Rage Family Tree

September 21, 2021 by Joe Cearlock in Family Tree

This is a project aimed at making it easy to see who inspired the bands you love or even hate. For this I try not to use any influences that the band don’t claim themselves. There will be a focus on predecessors but successors will be added as they site the band. These trees become more and more interactive as new bands are added, allowing you to click any band that has a tree and jump to it.

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Rage are a German Speed/Power/Thrash band. They were originally name Avenger and released several demos, an ep, and their first album Prayers of Steel before changing their name to Rage. Bassist/vocalist Peavy Wagner is the heart of the band and only original and consistent member. The line up of Rage has changed often. The earliest line up was Peavy along side guitarist Jochen Schroeder and drummer Jörg Michael. That period of the band saw there other guitarist come and go, Alf Meyerratken, Thomas Grüning, and Rudy Graf, I’m not sure if Alf or Rudy contributed to any writing while in the band. In 1987 was the first major line up change with the band then consisting of Peavy, guitarist Manni Schmidt and drummer Chris Efthimiadis. The next change in the early 90’s would see Manni replaced with guitarists Spiros Efthimiadis and Sven Fischer. In 1999 another big change in the line up, with now Peavy along side Victor Smolski on guitar and keyboards and Mike Terrana on drums. Mike would be replaced with André Hilgers on drums in 2007. Another overhaul happened in 2015 with new guitarist Marcos Rodriguez and drummer Vassilios "Lucky" Maniatopoulos. The band has once again undergone another change with Jean Bormann and Stefan Weber now on guitar. This line up will be on the 2021 album yet to be released and their influences will not be listed at this time. All other members that have contributed to writing will have their influences noted, but keep in mind Peavy is the only consistent member.

Louie Bellson was a jazz drummer and pioneer of double bass drumming. Mike named him as an influence.

Buddy Rich

Irv Cottler

Irving Cottler was a big band jazz drummer (also another drummer with Sinatra). Mike named him as an influence.

Sonny Payne

Tony Williams

Cream are an important blues based psychedelic band. Mike named Ginger Baker as an influence.

Deep Purple are influential hard rock and early heavy metal. Peavy said they were one of his favorites when he was young.

Johnny Winter is an influential blues guitarist out of the late 60’s. Manni named him as an influence.

Led Zeppelin are one of the biggest and earliest hard rock bands. Peavy said they was one of his favorites.

Black Sabbath are the fathers of metal. Peavy said they were a favorite when he was young. Mike named Bonham as one of his biggest influences.

Rory Gallagher was a blues rock player from Ireland. Manni named him as an influence.

Cozy Powell has played for important bands including Rainbow and Black Sabbath. Mike named him as an influence.

Scorpions are hard rock and heavy metal legends who pioneered both in Germany. Manni named both Uli and Michael Schenker as influences.

Mother’s Finest was a funk rock band. Mike named drummer B.B. Queen as one of his main influences.

Tommy Aldridge

Judas Priest helped define heavy metal perhaps more than any band. Peavy said they were inspired by their simple but heavy riffs.

Rush are progressive hard rock legends. Peavy said they got him into progressive rock and named Geddy as a bass influence.

AC/DC are the quintessential hard rock band. Manni named them as an influence.

Terry Bozzio

Motorhead are hard rock and heavy metal legends. Peavy said Lemmy inspired him to play bass in the first place.

The Police were a post-punk, new wave band. Peavy said he was inspired by their stripped down yet energetic arrangements.

Simon Phillips

Iron Maiden are one of the most influential metal bands. Marcos named them as an influence.

Venom are the fathers of extreme metal, inspiring the generations of extreme metal to follow them. Peavy was a fan despite their “lousy” playing.

Dave Weckl

Metallica are the fathers of thrash metal. Peavy and Marcos named them as an influence.

Dennis Chambers

Queensryche are important for the development of progressive metal. Peavy named Geoff Tate as a vocal influence early on.

Shawn Lane

Of course everyone knows the story of thrash father Dave Mustaine forming Megadeth after being kicked out of Metallica. Peavy named them as an influence.

If a band lasts long enough eventually they may just end up with members who grew up listening to the band. In this case, Marcos was a huge fan of Rage before joining.

Testament are Bay Area thrash legends. Peavy is a fan and said Chuck’s more brutal vocal style has influenced him more recently.

