 1967 in an era when melodic pop/rock music with baroque and chamber arrangements and instrumentation was highly-prized. The band, consisted of two songwriter/performers - Greek-born Alex Spyropoulos and Irish-born Patrick Campbell-Lyons who met in London. They produced a number of singles (notably "Rainbow Chaser", "Pentecost Hotel", and "Tiny Goddess") for the fledgling Island Records label.

The band was signed by Island Records' founder Chris Blackwell in the era when he also signed the bands Traffic and Free.

In October 1967 the band released its first album - a concept album produced by Blackwell titled The Story of Simon Simopath. The album was probably the first narrative concept album ever released - predating story-driven concept albums such as the Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow (December 1968), the Who's Tommy (April 1969) and the Kinks'Arthur (September 1969).

Musically, the group blended myriad musical styles including rock, pop, folk, jazz, Latin rhythms and classical music - primarily augmented by baroque chamber-style arrangements to create a unique entity.

The next year 1968 their follow-up album, All Of Us, featured a similar broad range of musical styles. Their third album To Markos III was released on the Pye label in 1969.

In 1971 the duo amicably separated for a while, with Campbell-Lyons the primary contributor to the next two Nirvana albums, Local Anaesthetic 1971, and Songs Of Love And Praise 1972. Campbell-Lyons subsequently worked as a solo artist and issued further albums: Me And My Friend 1973, Electric Plough 1981, and The Hero I Might Have Been 1983 though these did not enjoy commercial success.

The band reunited in 1985, successfully touring Europe and releasing a compilation album Black Flower 1987 containing some new material. (Black Flower had been the provisional title of their third album.) In the 1990s two further albums were released. Secret Theatre 1994 compiled rare tracks and demos, while Orange And Blue 1996 contained previously unreleased material including a tongue-in-cheek cover of the song "Lithium" originally recorded by the American grunge band Nirvana who released its first album in 1989, and who the band had successfully sued over use of the name Nirvana. The undisclosed terms of the settlement has apparently allowed the original Nirvana to continue using its name and issuing new recordings.

In 1999 the band released a three-disc CD anthology titled "Chemistry" including several previously-unreleased tracks and some new material.

Top musicians who played on Nirvana sessions include: Lesley Duncan, Herbie Flowers, Billy Bremner (later of Rockpile/Dave Edmunds fame), Luther Grosvenor, Wynder K. Frogg, Clem Cattini and the full lineup of rock band Spooky Tooth

The group was in the school of baroque-flavored, melodic pop-rock music typified by the Beatles of "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver", the Beach Boys of Pet Sounds and God Only Knows, the Zombies of Odessey and Oracle and Time Of The Season, the Procol Harum of A Whiter Shade Of Pale, the Moody Blues of Days of Future Passed and Nights In White Satin and the Kinks of Waterloo Sunset. The majority of the tracks on Nirvana's albums fall into that broad genre of contemporary popular music - not easily categorized - but perhaps best described as the baroque or chamber strand of "progressive rock, soft rock or "orchestral pop".

Their first three albums were reissued on CD by Universal in 2003 and received critical acclaim. In 2005 Universal (Japan) reissued Local Anaesthetic and Songs Of Love And Praise.

As of late 2005 the founding members Alex Spyropoulos and Patrick Campbell-Lyons are still sporadically writing and recording.


3) Nirvana was a short-lived Finnish punk band formed in 1980, whose sole release was a 7" vinyl with tracks "Kielletyt leikit" and "Kuljen kaupungilla" with 200 pressings.


4) Nirvana 2002 (being converted to just "Nirvana" due to old last.fm moderation system) was a demo-only Swedish death metal band active from 1988 - 1991.

5) Nirvana was a Dutch pop group, formed in 1985 by producers Bernard Oattes and Rob van Schaik. The group consisted of Anthony Moendir, Frits Broekrits and Annie Alberti and have released one single, "Say When", which became a big hit. The group split up in 1987.

My Dying Bride

My Dying Bride is a Romantic Death/Doom metal band, formerly at the forefront of the British Doom/Death movement in the early 90s that included such bands as the former label mates Anathema and Paradise Lost. My Dying Bride have, bar one experimental album (34.788%... Complete), stuck resolutely to their raison d'etre. Relentlessly slow, thick, heavy chords allied with remarkably morose lyrics make My Dying Bride a unique proposition and certainly a challenge to the listener. Since its debut, the Halifax based band has remained steadfast in an unwavering pursuit of extreme Metal despite, ironically enjoying the rewards of an international fan base despite the noncommercial nature of its output.

The initial formation numbered vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe, guitarists Andrew Craighan and Calvin Robertshaw plus drummer Rick Miah, who founded the band in 1990. The band released the 'Towards The Sinister' demo, noted for its complete absence of bass, recorded over two days in late November at Revolver Studios with Tim Walker manning the production desk. They followed this with the 'God Is Alone' 7" single, restricted to 1000 copies, on the French Listenable label, again utilising both Tim Walker and Revolver Studios in May 1991. The band signed to budding Yorkshire label Peaceville Records to release the 'Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empyrum' EP in 1992, debuting new bassist Ade Jackson in the process.

