Report: Arizona Heavy Metal Scene Is Going Through Another Revival
January 12, 2006Chris Hansen Orf of Arizona's East Valley Tribune has issued the following report:
Chicago metal band DISTURBED sold out Sunday and Monday shows at the Marquee Theatre in a matter of hours.
Granted, the Tempe venue only holds about 1,000 fans, but with the success of the Ozzfest tours year after year — and DISTURBED and other metal bands such as STAIND getting airplay on Valley hard rock station KUPD (97.9 FM) as well as alternative rock station KEDJ (103.9 FM) — heavy metal is going through another revival after early-'90s grunge nearly knocked it out of the mainstream.
In the '80s, metal was arguably the leading rock genre in the Valley, with local bands such as the SCHOOLBOYS, SURGICAL STEEL and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM (which featured bassist Jason Newsted, who later joined metal powerhouse METALLICA),but when the '90s rolled around, local metal's popularity was usurped by Tempe alt-rock bands such as the GIN BLOSSOMS, DEAD HOT WORKSHOP and the REFRESHMENTS, who all signed major-label deals after a grunge-induced "hair metal" backlash.
"Phoenix was once a melting pot for heavy metal," says Prophet, singer and founder of one of the Valley's best metal bands, the long-running ST. MADNESS. "I watched the Valley go from 'Long Live Metal!' up until 1992, when all of a sudden people and bands were acting like they were ashamed of metal and of being in metal bands."
Read the rest of the article at EastValleyTribune.com.
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