Peavy said he started playing guitar around 8 or 9 with classical style, then Spanish style and said The Beatles was an influence before discovering Motorhead and switching to bass. He said he finds inspirations in newer bands such as Opeth but it probably doesn’t show in his music. Other prog bands he listens to include Spock´s beard, Transatlantic, Dream Theater, and Liquid Tension Experiment. He named favorite classical composers as Bach, Villa Lobos, Rachmaninov, Dvorak, and Debussy.

Jochen Schroeder was on guitar for the first few albums as well as being co-writer. I’m unsure of his influences.

Alf Meyerratken was the lead guitarist in Avenger and co-wrote on some of Prayer of Steel. He was not in the band after the name change and I’m sure of his influences.

Thomas Grüning was the lead guitarist on the first Rage album and co-wrote on a few songs. I’m unsure of his influences.

Guitarist Manni was the guitarist through the late 80’s to the mid 90’s. His early influences are Status Quo and Ac/dc. His main influences include the bands noted above. When he named Michael Schenker he didn’t specifically limit to Scorpions although he did say Uli from the Scorpions. It is possible that Schenker’s other bands (MSG, UFO) are also an influence. Possibly Uli’s as well.

Drummer Chris Efthimiadis co-wrote while in the band throughout the late 80’s and 90’s, I’m unsure of his influences. His brother Spiros Efthimiadis would join on guitar in the late 90’s and also write in the band. I couldn’t find his influences either. Along side Spiros was Sven Fischer who also wrote in the band. I haven’t found his influences either.

Victor started with cello and piano before picking up guitar as a kid. He said he grew up with jazz and later rock. He doesn’t name many influences, he when to college for jazz and rock guitar and tries to combine all these different things.

Drummer André Hilgers only has one co-writing credit in the band. Some of his influences include Mike Portnoy, Deen Castronovo, Tomas Haake, Tommy Lee, and Tommy Aldridge.

Before joining Rage, Marcos played in a professional cover band for 10 years. He said they played everything from B.B. King to Pantera.

To my knowledge drummer Vassilios has not contributed to writing.

More Family Trees

Sources:

http://www.friday13thmetal.co.uk/Page%203%20-%20Interviews/Grave%20Digger/new_page_1.htm
https://www.wearethepit.com/2019/12/rages-peter-peavy-wagner-5-albums-that-change-my-life/
https://www.therockpit.net/2016/interview-peter-peavy-wager-rage/
https://www.bleeding4metal.de/index.php?show=interview&id=49
https://www.auxportesdumetal.com/interviews/rage2008-uk.html
https://kalejdoskopy.wordpress.com/2019/08/27/energy-of-metal-is-the-best-interview-with-victor-smolski-from-almanac/
http://themetalist.net/an-interview-with-victor-smolski-almanac/
https://buffalonews.com/news/the-buffalo-roots-of-beau-nasty/article_f07a06be-d0c8-5a64-a667-cd7b610f0dec.html
https://drummerszone.com/artists/mike-terrana/3357/profile/#biography
http://www.rocknreviews.net/Interview/Mike-Terrana/Interview.html
https://pearldrum.com/artist/andre-hilgers/13861
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3obg33kg5E

Celtic Frost Family Tree

April 05, 2021 by Joe Cearlock in Family Tree

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Hellhammer was a hugely influential underground extreme metal band who would have an enormous impact on death and black metal as well as other extreme influenced metal genres. I am unsure on how writing was done with the early members of the band. Apocalyptic Raids is the only release that names writing credits are noted as Tom G. Warrior and Tom / Martin Eric Ain.

Celtic Frost was formed out of the remnants of the underground Hellhammer with founder guitarist/vocalst Thomas Gabriel Fischer (Tom G. Warrior) along with bassist Martin Eric Ain. Celtic Frost and Hellhammer have had a huge impact on extreme metal genres. Tom G. Warrior has been the main music writer within the band and Martin has also had a big hand in the lyrics and occasional the music. The contribution of other members are noted below, but this list focuses on the influences named by Tom G. Warrior.

The Fathers of Metal. Tom said discovering them was life changing.

UFO was a an influential hard rock band. Tom named them as an influence.

Blue Oyster Cult are an American hard rock band. Along side Black Sabbath, Tom discovered BOC.

Goddo were a Canadian Hard Rock band. Tom is a fan.

Motorhead are hard rock / heavy metal legends being one of the most raw sounding bands of their time. Tom named them as an influence.