My Dying Bride's first full-length album ,'As The Flower Withers' arriving in May 1992, established the band among press and fans alike. Jointly produced by label mentor Hammy and the band, the record stunned many critics, who struggled to find suitable descriptives to capture the radical nature of this work. In the midst of this confusion, few would disagree that My Dying Bride had, in one fell swoop, turned the Doom genre on its head.

The group had driven deep into the core essence of doom, drastically overhauling every aspect of its composition. The album opened somewhat coyly with an orchestral exercise in deceit before the Latin lyricised 'Sear Me' challenged immediately. Songs were drawn out into near unbearable dirges, capped by the twin violin imbued colossi of 'The Bitterness and the Bereavement' and 'The Return of the Beautiful', Stainthorpe's prose held closer to the great British poets than standard rock n' roll and their deliberately infantile daubed logo logo also challenged convention. 'As The Flower Withers' was boldly offered up as a cornerstone of a new approach, undoubtedly spawning the successive drone movement.

'As The Flower Withers' provided the opportunity for their first tour of Europe. The progress gained by another EP, 1993's 'The Thrash Of Naked Limbs', was marred by drummer Rick badly damaging his hand, thus canceling a projected tour with G.G.F.H. Prior to the groundbreaking 1993 'Turn Loose The Swans' album, which came in three different sleeves, the band added violinist / keyboardist Martin to the band and toured Europe once more. 'Turn Loose The Swans', incepting with the piano and violin lament of 'Sear Me MCMXC III' and hinged on the utterly woeful 'The Crown Of Sympathy', slowed the pace even further and plunged ever deeper into slug like doom. Another set of EPs, 'Sexuality Of Bereavement' and 'I Am The Bloody Earth', kept the momentum going during 1994.

'The Angel And The Dark River' was delivered during May 1995 and, in a rare high profile moment of mainstream activity, My Dying Bride gigged as support to Iron Maiden across Europe. 'The Angel And The Dark River', six slabs of morose melancholy, marked a shift in the band's strategy, for the first time dropping the Death growl of Stainthorpe in favor of a "clean" vocal delivery. Fans were quick to hail opener 'Cry Of Mankind' as a classic, even though the mind numbing repeat keyboard mantra of the outro dragged on for a full five minutes. Limited editions of this record included a second disc of live material recorded at the Dynamo in Holland.

My Dying Bride's fourth full-length endeavour, 'Like Gods Of The Sun', hit home in October 1996 in similar bleak fashion to its predecessor. Touring in Europe during March 1997 saw the band forming up a package billing alongside Therion, Sentenced, Orphanage and Dark for the 'Out Of The Dark III' festivals. However, drummer Rick departed and for their 1998 album sessions My Dying Bride pulled in the services of Year Zero and Valle Crusis drummer Mike Unsworth in order to fill the gap. Acquired to handle keyboards would be Yasmine Ahmid of Ebony Lake.

October 1998 saw My Dying Bride issuing the experimental '34.788%... Complete' album with yet another new drummer ex-Dominion man Bill Law. The record witnessed a deliberate break from the expected Gothic imagery associated with the band and provided a challenge for their existing fan base. A sharp division of opinion branded the album either as a somnambulistic, self indulgent failure or a richly rewarding diversion. Stainthorpe's vocals on '34.788%... Complete' took on a heavily distorted air, keyboards and samples usurped guitars and song structures ebbed and flowed without formal structure. Undoubtedly the most adventurous assay of the band's entire catalogue came with 'Heroin Chic', a mechanical, expletive infested industrial male / vocal rap duet with a guesting Michelle Richfield of Dominion.

The band remained strangely inactive on the touring front though as guitarist Calvin Robertshaw departed. He would swiftly be replaced by erstwhile Solstice, Serenity and Khang member Lee Baines. The 'Light At The End Of The World' album would be viewed not just as a welcome return to form, including a reprise for Stainthorpe's early growling, after the side step braved by '34.788%... Complete' but even as being one of the finests outings of the genre. For touring commitments in 1999 the band pulled in Bal-Sagoth's Jonny Maudling for live keyboards. The band's more permanent line up was completed with the addition of erstwhile Anathema and Solstice drummer Shaun Taylor-Steels and former Solstice guitarist Hamish Glencross.

An ex-My Dying Bride keyboard player Mark Newby Robson joined Cradle of Filth rebilling himself Mark De Sade.

The 2002 offering 'The Dreadful Hours' included a re-make of 'The Return Of The Beautiful' from the debut record, re-billed as 'Return To The Beautiful'. My Dying Bride themselves witnessed a change of keyboard players in April 2002 when Sarah Stanton took over from Yasmine Ahmed. My Dying Bride also announced the release of their first live album, 'Voice Of The Wretched', the same month. Hamish Glencross and Andrew Craighan launched their BlackDoom Record label in 2003. My Dying Bride put in a short burst of European dates in October of 2003, supported by UK act The Prophecy, the first signing to the BlackDoom label.

