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<title>Top Metal Artists on Rhapsody Online</title>
<dateCreated>Thu Jan 07 09:15:13 PST 2010</dateCreated>
<dateModified>Thu Jan 07 09:15:13 PST 2010</dateModified>
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<outline type="include" text="Linkin Park" description="Naysayers predicted that this whole rap-rock thing would be dying a slow, silent death right about now, but it seems to be breathing just fine without needing to come up for air. Linkin Park are one of the most successful guitar-swinging, lyric-dropping scratch wizards to simultaneously glorify the big riff while bowing down at the altar of hip-hop. In the course of a single song they let their guitars run amok, push plodding rhythms and growl like angry dogs roused from sleep -- all while dexterously zipping back and forth along record grooves. Linkin Park formed in 1996, but all the pieces didn't fall into place until 2000, when Warner Brothers released &lt;I&gt;Hybrid Theory&lt;/I&gt;, dubbed after the band's original name. Thanks to &quot;In the End,&quot; the album was a massive hit and the second single, &quot;Crawling,&quot; won them a Grammy for &quot;Best Hard Rock Performance.&quot; Despite a somewhat cool reception from anyone over the age of 13, Linkin Park claimed a spot at the very top of the heap in the early 2000s nu-metal arena. They have since released an album of &lt;I&gt;Hybrid Theory&lt;/I&gt; remixes, a studio album and a live album chronicling their extensive tours. A single called &quot;Numb/Encore,&quot; featuring a collaboration with rapper Jay-Z, was released in 2004; the EP it was taken from, &lt;i&gt;Collision Course,&lt;/i&gt; and single hit No. 1, and firmly reset Linkin Park's place at the top of the charts. In 2005 the band concentrated on a number of relief efforts to aid victims of the Southeast Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. MC Mike Shinoda splintered off to work on his solo project, a hip-hop group called Fort Minor. The band released &lt;i&gt;Minutes to Midnight&lt;/i&gt; in 2007, another chart-topper that scaled back the rapping in favor of a more straight forward arena-friendly rock sound; the live album &lt;I&gt;Road to Revolution&lt;/I&gt; followed in 2008.
- Kali Holloway" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/linkin-park/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Shinedown" description="Formed in Jacksonville, Fla., in 2001, Shinedown have separated themselves from the ranks of their peers since the very beginning, when an acoustic cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's &quot;Simple Man&quot; found its way into local and then nationwide rotation. The modern hard-rockers' debut album, &lt;i&gt;Leave a Whisper&lt;/i&gt;, was re-released on the heels of the single's success and promptly went platinum, while carving out a Southern rock identity for the band. Second record, &lt;i&gt;Us and Them&lt;/i&gt;, appeared in 2005 and furthered Shinedown's popularity on the strength of the emotionally charged, grungy single &quot;Heroes.&quot; Third album, &lt;i&gt;The Sound of Madness&lt;/i&gt;, found the band moving away from their Southern rock label and toward more straight-up hard rock with strong elements of the salad days of grunge informing their sound. The album yielded hits in &quot;Devour,&quot; &quot;Second Chance&quot; and the title track.
- Mike McGuirk" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/shinedown/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Disturbed" description="Heavy metal will mutate in a thousand directions, taking on pop, hip-hop, ritual killing and even short hair in their turns. But the truism that the music will never disappear, always finding a new generation of misfit kids to carry the torch, remains no less obvious in the 21st century. Disturbed are testament. Led by one of those former &quot;maladjusted&quot; teens, singer David Draiman (veteran of five separate school expulsions), this Chicago-based band has already outlived many mainstream-friendly acts and fusion-minded fads. Rooted in the styles of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and their ultra-hard brethren, Disturbed also recall the fierceness of early Metallica while maintaining fidelity to a belief in making a song's case, then quickly shutting up. After their debut, &lt;I&gt;The Sickness&lt;/I&gt;, took off in 2000, they were invited to play the main stage at 2001's Ozzfest, and their growing popularity led to platinum (and multiplatinum) ratings for a string of albums across the decade, culminating in 2008's &lt;I&gt;Indestructible&lt;/I&gt;; the following year they took stock of their career with &lt;I&gt;The Complete Studio Albums&lt;/I&gt;.
- Jaan Uhelszki" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/disturbed/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Kid Rock" description="Struggling through nearly a decade of obscurity and label troubles, Kid Rock became a global institution in 1998 with the massive success of &lt;i&gt;Devil Without A Cause&lt;/i&gt;, which spawned the mega-singles &quot;Cowboy&quot; and &quot;Bawitdaba,&quot; went platinum 11 times over, and established Robert James Ritchie as the reigning king of his very own genre, a hybrid of rock, rap, metal and country. With 2001's &lt;i&gt;Cocky&lt;/i&gt;, Rock delved deeper into his mix of classic rock moves and gold chain-draped rapper posturing, but by 2003's &lt;i&gt;Kid Rock&lt;/i&gt;, the Detroit-bred champion of hicks had transitioned away from hip-hop and more toward rock, covering Bad Company and pushing the guitars (even acoustic ones sometimes) way up front. Kid's interest in this modern version of the classic rock he grew up with deepened on 2006's &lt;i&gt;&quot;Live&quot; Trucker&lt;/i&gt; (featuring album art that paid homage to Bob Seger's &lt;i&gt;Live Bullet&lt;/i&gt;) and culminated in 2007's &lt;i&gt;Rock N Roll Jesus&lt;/i&gt;, which went so far as to mash up Warren Zevon's &quot;Werewolves of London&quot; and Skynyrd's &quot;Sweet Home Alabama&quot; for the hit single &quot;All Summer Long.&quot;
- Mike McGuirk" category="Hard Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/kid-rock/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Evanescence" description="If Shirley Manson and Garbage aren't hard enough for your taste, you'll probably dig Evanescence. Fronted by the serpentine Amy Lee (who's half Manson's age), Evanescence have been compared to both Linkin Park and Tori Amos. Their first hit, &quot;Bring Me To Life, was included on the &lt;I&gt;Daredevil&lt;/I&gt; soundtrack.
