Coal Chamber, P.O.D., Cradle of Filth, and Black Satellite

The first seeds of Coal Chamber were sewn after the 1992 dissolution of a band called She’s In Pain, formed by vocalist Bradley “Dez” Fafara and guitarist Miguel “Meegs” Rascón. After a few months making music together, the duo decided against continuing as She’s In Pain and decided to form a new band. One that was influenced by the burgeoning Nu-Metal scene that was taking alternative metal styles like thrash, death and groove metal and combining it with influences cribbed from Hip-Hop. The duo put out the word that they were putting a new band together, finding Jon Tor from an advert for a drummer that they put in a local newspaper and recruiting Rayna Foss on bass, who was a friend of Fafara’s wife.

At first, Coal Chamber looked like they were going to leap into the spotlight soon after forming. In late 1994, their first couple of gigs around the L.A rock hotspots like The Roxy and the Whiskey A Go-Go caused a monumental stir. This was mainly because their demo tape had found its way into the hands of Fear Factory’s Dino Cazares, and he was raving about the band to anyone who would listen. Because of this the band were noticed by metal legends Roadrunner Records, who offered them a contract at the tail end of 1994. However, things weren’t going to go entirely according to plan. Fafara’s wife had a huge problem with him performing with the band, and he quit the band in order to save his marriage.

The band were rudderless, as the partnership between Fafara and Rascón had powered the band from the very beginning. The band were dropped from their contract as quickly as they’d been offered it and it looked like they were coming to an end, but by the spring of 1995, Fafara had changed his mind. He had so much faith in the band that he ended his marriage to re-join it, and their mojo was well and truly found again. They began gigging anywhere that would have them and by the end of the year, Roadrunner welcomed them back with the most open of arms. Fortunately, the band were able to regain their momentum as quickly as they’d originally found it, and not even Tor leaving the band could stop them, as they replaced him with Mike Cox and went straight back on the road.

They spread their name far and wide with a slot on summer 1996’s Ozzfest tour and as soon as they came off the road they went into the studio, making their self-titled debut album and releasing it in February 1997. The album would eventually be certified Gold and the band would spend the rest of the year touring with everyone from Machine Head to Napalm Death. Their second album “Chamber Music” was released to commercial success in 1999 but the bands run of good luck was coming to an end. Their third album “Dark Days” was tepidly received both critically and commercially, and the band had to deal with rising personal frictions between Cox, Fafara and Rascón. The powder keg went off in May with a disastrous show in Lubbock, Texas and the band officially split in 2003.

Fafara went on to see some legitimate success in his new act Devildriver, but in 2011, it was announced that the classic Coal Chamber line-up (minus Rayna, who was raising her daughter) would re-unite for a stint on the Soundwave festival in Australia. The band have taken it slowly as Devildriver are still very much alive and kicking, but they have completed a new album for release in May 2015, and will complete a full tour in support of it. By all accounts, the band have still got it in spades, and remain a live band to see as soon as possible.

The band Payable On Death was formed in 1992 by Marcos Curiel and Wuv Bernard, who are originally from San Diego. In the early stages the duo were just jamming and didn't currently have a vocalist. Sonny Sandoval was invited to join by his cousin Bernard after he turned to Christianity following the fatal death of his mother. After the edition of bass player Gabe Portillo, the original line up was in place and they continued from there as P.O.D. The band have a variety of influencers such as Santana, Bob Marley, Metallica, U2, Pantera, Bad Brains and Faith No More. This helps to explain the way their sound tends to cross genres including alternative rock, reggae and latin.

In 1994 they released their debut album 'Snuff the Punk' through Rescue Records. They didn't achieve chart success with their first few albums yet their reputation quickly spread through the States, the band were famously offered a $100,000 recording contract which Sonny turned down as he believed that “God has a bigger plan for P.O.D".

The 2001 album 'Satellite' was their first appearance on the US and UK charts, charting at #6 and #16 respectively. They also topped the US Christian charts and appeared on numerous others around the world. Their next four albums all topped the US Christian chart, whilst three peaked within the top ten on the US Billboard Chart. However their success in the UK could be described as a one hit wonder, with 'Satellite' remaining the only charting album.

It’s night on impossible for a band to last on shock-value alone Look at the recent career of Marilyn Manson for proof of that fact. However, for most part that means that if you find a band or artist who’ve been relevant for longer than five years with a controversial or eye-catching image, they’re usually the real deal. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Suffolk extreme metal icons Cradle Of Filth, who’ve managed to balance baiting absolutely everyone under the sun with releasing some of the best British metal of the 1990’s.

From the very beginning of the band, Dani Filth has been the sole constant member. Even the first incarnations of the band were erratic, with line-up switching drastically every time they recorded and released their demo E.P’s. Invoking the Unclean, Orgiastic Pleasures Foul and Total F**king Darkness, were all released in 1992 with three different line ups playing on them, They were still enough to generate some label interest, and after a disastrous stint on Tombstone Records where their debut album was wiped entirely when the label went bankrupt, the bad signed to Cacophonous Records to release their debut album “The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh” in 1994.

The album was critically revered however, even if it does bear little resemblance to modern Cradle Of Filth records. Almost immediately after the release of their debut however, the band became embroiled in a nasty legal spat with Cacophonous Records which took them out of commission for the whole of 1995. The following year, after a hastily recorded E.P released to get them out of their record deal, they signed to Music For Nations and in the same year they released their breakthrough record “Dusk… And Her Embrace”.

The critical notices that the album received, their theatrical live shows and a line of controversial merchandise, including the infamous “Jesus is a C*nt” T-Shirt, led to a high degree of notoriety for the band. Of course, there’s no such thing as bad publicity and ever since then, they’ve had a devoted following around the world as much for their music as their gothic image and controversial statements. It’s rare for a band to retain their ability to shock while still creating relevant music, but Cradle Of Filth are a sign that it’s still very much possible. And they come highly recommended.