The Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins is an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan (vocals, guitar) and James Iha (guitar, backing vocals), the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin (drums, percussion), D'arcy Wretzky (bass guitar, backing vocals), Melissa Auf der Maur (bass guitar), and currently includes Jeff Schroeder (guitar), Mike Byrne (drums, backing vocals), and Nicole Fiorentino (bass guitar, backing vocals) amongst its membership.

Disavowing the punk rock roots of many of their alt-rock contemporaries, the Pumpkins have a diverse, densely layered and guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of gothic rock, heavy metal, dream pop, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, shoegazer-style production and, in later recordings, electronica. Frontman Billy Corgan is the group's primary songwriter, his grand musical ambitions and cathartic lyrics have shaped the band's albums and songs, which have been described as "anguished, bruised reports from Billy Corgan's nightmare-land".

The Smashing Pumpkins broke into the musical mainstream with their second album, Siamese Dream (1993). The group built its audience with extensive touring and their follow-up, the double album Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness (1995), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. Their following albums are Adore (1998), Machina/The Machines of God (2000), Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music (2000). With 18.75 million albums sold in the United States alone, The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s. However, internal fighting, drug use, and diminishing record sales led to a 2000 break-up.

In 2006, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin reconvened to record a new Smashing Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist. The band toured with a lineup of between five and nine musicians through much of 2007 and 2008. Chamberlin left the band in 2009 and was replaced by Mike Byrne. Corgan, Byrne, returning guitarist Jeff Schroeder, and newest addition Nicole Fiorentino are currently recording the 44-song Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, which has been released, one song at a time, since 2009. 

On April 26, 2011, Corgan announced via a video uploaded to the band's Facebook page that the band will record and release a new album titled Oceania, labeled as "an album within an album" in regards to the Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project, which will see the light around September.  Also, the entire pre-break up discography will be reissued and remastered, starting with Gish, Siamese Dream, and Pisces Iscariot, expected in late 2011. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, The Aeroplane Flies High, and Adore will be released in 2012, and finally, Machina/The Machines of God and the yet commercially unreleased Machina II/Friends and Enemies of Modern Music are expected to be released in 2013. The reissues will contain extra tracks.[source: The Smashing Pumpkins]

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Evanescence

Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and helped the band win two Grammy Awards. A year later, Evanescence released their first live album, Anywhere but Home, which sold more than one million copies worldwide. In 2006, the band released their second studio album, The Open Door, which sold more than five million copies.

Evanescence was founded by singer, pianist and songwriter Amy Lee and former lead guitarist and songwriter Ben Moody. The two met in 1994 at a youth camp in Little Rock, where Moody heard Lee playing "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf on the piano. Their first songs together were "Solitude" and "Give Unto Me", both written by Lee, and "Understanding" and "My Immortal", both written by Moody. The songs were edited by both artists, and they shared equal credit. 

Two of Lee and Moody's songs were played on local radio stations, raising local awareness of the group and demand for a concert. The band eventually appeared live, and became one of the most popular acts in the area. After experimenting with band names, such as Childish Intentions and Stricken, they decided on Evanescence, which means "disappearance" or "fading away" (from the word evanesce, which means "to disappear"). 

The band released two EPs. The first is the self-titled Evanescence EP (1998), of which about 100 copies were made and distributed at the band's early live performances. The second is the Sound Asleep EP, also known as the Whisper EP (1999). For their first full-length demo CD, Origin, about 2,500 copies were produced and sold to concert audiences. Origin and the EPs contain demo versions of some of the songs on their debut album, Fallen. During a radio interview, Lee and Moody encouraged fans to download the band's older songs from the Internet. 

The line-up of the band has changed several times: David Hodges leaving in 2002, co-founder Moody left in 2003 (mid-tour), bassist Will Boyd in 2006, followed by guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray in 2007. The last two changes led to a hiatus, with temporary band members contributing to tour performances. In June 2009, it was announced on the Evanescence website that the band was working on new material for a third studio album. Billboard ranked Evanescence #71 on the Best Artists of the Decade chart. [source : Evanescence]

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Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson is an American Industrial metal band founded by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The band was formed in 1989 as Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids. The band's uniquely theatrical performances gathered a local cult following in the early 90's, that subsequently developed into a worldwide fanbase. The band's lineup almost always changes between album releases. The current members of the band are the eponymous lead singer Marilyn Manson, bassist/guitarist Twiggy Ramirez, drummer Ginger Fish, keyboardist Chris Vrenna and the live bassist Andy Gerold.

The band is one of modern music's most controversial, due largely to frequent clashes with religious and political figures. The name of each band member was originally created by combining the first name of an iconic female sex symbol (eg Marilyn Monroe), and the last name of an iconic mass murderer or serial killer (eg Charles Manson). The members of the band dress in outlandish makeup and costumes, and have engaged in intentionally shocking behavior both onstage and off. Their lyrics often receive criticism for their anti-religious sentiment and their references to sex, violence and drugs. Marilyn Manson's music and performances have frequently been called offensive and obscene, and, on several occasions, protests and petitions have led to the group being banned from performing.

As this controversy began to wane, so did the band's mainstream popularity. Despite this, its many devoted fans have made Marilyn Manson a consistently high-profile group: three of the band's albums have been awarded platinum certification and three more have been awarded gold, and the band has seen four of its releases debut in the top ten, including two number-one albums. In June 2003, Jon Wiederhorn of MTV.com referred to Marilyn Manson as "the only true artist today". VH1 also ranked Marilyn Manson as the 78th best rock band on their 100 Great Artists of Hard Rock. As of 2010, Marilyn Manson has sold over 11 million albums in the United States and 68 million albums around the world. [source : Marilyn Manson] 

 

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