Alternative Metal Tidbits Trivia Quiz

Answer: Chicago

Disturbed are singer David Draiman - who, at one point, considered being a rabbi! - guitarist and keyboardist Dan Donegan, bassist John Moyer and drummer Mike Wengren. They formed in Chicago in 1994; Donegan, Wengren and original bassist Steve 'Fuzz' Kmak were originally in a band called Brawl, and when Brawl singer Erich Awalt left, they advertised for a new singer and Draiman joined. Donegan said later that he was impressed by Draiman's willingness to sing original songs; he was also the one who came up with the name Disturbed. Comedian Richard Cheese covered 'Down with the Sickness' in a lounge style for his 2003 album 'Tuxicity'.

Answer: Last Resort

'Last Resort' was Papa Roach's breakthrough single, released in 2000, although the album that spawned it, 'Infest', was their second (their debut album 'Old Friends from Young Years' had been released three years earlier). They got their name from singer Jacoby Shaddix (aka Coby Dick)'s step-grandfather, whose nickname was Papa Roach (his real name being Howard Roatch). Shaddix said that 'Last Resort' was inspired by a suicidal friend of his, who had to be hospitalised. Bassist Tobin Esperance wrote the melody for the song on the piano.

Other variants of the pie-related parody include 'this is my last dessert' and 'this is my plastic fork/spork'.

Answer: Alter Bridge

Alter Bridge were formed in 2004. Creed bassist Brian Marshall had originally left Creed in 2000 and he was reunited with guitarist Mark Tremonti and drummer Scott Phillips, along with new boy Myles Kennedy, in Alter Bridge after Creed went on hiatus in 2003 and officially split a year later. Tremonti and Phillips had fallen out with Stapp, in no small part due to his drinking and drug habits; a group of fans had filed a lawsuit against Creed in 2002, claiming that Stapp was too drunk and/or medicated to perform properly at a gig in Rosemont, Illinois. Tremonti had been working on material with a view to forming a new band, and he and the other members chose Kennedy as their vocalist because they were fans of his band The Mayfield Four. Although Creed did briefly reunite in 2012, Tremonti, Marshall and Phillips continued to play with Alter Bridge.

Answer: Team Sleep

Stone Sour were fronted by Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor and were more grunge-oriented (I saw them at Download 2006 and it was weird seeing Corey without his trademark dreadlocked potato sack mask on). The Murderdolls were the side project of the late Joey Jordison; while he played drums in Slipknot, he was the Murderdolls' backing vocalist and guitarist.

They were influenced by KISS and Alice Cooper. DJ Starscream is the jungle DJ alter ego of Slipknot DJ Sid Wilson; he has a following in Japan and is signed to a label there. (Team Sleep was the side project of Deftones frontman Chino Moreno.)

Answer: 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott

After Pantera split, Dimebag formed Damageplan, and was performing onstage with them at the Alrosa Villa club in Columbus, Ohio, when he was shot dead by Nathan Gale. Gale also killed Jeffrey 'Mayhem' Thompson, Damageplan's head of security, who tackled him; Erin Halk, an employee of the club; and Nathan Bray, a Damageplan fan who was trying to resuscitate Dimebag. Contrary to reports at the time, Gale did not shout, "This is for breaking up Pantera." Gale was shot dead by police officer James Niggemeyer, who had PTSD as a result of the incident.

William Grim wrote an article for the website Iconoclast in the wake of Dimebag's death, calling him "part of a generation that has confused sputum with art and involuntary reflex actions with emotion" and "an ignorant, barbaric, untalented possessor of a guitar". Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn, a friend of Dimebag, was disgusted by the article, which was titled 'Aesthetics of Hate: RIP Dimebag Abbott, and Good Riddance', and wrote the song 'Aesthetics of Hate' in response.

Answer: My Ruin

Frankly, I prefer My Ruin's version. Tairrie B was originally a rapper before branching out into heavy metal; she fronted Tura Satana, who then became Manhole, but it was with My Ruin that she hit the big time (although she did release a political rap album, 'Feminenergy', in 2020). 'Speak & Destroy' had a more industrial edge to it, with many spoken word tracks, although later albums from 'A Prayer Under Pressure of Violent Anguish' onwards had a more conventional metal sound.

They have also covered Black Flag's 'My War' and Nick Cave's 'Do You Love Me?' Oddly for an American band, they're bigger in my native UK than in their homeland.

Answer: The Deftones

Chi Cheng was the original bassist of the Deftones, and was also a spoken word artist and poet. In 2008, he was severely injured in a car crash and spent several years in hospital; although he regained consciousness after initially being in a coma, he was unable to move without help or speak.

The band set up a website, One Love for Chi, to raise money for his medical care. The Deftones were working on an album called 'Eros' at the time of Cheng's accident, which was subsequently shelved; instead, they made another album, 'Diamond Eyes', released in 2010. Touring bassist Sergio Vega, also of Quicksand, played bass on it in Cheng's absence.

In 2013, Cheng died of cardiac arrest. After Cheng's death, Vega permanently joined the band.

Answer: The Burning Red

'The Blood The Sweat The Tears', which is also my favourite Machine Head song, has a disco line and was the third single to be released from 'The Burning Red' in 2000. 'The Burning Red' was one of Machine Head's bestselling albums and is a departure from the style of the previous album, 'The More Things Change...'; for example, it was more influenced by rap ('From This Day' being a typical example), although singer Robb Flynn pointed out that there was 'only a minute-and-a-half' of rapping on the album. 'The Burning Red' also featured a cover of the Police's 'Message in a Bottle'.

Answer: A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle were the side project of Tool's Maynard James Keenan. He and guitarist and producer Billy Howerdel are the longest-running members of the band. 'Judith', the first single from APC's debut album 'Mer de Noms', is named after Keenan's late mother, who became disabled after a stroke, and is about Keenan questioning her faith.

There is actually a connection between APC and Zwan, the side project of the Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan; bassist and violinist Paz Lenchantin also played with Zwan, and Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha was also a member of APC (he was in the band when I saw them on tour in 2004). Jeordie 'Twiggy Ramirez' White, formerly of Marilyn Manson, also played with APC.

Answer: Spider One

Rob Zombie's real name is Rob Cummings, and Michael Cummings aka Spider One, his younger brother, is the founder and longest-running member of Powerman 5000, who formed in 1991. Spider One, like Rob Zombie, is a big horror fan and even came up with the idea for 'Death Valley', an MTV series about the Undead Task Force being formed in San Fernando to combat monsters. Like Rob Zombie, Powerman 5000 are an industrial metal band, and are also influenced by spoken word.

They also have a very large list of ex-members!