- Eric Shea" category="Contemporary Hard Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/evanescence/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Van Halen" description="In the late 1970s and on into the '80s, Eddie Van Halen's virtual re-invention of the guitar and David Lee Roth's horny circus performer stage presence were the core of one of Hard Rock's most enduring bands. Eddie's older brother Alex's shimmering hi-hat attack has always been as much a trademark of their shiny, sexy sound as Eddie's hammer-on-crazy solos -- solos that essentially introduced the phrases &quot;ribboning leads&quot; and &quot;guitar pyrotechnics&quot; into the rock vernacular. From their self-titled 1978 debut to the chart-smashing, band-wrecking &lt;I&gt;1984&lt;/I&gt;, each of their records with Roth contains at least one Classic Rock gem, if not an entire side of them. The band's early era was topped off with &lt;I&gt;Fair Warning&lt;/I&gt; (1981) -- an uncharacteristically dark record that, through blazing songs of pure, unyielding rock power, reflects the growing tensions between Eddie and Roth at the time. Those same tensions eventually led to a much-debated switch to frizzy-haired &quot;Red Rocker&quot; Sammy Hagar in 1985. While the Hagar years still featured dynamic playing, the dreaded power ballad became a staple of their new, more mature demeanor. Nevertheless, VH continued to sell an unholy number of records on through the mid-1990s, and you practically had to kill yourself in order to avoid hearing their cloying soft drink anthem &quot;Right Now.&quot; After further upheaval led to the departure of even Hagar's replacement Gary Cherone, rumors flew that the unfortunately named Bruce Cockburn would take over next.
- Mike McGuirk" category="Hard Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/van-halen/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Guns N' Roses" description="Not since the Sex Pistols, has a band generated more grist for gossip column mills than Guns N' Roses. The sexual exploits of the band's members and their persistent problems with drugs have led to relentless badgering from the music press. As with the Pistols, it is difficult to objectively comment on the merits of GN'R's music, because of the tower of hype obscuring it from view. Suffice it to say that the 1987 album &lt;I&gt;Appetite for Destruction&lt;/I&gt; is a benchmark against which few albums in the genre of Heavy Metal (including subsequent GN'R records) can be measured and not deemed inferior. Axl Rose's vitriolic songwriting electrified a generation, and the enigmatic Slash will no doubt continue to be the subject of fawning guitar magazine profiles for decades to come. Though they've taken a beating over the course of their career, few would write off at least the possibility for Guns N' Roses to rise, phoenix-like, from the ashes and reassert their claim to the Heavy Metal throne.
- Chad Driscoll" category="Hard Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/guns-n-roses/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Three Days Grace" description="Formed in Ontario way back in 1992, Three Days Grace is a 4-piece alternative metal act prone to heavy radio fare concerned with the darker side of life, due in part to singer Adam Gontier's struggles with substance abuse. After a two-year hiatus between 1995 and 1997 (as well as a name change from Groundswell), the band signed to Jive Records and released a self-titled debut in 2003. Album number two, &lt;i&gt;One-X&lt;/i&gt;, appeared in 2005, and focused on Gontier's recent experiences in rehab. The record gained the band a following in both Canada and the U.S., thanks to the single, &quot;Animal I Have Become,&quot; extensive touring with such peers as Seether and Breaking Benjamin and respectable showings on the rock charts. As of 2008, Three Days Grace had assumed their spot as de facto kings of the alt metal hill. Third studio album &lt;i&gt;Life Starts Now&lt;/i&gt;, a title that reflected Gontier's post-rehab outlook, surfaced in September of 2009.
- Mike McGuirk" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/three-days-grace/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Staind" description="Formed by two like-minded nu metal buds in Springfield, Mass., in 1995,
Staind grabbed the attention of Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst and the rest -- as
they say -- is history. Prior to signing to a major label, the band was
ignored by the Boston scene. They ended up playing lower-profile but
frequent gigs in Western Mass, their dark sound benefiting from edgy,
melodic vocals (somewhat like Alice In Chains) that ride over heavy,
groove-oriented metal. Their frequent touring strategy paid off: after
seeing the Staind open up a show for him, Durst took them under his wing.
They released &lt;I&gt;Dysfunction&lt;/I&gt; on Elektra in 1999, but their big
breakthrough was &lt;I&gt;Break the Cycle&lt;/I&gt;, which came out in 2002 and yielded
the mega-mega seller &quot;It's Been Awhile.&quot; In 2005, the band set its sights
on the commercial alternative charts with &lt;I&gt;Chapter V&lt;/I&gt;.
- Jessy Terry" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/staind/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="System of a Down" description="Along with Slipknot, Los Angeles-based System of a Down are far and away the most impressive mainstream metal band today. Despite the fact that they appeared amid a maelstrom of crappy Korn-inspired rap metal that was controlling the airwaves, their hyperactive song structures and truly warped vocal stylings put them way beyond the pap being served up by many of their Ozzfest colleagues at the time. When music this extreme makes it onto the radio it's always a good thing. They broke nationally with their second record, &lt;I&gt;Toxicity,&lt;/I&gt; which shot to No. 1. Through the next several albums, System of a Down took lessons learned from Tool and other bands from the &quot;alt metal era&quot; of the early 1990s and transmuted them, adding eastern European folk elements, a wide array of traditionally non-metal instruments, and strong political content in the lyrics department. By the time they released &lt;I&gt;Mesmerize&lt;/I&gt; and &lt;I&gt;Hypnotize,&lt;/I&gt; an epic album released in two parts -- and seven months apart -- in 2005, the band had ramped up their vision, incorporating a wider range of influences than ever before, with the vituperous madman vocals of singer Serj Tankian as potent as ever.
- Mike McGuirk" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/system-of-a-down/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Korn" description="Between the mid-'90s and the early '00s, Korn was the de facto nu metal band, spawning the nu metal movement and even the term itself; armies of disenfranchised 13-year-old fans flocked to stadiums to see them and innumerable copycat bands sprang up on MTV and the radio looking to get in on the action. Today the band is still cited as a major influence on most radio metal, with Taproot and Breaking Benjamin being prime examples. Before them it was Alien Ant Farm and, to a degree, even System of a Down. Since their self-titled first album came out in 1994, Korn has had nine consecutive records debut in the Top Ten, one of which was just a greatest-hits collection. Musically, the band has messed with prodigious amounts of funk and hip-hop from the beginning, folding sheets of abrasive noise into the mix and ultimately being identified by Jonathan Davis' soul-baring mania delivered in a stricken yelp-and-growl freakout and James &quot;Munky&quot; Shaffer's banking, spiky guitarwork.