Angel Witch were an influential NWOBHM band. Tom named them as an influence.

Discharge were an influential hardcore punk band. Tom named them as an influence.

Venom are the fathers of extreme metal. Tom said the first two Venom albums were world changing and they were a huge influence on him.

Anvil was a Canadian heavy metal band. Tom said he loved their stuff.

Raven are a NWOBHM band. Tom named them as an influence.

Exciter was a traditional / speed metal band. Tom is big fan and said their first album changed their lives.

The NWOBHM is named as an influence but only the above named bands have been specifically named.

Tom when asked about the style change on Cold Lake, he stated “Nobody feels as much hatred for Cold Lake as I do”

Tom mentions Megadeth’s demo being an eye opener to them about the technicality they were pushing in North America. I’m not sure if that means it was an inspiration in any way. In the same interview he mentions looking up to Canadian bands Goddo, Triumph, Exciter, and Rush. To topic was on comparison of Canada and Switzerland. Out side of what is noted above he doesn’t specifically mention all these bands as influences.

Martin wrote a significant amount lyric wise and to a lesser extent music until Monotheist where he has writing credit on nearly every song. I’m unsure of his musical influences.

Lyrically the band named influences from H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Alister Crawley.

Film scores from movies like The Omen, and scores for Dario Argento films by the Italian prog rock band Goblin.

In a Rolling Stones article it is asserted that Tom’s influences include Tygers of Pan Tang, GBH, and Anti-Nowhere League. It is likely true, but there isn’t a direct quote given and I have not seen any other interviews that support the assertion.

Oliver Amberg appears on Cold Lake and co-wrote on many tracks. He said when he was a huge Kiss fan and Ace Frehley was a god to him. Later he got into Van Halen.

Curt Victor Bryant was on bass for Cold Lake and guitar/bass (shared bass duties with Martin) for Vanity/Nemesis and co-wrote on both albums. I’m unsure of his influences.

Stephen Priestly played on Morbid Tales but left the band because of musical differences. He said at the time he was more into Rainbow and Whitesnake. He came back and was on Cold Lake and Vanity/Nemesis. He has a few co-writing contributions.

Drummer Reed St. Mark played on several albums but is not giving writing credits except for a few bonus tracks that were later included.

Erol Uenala was on guitars on Monotheist. He co-wrote; I’m unsure of his influences.

Franco Sesa was the drummer and co wrote on Monotheist. I’m unsure of his influences.

Bands influenced by Hellhammer or Celtic Frost!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

Recognized by many as the fathers of Death Meta, Check was influenced by Hellhammer and Celtic Frost.

Classic Death Metal

Death/Doom and gothic pioneers, named Celtic Frost.

Death/Doom and Symphonic pioneers, They named both Hellhammer and Celtic Frost and are even named after a CF album.

Fathers of Groove, Phil is a huge fan of both Hellhammer and Celtic Frost

A death metal classic naming both Hellhammer and Celtic Frost

Taking Black metal in a progressive direction, they named Celtic Frost.

Gothic metal, influenced by Celtic Frost.

Sources:

https://www.kerrang.com/features/tom-g-warrior-we-played-radical-music-that-pushed-everybody-away-and-we-loved-that-fuck-them-all/#:~:text=Inspired%20by%20the%20energy%20of,have%20become%20cornerstones%20in%20metal.
https://www.loudersound.com/features/my-life-story-tom-g-warrior-of-celtic-frost
https://alarm-magazine.com/2010/qa-tom-warrior-of-celtic-frost-triptykon-and-hellhammer/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORl1y0FmS8Q&t=119s
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/tom-g-warrior-celtic-frost-hellhammer-interview-848041/
https://podtail.com/en/podcast/80-s-glam-metalcast/80-s-glam-metalcast-episode-39-oliver-amberg-ex-ce/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYAevTf9NrM

Venom Family Tree

September 15, 2020 by Joe Cearlock in Family Tree

Metal Family Tree

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Venom is a legendary band being hugely influential on thrash, death, and black metal. But who influenced them? At the heart of the band in the early years you have Cronos, Mantas, and Abaddom. There has been several line up changes but always with either Cronos or Mantas. For that reason their influences are the most important ones but I’ll touch on some of the other members who have contributed over the years as well.

The Rolling Stones were a important 60’s rock band with a lot of blues in their sound. Cronos named them as an influence.

