Reload-Festival

Atreyu was founded in 1998 by vocalist Alex Varkatzas, guitarist Dan Jacobs, bassist Brian O’Donnell, and drummer Brandon Saller, although at the time they toured under the name Retribution. They later changed their name upon discovering that it was already taken by another Californian band.

Atreyu started their career playing an aggressive blend of metal doused in raw ethos and set a flame with searing guitar riffs, blood curdling screams, and thunderous drums. The band is strongly influenced by the expected heavy metal legends (i.e. Slayer, Black Sabbath), but also cites less predictable sources of inspiration like Swedish post-hardcore pioneers Refused, experimental art punk king Nick Cave, and formative emo acts like Hot Water Music.

The group released their first EP “Visions” independently in 1999. It came out through the California based label Die Trying Records and has since become a highly sought after rarity due to it’s limited production run. Atreyu’s 2nd EP “Fractures In the Facade of Your Porcelain Beauty” came out in 2001, this time through Tribunal. This EP like their previous one is incredibly hard to find and is also their first release to feature the implementation of two guitarists.

Atreyu entered into one of Victory record’ notoriously rigorous contracts in 2001, producing some of their most critically acclaimed material during this period. Their debut album “Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses” came out in 2002 and though it initially only generated a cult following, it later tapped into the mainstream thanks to repeated plays on shows like Headbangers Ball and Uranium.

Their sophomore effort “The Curse” came out in 2004 and sold close to half a million copies following its release. The band’s profile started to rise shortly after, primarily due to several appearances in films (“Mr. and Mrs. Smith” and “Underworld: Evolution”) and video games (“Burnout 3”).

“A Death-Grip On Yesterday”, the third album by Atreyu exceeded the commercial success of their previous releases and was likewise revered by critics. Though it was leaked through the P2P website BitTorrent before its official release, the album still ended up doing incredibly well on the charts peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard 200. Their next release “The Best Of... Atreyu” appeared at No. 103 on the Billboard 200 and No. 6 on the Top Independent Albums chart. It also marked their last release through Victory records.

In 2007 the band signed on with world renowned metal label Roadrunner Records and released their album “Lead Sails Paper Anchor” later that year. This release rose to No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and featured 3 singles, including the stand out tracks “Falling Down” and the Hot Topic exclusive “Becoming the Bull”. The re-release included the cover songs “Epic” by Faith No More and “Clean Sheets” by the Descendants. Atreyu promoted this release on both the US and UK legs of the Taste of Chaos tour playing alongside Bullet for My Valentine, Avenged Seven Fold, As I Lay Dying, D’esparis Ray, and Mucc.

The band’s next album “Congregation of the Damned” proved to be dynamically varied in terms of style and technique, but was also cited as the group’s most coherent release. It also featured credits from Ozzy Osbourne collaborator Bob Marlette and sound mixer Rich Costey, an affiliate of System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine. They promoted the release on an extensive co-headlining tour with Hollywood Undead, Escape the Fate, and the Sleeping.

Producer Bob Marlette returned to work with the band on their 5th studio album, which featured contributions from members of Chiodos, blessthefall, Endless Hallway, and Architects. Atreyu went on a series of tours backing this release before taking a three year break starting in 2011.

Atreyu ended their hiatus in 2014, releasing the free of cost track “So Other’s May Live” on their website. Atreyu also began playing live shows that year, performing at festivals such as South By So What?! and Slipknot’s Knotfest.

Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho (vocals, lead guitar), Daniel Freyberg (rhythm guitar), Janne Wirman (keyboards), Henkka Seppälä (bass) and Jaska Raatikainen (drums). The band has proven hard to define into one genre as their music incorporates many different musical styles. Labels used to describe them have included melodic death metal, power metal, symphonic black metal, thrash metal and neoclassical metal.

The Finnish metallers were founded by vocalist Laiho and drummer Raatikainen, originally under the name Inearthed. The pair have known each other since childhood and shared a mutual interest in death metal bands such as Dissection, Entombed and Obituary. They recorded their first demo in August 1993, called “Implosion of Heaven”. The band was initially unsuccessful as Inearthed – their EPs brought no interest and little exposure – until the addition of Janne Wirman on keyboards. Wirman was the missing piece of the puzzle and allowed the band to adopt the style that would later characterize them as Children of Bodom. Shortly after, the band signed to Spinefarm Records and officially changed their name – a requirement as the record label had already signed a band under the name Inearthed. Their debut album “Something Wild” was released in 1997, and in the same year Bodom opened a show for Dimmu Borgir. They were subsequently approached by a record label representative from Nuclear Blast with a contract for a European release. Despite this, self-critical Laiho frequently cites "Something Wild" as his least favorite Bodom album.

