Metallica photo

Metallica

Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career.

The band’s fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding “big four” bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Metallica’s current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo.

Guitarist Dave Mustaine (who went on to form Megadeth after being fired from the band) and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton (who died in a bus accident in Sweden in 1986) and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.

After two albums on Megaforce Records and signing to major label Elektra in 1984, Metallica first found commercial success with the release of its third album, Master of Puppets (1986), which has been described as one of the heaviest and most influential thrash metal albums.

Their next album, …And Justice for All (1988), was also successful and gave Metallica their first Grammy Award nomination. Its eponymous fifth album, Metallica (1991), the band’s first not to root predominantly in thrash metal, appealed to a more mainstream audience, achieving substantial commercial success and selling over 16 million copies in the United States to date, making it the best-selling album of the SoundScan era.

After experimenting with different genres and directions in subsequent releases, the band returned to its thrash metal roots with the release of its ninth album, Death Magnetic (2008), which drew similar praise to that of the band’s earlier albums. Their most recent album is Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, released in 2016.

In 2000, Metallica led the case against the peer-to-peer file sharing service Napster, in which the band and several other artists filed lawsuits against the service for sharing their copyright-protected material without consent; after reaching a settlement, Napster became a pay-to-use service in 2003. Metallica was the subject of the acclaimed 2004 documentary film Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, which documented the troubled production of the band’s eighth album, St.

Anger (2003), and the internal struggles within the band at the time. In 2009, Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band wrote the screenplay for and starred in the 2013 IMAX concert film Metallica: Through the Never, in which the band performed live against a fictional thriller storyline.

Metallica has released ten studio albums, four live albums, a cover album, five extended plays, 37 singles and 39 music videos. The band has won nine Grammy Awards from 23 nominations, and its last six studio albums (beginning with Metallica) have consecutively debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

Metallica ranks as one of the most commercially successful bands of all time, having sold over 125 million albums worldwide as of 2018. Metallica has been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by magazines such as Rolling Stone, which ranked them at no. 61 on its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list.

As of 2017, Metallica is the third best-selling music artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991, selling a total of 58 million albums in the United States.

Metallica guitar tabs

Megadeth photo

Megadeth

Megadeth

Megadeth is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson.

Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the “big four” of American thrash metal along with Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer, responsible for the genre’s development and popularization.

Their music features complex arrangements and fast rhythm sections, and lyrical themes of death, war, politics, personal relationships, and religion.

In 1985, Megadeth released its debut album, Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!, on the independent record label Combat Records, to moderate success. It caught the attention of bigger labels, which led to Megadeth signing with Capitol Records. Their first major-label album, Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?, was released in 1986 and was a major hit with the underground metal scene.

Band members’ substance abuse issues and personal disputes had brought Megadeth negative publicity during the late 1980s. Nonetheless, the band went on to release a number of platinum-selling albums, including So Far, So Good… So What! (1988), Rust in Peace (1990), and Countdown to Extinction (1992). These albums, along with worldwide tours, brought them public recognition.

Megadeth has had numerous guitarists, drummers and bassists throughout its 38-year career, with Mustaine being the only remaining original member of the group. The band temporarily disbanded in 2002 when Mustaine suffered an arm injury and re-established in 2004 without Ellefson, who had taken legal action against him.

Ellefson settled out of court and rejoined in 2010, but was fired from the band in 2021 amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Megadeth’s current lineup includes Mustaine, guitarist Kiko Loureiro and drummer Dirk Verbeuren; former bassist James LoMenzo currently serves as touring bassist.

Megadeth has sold 38 million records worldwide, earned platinum certification in the United States for six of its fifteen studio albums, and received twelve Grammy nominations. Megadeth won its first Grammy Award in 2017 for the song “Dystopia” in the Best Metal Performance category.

The band’s mascot, Vic Rattlehead, regularly appears on album artwork and live shows. The group has drawn controversy for its music and lyrics, including album bans and canceled concerts; MTV refused to play two of the band’s music videos that the network considered to condone suicide.

Megadeth has hosted its own music festival Gigantour, several times since July 2005, and held its first annual MegaCruise in October 2019.