One of the earliest rock bands that played a harder rock style, Cronos named The Who as an influence.

Deep Purple has been hugely influential for metal bands. Cronos named them as an influence and Abaddon named them as his favorite band.

The fathers of metal, Black Sabbath. Cronos, Mantas, and Abaddon named Sabbath an influence.

Kiss is known for their live shows and Venom for sure was influenced by their stage shows. Kiss was a band they have covered over the years. Cronos, Mantas, and Abaddon named them as an influence. Antton names both Peter Chris and Eric Carr as infl… — Kiss is known for their live shows and Venom for sure was influenced by their stage shows. Kiss was a band they have covered over the years. Cronos, Mantas, and Abaddon named them as an influence. Antton names both Peter Chris and Eric Carr as influences.

Judas Priest, the metal gods influenced tons of metal bands including Venom who adopted their studs and leather look. Cronos, Mantas, and Abaddon named them as an influence. In the early days they covered Priest. Abaddon name the one time drummer fr… — Judas Priest, the metal gods influenced tons of metal bands including Venom who adopted their studs and leather look. Cronos, Mantas, and Abaddon named them as an influence. In the early days they covered Priest. Abaddon name the one time drummer from *Sin After Sin,* Simon Phillips as his favorite drummer. Antton named Scott Travis as an influences.

The Tubes are considered more of a proto-punk band. They were listed as an influence by Cronos.

Motorhead, the legendary no frills heavy metal band had a big influence on Venom. Mantas stated that Venom’s goal was to combine the stage show of Kiss with the sound of Motorhead.

One of the biggest bands in Punk even though short lived, they had a big influence on not just punk but some metal bands such as Venom. Cronos named them as an influence.

AC/DC are the quintessential hard rock band. Demolition Man named them as an influence.

It’s hard to find guitar players who aren’t inspired by Eddie Van Halen. He’s easily one of the most influential guitar players. Van Halen’s influence can be heard on the album The Calm Before The Storm even if it’s not as obvious on their other alb… — It’s hard to find guitar players who aren’t inspired by Eddie Van Halen. He’s easily one of the most influential guitar players. Van Halen’s influence can be heard on the album *The Calm Before The Storm* even if it’s not as obvious on their other albums. Cronos named them as an influence. Antton named them as an early influence.

The Dickies were a punk rock band. Demolition man named them as an influence.

Pantera changed the music world when they released Cowbosy From Hell. Antton named Vinnie Paul as his biggest influence. — Pantera changed the music world when they released *Cowbosy From Hell*. Antton named Vinnie Paul as his biggest influence.

Cronos named Elvis as an influence because of the controversy around him.

Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan replaced Cronos from 1989-1995 and played on three albums.

Al Barns played guitar on Prime Evil and Temples of Ice, however I am uncertain what his influences are.

Antton played on three albums and co wrote (including riffs) in the 2000’s.

La Rage has been on guitar since 2007. Some of his influences include Slayer, Testament, and Archenemy. I’m uncertain on how much he as contributed to writing.

Mike “Mykvs” Hickney who played on The Calm Before the Storm and co-wrote on Metal Black. He named some of his influences as Jeff Beck, Allan Holdsworth, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Ace Frehley, Al Di Meola, Jean-Luc Ponty, Mike Bloomfield, Leslie West, John Sykes, Pantera

James Clare only has two co writing credits on The Calm Before the Storm.

As for newest drummer Dante I’m unsure if he has any writing credits or what his influences are.

Bands influenced by Venom!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

German Thrash and first wave black metal

FUCKIN’ SLAYER!!!!

Classic Death Metal

Moving Black Metal in a progressive direction.

Sources:

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/venom-frontman-talks-about-guitarist-change/
https://sabian.com/artist/antton-lant/
http://www.maximum-ink.com/2000/features/venom-12-00/
http://www.maximumink.com/index.php/articles/permalink/mpire_of_evil
https://medium.com/@JakamKourasanis/tony-demolition-man-dolan-venom-inc-interview-c362bdb613c3
https://st-news.com/issues/st-news-volume-10-issue-1/features/interviews/venom/an-interview-with-abaddon/
https://web.archive.org/web/20100110155313/http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/sunra/315/venominterviewrichards.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20100110155313/http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/sunra/315/venominterviewrichards.html
http://bravewords.com/news/venom-drummer-antton-lant-vinnie-paul-is-definitely-one-of-my-biggest-influences