- Mike McGuirk" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/korn/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Alice in Chains" description="Alice in Chains' debut arrived at the outset of the '90s without a name for the market they were supposed to attract. Their sound was too unique to be considered metal and more visceral than mere straight-ahead rock, but it was soon lumped in with that of other prominent bands emerging from the overcast skies of Seattle around the same time. Gritty, down-tuned guitars kept their legion of fans headbanging to &quot;Man in a Box&quot; and &quot;Would?,&quot; offering sharp contrast to their mellower acoustic output (&quot;Got Me Wrong,&quot; &quot;No Excuses&quot;). However, it was Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley's thick and dissonant harmonies which became one of their most imitated and original features, spawning endless copiers. Heroin-tinged lyrics and jagged, odd-time riffs foreshadowed their supposed demise, but their influence lives on in many of today's copycat bands.
- Jessy Terry" category="Grunge" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/alice-in-chains/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Breaking Benjamin" description="Breaking Benjamin formed in northern Pennsylvania in 2000, when members of the Universal-signed alt metal act Lifer split to start the band with singer and primary songwriter Ben Burnley. In the ensuing years, they toured with Evanescence, released a pair of records on the Hollywood imprint, got sued by their former drummer and collaborated with former Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan. 2006 saw the release of their third album, &lt;I&gt;Phobia,&lt;/i&gt; which became a quick success on active rock radio thanks to the single &quot;The Diary of Jane.&quot;
- Mike McGuirk" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/breaking-benjamin/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Creed" description="Floridian superstars Creed play punchy, Grunge-inflected rock. Big, open acoustic chords, rock-solid drums with sophisticated accents and singer Scott Stapps' powerful, earnest voice drive epic verses with introspective lyrics. Also watch for thunderous, sometimes beautifully melodic choruses." category="Contemporary Hard Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/creed/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Slipknot (Metal)" description="Adopting stage costumes reminiscent of Clive Barker's &lt;I&gt;Hellraiser&lt;/I&gt; might cause some to wonder what it is about Slipknot's music that cannot speak for itself. But for the mostly teenaged fan base of these twisted metallurgists, the masks are infinitely more entertaining than the Iowa farm boy personalities behind them. The nine, count 'em, nine members of this band crank out dense, claustrophobic walls of sound that turn the forces of Metal and hip-hop loose on one another in a brutal battle royal. Whereas the vast majority of Rap Metal acts aren't rap at all, at least Slipknot are down enough to get themselves a DJ. Perhaps beneath the carnival-esque madness of their costumes, there is method after all.
- Chad Driscoll" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/slipknot/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Marilyn Manson" description="Vampy counterculture icon Marilyn Manson (born Brian Warner) rode to fame on a well orchestrated media blitz centered around his lurid live performances and gleefully remorseless badgering of the Religious Right. Manson's satanic attitudinizing (see his website for an eyeful) and ghoulish Alice Cooper-meets-Anton LaVey persona earned him a large cult following among disaffected teenagers looking to scare the bejesus out of their parental units. Going the road-tested Nine Inch Nails formula of driving Industrial beats and vivisectional lyrics one step further by camping up visually, Manson hit payola with &lt;i&gt;Antichrist Superstar&lt;/i&gt; (1996). On this album -- his finest moment -- Manson's evil imp vocals are girded by a bad acid trip assortment of percussive guitar chops, world-gone-wrong samples and dancefloor throb. The glam-dandy follow-up &lt;i&gt;Mechanical Animals&lt;/i&gt; (1998) was a concerted effort to crawl from beneath former producer Trent Reznor's long shadow. While the album succeeded on that account, it failed to ignite the frenzied devotion of his fans. Its middle-of-the-road tempos and sanitized textures seemed less a savage indictment of the status quo than a (cringe) bid for respectability.
- Chad Driscoll" category="Industrial Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/marilyn-manson/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Nine Inch Nails" description="From the valiant, if naive, industrial pop effort of &lt;i&gt;Pretty Hate Machine&lt;/i&gt; to the furious dissatisfaction of &lt;i&gt;Broken&lt;/i&gt; to the genuinely troubled &lt;i&gt;Downward Spiral&lt;/i&gt;, to the mature devastation of &lt;i&gt;The Fragile&lt;/i&gt; Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor has proven to be one of the more vital forces in popular music. Sequestered with his Macintosh, Reznor has perfected the art of projecting personal alienation, self-loathing and bitter betrayal. Reznor is a master of creating tension in silence and releasing it in explosions of industrial aggression. Having survived depression and addiction during the peak of his mid-90s acclaim, Reznor emerged sober and strangely buff with 2005's politically-inspired &lt;i&gt;With Teeth.&lt;/i&gt; Never short of ideas or opinions, he continues to be one of the most inspired -- and darkly inspiring -- musicians today.
- Doug Russell" category="Industrial" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/nine-inch-nails/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Papa Roach" description="Great big guitars and steadfast, drumstick-twirling breaks fronted by an angry rapper/cusser -- that's Papa Roach in a nutshell. If you miss the genre-smashing hybrid of Faith No More's breakout record, these guys will be happy to fill the void. Regardless of whether you consider the fact to be positive or negative, Papa Roach took the nu-metal world by storm in 2000 with the massive hit single &quot;Last Resort.&quot; The album that single came off of, &lt;i&gt;Infest&lt;/i&gt;, sold about a gajillion copies, making Papa Roach a household name practically overnight. Their 2002 follow-up, &lt;i&gt;Lovehatetragedy&lt;/i&gt;, didn't break any records, but the band managed to hold onto a respectable following. &quot;Getting Away With Murder,&quot; their first new single in two years, was released in July 2004, and led off their album of the same name. Papa Roach's fourth album, &lt;i&gt;The Paramour Sessions,&lt;/i&gt; came out in fall of '06.
- Mike McGuirk" category="Hard Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/papa-roach/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Hollywood Undead" description="By throwing together a kitchen-sink mix of hip-hop, metal and pop punk, Hollywood Undead update the sound of '90s rapcore acts like Insane Clown Posse and Korn. It's hardly groundbreaking, but it works -- they've won wide adoration from MySpace crowds, who have helped them break out of the social networking site and into mainstream pop culture on the strength of their singles. Hollywood Undead became the first act to sign on with MySpace Records in 2005, wearing hockey masks that introduced the band's puzzling public image -- another imitative nod to Insane Clown Posse. After a number of personnel changes (all of which happened behind the shroud of their veiled identity), the core duo of Deuce and J-Dog put together a lineup for live gigs in 2008. That same year Hollywood Undead signed to a major and released their debut, the encouragingly titled &lt;i&gt;Swan Songs&lt;/i&gt;.
