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Rage Against the Machine (occasionally shortened to RATM, or just Rage) is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1991. The band's lineup, unchanged since formation, consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk.

Rage Against the Machine is noted for its innovative blend of alternative rock, rap, Punk rock, heavy metal and funk as well as its revolutionary politics and lyrics. Rage Against the Machine drew inspiration from early heavy metal instrumentation, as well as rap acts such as Public Enemy, Urban Dance Squad, and Afrika Bambaataa. The group's music is distinguished primarily by their powerful stage energy, de la Rocha's rhyming styles and Morello's unorthodox guitar techniques. Rage Against the Machine released their self-titled debut album Rage Against the Machine in 1992, which became a commercial success, leading to a slot in the 1993 Lollapalooza. The band did not release a follow-up record until 1996, with Evil Empire. The band's third album The Battle of Los Angeles was released in 1999. During their initial nine year run, they became one of the most popular and influential political bands in contemporary music. In 2000, shortly after breaking up, the band released their fourth studio album Renegades, which is comprised entirely of cover songs. Zack de la Rocha started a low-key solo career; the rest of the band formed the rock supergroup Audioslave with former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, which disbanded in 2007. In April 2007, Rage Against the Machine performed together for the first time in seven years at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The band has continued to perform at multiple live venues since.
In 1991, guitarist Tom Morello left his old band, Lock Up, looking to start another band. He was in a club in L.A where Zack de la Rocha was freestyle rapping. Morello was impressed by de la Rocha's lyric books, and asked him to be a rapper in a band. Morello drafted drummer Brad Wilk of Greta, who had previously auditioned for Lock Up, while de la Rocha convinced his childhood friend Tim Commerford to join as bassist. The newly christened Rage Against the Machine named themselves after a song de la Rocha had written for his former popular underground hardc... punk band, Inside Out (also to be the title of the unrecorded Inside Out full-length album). Kent McClard, with whom Inside Out were associated, had coined the phrase in a 1989 article in his zine No Answers. Shortly after forming, they gave their first public performance in Orange County, California, where a friend of Commerford's was holding a house party. The blueprint for the group's major-label debut album, demo tape Rage Against the Machine, was laid on a twelve-song self-released cassette, the cover image of which was the stock-market with a single match taped to the inlay card. Not all 12 songs made it onto the final album two were eventually included as B-sides, with the remaining three songs never seeing an official release. Several record labels expressed interest, and the band eventually signed with Epic Records. Morello said, "Epic agreed to everything we asked and they've followed through.... We never saw a conflict as long as we maintained creative control."
Discography
Rage Against the Machine has released four studio albums
* Rage Against the Machine (1992)
* Evil Empire (1996)
* The Battle of Los Angeles (1999)
* Renegades (2000)

Primus is an American rock band currently composed of singer and bassist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde, and drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander.