The band returned in March of 2004 with the album 'Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light', warning fans in advance that change was in the air and that the track 'My Wine In Silence' was their most commercial effort to date. In late December Shaun Steels injured his ankle in a canoeing accident. The band drafted John Bennett from The Prophecy as stand in whilst Steels recovered.

Releases announced in early 2005 included the retrospective box set 'Anti-Diluvian Chronicles', which included new remixes of 'The Wreckage Of My Flesh', 'My Wine In Silence' and 'The Raven And The Rose', plus the live DVD 'Sinamorata', recorded in Antwerp, Belgium during October 2003. This latter release also featured two video shorts made by My Dying Bride fans, 'Hope The Destroyer' and 'My Wine In Silence'.

In September 2005 it was learned that erstwhile keyboard player Martin Powell and his ex-Cradle Of Filth colleague guitarist James McIlroy had united with ex-Himsa guitarist Matt Wicklund in a brand new band project called PREY. Meantime, My Dying Bride returned to live action in the UK during November.

The album 'A Line Of Deathless Kings' was recorded during mid 2006 at Academy Studios in Dewsbury and mixed at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire. The accompanying single, 'Deeper Down', hitting number 15 on the Finnish charts, was issued as an "Uberdoom" edit with exclusive studio track 'The Child Of Eternity'.

5th January 2007 bassist Adrian Jackson left the band. Long term stand in drummer John Bennet was also reported to have parted ways. New bassist is called Lena and the new drummer is Dan Mullins (formerly of Thine, Bal Sagoth and Sermon Of Hypocrisy).
Various european dates have been confirmed.

Note: Abiosis isn't old name of My Dying Bride's. Abiosis's line-up contained Andrew Craighan, Rick Miah, Paul Evans and Darren Dickinson, not Aaron Stainthorpe and Calvin Robertshaw. Thus, only Miah and Craighan of My Dying Bride's initial line-up had been in Abiosis.

Placebo - This Picture

Placebo - Every you and Every me

Placebo - Special K

Placebo - Twenty Years




Placebo - Meds




Muse

Muse are a three-piece band from Teignmouth, Devon in England. The band consists of Matthew Bellamy on lead vocals, piano, keyboard and guitar, Chris Wolstenholme on backing vocals and bass guitar, and Dominic Howard on drums and percussion.

They have been friends since their formation in early 1990 and changed band names a number of times (such as Gothic Plague, Fixed Penalty, and Rocket Baby Dolls) before adopting the name Muse. As of the release of their fourth album, Morgan Nicholls has also appeared with the band at live performances to provide keyboards, samples/synth, and backing vocals.

Their sound is a blend of alternative rock, classical music, electronica, heavy metal, spanish guitars, and progressive rock. Usually they use the bass line as the driving force, often with the guitar providing only an extra layer to the song rather than carrying the melody, the bass has distortion and other effects applied to it to achieve a greater weight, allowing the guitar to digress from the main tune and play higher notes, another peculiarity is the Muse´s piano style in many of their song, it has been inspired by the works of Romantic pianists such as Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky and Liszt, and has resulted in a fusion of Romantic style with rock.

The band is known for their energetic live performances and frontman Matthew Bellamy's eccentric and avid interests in global conspiracy, extraterrestrial life, theology and the apocalypse (as much as in Space and theoretical physics). Their lyrical themes involve madcap conspiracy theory, revolutionary rabble-rousing, weird stuff about aliens (or Zetas, if you please), religions and other such classic Muse concerns. In general their music and lyrics gaze on helplessly at the subjugation of humanity by corrupt world leaders and encroaching environmental or galactic disasters (and certainly their last album 'Black Holes And Revelations' has its fair share of climate change/oil crisis/global inflagration paranoia).

In October 1999, Muse released their first full length LP; 'Showbiz'. The album received mixed reviews among critics, and music fans, labelling the band as 'Radiohead copycats'. This, however, did not stop the album from selling over 700,000 copies, with success coming from singles; Unintended and Muscle Museum. The album also earned Muse a nomination at the 2000 BRIT Awards, for Best New Act.

2001, with John Leckie behind the desk again, saw the release of Origin of Symmetry along with Top 20 entries for Plug in Baby and New Born. Muse followed up with a b-side/live CD/DVD named Hullabaloo Soundtrack, showcasing the band's concert from France in late 2001. To promote the album, Muse also released the Dead Star/In Your World EP, which charted high in the UK charts and proving Muse could also write "radio-friendly" rock tunes, as well as the 7 minute long epics on Origin of Symmetry. Muse polished off their impressive year by winning Best Live Band at the 2002 Kerrang! Awards.

In 2003, Muse asked Rich Costey to step behind the desk to help create Absolution. The album had very strong sales all over the world, and helped the band achieve their first UK number 1 album. Its release was preceeded by a download-only single and online video for the song Stockholm Syndrome. Followed by the singles Time is Running Out and Hysteria, which charted well in the UK charts and helped Muse secure a headline spot at the 2004 Glastonbury Festival.