- Nate Cavalieri" category="Rapcore" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/hollywood-undead/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Godsmack" description="Boston lumpen-rockers of note have made a career out of flogging the last bit of life out of Alice In Chains' workhorse grunge formula: fierce guitar riffage, over-the-top crooning and heavy bass lines that sink through the rock sludge like Liquid Plumber. By taking heavy metal chops and precision beats and hammering them together with &quot;'roid rage,&quot; Godsmack have created the state-of-the-art jock rock for the new millennium. The band signed to Universal Records in 1998 and almost immediately scored with the single &quot;Whatever,&quot; from their self-titled debut. A spot on the Ozzfest tour followed, as well as their follow-up record, &lt;i&gt;Awake,&lt;/i&gt; which cemented their place near the top of the post-grunge heavy music heap. In 2002, they were nominated for a Grammy for &quot;Best Instrumental Rock performance&quot; for the song &quot;Vampires.&quot; Godsmack continues to headline tours and put out records, the most recently, an acoustic reworking of some of their older songs, came out in 2003 and was titled &lt;i&gt;The Other Side&lt;/i&gt;.
- Chad Driscoll" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/godsmack/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Ozzy Osbourne" description="He fronted Black Sabbath. He purposefully bit the head off a live dove in a meeting with Columbia Records executives. He accidentally bit the head off a real bat at a concert. He pissed on the Alamo. He was accused of subliminally manipulating kids to commit suicide. Basically, Ozzy rules. During a career that spans more than thirty years as the lord of heavy metal, he has amassed a veritable army of devoted fans. His first two records, both of which include the talents of late guitarist Randy Rhodes, are timeless classics, packed with cut after cut of blazing, untouchable riffs. Though his subsequent material never quite reached the creative peak of these recordings, they are far from poor, and continue to amass new followers. Anyone who needs further proof of Osbourne's immeasurable contribution to rock needs only to look at the enormous success of the Ozzfest tour, whose entire lineup includes bands that could never have existed without their hero.
- Doug Russell" category="Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/ozzy-osbourne/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="KISS" description="Scene: interior of house. Dad reading newspaper on recliner. Mother crocheting on couch. Television is on, &lt;I&gt;Mary Tyler Moore&lt;/I&gt; is heard dimly in the background. A young man of about fifteen walks through front door carrying a plastic bag. He says nothing to his parents, walks down the hall into his bedroom. Posters of rock stars like KISS, Alice Cooper and Queen are on his wall. He shuts the door, sits on his bed, takes a record out of the bag. It is KISS &lt;I&gt;Alive!&lt;/I&gt;. He removes vinyl from the sleeve, puts record on turntable and stares in awe at the maniacal, rapturous, cartoonish hard rockers on the cover. &quot;Deuce&quot; blasts out of the speakers, and the boy is transported to an arena where it's all happening. &lt;p&gt; Scene: Concert stage. Paul, Gene, Ace and Peter are there, bashing away at their instruments, the crowd is screaming with delight, smoke is pouring from the stage, explosions are going off. The boy finds himself with a guitar around his neck and in makeup similar to the others; he is called the Hawk. He finds he can play his guitar like a champ, and is soon beating out those bar chords while Paul sings, Ace plays lead, and Gene and Peter hold down the rhythm section. The teenager feels warm liquid hit his torso; he realizes that Gene has just spit blood on him. They smile at each other. &lt;p&gt; Scene: the boy is back in his room, eyes closed, playing air guitar while &quot;Hotter Than Hell&quot; blares from his stereo. His mother is banging on the door. We hear her shout, &quot;Turn it down, godammit!!!&quot; The boy doesn't hear her. He's in hard rock paradise.
- Will Lerner" category="Hard Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/kiss/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Motley Crue" description="For anyone coming of age in the 1980s, the rise of glam metal served as a rite of passage which most of us would rather forget. Winger, Ratt, Warrant...we have consigned these bands to mothballed oblivion for trafficking in lyrical cliches and fancified guitar fluff. Perhaps the only such band that deserves to escape the fate of a rogue Cheerio under a sofa cushion is Motley Crue. A&amp;R opportunists and image consultants be damned, these Metal diehards have managed to keep their priorities straight by staying true to their legion of fans. These confrontational and hedonistic anti-heroes have made records we need not be entirely ashamed of owning. &quot;Shout at the Devil&quot; and &quot;Home Sweet Home&quot; have not tarnished with age, perhaps because the appeal of these songs is so primal -- requiring responses no more sophisticated than a fist in the air or a misty, sentimental tear. Even &lt;i&gt;Generation Swine&lt;/i&gt; (1997) is -- for a comeback album -- audacious, heavy, and untamed. It demonstrates that the Crue's music is still capable of liberating fans, however briefly, from their mundane lives, emboldening them to live a little, have some fun, and rock out. What more can we ask of a band?
- Chad Driscoll" category="Pop Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/motley-crue/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Skillet" description="Apropos to their name, husband and wife hard rockers John and Korey Cooper, joined by Ben Kasica on guitar and Lori Peters on drums, have spent their first five albums throwing all things rock into a pan and seeing what cooks up the best. Techno, thrash metal, grunge, even an excursion into acoustic alternative went into the mix, but the constants have been their strong spiritual lyrics, challenging themes, musical boldness and their worshipful willingness to experiment. It's been that sense of fearless unpredictability that keeps the charts and the &quot;Panheads&quot; -- as their fans dub themselves -- satisfied.
- Amy Bartlett" category="Christian Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/skillet/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Rage Against the Machine" description="Rage Against the Machine's militant political stance straddles an equally militant sound. Furious riffs churn out of Tom Morello's guitar and dive into grinding psychedelics -- the American music of opposition. But these are the sounds of a culture that is too angry for '60s passive resistance. The wah-wah pedal is a call to action. The urgency of Zack de la Rocha's frantic podium rants are taken out of the riot directing bullhorn and put into percussive rap poetics. Key to RATM's appeal is their fusion of some of America's most political musical movements: the liberation sounds of funk, the anarchistic resistance of punk, the angry alienation of metal, and the urban exasperation of hip-hop creating a revolutionary synergy on all four studio albums. De La Rocha left the band in 2000 to pursue a solo career while his bandmates went on to form Audioslave with Chris Cornell of Soundgarden on vocals. In 2007, Rage were received with open arms as they re-grouped and returned to performing and politicking.