The diversity of their sound has allowed Primus to gain a modest segment of fans from many different rock sub-genres. They are characterized by their irreverent approach to music. Primus release their records on Claypool's Prawn Song Records label, a parody of Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label. Primus began as Primate in El Sobrante, California during the mid-1980s with singer and bassist Les Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth. Claypool rounded out the band with a drum machine which they named Perm Parker. The band would go through many drummers throughout their early history, eventually settling on Jay Lane. When another band called "Primate" threatened legal action, the group decided to change their name. Claypool selected Primus instead after looking up the word directly next to "Primate" in a dictionary. The word is Latin, meaning "chief" or "first". After rising to local music scene stardom with their brand of funk metal fusion, Huth and Lane left in 1989 to pursue other projects. Claypool then recruited former Blind Illusion bandmate and one time Joe Satriani student Larry "Ler" LaLonde, and eclectic drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander. In fact, Claypool & LaLonde recorded & toured with the early thrash band Blind Illusion whose only album "The Sane Asylum" was released on Music For Nations. Larry LaLonde was previously a member of the seminal Death/Thrash Metal band Possessed, a fact which he likes to keep quiet today. Primus received praise from Testament's Alex Skolnick very early into their career. Tim Alexander is originally from Jerome, Arizona and was the drummer in Major Lingo. Primus continued to gain popularity and in 1989 released their first album, Suck on This, a live recording culled from two of their Berkeley concerts. The album was financed by Les' father. In 1990 the band released their first studio album, Frizzle Fry, and released singles for "John The Fisherman" and "Too Many Puppies". With a music video featuring Kirk Hammett, a studio album and a tour with Jane's Addiction, Primus' popularity grew to the point where they attracted attention from Interscope Records, who signed them in 1990. It was during these early years that the catch phrase "Primus Sucks" was started. It began with people constantly stating to the band just how good they were. One day when someone told the band they were good, Claypool turned around and said "No, we suck" and from then on it stuck.
Musical style and influences
Primus' musical style is difficult to define. While the band is usually considered by critics to be funk metal or alternative metal, Primus has been called everything from "thrash-funk meets Don Knotts, Jr." to "alternative rock" to "the Freak Brothers set to music." Les Claypool himself once described their music as "psychedelic polka." Although not a thrash metal band, Primus was heavily associated with the Bay Area thrash scene in their early years. Opening for bands such as Testament and Exodus, whom Claypool almost joined, they picked up a following of fans from the scene as a result. Primus is the only band with its own ID3 genre tag, as extended by Winamp. Primus' influences include Frank Zappa and Pink Floyd. Bands that have cited Primus as an influence include Deftones, Korn and Limp Bizkit.
Band members
Current members
* Les Claypool - bass, lead vocals (1984-2000, 2003-present)
* Larry "Ler" LaLonde - guitar, background vocals (1989-2000, 2003-present)
* Tim "Herb" Alexander - drums (1989-1996, 2003-present)
Former members
* Bryan "Brain" Mantia - drums (1989, 1996-2000)
* Todd Huth - guitar (1984-1989)
* Jay Lane - drums (1988)
Discography
* Suck on This (1989)
* Frizzle Fry (1990)
* Sailing the Seas of Cheese (1991)
* Pork Soda (1993)
* Tales from the Punchbowl (1995)
* Brown Album (1997)
* Antipop (1999)
Awards
* 1991 - Sailing the Seas of Cheese - Platinum Album
* 1993 - Pork Soda - Platinum Album
* 1995 - Tales from the Punchbowl - 2x Platinum Album

Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), better known by his stage name Marilyn Manson, is an American musician and artist, known for his controversial stage persona and image as the lead singer of the eponymous band. His stage name was formed from the names of actress Marilyn Monroe & convicted murderer Charles Manson.