Glastonbury saw Muse storm troop onto the high table of classic Glastonbury headline acts and prove themselves a formidable force in British rock. Although many had their doubts at putting Muse on the bill with names such as Paul McCartney, Muse proved them all wrong and played what Bellamy described as "the best gig of our lives." It was only with that triumph fresh in their throats, they claim, that they realised they'd 'made it'. However tragedy struck just shortly after Muse came off stage when Dom Howard's father (a big Muse fan) collapsed after witnessing his son play and died on the site.

Later that year, Muse toured the US, promoting Absolution, before returning home to play two sell-out gigs at London's Earls Court at the end of the year.

In 2006 and after a long and exhaustive tour, the band returned to the studio, and released Black Holes and Revelations.Interview with Dominic 2006

With the LP, the band secured their second UK album chart number one, whilst reaching the top spot in several other countries, as well as a Top 10 in the US billboard chart. The controversial single Supermassive Black Hole became Muse's highest UK entry in the charts, reaching number four, and also scored high entries in other countries. The album's second single, Starlight, reached number 13 in the UK charts in September 2006. The 3rd UK single was fan-favourite Knights of Cydonia, released on November 27th, and it reached number 10 in the UK charts. The 4th single from Black Holes & Revelations was Invincible, and was released April 15th 2007. It entered the UK singles chart at 21st place, and was the first single from the new album not to enter in the Top 20. On November 2, 2006, the band won an award for Best Alternative Act at the annual MTV EMA in Copenhagen. Muse were also named 'Best Live Act' at the Brit Awards in 2006 and have retained the title in 2007.

Even when the band says they do not see themselves as a massive stadium band, their headline concert on June 16th 2007, at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium, sold out in 45 minutes six months before the gig and the band had to add a second show on June 17, where they proved to be more than worthy of stadium gigs. The Wembley gigs became two of the biggest hyped concerts of 2007. Already the gigs have been compared by music journalists to Live Aid and Queen gigs, also performed on the "Hallowed Ground."

in the July 2007, Bellamy confirmed that he has begun to work on a new album and new songs, some more in line with electronic or "dance" music and others more with classical or symphonic music. The band is also thinking of hiring an orchestra for some of them. He also revealed that the next album should be self-produced, in order to have more freedom. Bellamy also talked about a DVD of footage from the Black Holes and Revelations tour, which could be released by the end of 2007, and plans for a tour with Vitriol I.D. in 2008 are underway.

Linkin Park

Linkin Park is a band from Los Angeles, California, classified variously as , or as a fusion of . The band consists of Joe "Mr. Hahn" Hahn, Mike Shinoda, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, Chester Bennington, Brad Delson and Rob Bourdon.

Released under the band name "Hybrid Theory", the band's first album, Hybrid Theory EP was released in 1999. Only 1000 copies of this very rare original EP were made. The EP contains six songs: Carousel, Technique, Step Up, And One, High Voltage and Part of Me. The last track contains a hidden instrumental which begins at the 10:00 mark, this song is called Secret or Ambient among fans. All of these songs are featured on the first version of their fan club members released CDs.

The band's first full studio album, Hybrid Theory, released in 2000, was a huge success, selling 24 million copies worldwide as of October 2006. Among its singles were One Step Closer, Crawling, and the band's highest-selling single, In the End. A remix album, Reanimation was released in 2002, and was based around Hybrid Theory songs.

The band's second studio album, Meteora (released 2003), was not as successful as "Hybrid Theory". Still, it sold 10 million copies worldwide, spawned the worldwide hit Breaking the Habit, and was the first Linkin Park album that was not fully rap driven.

A limited edition live album and DVD came next: Live in Texas. It was an opportunity for fans who have not been to the band's gigs to see them perform live.

Linkin Park and Jay-Z would then release Collision Course in which previously-released songs from the two artists were mixed together. Some believe this was a major label attempt to combat the success of illegal albums popular in 2004 and 2005, most of which also used Jay-Z's Black Album a capellas. The album introduced fans of both artists to each other and marked the beginning of Jay-Z's return from retirement.

The band's newest album is Minutes To Midnight (abbreviated MTM). The release date, originally somewhere between July and September of 2006, was pushed back to May of 2007. The band cites their reasoning as having fun experimenting with new styles and sounds in the studio, saying it is their most fun recording session to date. The new album was finally released on iTunes on May 11th 2007 and in stores worldwide three days later. The sounds are new, more hip-hop based beats and rock song dynamics. It is 12 tracks long, including the band's 6th consecutive #1 hit, What I've Done. The video for the song was directed by Joseph Hahn.
Two more singles from Minutes to Midnight are planned:
Bleed It Out and Shadow Of The Day, for August and October 2007, respectively.

On the Summer Sonic Festival 06 in Japan they performed a new song called QWERTY,which was not on their recent album. On the festival they also performed an old song from their 'Xero' era, "Reading my eyes".

