Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1981. The band was founded when an advertisement posted by drummer Lars Ulrich in a local newspaper, was responded to by James Hetfield. Metallica's line-up has primarily consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, while going through a number of bassists (Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton, Jason Newsted). The spot is currently held by Robert Trujillo. The band's original lead guitarist, before Hammett, was current Megadeth guitarist and lead vocalist Dave Mustaine.

Metallica's early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the "big four" of the thrash metal subgenre alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax during the genre's development into a popular style. The band earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and critical acclaim, with the 1986 release Master of Puppets described as one of the most influential and "heavy" thrash metal albums. The band achieved substantial commercial success with their eponymous fifth album (also known as The Black Album), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With this release the band expanded its musical direction resulting in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience.

In 2000, Metallica was among several artists who filed a lawsuit against Napster for sharing the band's copyright-protected material for free without any band member's consent. A settlement was reached, and Napster became a pay-to-use service. Despite reaching number one on the Billboard 200, the release of St. Anger alienated many fans with the exclusion of guitar solos and the "steel-sounding" snare drum. A film titled Some Kind of Monster documented the recording process of St. Anger and the turmoil within the band during that time.

Metallica has released nine studio albums, three live albums, two EPs, 24 music videos, and 45 singles. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, and has had five consecutive albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200, making Metallica the first and only band to do so, this record was later matched by the Dave Matthews Band. The band's 1991 album,Metallica, has sold over 15 million copies in the United States, and 22 million copies worldwide, which makes it the 25th-highest-selling album in the country. In December 2009, it became the highest-selling album of the SoundScan era, surpassing 1997's Come On Over by country artist Shania Twain. The band has sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide as of the release of their latest album, Death Magnetic. As of December 2009, Metallica is the fourth best-selling music artist since the SoundScan era began tracking sales on May 25, 1991, selling a total of 52,271,000 albums in the United States alone.

AC/DC

AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Although the band are commonly classified as hard rock and are considered a pioneer of heavy metal, they have always classified their music as rock and roll. To date they are one of the highest grossing bands of all time. AC/DC underwent several line-up changes before releasing their first album, High Voltage, in 1975. Membership remained stable until bassist Mark Evans was replaced by Cliff Williams in 1978 for the album Powerage. Within months of recording the album Highway to Hell, lead singer and co-songwriter Bon Scott died on 19 February 1980, after a night of heavy alcohol consumption. The group briefly considered disbanding, but Scott's parents urged them to continue and hire a new vocalist. Ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson was auditioned and selected to replace Scott. Later that year, the band released their highest selling album, Back in Black.

The band's next album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You, was their first album to reach number one in the United States. AC/DC declined in popularity soon after drummer Phil Rudd was fired in 1983 and was replaced by future Dio drummer Simon Wright, though the band resurged in the early 1990s with the release of The Razor's Edge. Phil Rudd returned in 1994 (after Chris Slade, who was with the band from 1990–1994, was asked to leave in favour of him) and contributed to the band's 1995 album Ballbreaker. Stiff Upper Lip was released in 2000 and was well received by critics. Since then, the band has stayed the same with the 1980–1983 lineup. The band's next album, Black Ice, was released on 20 October 2008. It was their biggest hit on the charts since For Those About to Rock, reaching #1 on all the charts eventually. AC/DC's newest album, Iron Man 2, soundtrack to the film, was released on 19 April 2010.

As of 2010, AC/DC have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, as of the releases of their latest albums, Black Ice and Iron Man 2 (soundtrack), including 71 million albums in the United States. Back in Black has sold an estimated 49 million units worldwide, making it the highest-selling album by any band and the second-highest-selling album in history, behind Thriller by Michael Jackson. The album has sold 22 million in the US alone, where it is the fifth-highest-selling album. AC/DC ranked fourth on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and were named the seventh "Greatest Heavy Metal Band of All Time" by MTV. In 2004, AC/DC were ranked number 72 in the Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

Important songs:

High Voltage

Thunderstruck

Highway to hell

Back in Black

Van Halen

Van Halen is an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California in 1972. They have enjoyed large scale success since the release of their debut album Van Halen(1978). As of 2007, Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and have had the most number-one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. During the 1980s they also had more Billboard Hot 100 hits than any other hard rock or heavy metal band. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Van Halen is the 19th best-selling band/artist of all time with sales of over 56 million albums in the U.S., and is one of five rock bands that have had two albums sell more than 10 million copies in the U.S. In 2008 they became one of the best paid live acts in the world, over twenty years after performing the same feat in the early eighties in regards to their huge payout for headlining the US Festival. In 1999, the RIAA certified Van Halen diamond, for ten million U.S. sales.

In addition to being recognized for success, the band is known for the drama surrounding the exits of former members. The multiple exits of both lead singers David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar were surrounded in controversy and mass press coverage with various contrasting press statements between the former singers and the band. More recently, bassist Michael Anthony left the band for controversial reasons after 31 years with the band. Following their 2004 concert tour the band was on a hiatus from the public until September 2006, when new bassist Wolfgang Van Halen's place was confirmed and Roth reunion rumors began to re-surface coinciding with the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction on March 12, 2007. After years of speculation, Van Halen began a tour with Roth in late 2007 across North America and continued into 2008. An album was proposed to follow. Along with this, a live tour DVD was announced at their May 13, 2008, concert at the Izod Center that would contain recordings from several performances on their current tour. Since the band concluded the reunion tour in July 2008, no official news from the band has been forthcoming. In August 2010, Warner Bros. Records issued a press release indicating that a new studio album and tour are planned for 2011.