Children of Bodom’s second album “Hatebreeder” was released in 1999 and their third album “Follow the Reaper” was released the next year, gaining gold status in their homeland Finland. Since this album, each of the five albums that followed have achieved this status. The band is actually one of Finland’s biggest artists, having sold over 250,000 records there alone. 2003 was a big year for the band – after releasing their fourth album, “Hate Crew Deathroll” it was crowned Finnish Band of the Year at the Finnish Music Awards. They also embarked on their first world tour in this year.

Laiho has been voted “Best Metal Guitarist” by the readers of Guitar World, beating well known players such as Kirk Hammett of Metallica to win the prestigious award. Some of Bodom’s most popular songs "Was It Worth It?", "Living Dead Beat", "Blooddrunk" and “If You Want Peace...Prepare for War” are featured in the video game series Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

Unusually, amongst their eight studio albums, Children of Bodom has released a covers album titled “Skeletons in the Closet”, which features a bonkers cover of Britney Spears’ “Oops I Did It Again!” (yes, really.) Their latest album “Halo of Blood” released in June 2012 is their most accessible release yet and could very well push death metal into mainstream consciousness. More pop covers could also do the trick!

Vocalist, Benji Webbe created the band Skindred with Daniel Pugsley who has remained the bass player since their formation in 1998. The band was fortunate enough to strike a deal with Lava Records and released their debut album “Babylon” in July 2002. The album made the number one spot of the US Reggae chart and number 11 in the US Heatseekers chart. The single “Pressure” made it to number 30 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 2005, and then the single “Nobody” peaked at number 14 on the mainstream rock tracks chart.

The band’s second album “Roots Rock Riot” was released on Bieler Bros Records. It peaked at number 6 on the Heatseekers chart and impressively number 22 on the top independent albums chart. Their third studio album “Shark Bites and Dog Fights” was released on September 21st 2009, which included the song “Electric Avenue”, a cover of the hit single by Eddy Grant. The single “Stand for Something” was released on August 11th 2009. Their fourth album “Union Black” released on April 25th 2011, made it to number 8 on the UK Independent chart, marking the band’s first appearance on a UK Chart. This album was released on the major label BMG. Their album “Kill the Power” was released on January 27th 2014, and became the band’s highest charting album in the UK yet, making it to number three on the UK Metal Chart.

The band has appeared at a numerous amount of festivals over the years, having embarked on many world tours visiting an array of countries in all of the continents. It is no wonder that they have won so many awards in their time.

Dronjak conceived of the project Hammerfall while he was still in Ceremonial Oath, having already written songs before the group’s official formation. After he left Ceremonial Oath he recruited his friend and bass player of Ceremonial Oath, Jesper Strömblad, to play drums for the band.

Strömblad is a multi-faceted instrumentalist and apart from playing drums and bass he is also a founding member of In Flames, contributing keyboards and guitars. The two members later added guitarist Niklas Sundin, bassist Johan Larson and vocalist Mikael Stanne to complete the lineup. However within a year Sundin and Larson both left the group and were replaced respectively by Glenn Ljungström of In Flames and Fredrick Larsson of Dispatched.

In a sense it seemed like Hammerfall was a Swedish metal supergroup. All the members played in pioneering melodic death metal bands that were more widely recognized than Hammerfall. The group was initially seen as a side project and many of Hammerfall’s first performances were confined to local venues and contests, in particular “Rockslaget”. During one of their performances at Rockslaget lead singer Stanne was not able to perform and was consequently replaced by vocalist Joacim Cans who later became an official member. Though Hammerfall composed their own music, a majority of their setlist consisted of covers of Judas Priest, Alice Cooper, and Pretty Maids.

The band sought out a recording contract with Dutch label Vic Records, sending them a recording of one of their live performances. The label took the bait and signed them on; however the group was on the label for only a short time. Before the group put out their first album they once again experienced a dramatic shift in their lineup as Strömblad, Ljungström, and Larsson left the group. The band later reconsolidated and marked their change of lineup by signing a contract with German label Nuclear Blast.

The group has been on this label for the majority of their career. In 1997 the band issued their debut album “Glory to the Brave” and supported it with two music videos. The marketing strategies of Nuclear Blast seemed to pay off as the album reached No. 38 on the German Music Chart making it the first heavy metal album to do so. Additionally the album was garnered with critical praise and was ranked by Rock Hard magazine at number 295 on their list of 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. The album was also nominated for the Swedish Grammy award in the hard rock category.

The group supported the album with a 5 gig tour. It was not until after the release of their second album “Legacy of Kings” that the band started to tour more heavily. This release saw them playing festivals alongside Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, and Dream Theater to name a few.

Hammerfall released two more albums “Renegade” and “Crimson Thunder” before taking an 18 month break. The group took a more commercially acceptable approach with their album “Renegade” and supported it with a large scale tour that consisted of nearly 60 dates. The group also heavily promoted “Crimson Thunder” making several music videos from their singles and playing alongside heavy metal legends like Dio, Iron Maiden, Slayer, and Twisted Sister.