The band began touring again starting in late April in 2007 with a show in Berlin, and continuing throught Europe. 2007 also marks the return of the Projekt Revolution tour, which is always headlined by Linkin Park.

Him (His Infernal Majesty)

There are, at this point, multiple bands using some variation of the name HIM -- all of which currently redirect here.

1) HIM is a Finnish (or '' as they prefer) band, formed in 1991. Their name formerly means "His Infernal Majesty". The EP, '666 Ways to Love: Prologue' (1996) was their EP released only in Finland and only 1,000 were produced making it worth up to $700 and has been sold on ebay for more. HIM's first full length album 'Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666' (1997) gained European fame due to the success of the cover of Wicked Game the album also featured a popular cover of Don't Fear the Reaper.

HIM's second release, 'Razorblade Romance' (2000) was a success in Europe as well as in America due to the singles "Gone With the Sin" and "Join Me" as well as the inclusion of the "Wicked Game" cover. Initially Razorblade Romance was released under the pen-name "HER" in America as the name HIM was already copyrighted. After purchasing the rights to the name, Razorblade Romance was re-pressed under the name HIM.

For their third album, HIM released, 'Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights' (2001) which was met with mixed reviews by HIM fans who felt that HIM's music had drifted from their original style and sound.

'Love Metal', HIM's fourth album, was released in 2003 in Europe but was not released in the US until 2005.

Their latest album, 'Dark Light' (2005) features the hit singles "Wings of a Butterfly", "Killing Loneliness" and "Under the Rose".

HIM uses a widely famous logo called the 'heartagram', which is a pentagram crossed with a heart. It's also been said that Ville designed it when he had a hangover on his 20th birthday and was inspired by this Finnish private hospital logo. The symbol represents the balance between love and hate, life and death, dark and light, good and evil and sometimes love and death. Because of this logo they have been wrongly labeled as satanic.

Bam Margera has legal licensing rights to this logo in America, which he acquired off Ville. The two have been friends for a long time, and he has directed a number of HIM videos, including Buried Alive by Love. Ville has also appeared in episodes of Bam's TV show called Viva la Bam.


2) HiM is also a solo project put together in 1995 by Doug Scharin (drummer for June of 44, Rex and Codeine). Their musical output includes and . Artists that have contributed to this project include members of Tortoise, Jon Theodore (drummer for The Mars Volta), Fred Erskine, and Carlos Cennano.

Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses is an iconic American band that gained immense popularity in the late '80s and early '90s. The band is often miscredited as "" based on their original fashion style, but on subsequent albums revealed a heavy influence from bands in the vein of Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones, as well as many other artists including Queen, and Led Zeppelin,. The music on their first album was, at the time, compared to early Aerosmith due to lead guitarist Slash's bluesy riffs. They are also the most successful act, with other bands in the genre such as Faster Pussycat and L.A. Guns never breaking into the mainstream with near as much success as Guns N' Roses.

Their 1987 breakthrough, Appetite for Destruction, which is the second highest-selling debut album of all-time (15 times platinum, compared to 17 for Boston), coupled with the success of hit single "Sweet Child O' Mine" in 1988, took the world by storm and by 1991 they were one of the most popular bands in the world. However, by the mid-'90s many original members had left (including guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin, along with bassist Duff McKagan) due to internal conflict in relation to drugs and where GN'R would go musically.

When Guns N' Roses ruled the world they were the most hostile band around. While doing a stadium tour with Metallica in Montreal, Metallica's frontman James Hetfield sustained second degree burns after an accident on stage. Hetfield had to go to the hospital and Guns N' Roses came on early to cover for Metallica. Not long into the set, Axl Rose threw his microphone to the ground and stormed off stage taking the rest of the band with him. The P.A system had been acting up and the band could not hear themselves playing. This led to one of the largest riots in musical history, with riot squads called in and cars overturned.

Sole original member Axl Rose (vocalist) retreated into solitude around 1997 to record the long-awaited LP Chinese Democracy, the so-called "most expensive album never made."

Guns N' Roses have successfully toured in Europe in the Summer of 2006 (their first European tour in over a decade), with dates now lined up for a US tour and a new album called "Chinese Democracy", expected to be released by September 17, 2007.

Chinese Democracy had been given the tentative release date of March 6th, but the newest reported date is in September 17, 2007. The album is available for preorder from HMV with that release date reported.

Many of the other members of Guns N' Roses (Slash,Duff McKagan & Matt Sorum) now play together in the hard-rock band Velvet Revolver with ex-Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland and Dave Kushner. However, Izzy Stradlin, original GN'R rhythm guitarist and co-composer of many of the band's most successful songs, has not joined them. He did however play a few dates with the new line-up of Guns N' Roses in the summer of 2006, as a guest. Keyboard player Dizzy Reed, while not a founding member of the band (joining in 1990 in the Use Your Illusion period), remains with Guns N' Roses in their current incarnation.