Megadeth guitar tabs

Mazzy Star photo

Mazzy Star

Mazzy Star

Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Monica, California from remnants of the group Opal, in 1988. Founding member David Roback’s friend Hope Sandoval became the group’s vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal.

Mazzy Star is best known for the song “Fade into You,” which brought the band some success in the mid-1990s and was the group’s biggest mainstream hit, earning extensive exposure on MTV, VH1, and radio airplay.

Roback and Sandoval were the creative center of the band, with Sandoval as lyricist and Roback as composer of the majority of the band’s material until his death in Los Angeles on February 24, 2020 from metastatic cancer.

The band’s most recent studio album, Seasons of Your Day, was released in 2013, followed by the EP Still in 2018.

Mazzy Star guitar tabs

Marillion photo

Marillion

Marillion

Marillion /məˈrɪliən/ are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979.

They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the most commercially successful neo-progressive rock band of the 1980s.

Marillion’s recorded studio output since 1982 is composed of nineteen albums and generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original lead singer Fish in late 1988 and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve Hogarth in early 1989.

The band achieved eight Top Ten UK albums between 1983 and 1994, including a number one album in 1985 with Misplaced Childhood, and during the period the band were fronted by Fish they had eleven Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart.

They are best known for the 1985 singles “Kayleigh” and “Lavender”, which reached number two and number five respectively, with “Kayleigh” also entering the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

Marillion’s first album released with Hogarth, 1989’s Seasons End, was another Top Ten hit, and albums continued to chart well until their departure from EMI Records following the release of their 1996 live album Made Again and the dissipation of the band’s mainstream popularity in the late 1990s; save for a resurgence in the mid- to late-2000s, they have essentially been a cult act since then.

Marillion have achieved a further twelve Top 40 hit singles in the UK with Hogarth, including 2004’s “You’re Gone”, which charted at No. 7 and is the biggest hit of his tenure. Marillion continue to tour internationally, becoming ranked 38th in Classic Rock’s “50 Best Live Acts of All Time” in 2008. In 2016, they returned to the UK Albums Chart Top Ten for the first time in 22 years with their highest chart placing since 1987.

Despite unpopularity in the mainstream media and a consistently unfashionable status within the British music industry, Marillion have maintained a very loyal international fanbase, becoming widely acknowledged as playing a pioneering role in the development of crowdfunding and fan-funded music. They have sold over 15 million albums worldwide.

Marillion guitar tabs

Lynyrd Skynyrd photo

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd (/ˌlɛnərd ˈskɪnərd/ LEN-ərd SKIN-ərd) is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida.

The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass guitar), and Bob Burns (drums).

The band spent five years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on “Lynyrd Skynyrd” in 1969.

The band released its first album in 1973, having settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell and guitarist Ed King. Burns left and was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974. King left in 1975 and was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976.

At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern rock genre with songs such as “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”. After releasing five studio albums and one live album, the band’s career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, and seriously injuring the rest of the band.

Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed in 1987 for a reunion tour with Ronnie’s brother Johnny Van Zant as lead vocalist. They continue to tour and record with co-founder Rossington (the band’s sole continuous member), Johnny Van Zant, and Rickey Medlocke, who first wrote and recorded with the band from 1971 to 1972 before his return in 1996.

In January 2018, Lynyrd Skynyrd announced its farewell tour, and continue touring as of October 2019. Members are also working on their fifteenth album.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Lynyrd Skynyrd No. 95 on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006. To date, the band has sold more than 28 million records in the United States.

Lynyrd Skynyrd guitar tabs

July 1967, California, Los Angeles, Love, L-R: Michael Stuart, Ken Forssi, Arthur Lee, Bryan MacLean, Johnny Echoles

Love

Love

Love was an American psychedelic and folk-rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965. Led by Arthur Lee, Love was one of the first racially diverse American rock bands.

Their style drew from an eclectic range of sources including hard rock, blues, jazz, flamenco, and orchestral pop.

While finding only modest success on the music charts, peaking in 1966 with their Top 40 hit “7 and 7 Is”, Love would come to be praised by critics as their third album, Forever Changes (1967), became generally regarded as one of the best albums of the 1960s. It was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry in 2011.