- Marc Kate" category="Rapcore" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/rage-against-the-machine/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Avenged Sevenfold" description="Avenged Sevenfold are a Huntington Beach, CA phenomenon. They apply soaring, pop-punk harmonies to raging power metal licks with chugging hardcore breakdowns. At the start of their career in 1999, it seemed fans of Bad Religion and Iron Maiden finally had something to agree on, but these metalcore stalwarts-turned-mainstream-rock-stars upped the ante on their signature sound, combining a more eclectic range of influences in the hard rock arena, and flipping the ratio of guttural growls to clean singing to include more of the latter and less of the former. In 2005, this new approach saw the release and success of &lt;I&gt;City of Evil&lt;/I&gt; -- the band's major label debut, and platinum-selling record. Continuing to conquer the Billboard Charts, A7X returned in 2007 with their self-produced, self-titled hard rock tome containing political outcries and an ode to Pantera.
- Jen Guyre" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/avenged-sevenfold/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Killswitch Engage" description="Vocalist Howard Jones, guitarists Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel, bassist Mike D'Antonio and drummer Justin Foley are no strangers to the history of the modern metalcore scene they represent. Hailing from a strong lineage of seminal Massachusetts metalcore outfits, with former members from pillar bands Overcast and Aftershock, their family tree doesn't stop there. KSE guitarist and producer extraordinaire Adam D. not only produces every Killswitch album, but has also pulled production duty for Mass natives Unearth, All That Remains and Shadows Fall, among many other popular metalcore acts from across the country. Translation: Not only have Killswitch helped set the stylistic pace of what denotes modern metalcore, but they also have a hand in the sound new metalcore acts churn out. Sonically, Killswitch Engage possess the same preciseness and agility in and out of labyrinthine passages as Swedish melodic death metal masters At the Gates. Flame-scorched screams define verses and trade off into clean, operatic choruses and bridges while rending guitars and hardcore breakdowns fully define their amalgamated approach.
- Jen Guyre" category="Metalcore" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/killswitch-engage/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Iron Maiden" description="Iron Maiden's heavy metal assault has soldiered on since the band's inception in 1980. As frontiersmen of the massively significant New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Maiden has influenced metal's many branches, from power and prog to speed and thrash. Rhythmic velocity, epic lyrics, operatic vocals and tremendous, wailing TRIPLE guitars with ripping solos to match are what made them kings early on, from 1981's &lt;I&gt;Killers&lt;/I&gt; to 1988's &lt;I&gt;Seventh Son of a Seventh Son&lt;/I&gt;. After weathering several lineup changes and directional departures during the '90s, Maiden's legendary status was restored when famed singer Bruce Dickinson returned in 1999. They charged into the new millennium by touring and releasing new albums. 2008 found Maiden flying around the world on the Somewhere Back in Time Tour, performing an all-vintage set -- complete with the original 1985 Powerslave stage design. Maiden continue to conquer and inspire. Up the irons!
- Jen Guyre" category="New Wave of British Heavy Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/iron-maiden/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Chevelle" description="Formed by three brothers -- Pete, Sam and Joe Loeffler -- outside of Chicago in 1994, Chevelle began making noise right off the bat. Their debut album &lt;i&gt;Point # 1&lt;/i&gt; was produced by Steve Albini, and it earned them a spot headlining Ozzfest that same year. Their second and third albums, &lt;i&gt;Wonder What's Next&lt;/i&gt; (2002) and &lt;i&gt;This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)&lt;/i&gt; (2004), both yielded hits on MTV. &lt;i&gt;Vena Sera&lt;/i&gt; came out in 2007. The band plays the sort of heavy rock with strong melodies such groups as Trapt and Creed are known for. Although lyrically Chevelle remain focused on positivity and soul-searching, they have since distanced themselves from a Christian rock categorization they had been labeled with early on in their career. In May of 2007, their entire trailer of equipment was stolen while touring Texas, resulting in the immediate but temporary cancellation of the tour.
- Mike McGuirk" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/chevelle/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Sugar Ray" description="Sugar Ray owe a great debt to the powers that make their fusion of styles so darn catchy. Somehow, the union of hardcore Speed Metal with growling vocals, the sunny, feel-good songs with shimmering acoustic guitar, grungy guitar-driven rock and DJ Homicide's groovy beats make a unified sound all their own. Fueled by the popularity of their ubiquitous first single &quot;Fly&quot; and singer Mark McGrath's pin-up looks -- the five-piece SoCal band seem likely to beat Warhol's &quot;fifteen minutes of fame&quot; prediction.
- Kali Holloway" category="Contemporary Hard Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/sugar-ray/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Audioslave" description="Audioslave combine three former members of Rage Against The Machine with ex-Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell. Despite early talk that the group might retain the RATM name and some stop-start activity prior to releasing their debut, the band emerged as a newly named unit in 2002 with a sound that substituted Cornell's powerful introspection for Rage's political fury. Though it's hard to hear their debut as much more than a collaboration between two forceful personalities, the dynamic does offer major fist-pumping power and has lead to subsequent albums. &lt;I&gt;Out of Exile&lt;/i&gt; appeared in 2005, mostly conforming to the band's established modern hard rock pattern. 2006's &lt;I&gt;Revelations&lt;/i&gt;, however, took a rootsier approach. First single &quot;Original Fire&quot; shakes and rattles with an almost bluesy swagger, marking a new direction for the supergroup. No tour in support of the album led to some fan speculation of a breakup...and that's exactly what happened. Rage Against the Machine reunited in 2007 and Chris Cornell eased back into a solo career.
- Jon Pruett" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/audioslave/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="A Perfect Circle" description="The most obvious criticism of A Perfect Circle is that they're not Tool. Anyone who comes to this Maynard James Keenan side project looking for a booster shot of venom to tide them over until the next Tool album will begin to feel the hot flashes and nausea of withdrawal almost immediately. Not surprisingly, &quot;Judith,&quot; the most Tool-sounding song on &lt;I&gt;Mer de Noms&lt;/I&gt;, was also the first to be promoted, but don't be misled -- A Perfect Circle are much closer in sensibility to the Smashing Pumpkins than Tool. Songs such as &quot;The Hollow&quot; and &quot;Thinking of You&quot; show Keenan to be capable of sensitivity, longing, even instances of vulnerability. His sinuous voice still sneers on occasion, but is more inclined to coil gently or soar ecstatically. On &quot;Orestes&quot; he sounds like a man liberated, however briefly, from a defeated world. Even without the presence of strings (!) and the gorgeous textures achieved by vocal overdubbing, there's something phenomenal happening here that fans won't find on a Tool album. This is someone's attempt to rescue a little sweetness and light from an encroaching darkness -- and it's an attempt that succeeds over and over again.