Manson was born in Canton, Ohio, the son of Barb Wyer and Hugh Warner. His father was a Catholic and his mother Episcopalian. According to his autobiography The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, Manson is of German and Polish ancestry on his father's side. He was raised in his mother's religion, attending Heritage Christian School, though he later transferred out, graduating from Cardinal Gibbons High School in 1987. In 1990, Manson was a college student attending Broward Community College. He was working toward a journalism degree and gaining experience in the field by writing music articles for a South Florida lifestyle magazine, 25th Parallel, when he met several of the musicians to whom his own band would later be compared, including: My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.
Manson formed Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids in Florida in 1989 (the name was shortened to Marilyn Manson in 1992). While with The Spooky Kids, he was involved with Jeordie White (also known as Twiggy Ramirez) and Stephen Gregory Bier Jr. (also known as Madonna Wayne Gacy) in two side-projects: Satan on Fire, a faux-Christian metal ensemble where he played bass guitar, and drums in Mrs. Scabtree, a collaborative band formed with White and then girlfriend Jessicka (vocalist with the band Jack Off Jill) as a way to combat contractual agreements that prohibited Marilyn Manson from playing in certain clubs. In the summer of 1993, the band drew the attention of Trent Reznor. Reznor produced their 1994 debut album, Portrait of an American Family and released it on his Nothing Records label. The band began to develop a cult following, which grew larger with the release of Smells Like Children in 1995. That EP yielded the band's first big MTV hit with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)", a cover of the 1983 Eurythmics hit. Antichrist Superstar (co-produced by Trent Reznor) was an even greater success. In the US alone, three of the band's albums have been awarded platinum certification, three more gold, and the band has had three releases debut in the top ten, including two number-one albums. Manson first worked as a producer with the band Jack Off Jill. He helped name the band and produce most of the band's early recordings, and also played guitar on the song "My Cat" and had the band open most of his South Florida shows. Manson later wrote the liner notes to the band's album Humid Teenage Mediocrity 1992-1995, a collection of early Jack Off Jill recordings. Manson has appeared as a guest performer on DMX's album Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood and on Godhead's 2000 Years of Human Error album the only album released on his vanity label Posthuman. Also latest musical project is a cover of the Danny Elfman song This is Halloween that was included on the soundtrack of the 2007 3D re-release of the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas. as well as the 2008 cover album Nightmare Revisited.
Manson made an appearance in the video game Area 51 as Edgar a Grey Alien. His song "Cruci-Fiction In Space" is featured in a commercial for a video game, The Darkness. His likeness is also featured on the Celebrity Deathmatch video game for which he recorded a song for the soundtrack (2003). The song "Use your fist and not your mouth" was the credits score of the game Cold Fear as well as Spawn: Armageddon. Also launched, "Mansinthe," his own brand of Swiss made absinthe, which has received mixed reviews ranging from critics who compared the drink's odor to sewage water and described the taste as being "as bad as piss" to coming second to Versinthe in an Absinthe top 5 and winning a Gold medal at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. prior to his relationship with Dita Von Teese, he was in a relationship with Michele Greenberg. He then was engaged to actress Rose McGowan. In 2007, attention was brought to Manson's love life again when a relationship with actress Evan Rachel Wood was made public. After media comments from Manson that he wears his signature black leather pants 24/7, animal rights group PETA added Manson to PETA’s, ‘Worst-Dressed Celebrities of 2008’.
Filmography
* Lost Highway (1997)
* Spawn (song) (1997)
* Private Parts (song) (1997)
* Dead Man on Campus (song) (1998)
* Jawbreaker (1999)
* House on Haunted Hill (song) 1999)
* Clone High (2000)
* Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (song) (2000)
* From Hell (score, 2001)
* Not Another Teen Movie (song, 2001)
* Life as a House (Song) (2001)
* Resident Evil (score, 2002)
* Bowling for Columbine (interview, 2002)
* Queen of the Damned (song) (2002)
* The Hire: Beat The Devil (2003)
* Party Monster (2003)
* Doppelherz (director,score) 2003)
* The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004)
* Saw II (song, 2005)
* House of Wax (song, 2005)
* Living Neon Dreams (2006)
* Rise: Blood Hunter (2006)
* Funny Games (song) (2008)
* Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll (acting, directing, writing, score) (2009)
* King Shot (2009)
Books
* The Long Hard Road Out of Hell (1998)
* Holy Wood Unreleased

Korn (occasionally typeset as KoRn or KoЯn) is an American metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993.

The band's catalogue consists of nine consecutive debuts in the top ten of the Billboard 200, including a compilation album, Greatest Hits, Vol.1, and their untitled eighth album, released on July 31, 2007. To date, Korn has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, including 16.5 in the U.S., while earning six Grammy nominations two of which they have won.
Band members
Korn was a stable five-piece band for most of their existence. After the departure of Head, Korn adopted a backup band to enhance their live performances. The backup band only plays live shows with Korn. None of the members of the backup band are considered official members of Korn. For most of 2005, they wore animal masks based on the See You on the Other Side artwork and black uniforms to help better distinguish them as the backup band. Throughout 2007, the members have performed unmasked but occasionally had their faces painted black and white with unique designs. Since the beginning of 2008, the back-up band plays without face paint, and with their ordinary clothes on instead of the black uniforms they had earlier.
Current
* Jonathan Davis - lead vocals, multi-instruments (1993–present)
* James "Munky" Shaffer - lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1993–present)
* Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu - bass (1993–present)
* Ray Luzier - drums (2007–present)
Former
* Brian "Head" Welch - lead guitars, backing vocals (1993–2005)
* David Silveria - drums (1993–2006)