Love guitar tabs

+Live+ photo

+Live+

+Live+

Live (/laɪv/, often typeset as LĪVE or +LĪVE+) is an American rock band formed in York, Pennsylvania in 1984, consisting of Ed Kowalczyk (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Chad Taylor (lead guitar, backing vocals), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), and Chad Gracey (drums).

The band started to gain attention following their single “Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)”, the video of which was getting regular airplay on MTV, and the moderate success of their second album Mental Jewelry. Their biggest success came in 1994 with their third album, Throwing Copper, which sold eight million copies in the U.S.

The band had a string of hit singles in the mid-1990s including “Lightning Crashes”, which stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 10 consecutive weeks and the Modern Rock Tracks (now Alternative Songs) chart for nine weeks from February 25 to April 22, 1995. The band has sold over 20 million albums worldwide.

When touring, Live has used additional musicians, including Ed Kowalczyk’s younger brother Adam, British keyboardist Michael “Railo” Railton, rhythm guitarist Christopher Thorn of Blind Melon, and guitarist Zak Loy of Alpha Rev, Dames Violent and Mothers Anthem.

In 2009, Ed Kowalczyk left the band; he was replaced by singer Chris Shinn and the band released the album The Turn in October 2014. Kowalczyk rejoined the band in December 2016 and in 2018 they released a new EP, Local 717.

+Live+ guitar tabs

Led Zeppelin photo

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group consisted of vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham.

With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are cited as one of the progenitors of hard rock and heavy metal, although their style drew from a variety of influences, including blues and folk music. Led Zeppelin have been credited as significantly impacting the nature of the music industry, particularly in the development of album-oriented rock (AOR) and stadium rock.

Originally named the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin’s deal with Atlantic Records gave them considerable artistic freedom. Initially unpopular with critics, they achieved significant commercial success with eight studio albums over ten years.

Their 1969 debut, Led Zeppelin, was a top-ten album in several countries and featured such tracks as “Good Times Bad Times”, “Dazed and Confused” and “Communication Breakdown”. Led Zeppelin II (1969) was their first number-one album, and yielded “Ramble On” and “Whole Lotta Love”.

In 1970 they released Led Zeppelin III which featured “Immigrant Song”. Their untitled fourth album, commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV (1971), is one of the best-selling albums in history with 37 million copies sold. The album includes “Black Dog”, “Rock and Roll” and “Stairway to Heaven”, with the latter being among the most popular and influential works in rock history. Houses of the Holy (1973) yielded “The Ocean”, “Over the Hills and Far Away” and “The Rain Song”. Physical Graffiti (1975), a double album, featured “Trampled Under Foot” and “Kashmir”.

Page wrote most of Led Zeppelin’s music, particularly early in their career, while Plant wrote most of the lyrics. Jones’s keyboard-based compositions later became central to their music, which featured increasing experimentation. The latter half of their career saw a series of record-breaking tours that earned the group a reputation for excess and debauchery.

Although they remained commercially and critically successful, their touring and output, which included Presence (1976) and In Through the Out Door (1979), grew limited, and the group disbanded following Bonham’s death in 1980. Since then the surviving former members sporadically collaborated and participated in one-off reunions. The most successful of these was the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London, with Bonham’s son Jason Bonham on drums.

Led Zeppelin are one of the best-selling music artists of all time; their total record sales are estimated to be between 200 to 300 million units worldwide. They achieved eight consecutive UK number-one albums and six number-one albums on the US Billboard 200, with five of their albums certified Diamond in the US.

Rolling Stone magazine described them as “the heaviest band of all time”, “the biggest band of the Seventies”, and “unquestionably one of the most enduring bands in rock history”. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995; the museum’s biography of the band states that they were “as influential” during the 1970s as the Beatles were during the 1960s.

Led Zeppelin guitar tabs

Journey photo

Journey

Journey

Journey is an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1973 by former members of Santana, Steve Miller Band, and Frumious Bandersnatch.