Guano Apes

Guano Apes was an alternative rock quartet from Germany. Their energic rock mix (mostly called as crossover) goin' from rap over funky, from melodic singing to hardcore screaming of their leadsinger Sandra Nasic made them one of the most successful German rock bands ever.

Guano Apes were formed in 1994 in Göttingen, Germany, by guitarist Henning Rümenapp, bassist Stefan Ude and drummer Dennis Poschwatta. Lead singer Sandra Nasic joined the band later. They recorded 3 demo tapes, but their career really began in 1996 after winning the Local Hero contest for unsigned bands. They used the prize money for recording their 1st hit "Open Your Eyes" and shot a video for that song. The song also became their first single and was followed by their debut album Proud Like a God in 1997. The next two albums, Don't Give Me Names and Walking on a Thin Line, followed in 2000 and 2003. After the very long promo tour to the WOATL album, the band decided to take a rest for a while. One year later, in February of 2005, they announced a farewell tour and the end of Guano Apes.
- Drummer Dennis Poschwatta formed the crossover band Tamoto with his friend G-Ball and released the album Clemenza.
- Guitarist Henning Rümenapp works for Horus Studios in Germany.
- Singer Sandra Nasic is planning her solo album and is signed at GUN Records. But still nothing...
- Bassist Stefan Ude lives for and with his family.
- In 2006 Dennis, Henning and Stefan formed a new group with singer Charles Simmons, called IO

Good Charlotte

Good Charlotte is a band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. They took the name 'Good Charlotte' from a children's book: Good Charlotte: The Girls Of Good Day Orphanage by Carol Beach York. They have released four albums, most notably 2002's multiplatinum seller The Young and the Hopeless, which spawned the chart topping singles, "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," "The Anthem," and "Girls and Boys." The band's third is 2004's The Chronicles of Life and Death and the fourth and most recent released 2007 is called "Good Morning Revival". The band is fronted by twin brothers Benji and Joel Madden, born in Waldorf, Maryland. Other members of the band include their friends Billy Martin and Paul Thomas.

Good Charlotte's frontmen, identical twins Joel and Benji Madden, were born on March 11, 1979 to a middle class family in Waldorf, Maryland. Their mother raised them with a strict, devout Catholic up-bringing. Their father left the family when the twins were 16 years old, causing financial problems for the twins, their mother, older brother, and younger sister. For a short period of time the twins had to work as shampoo boys in a salon. Benji and Joel cite their older brother Josh Madden for introducing them to rock music by bands such as The Beach Boys and Social Distortion. After attending a Beastie Boys concert at the age of 16, Benji and Joel decided to start their very own band, although Joel had never sung before, and Benji had never played guitar. The first band they started was called "The Benji, Joel, and Brian Band,' which they started with a friend. The band was short lived. They then started Good Charlotte in 1996 when they recruited childhood friends Paul Thomas (bass) and Aaron Escolopio (drums). They soon moved to Annapolis, Maryland where they were introduced to Billy Martin by a friend

After releasing an EP, entitled Another EP, in 1999, Good Charlotte released their first self-titled album in 2000, which was not a huge commercial success. Singles that were released from that album include "Little Things" and "Motivation Proclamation," and "Festival Song".

Aaron was the drummer in their debut album, Good Charlotte, before leaving the band in early 2001 to join the band Wakefield with his brother, Ryan. He was replaced with Dusty, who was just a temporary drummer, who had left the band before the recording of their second album, The Young & the Hopeless. As a result, veteran professional studio drummer Josh Freese plays for that album.

2002's The Young And The Hopeless was much more popular and marked the bands emergence into mainstream music. The single that made them famous, titled "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous", topped charts around the globe. Singles that followed from that album included "The Anthem" ,"Girls and Boys", "Hold On" and "The Young and The Hopeless". "The Young and the Hopeless" received a 3x-platinum certification from the RIAA, landing the band on Saturday Night Live, the covers of Rolling Stone and Alternative Press, a two page feature in the New York Times, and spots on CNN and The Today Show. Good Charlotte were also hugely popular on MTV, where the Madden Brothers once served as hosts on the late night music video show "All Things Rock." Their music videos were favorites on both MTV and MTV2, with "The Anthem" going on to receive the "Viewers Choice Award" on MTV's 2003 Video Music Awards.

Chris Wilson was the band's drummer for their third album, The Chronicles of Life and Death, which was released in 2004 in two formats, one for "life" and one for "death". There were two differences between the two versions: The CD Covers represented either 'Life' or 'Death', and the two songs in Track 15 (the normal track, then a bonus track) were in a different order depending on which version was bought (however, on iTunes, the bonus track is listed as track 16). The singles released from that album include "Predictable", "I Just Wanna Live", "We Believe" and "The Chronicles of Life and Death". This album was considered a departure from their previous 2 albums. In May 2005, Chris left the band for personal health reasons. Benji also told Kerrang! magazine that Chris leaving the band was the worst part of 2005 for him.

Their most recent "Noise to the World" tour with Simple Plan featured Dean Butterworth, who has previously played with Morrissey, as the band's current temporary drummer.

