Jeff 'Mantas' Dunn is a British guitarist best known as one of the founding members of seminal thrash/speed metal band Venom, with which he played as a guitarist from 1979 to 1985 and 1989 to 2002.
David Scott Mustaine is an American musician best known as the co-founder, vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of thrash metal band Megadeth. Prior to forming Megadeth, Mustaine was the original lead guitarist of heavy/thrash metal band Metallica, co-writing at least six released Metallica songs but not appearing on any of their albums.
Kirk Lee Hammett is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stone's list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In 2009, Hammett was ranked number 15 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists.
Jason Curtis Newsted is an American musician who was the bassist of American heavy metal band Metallica from 1986 to 2001. Beginning his career with thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam from 1981 to 1986, he successfully auditioned with Metallica to succeed the deceased Cliff Burton. Newsted performed on the albums ...And Justice for All (1988), Metallica (1991), Load (1996), and Reload (1997), the most album appearances among Metallica's bassists.
James Alan Hetfield is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionally performs lead guitar duties and solos, both live and in the studio. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering an advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler. Metallica has won nine Grammy Awards and released ten studio albums, three live albums, four extended plays and 24 singles.
Eric Meyer is an American musician who is best known as the guitarist for the Los Angeles based thrash metal band Dark Angel, which he joined in 1984, and played on all of their albums from We Have Arrived onwards.
Jeff Loomis is an American musician, best known for his role as lead guitarist in the progressive metal band Nevermore. In November 2014, it was announced he was to be the new guitarist for Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy.
James Donald Root, also known as #4, is an American guitarist and songwriter. He is one of two guitarists for heavy metal band Slipknot and the former lead guitarist for rock band Stone Sour.
Andrew Wells VanWyngarden is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitar player and songwriter for the band MGMT, praised for 'an uncanny knack for producing pop music that sounds as if it were filtered through a kaleidoscope.' One of his songs, 'Kids', received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, while the duo was nominated in the Best New Artist category.
Martin Adam Friedman is an American guitarist, known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for heavy metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until 1989, as well as his 13 solo albums and tours. Friedman has resided in Tokyo, Japan since 2003, where he has appeared on over 700 Japanese television programs such as Rock Fujiyama, Hebimeta-san, Kouhaku uta gassen and Jukebox English. He has released albums with several record labels, including Avex Trax, Universal, EMI, Prosthetic, and Shrapnel Records.
Eric Peterson is an American guitarist, best known as a member of the American thrash metal band Testament and is the only remaining original member left in the band, which first started in 1983 under the name Legacy. He and vocalist Chuck Billy are the only members to appear on all of the band's studio albums.
Christopher Alan Broderick is an American musician, best known as the former guitarist of the American heavy metal band Megadeth. He is also formerly the lead guitarist and keyboardist for Jag Panzer, appearing on four of Jag Panzer's albums The Age of Mastery, Thane to the Throne, Mechanized Warfare and Casting the Stones before moving on to Megadeth, replacing Glen Drover. Before joining Megadeth and while still in Jag Panzer, he was also a touring guitarist for Nevermore between 2001 and 2003 and then again between 2006 and 2007. He is now the lead guitarist for Act of Defiance, which he formed with fellow ex-Megadeth bandmate, Shawn Drover. Since 2019 Broderick has been the lead guitarist for Swedish metal band, In Flames.
David Murray Brockie was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Gwar, in which he performed as Oderus Urungus. He performed as a bassist and lead singer in bands such as Death Piggy, X-Cops, and the Dave Brockie Experience (DBX), and starred in the comedy/horror TV sitcom Holliston as Oderus Urungus. Brockie died in 2014.
Daniel Alan Spitz is an American musician and watchmaker best known for his work as the lead guitarist of the American heavy metal band Anthrax from 1983 to 1995 and from 2005 to 2008. With Anthrax, Spitz was nominated for three Grammy awards and earned several platinum albums. Spitz also founded the Christian music group Red Lamb, which was known for lyrics on autism awareness. Spitz has earned Swiss and American degrees in luxury mechanical watchmaking and micro-mechanical engineering, certified as watchmaker instructor for the North American operations of Swiss watch company Chopard.
Joseph Andrew Duplantier is a French-American musician and record producer, best known as the rhythm guitarist and vocalist of metal band Gojira, which he formed with his younger brother Mario. He is also the former bassist of Cavalera Conspiracy, to which he was invited by Max Cavalera.
Gary Wayne Holt is an American musician from the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a guitarist, bandleader, and main songwriter for thrash metal band Exodus and was a member of Slayer from 2011 to 2019, replacing Jeff Hanneman following his death in May 2013.
Kerry Ray King is an American musician, best known for being the co-lead guitarist and songwriter of thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and remained a member for nearly four decades.
Olve Eikemo, better known by his stage name Abbath Doom Occulta or simply Abbath, is a Norwegian musician best known as a founding member of the black metal band Immortal. Before founding Immortal, Abbath performed with Old Funeral alongside future Immortal member Demonaz. While working with Old Funeral, he also joined Demonaz's band Amputation which later became Immortal. He also plays bass in Demonaz's eponymous project.
Jeffrey John Hanneman was an American musician, best known as a founding member and lead guitarist of the American thrash metal band Slayer. Hanneman composed both music and lyrics for every Slayer album until his death in 2013 at age 49. He had his own signature guitar, the ESP Jeff Hanneman Signature model.
Roy Mayorga is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of heavy metal bands Hellyeah and Stone Sour.