Journey had their biggest commercial success between 1978 and 1987, when Steve Perry was lead vocalist; they released a series of hit songs, including “Don’t Stop Believin'” (1981), which in 2009 became the top-selling track in iTunes history among songs not released in the 21st century.

Escape, Journey’s seventh and most successful album, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and yielded another of their most popular singles, “Open Arms”. The 1983 follow-up album, Frontiers, was almost as successful in the United States, reaching No. 2 and spawning several successful singles; it broadened the band’s appeal in the United Kingdom, where it reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart.

Journey enjoyed a successful reunion in the mid-1990s and have since regrouped twice; first with Steve Augeri from 1998-2006, then with Arnel Pineda from 2007 to the present.

Sales have resulted in twenty five gold and platinum albums, in addition to the fifteen-time platinum RIAA Diamond Certified, 1988’s Greatest Hits album. They have had nineteen Top 40 singles in the U.S. (the second most without a Billboard Hot 100 number one single behind Electric Light Orchestra with 20), six of which reached the Top 10 of the US chart and two of which reached No. 1 on other Billboard charts, and a No. 6 hit on the UK Singles Chart in “Don’t Stop Believin'”.

In 2005, “Don’t Stop Believin'” reached No. 3 on iTunes downloads. Originally a progressive rock band, Journey was described by AllMusic as having cemented a reputation as “one of America’s most beloved (and sometimes hated) commercial rock/pop bands” by 1978, when they redefined their sound by embracing pop arrangements on their fourth album, Infinity.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Journey has sold 48 million albums in the U.S., making them the 25th best-selling band. Their worldwide sales have reached over 80 million records globally, making them one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time.

A 2005 USA Today opinion poll named Journey the fifth-best U.S. rock band in history. Their songs have become arena rock staples and are still played on rock radio stations across the world. Journey ranks No. 96 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the class of 2017. Inductees included lead singer Steve Perry, guitarist Neal Schon, keyboardists Jonathan Cain and Gregg Rolie, bassist Ross Valory, and drummers Aynsley Dunbar and Steve Smith.

Journey guitar tabs

Iron Maiden photo

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris.

The band’s discography has grown to 41 albums, including 17 studio albums, 13 live albums, four EPs, and seven compilations. They have also released 47 singles and 20 video albums. Two electronic games have been released with Iron Maiden soundtracks, and the band’s music is featured in a number of other video games.

As pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal movement, Iron Maiden achieved initial success during the early 1980s. After several line-up changes, the band went on to release a series of UK and US platinum and gold albums, including 1980’s eponymous debut, 1981’s Killers, 1982’s The Number of the Beast, 1983’s Piece of Mind, 1984’s Powerslave, 1985’s live release Live After Death, 1986’s Somewhere in Time, 1988’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1990’s No Prayer for the Dying, and 1992’s Fear of the Dark.

In 1982 the band released its album The Number of the Beast, the first with Bruce Dickinson, who replaced Paul Di’Anno as lead singer. This was a turning point in their career, helping establish Iron Maiden as one of the most important heavy metal artists in history.

By 2010, more than 14 million copies of the album had been sold worldwide. Since the return of lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith in 1999, the band has undergone a resurgence in popularity, with a series of new albums and highly successful tours.

Their 2010 album, The Final Frontier, peaked at No. 1 in 28 countries and received widespread critical acclaim. The sixteenth studio album, The Book of Souls, was released on 4 September 2015 to similar success, debuting at number one in the album charts of 24 countries with physical sales and summary in 43 territories with physical and digital sales. The seventeenth studio album Senjutsu was released on 3 September 2021 and eventually reached No. 1 in 23 countries.

By 2017, Iron Maiden had sold well over 100 million copies of their albums worldwide, despite little radio or television support. According to MD Daily Record by 2021 all audio-visual releases of the band have sold in over 200 million copies worldwide, including regular albums, singles, VHS’, DVDs and all compilations.

Iron Maiden have become one of the most influential and revered rock bands of all time and helped spawn an entire genre of music. According to many critics the band elevated heavy metal to an art form, proving that academic and musical inspirations can coexist.