Joshua Michael Homme (born May 17, 1973 in Joshua Tree, California) is an American rock musician and record producer.

He was a founding member of the desert rock band Kyuss, as well as the founding and only continuous member of the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age, in which he mainly sings and plays guitar. However, Homme is a multi instrumentalist and is also known for contributing bass, drums and keyboard. He co-founded and occasionally performs with Eagles of Death Metal as its drummer, and continues to produce and release a musical improv series with other musicians, mostly from the Palm Desert Scene, known as The Desert Sessions. Other acts with which Homme has collaborated include: Mondo Generator, Foo Fighters, PJ Harvey, Fatso Jetson, Mark Lanegan Band, Trent Reznor, Masters of Reality, Millionaire, Wellwater Conspiracy, U.N.K.L.E., Melissa Auf der Maur, Paz Lenchantin, A Perfect Circle, Death from Above 1979, Earthlings?, Mastodon, Peaches, and Local H. Homme is also set to produce new material with Queens of the Stone Age fans, the Arctic Monkeys.
Homme was featured on Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen in the song "Stone Cold Crazy", on Blood Mountain by Mastodon, in the song "Colony of Birchmen", and on Impeach My Bush by Peaches in the song "Give 'Er". Homme, along with friend and Kyuss/QOTSA contributor/producer, Chris Goss, performed as "The 5:15ers" at the inaugural ArthurBall (an offshoot of the ArthurFest festival) in Los Angeles on January 26, 2006.. The two were credited as "The Fififf Teeners" when they co-produced QOTSA's second album, Rated R and their latest disc, Era Vulgaris.

Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band comprises founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its formation, Godsmack has released four studio albums, one EP, four DVDs, and one greatest hits collection.

The band has sold over 17 million records in the United States according to the RIAA. The band has had two consecutive number one albums (Faceless and IV) on the Billboard 200. They have had seventeen top ten mainstream rock singles, being the band ever to do so and a debut album that has sold over 4 million copies since its release. Since its inception, Godsmack has toured on Ozzfest on more than one occasion, and have toured with many other large tours and festivals, including supporting its albums with its own arena tours.
Band members
* Sully Erna: lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, drums, percussion, harmonica (1996–present)
* Tony Rombola: lead guitar, backing vocals (1997–present)
* Robbie Merrill: bass guitar, backing vocals (1996–present)
* Shannon Larkin: drums, percussion (2002–present)

Faith No More was an American alternative metal band who formed in San Francisco, California, and were active between 1982 and 1998. Faith No More combined elements of heavy metal, funk, punk rock, progressive rock, hip hop, punk, thrash metal, and jazz, among many others, and have been hailed as an influential rock band.

After quitting their former band Faith No Man (1979-1982), Billy Gould, Roddy Bottum and Mike Bordin (who received the nickname "Puffy" for his hair) formed Faith No More, a name suggested by a friend of Billy Gould's as "the Man" (referring to Mike "The Man" Morris, Faith No Man's singer) was "No More". The band ended up playing with guitarist Mark Bowen for a brief period before he was replaced by Jim Martin. A number of singers were tried, including a six-month stint by Courtney Love, who was fired after only four gigs. Eventually, Chuck Mosely was hired as the band's vocalist. Their self-financed debut We Care a Lot came in 1985 on Mordam Records in the US, which led to a deal with Slash Records. Introduce Yourself was released in 1987, and a revamped version of the single "We Care a Lot" saw minor success on MTV. During this period, the band gained a reputation for serious infighting and friction. There were frequent rumours of physical confrontations between band members. Indeed, in a short history of the band in one issue, the British music newspaper Melody Maker observed that the band's internal relationships had descended into "pathological hatred". Bordin in particular seemed to be very much the "whipping boy" of the band and the butt of numerous cruel pranks and practical jokes.
Band members
* 1985–1988: Chuck Mosely – vocals
* 1988–1998: Mike Patton – vocals
* 1983–1993: "Big" Jim Martin – guitar
* 1981–1998: Billy Gould – bass guitar
* 1981–1998: Mike Bordin – drums
* 1983–1998: Roddy Bottum – keyboard
* 1997–1998: Jon Hudson – guitar

