Black Sabbath
Ozzy may have sang the words but everyone knows that Tony Iommi is the real “Iron Man.” The man with no finger tips and the god sized riffs has been the singular force behind the Black Sabbath ship for going on fifty years now. Through all the fights, financial squabbles, drug induced mayhem and rockstar debauchery the 1970’s and 80’s brought forth, Iommi has remained unwavering in his dedication to Sabbath. The band has filtered through something like six singers, five drummers and just as many bassists on studio albums spanning five decades. Some of these dudes are people you might be familiar with [Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillian, Vinny Appice, Eric Singer to name a few]. That’s not counting all the session musicians and temporary touring members associated with the band [like Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine and Mike Bordin of Faith No More], and through it all there’s been Iommi. He even formed a successful Sabbath off-shoot in 2006 with the band’s second most popular lineup from the Dio era, Heaven & Hell.
Exodus
Gary Holt has run Exodus like a finely tuned thrash metal machine for decades. He wasn’t a founding member of the band however. All the original members [including Metallica’s Kirk Hammett] booked it a long time ago. Including drummer Tom Hunting, who has left and rejoined the band on two separate occasions. Hunting was replaced first by John Tempesta, then Paul Bostaph respectively. Speaking of returning, Exodus’ fantastic new 2014 album Blood In, Blood Out, marks the return of their third vocalist, the iconic Steve “Zetro” Souza…for the third time. Zetro had initially took over for Exodus’ second frontman, Paul Baloff, first in 1986 and again in 2002 after his untimely passing. Zetro’s sudden departure in 2004 allowed for newcomer Rob Dukes to front the band for the next decade until Mr. Souza’s return earlier this year. Singer and drummer swaps notwithstanding, Exodus has also replaced a guitarist and bass player here and there over the years as well.
The Faceless
By now, the name “The Faceless,” is actually a pretty egregious misnomer. The band has a face, it’s Michael Keene’s. He’s the premier song writer, de facto leader and literally the only person left. Most would agree that the band’s Planetary Duality roster was their strongest, most well-known and the most stable of the band’s career. But as some Los Angeles natives will attest to, The Faceless have always had a revolving door lineup, cycling through several different singers in their early days and further evidenced by the three different drummers that recorded their debut album, Akeldama. It wasn’t long after the release of their breakthrough album that the musical chairs process started up again. By the time their 2012 album Autotheism dropped, everyone from the Planetary lineup was gone save for drummer Lyle Cooper, who would bolt shortly after, and Keene himself. Recent frontman Geoff Ficco announced his departure last December, not long after everyone else had shipped out. Going into 2015, it’s the Michael Keene show once again.