Their Fourth Studio Album: 'Good Morning Revival' was released March 2007, and the first single 'Keep Your Hands Off My Girl' is available to listen to and watch on their myspace page. They have also produced the video for the song titled "The River" which features Synyster Gates (lead guitarist and backing vocalist for Avenged Sevenfold) and M. Shadows (lead vocalist for Avenged Sevenfold).

Good Charlotte often insists on being seen as "Punk Rock" while the underground Punk community generally refutes this, due to their large mainstream acceptance, however, it is debated amongst their fanbase

Gipsy Kings

The Gipsy Kings are a group from Arles and Montpellier in France. They sing in Caló the argot of Spanish gypsies. The Gipsy Kings take traditional Spanish Gypsy music with its roots, and add the upbeat . Their brand has been called and Flamenco/Rumba.

They became popular with their self-titled album Gipsy Kings, which included the songs "Djobi Djoba", "Bamboleo" and "Un Amor". The song "Volare" on their second album Mosaique is a rumba version of Domenico Modugno's Italian hit "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu". The Gipsy Kings were enormously popular in France despite harsh criticism from flamenco purists.

For Gypsies family life is a private affair, thus relatively little is known about them. Father José Reyes was born in 1928, and his family fled Spain in 1936 because of the Spanish Civil War. He married Clementine in 1946 and they had 12 children.

José performed with his cousin and guitar player Manitas de Plata (little hands of silver), and they had a good following in Southern France. He also founded the group Jose Y Los Reyes in 1975. Several of their albums are still being traded. José passed on in 1979, while Manitas turned 85 in August 2006. Much of his flamenco music is also still available. Legend has it, that Pablo Picasso was so excited over his music that he exclaimed, "That man is of greater worth than I am!" It is also said that he painted on Manitas' guitar.

The Gipsy Kings came together after José's death at the most important Gypsy holiday Fete Des Saites Maries de La Mer held each year during May. The Reyes met their cousins, the Baliardo brothers. For all involved, the meeting and their playing was full of magic and driven by their common love for music. The band members are:

PAUL REYES: rhythm guitar, backup vocals
ANDRE REYES: rhythm guitar, vocals
NICOLAS REYES: rhythm guitar, lead vocals
TONINO BALIARDO: lead guitar, "El Maestro"
PACO BALIARDO: rhythm guitar
PATCHAI REYES: rhythm guitar, vocals
DIEGO BALIARDO: rhythm guitar
CANUT REYES: rhythm guitar, vocals

On and off their children are joining them during their concerts.

For much more complete information visit:
http://www.gipsykings.net/VamosABailar or
http://www.gipsykings.com/

Evanescence

Evanescence is a band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas by Amy Lee and Ben Moody in 1994. The band currently consists of: Amy Lee (vocals, piano), Terry Balsamo (guitar), Troy McLawhorn (guitar), Tim McCord (bass) and Will Hunt (drums). Former members include: Ben Moody (guitar), David Hodges (keyboards), Will Boyd (bass), Rocky Gray (drums) and John LeCompt (guitar).

Lee and Moody met at a youth camp when they were young teenagers. After discovering that they had similar interests and musical tastes, they decided to form a band. At first they thought up the names Stricken and Childish Intentions, but eventually they decided upon the name Evanescence. After recording several demos throughout 1997 and 1998, they released their first self-titled E.P. in January of 1999, of which only 100 copies were made. Shortly after, they released their second E.P. entitled 'Sound Asleep' in August of 1999, of which only 50 copies were made. Afterwards, Hodges joined the band and they released a collection of demos in November of 2000, entitled 'Origin'. Only 2500 copies of 'Origin' are known to have been released.

In several interviews Amy has said that 'Origin' was not an album, it was merely meant to be a demo. While appearing to be an official CD, it was never meant to be officially released. According to Amy Lee "Origin is not an album. Should I say that clearer? 'Origin' is not an album. We recorded its demos, we recorded it a long time ago, in Ben's apartment or in my parent's attic with an 8-track recorder that cost $300. It sounds like crap. Don't feel bad that you don't have it, just download it. It looks kind of like an album because we had an artist make us this cool album cover because we were shopping it to record labels. We put everything we had on there, and some songs that are on there are on 'Fallen', just done right". The video of this interview can be seen here.

The band sent 'Origin' to several record labels, and eventually Wind-Up Records signed them. The band then recorded a large collection of demos throughout 2001 and 2002. Afterwards, the band began work on their second full-length album. However, after the album had been finished, Hodges left the band in December of 2002.

The album, entitled 'Fallen', was then released in March of 2003. It brought the band international fame, selling millions of copies worldwide. 'Fallen' has since gone 6 times platinum in the U.S. and has sold more than 15 million copies altogether worldwide.

However, shortly after, Moody left the band on October 22 of 2003 due to internal struggles with the band members. He was then replaced by guitarist Terry Balsamo from the band Cold. Before Moody's departure, Gray, LeCompt and Boyd had been session members, but afterwards they became full-time members.