- Chad Driscoll" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/a-perfect-circle/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Judas Priest" description="Blessed with as many lives as a cat, not only have the protean &quot;Priest&quot; undergone nearly seasonal lineup changes, but on numerous occasions they have completely reinvented their sound to keep up with shifts in public taste. Originally deeply immersed in Progressive Metal elements (composing epic fantasy narratives in song), they soon switched roles from Conan-rockers to leather-clad, would-be Hell's Angels. Focusing their power into smoking, twin guitar testosterone fests, Judas Priest's &lt;i&gt;Stained Class&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;Hell Bent for Leather&lt;/i&gt; catalyzed the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Once the arrival of Metallica and other Speed Metal acts made the Priest's mid-tempo, work-the-body assault sound outmoded and irrelevant, the band again huddled together and came up with a new game plan. They came out swinging, hoping for a swift KO. &lt;i&gt;Painkiller&lt;/i&gt; (1990) was a blue ribbon entry in the Thrash category, much faster and heavier than anything else in the band's career; but when the album's tepid reception helped precipitate lead singer Rob Halford's defection from Judas Priest, the band's final transformation was already afoot. The remaining members hired themselves a new vocalist and, with a magician's finesse, turned a nine-lived cat into a chicken with its head hacked off.
- Chad Driscoll" category="New Wave of British Heavy Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/judas-priest/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Limp Bizkit" description="Perhaps the new leaders of the rapcore movement, Florida's Limp Bizkit had a solid underground following long before they were signed to Interscope in 1997. They have a singular approach to psychedelic guitars overdriven past the point of corrosive distortion into the realm of aural punishment, flanked by harsh funk basslines and hip-hop beats. Aggressive rap vocals occasionally venture into whiteboy soul-isms." category="Rapcore" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/limp-bizkit/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Megadeth" description="Who knew when Dave Mustaine was booted out of Metallica in 1983, that he'd go on to form one of the biggest Thrash Metal acts of the '80s and '90s? Mustaine's Megadeth torpedoed through the starting gate with albums that corralled bottled up, suburban teen male angst and exploded it onto vinyl. They were nihilistic and numbingly relentless in their twin guitar and rhythm section assault. In 1990, &lt;I&gt;Rust in Peace&lt;/I&gt; fulfilled the promise shown on their major label debut &lt;I&gt;Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?&lt;/I&gt; -- Thrash Metal &lt;I&gt;with&lt;/I&gt; complex musical craftsmanship. Mustaine had always surrounded himself with talented players and certain songs on that album are mind-blowing in their construction and musicianship. However, a band can't live by lightning fast riffs, long instrumental passages, lyrics that play upon the supernatural, and a cynical worldview alone. By the early '90s, Grunge became the rallying cry for repressed youth. While all eyes focused on Seattle, Megadeth began another gradual metamorphosis, streamlining their sound (stirring in pop with their metal and later, even claiming the Beatles as an influence!). They began to surface on near-prime time MTV (not just specialty shows like &quot;Headbanger's Ball&quot;) and commercial rock radio. To this day, Megadeth are one of the few metal acts to have maintained a lion's share of their following from their heyday in the late '80s.
- Will Lerner" category="Thrash/Speed Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/megadeth/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Soundgarden" description="Soundgarden debuted as a swaggering, leaden Hard Rock outfit, all flailing hair and meaty Metal riffs -- this was the Soundgarden of &quot;Big Dumb Sex&quot; and &quot;Full On Kevin's Mom.&quot; By the time grunge reached its heyday on MTV, the pages of &lt;i&gt;Rolling Stone&lt;/i&gt;, and the radio, the Seattle band had reined in its lunk-headed tendencies and focused on crafting excellent songs such as &quot;Burden In My Hand,&quot; &quot;Like Suicide&quot; (the elegiac swansong for grunge's commercial invincibility), and &quot;Overfloater.&quot; They never completely captured the imagination of a generation the way their friends and contemporaries did -- Nirvana were more mercurial, Pearl Jam more anthemic. But more than any other grunge outfit, Soundgarden demonstrated the influence of '70s Hard Rock on grunge. Longtime fans claim that Soundgarden softened up over the years, citing the insane crossover success of &quot;Black Hole Sun&quot; (1994) as Exhibit A in the band's paving of their previously potholed Grunge/Metal hybrid. But given a closer listen, some of the band's later material -- &quot;Pretty Noose&quot; and &quot;Let Me Drown,&quot; for example -- thuds just as emphatically as their late '80s releases on Sub Pop and SST.
- Charles Hodgkins" category="Grunge" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/soundgarden/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Buckcherry" description="Buckcherry made a name for themselves in 1999 with the infamous semi-hit single, &quot;Lit Up,&quot; which was a very explicit ode to the joys of cocaine use, from their self-titled debut. The band's aggressive aesthetic was not exactly embraced by everyone, but the fact is, in those times of the post-grunge era, emotional garbage was clogging the radio and Buckcherry's strict adherence to old school hard rock moves may have hardly been fashionable, but at least they were genuine. The band's follow-up album, &lt;i&gt;Time Bomb&lt;/i&gt; did not sell well. Not surprisingly, the Buckcherry brand of retro hard rock, steeped in AC/DC, early Aerosmith and Guns N' Roses, became somewhat fashionable again, with the rise of the Darkness, the formation of post G'N'R and Motley Crue-spawned supergroups (Velvet Revolver, Brides of Destruction), as well as a rash of underground hipster bands all playing loud, abrasive cock rock. This prompted the band to record a third album, &lt;i&gt;15&lt;/i&gt;, which featured the characteristically anti-social lead single, &quot;Crazy Bitch.&quot;
- Mike McGuirk" category="Hard Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/buckcherry/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Coheed And Cambria" description="Although Coheed and Cambria had been churning out an effective blend of metal-tinged indie rock since the mid-1990s (occasionally under the name Shabutie), their explosive debut didn't drop until 2002. That record, &lt;I&gt;The Second Stage Turbine Blade&lt;/I&gt;, took hold of a devoted group of fans who like their punk dark, literate and complex. Word-of-mouth about the record built the band a following, as did the constant touring. Their follow-up, &lt;I&gt;In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3&lt;/I&gt;, showed a love of progressive rock, glam and new wave, which made the band even harder to pigeonhole. For 2005's &lt;I&gt;Good Apollo: Vol. IV&lt;/I&gt;, the group became a twin-guitar-blazing prog-metal band with a background in punk rock. Adding a sort of frenetic, spastic intelligence to the oft-perceived single-mindedness of the Warped Tour brigade, Coheed and Cambria keep the fringe alive and dangerous.