Drowning Pool is a four-piece Hard rock band that was formed in 1996 in Dallas, Texas, United States. They are currently signed to Eleven Seven Music and have released three albums, their most recent being Full Circle which was released on August 7, 2007. Each of their three albums has featured a different lead singer after original lead singer Dave Williams died. Jason Jones took over for their second album, Desensitized, although he left the band for personal reasons and was replaced by former SOiL lead singer Ryan McCombs for Full Circle.

Drowning Pool rose to fame while playing along with Ozzy Osbourne during an Ozzfest tour. Their 2001 debut album, Sinner, was certified platinum within six months and the video for its first single "Bodies" was frequently aired on various music video channels. After the September 11th attacks, "Bodies" was infrequently heard on many radio stations as there were concerns regarding its appropriateness in light of the 9/11 victims who had jumped from the towers. On August 14, 2002, the band's lead singer Dave Williams was found dead inside his tour bus. A spokesperson from the Medical Examiner's Office for the Northern District of Virginia concluded that he suffered from a form of heart disease.
When asked if the band had any unreleased songs, according to a 2002 Blabbermouth article, Mike Luce replied that "only 3-4 songs were done, including one called "Heroes", which is a tribute to dead rock musicians such as Layne Staley. I don't know if we will ever release them."
Members
* Ryan McCombs - vocals (2005−present)
* C.J. Pierce - guitar, vocals
* Stevie Benton - bass guitar, vocals
* Mike Luce - drums, percussion

Deftones is an American rock band from Sacramento, California formed in 1988, consisting of Chino Moreno (lead vocals and guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Chi Cheng (bass), Frank Delgado (keyboards and turntables), and Abe Cunningham (drums and percussion).

Their sound has been described as ranging from alternative metal, dream pop and nu metal, to progressive rock and art rock. Critics have often praised them as one of the closest to unique rock bands of recent years for their innovative, atmospheric music; as Johnny Loftus writes, "Rock critics usually reserve a special place for Deftones above or at least away from the rest of the turn of the century metal movement Deftones have always seemed more curious, more willing to incorporate traditionally revered sounds like dream pop into their Northern California alt-metal."

Chris Cornell (born Christopher John Boyle on July 20, 1964) is an American rock musician best known as the lead singer and songwriter for rock bands Soundgarden (1984–1997),

Audioslave (2001–2007) and for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions [1998-2009]. He is known for his wide vocal range and powerful vocal belting technique. He was the founder and frontman for Temple of the Dog, the one-off tribute band dedicated to his former roommate, Andrew Wood, and he has released two solo albums, Euphoria Morning (1999) and Carry On (2007). His third solo album, Scream (2009) is set for release on March 10, 2009.

Chevelle (sometimes typed as CheVelle) is an American hard rock band that formed in 1995 in Grayslake, Illinois. The band originally comprised three brothers: Pete (lead vocals/guitar),

Sam (drums/percussion), and Joe Loeffler (bass/vocals). Joe left the band in 2005 and was replaced by Dean Bernardini soon after. Chevelle has sold nearly two million albums in the United States. Their second album, Wonder What's Next, was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Since its formation, Chevelle has released four studio albums, one live album, and one DVD.