At the 2004 Grammy Awards, Evanescence won Best New Artist and Best Hard Rock Performance for their single "Bring Me to Life", known worldwide from the Daredevil O.S.T. That same year, the band released a live CD/DVD entitled 'Anywhere But Home', which also sold millions of copies worldwide and has since gone platinum in the U.S.

Afterwards, the band began work on their next release. Many things set the release back, including the health problems of Terry. He was unfortunately affected by a stroke, but is recovering successfully. Amy also fired their old manager which they had relations with during 'Fallen', and brought him to court. In 2006, they finished recording their second album, titled 'The Open Door', as well as shooting a video for the single "Call Me When You're Sober". On July 13th, 2006, Lee announced through Evanescence's online message board that bassist Boyd has decided to leave the band in order to make time for his personal life and family. Tim McCord was announced as Will Boyd's replacement in August 2006.

'The Open Door' debuted at number 1 in Australia, the U.S., Greece, Germany and Switzerland. It sold over 1 million copies worldwide within the first week of its release.

The second single of 'The Open Door' was "Lithium". A video was shot for the single - directed by Paul Fedor (who has worked with Marilyn Manson, Seether, Deftones). It took 2 days to film, October 31 and November 1, 2006.

The third single off 'The Open Door' was "Sweet Sacrifice". The label, Wind-Up, had originally chosen "All That I'm Living For" to be the third single, but was met with opposition from the fans. The video was shot on March 9th and 10th, 2007. Directed by Paul Brown.

On May 4, 2007, John LeCompt announced that he had been fired from Evanescence, and also stated that drummer Rocky Gray had decided to quit as well. Both musicians posted on their personal MySpace pages to confirm the news report, however, neither elaborated about the circumstances surrounding their departures, and no official statement has yet been released by the band or label.

On his MySpace blog, LeCompt stated that Lee called his cellphone to fire him, and that no warning had previously been given nor were any negotiations made available. No replacements have been named as of yet, but Evanescence says they will continue touring and producing music.

Lee revealed during the taping of MuchMusic's January 9, 2007 episode of Live @ Much that she had become engaged the previous evening. She later confirmed on EvThreads.com that she was proposed to by Josh Hartzler, a 29-year-old therapist and long time friend. She noted in an interview that the songs "Good Enough" and "Bring Me To Life" were inspired by him. The couple were married on May 6, 2007, and honeymooned near The Bahamas. She has posted on EvThreads that she is "now officially Mrs. Amy Hartzler."

Evanescence Albums:
Fallen - Anywhere But Home - The Open Door

Dolores O'Riordan

Dolores Mary Eileen O’Riordan (Burton) (born September 6, 1971) is an .

She was the lead vocalist for The Cranberries for thirteen years before she left the band in pursuit of a solo career in 2003. Born the youngest of seven on September 6, 1971 in Ballybricken, County Limerick, Ireland, she tried out for a band called the Cranberry Saw Us (later changed to The Cranberries) in 1990.

On July 18, 1994, she married the tour manager of Duran Duran, Don Burton.

The band released three albums Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993), No Need to Argue (1994) [With the most famous song of the band, Zombie], and To the Faithful Departed (1996) before the birth of O'Riordan's first child Taylor Baxter Burton on November 23, 1997. A new album Bury the Hatchet was released in 1999 and after a new tour Dolores celebrated the birth of her second child Molly Burton on January 27, 2001 which was coincidentally the birthday of her husband Don.

Two more releases followed, their fifth album Wake Up and Smell the Coffee and their greatest-hits compilation entitled Stars - The Best of 1992 - 2002, before the foreseen breakup in 2003.

O'Riordan was recognized for her constantly changing hairstyles, from shoulder-length to very short crop and in a myriad of colors and shades.

O'Riordan was supposed to appear on the soundtrack for Spider-Man 2 with her song "Black Widow," but the song was edited off. On April 10, 2005, Dolores celebrated the birth of a new baby girl, Dakota Rain Burton. Dolores has also appeared on the album Zu & Co, with the song Pure Love. The album also featured other superstars such as Sting, Sheryl Crow and Eric Clapton.

Sources have revealed that she has signed the former drummer for Therapy?, Graham Hopkins, to her album.

O'Riordan made a cameo appearance in Adam Sandler's comedy Click, released on June 23, 2006, as herself performing a slower and mellower version of the song "Linger".

She lives in Howth, County Dublin, also has a log cabin in Ontario, Canada and a holiday villa in Benissa, Spain. O'Riordan has owned a 150-acre stud farm, Riversfield Stud, Kilmallock, County Limerick since 1998 and intends to build a new home and stables.

Her first album "Are You Listening" was released on May 2007, along with the single "Ordinary Day". The album was influenced by the death of her Mother in law and the bitrh of her second daughter Dakota Rain.

Dolores started touring in May 29, 2007, in Barcelona Spain, visiting rather small venues all over Europe, and is currently touring north america.

Rumours have it that the second single, soon to be released will be "When We Were Young".