After the group’s brief hiatus they put out “Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken” and “Threshold” (the later album shot straight to No.1 on the Swedish charts). Hamerfall’s next release “No Sacrifice, No Victory” did very well both commercially and critically. It was not only a hit in Europe but also one in America, rising all the way to No. 38 on the Billboard Heatseakers Chart. Two years later Hammerfall put out their 8th studio album “Infected” before taking another 18 month hiatus and eventually ended with the release of their 2014 album, “(r)Evolution”.

Taking their name from the Old English Latin word for ‘executioner’, Carnifex wear their death metal influences pretty firmly on their collective sleeve. Their current lineup currently comprises just two original members - frontman Scott Lewis and drummer Shawn Cameron - as well as rhythm guitarist Cory Arford, bassist Fred Calderon and lead guitar player Jordan Lockrey. They formed in Fallbrook, California, and went onto release their debut album, ‘Dead in My Arms’, in July 2007.

That album sold over five thousand copies, despite enjoying no real widespread publicity, and that achievement in itself was enough to gain them a three-record deal with Victory Records, who would go on to put out ‘The Diseased and the Poisoned’ in 2008, ‘Hell Chose Me’ in 2010, and ‘Until I Feel Nothing’ a year later, in October of 2011. Musically, they’ve adhered pretty close to the deathcore crossover sound that characterized their early work, which in turn lends a genuine intensity to their live shows; they were part of the Never Say Die! tour in Europe in 2013. In 2014, they released their fifth studio album, and their first on the legendary Nuclear Blast - ‘Die Without Hope’. Signing to a label so important within their own genre is clear evidence of Carnifex’s current upwards trajectory.

Featuring the members Marcus Bischoff, Eric Bischoff, Maik Wiechert, Alexander Dietz and Christian Bass, Heaven Shall Burn first took shape in 1997, immediately diving in to the world of live performance, quickly establishing their sound. Their talent and brutal sound piqued the interest of Deeds of Revolution Records, who released their first EP, “In Battle There is No Law” in 1998. Their debut, “Asunder,” appeared in 2000, after signing to Life-force Records that same year.

European tours and a split EP with Caliban helped to raise the band’s profile, with their 2002 sophomore release, “Whatever It May Take” establishing the band upon the metal and hardcore scene, finding many fans and critical acclaim in the process. The group then signed to Century Media, releasing their next five albums on the label.

With 2006’s “Deaf to Our Prayers,” the band had created their first charting album, reaching number 65 in Germany. They continued to grow in strength and popularity, finding further chart success with their concept albums, 2008’s “Iconoclast (Part One: The Final Resistance)” and 2010’s “Invictus (Iconoclast III)” reaching number 21 and number nine respectively, as well as breaking the Top 40 in several other European countries. 2013’s “Veto” proved Heaven Shall Burn’s popularity was not waning, peaking at number two in the German charts, also breaking into the Top 20 of the US Billboard Heat chart.

The band have been recognised as one of the first metal groups to blur the boundaries between death metal and hardcore, blending the aggression and ferocity of acts such as Bolt Thrower and The Haunted, while carrying the driving spirit of hardcore. Their commitment to political causes is a consistent theme in their music, touching on topics including war, racism, animal welfare and social injustices.

The original line-up consisted of Agnostic Front members Roger Miret (bass), Vinnie Stigma (guitar), Will Shepler (drums) and Miret’s half-brother Freddy Circien (vocals). Early releases from the band began with old unused Agnostic Front demos.

In 1989 the band released their debut EP “Ball of Destruction” which the band would tour locally building up a solid following. In 1992 after releasing their second EP “Droppin’ Many Suckers” via Wreckage Records, Madball added a second guitarist in the form of Matt Henderson. The following year Miret announced his departure and was replaced by Jorge Guerra.

In 1994 Madball signed with Roadrunner Records to release their debut full length “Set It Off” featuring the title track amongst “Spit on Your Grave” and “New York City”. Two years later came the album “Demonstrating My Style” and as Madball continued touring relentlessly, the built a strong following outside their hometown as they rapidly developed a name for themselves on the hardcore scene.

Subject to a few line-up changes including the addition of drummer John Lafata, the band released their third album “Look My Way” in 1998 with familiar themes of the hardships of street life combined with their distinctive sound.

In 2000 Circien was charged with attempted criminal possession of weaponry and was given a six month sentence. Whilst serving his term, Madball announced their split in 2001 but the following year the band were back with new additions Bryan Daniels on guitar and Rigg Ross on drums. Madball resumed touring followed by a series of releases.

In 2010 the band signed with Nuclear Blast for future European releases and introduced new drummer Max Weinberg. His time in the band would be short-lived as they cited personality clashes and he was swiftly replaced by Mike Justian.

Madball released their eighth studio album “Hardcore Lives” in 2014 which featured guest vocals from CM Punk, H20’s Toby Morse and New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert. As well as touring across the globe, the band have also played Resurrection Fest, Brutal Assault and Rock Fest.