Slayer has influenced many of music’s most successful bands, from Ministry and Deftones to Slipknot, Sepultura, and Killswitch Engage, and continues to earn new generations of fans while staying true to its ceaselessly devoted followers. Throughout its history, Slayer has played host to many bands’ breakthrough tours, taking out System of a Down, Hatebreed, Chimaira, In Flames, and Clutch, among others. Slayer’s legacy is cemented in music forever, and the band remains undaunted in its directive to make punishing, aggressive and exciting music. Since their debut album in 1983, the band has released two live albums, one box set, six videos, two extended plays and ten studio albums, four of which have received gold certification in the United States. The band has received five Grammy nominations, winning one in 2007 for the song “Eyes of the Insane”, and one in 2008 for the song “Final Six” both from 2006’s Christ Illusion).

Avantasia is a German heavy metal/power metal super group project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist of the band Edguy. In 1999 he founded his side project “Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia”, an all-star Rock Opera that would allow him to collaborate with superstars such as Alice Cooper, Klaus Meine & Rudolf Schenker (Scorpions) and members of other legendary bands such as Kiss, Mr. Big, Magnum, Helloween, Uriah Heep, Rainbow and many more throughout the years. All of his recent albums entered the top ten charts in countries all over the world. His latest Avantasia-release “The Flying Opera – Around The World In 20 Days” went straight to number 1 in Germany, Sweden and Austria! He has sold more than 3 million albums worldwide, he has played more than 600 concerts in almost 40 countries in Asia, North America, Central America, South America, Australia and Europe: composer and vocalist Tobias Sammet is one of Germany’s biggest internationally acclaimed artists in recent music history.

In the history of Heavy Metal not many bands can claim to be able to celebrate their breakthrough twice. Accept managed this in 2010, with their reunion record ‘Blood Of The Nations’; returning with a vengeance by charting all over the World and topping critics’ and fan polls in the process. In their home country Germany, Accept charted at an incredible #4 in the Media Control Charts. The newest Opus, Blind Rage, is the most successful chart album in the band’s long history. ‘Blood Of The Nations’ in heralded the modern era of Accept, and now with Blind Rage the band climbed the throne of the charts. With this pole position in the official German Album Charts and top scores all around the world the band breaks their own record once again.

As one of the leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Saxon had eight UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including four UK Top 10 albums and two Top 5 albums. The band also had numerous singles in the UK Singles Chart and chart success all over Europe and Japan, as well as success in the US. During the 1980s Saxon established themselves as one of Europe’s biggest metal acts. The band tours regularly and has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide.

With 80,000 festival visitors, and including personnel a total of roughly 86,000 attendees in 2011, the Wacken Open Air Festival attracts all kinds of metal music fans and hard rock from around the world. The festival, first held in 1990 as a small event for local bands, is now one of the biggest festivals worldwide. Line-up: AVANTASIA, ACCEPT, APOCALYPTICA & AVANTI! ORCHESTRA, SAXON, STEEL PANTHER, HAMMERFALL, DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT

With 80,000 festival visitors, and including personnel a total of roughly 86,000 attendees in 2011, the Wacken Open Air Festival attracts all kinds of metal music fans and hard rock from around the world. The festival, first held in 1990 as a small event for local bands, is now one of the biggest festivals worldwide. Line-up: SLAYER, MOTÖRHEAD, KREATOR, HEAVEN SHALL BURN, CHILDREN OF BODOM, AMON AMARTH, EMPEROR

With 80,000 festival visitors, and including personnel a total of roughly 86,000 attendees in 2011, the Wacken Open Air Festival attracts all kinds of metal music fans and hard rock from around the world. The festival, first held in 1990 as a small event for local bands, is now one of the biggest festivals worldwide. Including 1 track each of: AVANTASIA, ACCEPT, APOCALYPTICA & AVANTI! ORCHESTRA, SAXON, STEEL PANTHER, HAMMERFALL, DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, SLAYER, MOTÖRHEAD, KREATOR, HEAVEN SHALL BURN, CHILDREN OF BODOM, AMON AMARTH, EMPEROR

In their early years, Pixies’ jarring pop sound influenced bands such as Nirvana, Radiohead, The Strokes and Weezer and are subsequently credited with having a big influence on the alternative rock boom of the 1990s. The Pixies’ legacy and popularity grew in the years following their break-up (1993), leading to sold-out world tours following their reunion in 2004. In June 2013, the indie-rock legend released their first new material in almost ten years! The latest album ‘Indie City’ charted #6 in the UK album charts (#3 on US Top Alternative Albums and #1 on US Top Tastemaker Albums) and is after ‘Bossanova’ (UK #3, 1990) their biggest chart success in the UK.

Dropkick Murphys’ 2004 single “Tessie” became the band’s first hit and one of their biggest charting singles to date. The band’s final Hellcat release, 2005’s The Warrior’s Code, included the song “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”; the song was featured in the 2006 Academy Award-winning movie “The Departed”, and went on to become a Platinum-selling single. 2007’s “The Meanest of Times” made its debut at No. 20 on the Billboard charts and featured the successful single, “The State of Massachusetts”, while 2011’s “Going Out in Style” was an even bigger success, making its debut at No. 6, giving the band their highest-charting album to date. Dropkick Murphys’ eighth studio album, Signed and Sealed in Blood was released in 2013 making its debut at No. 9 on the Billboard charts.