Legacy of Biff Byford
Artists and genres Biff Byford directly influenced — one hop forward on the family tree of music.
Freedom CallartistFreedom Call is a German power metal band formed in 1998. The band tours regularly and the current line-up includes one original member, lead vocalist and songwriter, Chris Bay. Freedom Call has released 14 albums in total, eleven of these studio albums.
Phil Campbellartist
Sebartist
DestructionartistDestruction is a German thrash metal band formed in 1982. They have been credited as one of the "Big Four" of the German thrash metal scene, alongside Kreator, Sodom and Tankard.
HelloweenartistHelloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. The band has at times been called one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weikath and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. By the time Hansen left Helloween in 1989 to form Gamma Ray, the band had evolved into a five-piece, with Michael Kiske taking over as lead vocalist. Schwichtenberg and Kiske both parted ways with Helloween in 1993; Schwichtenberg died two years later as the result of suicide. Between then and 2016, there had been numerous line-up changes, leaving Grosskopf and Weikath as the only remaining original members. As a septet, their current lineup features all of the surviving members of the Keeper of the Seven Keys lineup, in addition to the remaining members from the Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy-era.
AvantasiaartistAvantasia is a German supergroup metal opera project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist of the band Edguy. It has been characterized as a rock opera, as it features the contributions of various vocalists and musicians and it consists of concept albums. The name is a blend of the words Avalon and fantasia ('fantasy') and describes "a world beyond human imagination".
Motörheadartist
Ronnie James Dioartist
Amon AmarthartistAmon Amarth are a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes their name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics are mostly themed around Viking mythology and history, and so they are sometimes labelled "Viking metal", though they are musically melodic death metal, a term the band also prefers. Amon Amarth is composed of lead guitarist Olavi Mikkonen, vocalist Johan Hegg, bassist Ted Lundström, rhythm guitarist Johan Söderberg, and drummer Jocke Wallgren.