Battle of the Bands 45

– Paige

Hey-hey and holy shit, kids! Battle of the Bands is still a thing?! Yes, apparently so! At BotB 44, Rammstein defeated Foreigner in a rarely seen clean sweep! So on and so forth... let's just get to it, eh?

When you vote, please request a musical act for the challenger list. Each act will be added to the list in the order they are requested. (Only one request at a time per person, please.) Battles will be usually be posted on Mondays I will post these with extreme inconsistency, as I often forget and/or can't be arsed. The voting period typically lasts for about one week. I will try to post a heads-up as voting nears an end What happens, happens. Does anybody even read this part? When a band loses, it will be unable to re-challenge for 10 rounds. If an act achieves 10 straight victories, they will be retired from champion status and the next two challengers in the request list will duke it out for supremacy!

Note: The term "musical act" denotes any band, solo artist, vocal group... whatever you like. Basically, this is an all-inclusive popularity contest.

Voters are encouraged to include their opinions of the bands/artists in the battle, or at least a few short words about the act they voted for. Not a requirement, of course!

Denn du bist / Was du isst / Und ihr wisst / Was es ist!

English translation: "Because you are / What you eat / And you know / What it is!"

– from "Mein Teil"

(This song's subject matter is really dark stuff. Video is twisted and—frankly—very entertaining!)

Battle of the Bands Championship History

Spoiler

1. The Rolling Stones (Won @ BotB 1)
2. Pink Floyd (Won @ BotB 2)
3. Metallica (Won @ BotB 5)
4. David Bowie (Won @ BotB 8)
5. Johnny Cash (Won @ BotB 13)
6. The Smiths (Won @ BotB 16)
7. Deep Purple (Won @ BotB 18)
8. Blue Öyster Cult (Won @ BotB 20)
9. Led Zeppelin (Won @ BotB 21)
10. Nirvana (BotB Hall of Fame) (Won @ BotB 24)

11. Meat Loaf (Won @ BotB 34)
12. AC/DC (Won at BotB 36)
13. Ronnie James Dio (Won at BotB 39)
14. Def Leppard (Won at BotB 40)
15. Rammstein (Won at BotB 41)

Battle of the Bands 43

The champion...

Rammstein

Rammstein is a German industrial metal band, formed in 1994 in Berlin. Throughout its existence, Rammstein's six-man lineup has remained unchanged—lead guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe, bassist Oliver "Ollie" Riedel, drummer Christoph "Doom" Schneider, lead vocalist Till Lindemann, rhythm guitarist Paul H. Landers, and keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz.

The band helped to found a subgenre within German hard rock and metal that became known as Neue Deutsche Härte. The majority of their songs are in German, but they have also performed songs entirely or partially in other languages including English, Spanish, French, and Russian. Rammstein's award-winning live shows are known for their pyrotechnic elements and both on and off-stage theatrics. Rammstein's entire catalogue is published by Universal Music Group.

Since their formation in 1994, Rammstein has had no changes in their line-up. Richard Kruspe had said in a Revolver Magazine interview that it is because of the band respecting each other's wishes to take a break; either for personal reasons or to focus on a side project.

Rammstein have achieved particular fame for their over-the-top stage show, making such extensive use of pyrotechnics that fans eventually coined the motto "Other bands play, Rammstein burns!" (a quip at Manowar's song "Kings of Metal", which states, "other bands play, Manowar kills"). Following an accident at the Arena in Berlin in which some burning decorative parts fell (27 September 1996) the band started using professionals to handle the pyrotechnics. Lindemann subsequently qualified as a licensed pyrotechnician; he spends entire songs engulfed head-to-toe in flames. He has suffered multiple burns on his ears, head and arms.

Rammstein - "Mein Teil" music video

vs.

The challenger...

Judas Priest

Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. The band have sold over 50 million albums to date. They are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band struggled with indifferent record production, repeated changes of drummer and lack of major commercial success or attention until 1980, when they adopted a more simplified sound on the album British Steel, which helped shoot them to rock superstar status.

The band's membership has seen much turnover, including a revolving cast of drummers in the 1970s, and the temporary departure of singer Rob Halford in the early 1990s. The current line-up consists of Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band's best-selling album is 1982's Screaming for Vengeance with their most commercially successful line-up, featuring Halford, Tipton, Hill, guitarist K. K. Downing, and drummer Dave Holland. Tipton and Hill are the only two members of the band to appear on every album.

Their influence, while mainly Halford's operatic vocal style and the twin guitar sound of Downing and Tipton, has been adopted by many bands. Their image of leather, spikes, and other taboo articles of clothing were widely influential during the glam metal era of the 1980s. The Guardian referred to British Steel as the record that defines heavy metal. Despite a decline in exposure during the mid 1990s, the band has once again seen a resurgence, including worldwide tours, being inaugural inductees into the VH1 Rock Honors in 2006, receiving a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2010, and their songs featured in video games such as Guitar Hero and the Rock Band series.

Judas Priest - "Painkiller" music video

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Challenger List (requester's name in brackets)
Red Hot Chili Peppers (Eastdog)
Papa Roach (Gorgrim)
The Tea Party (Paige)
Elton John (Rhys)
Skillet (Stingmon)
Spiritualized (TheSurrealOne)

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Don't forget to request a challenger!