Anthrax

Formed in New York in the early 80’s, the band picked a name that they deemed ‘sufficiently evil’ sounding and immediately began to draw notoriety from its rowdy live performances.

After signing with heavy metal powerhouse Megaforce Records, things were looking good for the band however they struggled to a find a line-up that worked. With a debut album in the bag they eventually settled with Joey Belladonna as the frontman.

They began to release albums like ‘Spreading The Disease’ and ‘Among the Living’ which is widely considered the band’s breakthrough record and is often cited as a fan favorite. During this time they toured with big names such as Living Color and Metallica and were on the tour that saw the untimely demise of Metalica’s much beloved bassist Cliff Burton.

In the early 90’s the band embarked on an unlikely partnership that turned out to be one of their best moves. After collaborating successfully with Rap group Public Enemy on their track ‘Bring The Noise’, the group embarked on a US tour with the group and the meeting of Thrash and Hip Hop turned out be a successful pairing.

The band has continued to tour and release albums under a variety of line ups and have come to be respected and worshiped amongst metal fans. In 2010 the band headlined the UK’s Sonisphere Festival as part of the big four event and the reaction from hundreds of thousands of people was the ultimate sign of respect.

Mastodon is an American metal band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. in the year 2000. Their music is categorized as sludge metal or progressive metal.

The band is comprised of drummer Brann Dailor, guitarist Bill Kelliher, bassist Troy Sanders and Guitarist Hinds. The foursome met at a High on Fire concert and formed Mastodon after getting along right away. After recording a demo in 2000, Mastodon was signed to Relapse Records in 2001. They released their debut album “Remission” in 2002 and the sophomore album “Leviathan” followed in 2004.

Mastodon’s “Leviathan” is a concept album, whose theme revolves around the novel “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville. The album received honorable mentions in UK music magazines “Kerrang!” and “Terrorizer.” Mastodon’s work also gained popularity in the video gaming industry. Songs off of “Remission” appeared in video game “Tony Hawk’s Underground,” the single “Iron Tusk” from “Leviathan” was featured in “Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland,” and the single “Blood and Thunder” appeared in “Guitar Hero: Metallica” and “Need for Speed: Most Wanted.”

In 2006 Mastodon ended their contract with Relapse Records and signed with Warner Bros. Music. The third album “Blood Mountain” boosted Mastodon to commercial success. The album reached No.9 on music magazine Rolling Stone’s best albums of 2006 and they performed the single “Colony of Birchmen” with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age at the MTV Music Video Awards in 2007. Mastodon was also nominated for their performance of the same single at the 2007 Grammy awards. “Colony of Birchmen” also debuted on video game “Rock Band 2” and “Blood Mountain” single “Sleeping Giant” was made popular on video game “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.”

The album “Crack the Skye” was released in March 2009 and focuses on the themes of wormholes, Stephen Hawking’s theories, and out-of-body experiences. Scott Kelly from the band Neurosis guest features on the singles “Crack the Skye,” “Aqua Dementia,” and “Crystal Skull.” Drummer Dailor provides the vocals for the single “Oblivion.” The album was promoted on American show “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and on the European leg of the Metallica tour “World Magnetic Tour” in 2009. Artist Paul Romano provides the artwork for the album covers and backdrops for Mastodon. Mastodon cites metal bands like Neurosis and Melvins and 1970’s artist Thin Lizzy as their musical inspiration.