- Jon Pruett" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/coheed-and-cambria/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Poison" description="For many listeners, Poison's music is adequately summed up by the band's name -- pretending to spit out noxious fluids when a Poison song comes over the radio is a timeless gag. But do we actually change the station? Usually not. There is an undeniable magnetism in Poison's music that remains forceful even though the 1980s are so long past. With party anthems like &quot;Nothin' But a Good Time&quot; and &quot;Unskinny Bop,&quot; Poison captured the hedonistic sound of Metal before it lost its innocence to aggro-suburbanite Crossover Rap. Back then, it was okay for boy bands to squeeze their asses into spandex, tease their hair, paint their faces and sing a tender ballad like &quot;Every Rose Has Its Thorn.&quot; It's time to 'fess up -- we only made fun of Poison to look cool. Secretly we loved them, and today we kind of miss not having them around.
- Chad Driscoll" category="Pop Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/poison/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Puddle Of Mudd" description="This hugely popular alt-metal four piece owes a great debt to the dark mood metal of Alice In Chains and Tool. The group's aggressive, no-frills approach has won them many fans who value the type of earnestness mixed with self-deprecating Cobain-isms heard on their big hits, &quot;Control&quot; and &quot;She Hates Me.&quot;
- Jon Pruett" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/puddle-of-mudd/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Bullet For My Valentine" description="Hailing from Bridgend, England, Bullet for My Valentine's first incarnation was quite a bit different than the thematically immense, metal-clad rock of 2005's debut, &lt;i&gt;The Poison&lt;/i&gt;. Back in 1998, the quartet of lads from Bridgend College was churning out Metallica covers under the name Jeff Killed John. It wasn't until 2003 that the band changed its name and beefed up their sound with a solidified lineup of guitarist and singer Matthew Tuck, guitarist Michael Paget, bassist Nick Crandle and drummer Michael Thomas. After issuing an EP and their debut on the British label Trustkill, they picked up &lt;i&gt;Kerrang!&lt;/i&gt; magazine's Best British Newcomer Award in 2005 and eventually signed a deal with Sony/BMG. The band enjoyed quick success with American audiences and a number of high-profile tour slots, including one supporting Rob Zombie, from which they were booted when Tuck called Zombie and his cohorts &quot;money-grabbing f*cks&quot; on the band's message board.
- Nate Cavalieri" category="Emo/Hardcore" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/bullet-for-my-valentine/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Rob Zombie" description="When Rob Zombie's first album, &lt;I&gt;Hellbilly Deluxe&lt;/I&gt; sold better in its first week than any White Zombie album had managed to do, Zombie dissolved the group to pursue his solo career full-time. Since then, he has continued to explore his obsessions with horror movie shtick and sci-fi schlock, incorporating these themes into instantly accessible Industrial Metal grinders. Throwing himself utterly into his undead persona, Zombie has emerged as alternative music's premier purveyor of heavy, disco-metal grooves that break down the barricade between the mosh pit and the dance floor.
- Chad Driscoll" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/rob-zombie/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Pantera" description="If you've ever shaved the sides and back of your head and left the top long, you probably know what Pantera's about. Driven by the Van Halen-influenced wailing and Metallica-like sledgehammer riffs of &quot;Dimebag&quot; Darrell, Pantera forged their own niche in the early '80s, barreling over lighter Metal fare with a fast, heavy, gut-vibrating energy. Philip Anselmo's deep growls and stratospheric screams may have had their roots in the group's original incarnation as a hair metal band, but they perfectly complement Pantera's speed-thrash and moody ballads. Double-bass drumming by Vinnie Paul and an in-your-face Texas attitude complete the formula for one of Metal's ballsiest, most ear-demolishing bands.
- Jessy Terry" category="Thrash/Speed Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/pantera/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Red Hot Chili Peppers" description="Toiling in LA's club circuit for years, the Red Hot Chili Peppers finally pounded their funk/rap/rock into the mainstream with 1989's &lt;I&gt;Mother's Milk&lt;/I&gt;. Making strange bedfellows of their native LA punk rock roots and love for Parliament/Funkadelic, the Chili Peppers earned respect from people of all walks of life when they crossed over into virtually every late-1980s subgenre: rap, funk, rock and punk. They covered Stevie Wonder's &quot;Higher Ground&quot; and Jimi Hendrix's &quot;Fire,&quot; making them the songs their own with Anthony Kiedis' revved-up, attitude-fueled song-raps, Flea's rapid-fire slapped bass and John Frusciante's whirling funk fretwork. RHCP were poised to break out of the twee pop-for-tough-guys era forever, immortalized by such offerings as &quot;Under the Bridge,&quot; a drug addiction-themed song which may have been about the heroin overdose that killed original guitar player Hillel Slovak in 1998 or Kiedis' own drug addiction. In fact, various members of RHCP have always seemed to endure battles with the hard stuff. Following the success of 1991's &lt;I&gt;Blood Sugar Sex Magic,&lt;/I&gt; John Frusciante left the band to fight his addictions mid-tour. Jane's Addiction's Dave Navarro eventually took his place, joining after the Peppers auditioned dozens of other six-string hopefuls. Despite being a good musical fit, Navarro left the band in 1998 following the lackluster album sales from &lt;I&gt;One Hot Minute&lt;/I&gt;. In 1999, the band reunited with a rehabilitated Frusciante and released the aesthetically superior &lt;I&gt;Californication.&lt;/I&gt; As far as sales and tour receipts were concerned, the album was a success, much more than the lukewarm and comparatively uninspired &lt;I&gt;By The Way&lt;/I&gt;, which came out three years later. &lt;i&gt;Stadium Arcadium,&lt;/i&gt; the surprisingly durable band's much ballyhooed ninth full-length, is a double-disc rekindling of all things red and hot. When the album was leaked onto the Internet prior to its May 2006 release, Flea made an impassioned plea to fans to boycot the illegal version.