The band and its musicians have received multiple nominations, honours and awards including Grammy Awards and equivalents awards in many countries, Brit Awards, Silver Clef Award, ECHO Awards, Juno Awards, Emma-Gaala Awards, Nordoff-Robbins Award (International Achievement 2002), Ivor Novello Awards, Guinness Book of World Records, Public Choice International, Online Music Awards Germany, The Rocks Awards, Metal Hammer Awards, Kerrang! Awards, Burrn! Awards, Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards, Honorary Doctorates, State Prizes and sales recognition awards. Iron Maiden were inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk, BPI Hall of Fame and Kerrang! Hall of Fame.

The Band was hailed as the most successful British metal group on British Channel 4. In 2012 The Number of the Beast was voted as Best British Album Ever in the public poll related to Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. I

n April 2021, the ex-members of the band were inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame. The band is also a part of permanent exhibitions of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the British Music Experience.

Iron Maiden’s lyrics cover such topics as history, literature, war, mythology, society and religion. Many of their songs are based on history, classic literature and film. As of October 2019, the band have played circa 2500 live shows, performing for tens of millions of fans.

For over 40 years, the musicians have been supported by their famous mascot, “Eddie”, who has appeared on almost all of their album and single covers, videos and merchandise. Originally designed by Derek Riggs, Eddie became the main attraction of Iron Maiden live shows, which feature theatrical elements like coloured backdrops, inflatables, pyrotechnics, elaborate lighting rigs, props and stage sets.

Iron Maiden guitar tabs

Frank Black photo

Frank Black

Frank Black

Charles Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis.

Following the band’s breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black. After releasing two albums with record label 4AD and one with American Recordings, he left the label and formed a new band, Frank Black and the Catholics. He re-adopted the name Black Francis in 2007.

His vocal style has varied from a screaming, yowling delivery as lead vocalist of the Pixies to a more measured and melodic style in his solo career. His cryptic lyrics mostly explore unconventional subjects, such as surrealism, incest, and biblical violence, along with science fiction and surf culture.

His use of atypical meter signatures, loud–quiet dynamics, and distinct preference for live-to-two-track recording during his time with the Catholics, give him a distinct style within alternative rock.

Thompson regrouped the Pixies in early 2004, but continued to release solo records and tour as a solo artist until 2013, when he declared his solo career to be over.

Frank Black guitar tabs

The Foo Fighters photo

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1994. The band was founded by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of Nirvana after the suicide of Kurt Cobain.

The group took its name from “foo fighter”, a nickname coined by Allied aircraft pilots for UFOs and other aerial phenomena. Over the course of their career, Foo Fighters have won 12 Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Album four times.

Prior to the release of Foo Fighters’ 1995 debut album Foo Fighters, which featured Grohl as the only official member, Grohl recruited bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both formerly of Sunny Day Real Estate, as well as Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear.

The band began with performances in Portland, Oregon. Goldsmith quit during the recording of their second album The Colour and the Shape (1997); most of the drum parts were re-recorded by Grohl. Smear departed soon afterward but appeared as a guest with the band frequently from 2005; he rejoined the band in 2010.

Smear and Goldsmith were replaced by Franz Stahl and Taylor Hawkins, respectively, although Stahl was fired before the recording of the group’s third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999). The band briefly continued as a trio until Chris Shiflett joined on guitar after the completion of There Is Nothing Left to Lose.

The band released its fourth album, One by One, in 2002. The group followed that release with the two-disc In Your Honor (2005), which was split between acoustic songs and heavier material. Foo Fighters released their sixth album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, in 2007.

The band’s seventh studio album, Wasting Light, produced by Butch Vig, was released in 2011, in which Smear returned as a full member. In November 2014, the band’s eighth studio album, Sonic Highways, was released as an accompanying soundtrack to the Grohl-directed 2014 miniseries of the same name.

On September 15, 2017, the band released their ninth studio album, Concrete and Gold, which became their second to reach number one in the United States and was the band’s first studio album to feature longtime session and touring keyboardist Rami Jaffee as a full member.

In February 2021, the band released their tenth album, Medicine at Midnight, and in October will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

Foo Fighters guitar tabs