- Eric Shea" category="Funk Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/red-hot-chili-peppers/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="All That Remains" description="choruses that aren't afraid to flirt with emo at its poppiest. Shadows Fall vocalist Phil Labonte and guitarist Oli Herbert -- an innovative shredder fond of unusual modes, like the Hungarian minor scale -- formed the band in 1998, and by 2002 they had signed to Metal Blade. After a few lineup changes, including the addition of guitarist Mike Martin, 2004's &lt;I&gt;This Darkened Heart&lt;/I&gt; proved the band's breakout album, with production by Killswitch Engage's Adam Dutkiewicz putting just the right degree of polish on their fusion of Swedish black metal stylings and American emo yearning. In 2006 All That Remains followed up with &lt;I&gt;The Fall of Ideals&lt;/I&gt; and hit the road with Ozzfest before strutting their stuff on 2007's incendiary &lt;I&gt;All That Remains Live&lt;/I&gt;. For all the hardcore swagger on display onstage, 2008's &lt;I&gt;Overcome&lt;/I&gt; encountered a backlash from fans none too enamored by the band's radio-ready choruses.
- Philip Sherburne" category="Metalcore" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/all-that-remains/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Scorpions" description="Thirty years strong and still rocking out, this German quintet virtually defined the Pop Metal genre. Their &quot;Wind of Change&quot; provided a fitting soundtrack to the end of the Cold War, and &quot;Rock You Like a Hurricane&quot; remains a fixture at air shows across the country. Between the dueling guitars of Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs, Jurgen Rosenthal's booming drums and Klaus Meine's high-pitched vocals, Scorpions have carved out a Hard Rock niche as distinct as it is bombastic. Anyone who has seen them live will tell you that their concerts always live up to their Monsters of Rock status, and that live is the only way to experience the band. To quote the title of their eleventh epic album, when you hear Scorpions, it's &lt;I&gt;Love at First Sting&lt;/I&gt;.
- Doug Russell" category="Pop Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/scorpions/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Queens of the Stone Age" description="Borne of early/mid-'90s cult faves/stoner-rockers Kyuss, these men of impeccable filth and taste push the hesher aesthetic through the '90s alterna-blender. Queens of the Stone Age resuscitate the '70s myth of hard rock decadence, blitzkrieging the discriminating, heavy jean jacket-wearing sweathog with sucker-punch melodies, grinding fuzz-bass propulsions, and sleazy rhythms straight from the gutter. Josh Homme's sleepy vocals add a certain narcoticism to the band's trademark pounding attack, offering an antithetical element to their otherwise visceral musical agenda. The band's near-metal sound has garnered praise from metalheads and alternafolk alike. Their guitar sound may be a direct descendent of &lt;I&gt;Gish&lt;/I&gt;-era Smashing Pumpkins, and the roll in their rock definitely owes a certain debt to &lt;I&gt;Saturation&lt;/I&gt;-era Urge Overkill, but the spiritual rock influences stained on their sleeve can be traced back to early Black Sabbath and other sludgy hard rock acts of the '70s.
- Charles Hodgkins" category="Stoner Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/queens-of-the-stone-age/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Escape The Fate" description="Las Vegas-based post-hardcore quintet Escape the Fate formed in 2005 and immediately gained a large local following thanks to radio airplay and by winning a contest judged by members of My Chemical Romance, who took the fledgling band on tour with them. After signing to Epitaph, releasing an EP (&lt;i&gt;No Sympathy For the Dead&lt;/i&gt;) and a debut LP (&lt;i&gt;Dying is Your Latest Fashion&lt;/i&gt;) in 2006 and agreeing to a tour with Bullet For My Valentine, singer Ronnie Radke was charged as an accomplice in a murder trial, an event that sunk the tour opportunity and effectively ended Radke's time in the band. In 2008, Escape the Fate released &lt;i&gt;This War Is Ours&lt;/i&gt; with new frontman Craig Mabbitt.
- Mike McGuirk" category="Metalcore" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/escape-the-fate/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Mudvayne" description="Formed in Illinois in 1996, Mudvayne have risen as one of the top players in the nu-metal scene. Drawing many Slipknot comparisons, Mudvayne too wear crazy costumes onstage, but instead of masks, they wear frightening makeup for a chaotic appearance that goes well with their frenzied brand of metal. Banking time signatures, radical shifts in tempo, and vocals that go from semi-rapping to death-metal gurgling to unhinged screaming and even to clean singing (on later albums) are the hallmarks of Mudvayne's music. Their major label debut, &lt;I&gt;L.D. 50&lt;/I&gt;, yielded the hit &quot;Dig&quot; in 2000; one year later they released the concept album &lt;I&gt;The Beginning of All Things to End&lt;/I&gt;, which further cemented their place in the minds of America's angry teenagers. On 2005's &lt;I&gt;Lost and Found&lt;/I&gt; Mudvayne dropped the facade, emerging in plain clothes without makeup on their most personal record to date. With four R.I.A.A.-certified gold albums, Mudvayne continue to write new records and deliver for their fans, whom they let choose the track listing of 2007's B-sides and rarities compilation &lt;I&gt;By the People, For the People&lt;/I&gt;.
- Jen Guyre" category="Alt Metal" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/mudvayne/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Chickenfoot" description="Cabo San Lucas is the home of bikinis, babes, beer bongs and tequila. It's also the stomping grounds for one Samuel Roy Hagar, aka the Red Rocker. In addition to overseeing the hugely successful Cabo Wabo brand tequila, Hagar holds all-star jam sessions at his club, the Cabo Wabo Cantina. It was here, in late 2007, that Hagar hooked up with three fellow hard-rock titans: guitar wizard Joe &quot;The Satch&quot; Satriani, Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith, and legendary Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, who -- let's face it -- is one of hard rock's coolest dudes. Though this lineup may look odd on paper, the men gelled so well that they reconvened at one of the Red Rocker's glitzy Vegas gigs, where the quartet tore into a pair of classic rock standards: &quot;Rock and Roll&quot; and the brooding &quot;Dear Mr. Fantasy.&quot; You'd think these four would be too busy to head straight into the studio, but that's exactly what they did. In June 2009, Chickenfoot dropped its self-titled debut. With crunchy riffage, flashy ax solos, bombastic drums and arena-friendly anthems, Chickenfoot is hard rock the way hard rock used to be played in the 1970s and '80s -- that is, crotch first.
- Justin Farrar" category="Hard Rock" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/chickenfoot/data.opml?rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fmetal%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
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