IN: Fightstar are a British rock band from London that formed in 2003. The band is composed of lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Charlie Simpson, guitarist and co-vocalist Alex Westaway, bassist Dan Haigh and drummer Omar Abidi. Generally considered a post-hardcore band, Fightstar are known to incorporate metal, alternative rock and other genres into their sound. During the band's early days, they were viewed sceptically by critics because of Simpson's former pop career with Busted.

On 24 September 2014, the band's website was updated to include a countdown timer accompanied by text reading "News ...". The timer ended on 13 October with the announcement of a ten-year anniversary show at the Forum in London. A statement from the band followed: "It has been 10 years since the inception of this band and we wanted to celebrate it with a bang. We want to thank you all for your love and support over the past ten years and we can't wait to commemorate this milestone with you guys." The concert sold out in minutes; due to demand a second concert was scheduled at O2 Academy Brixton for December, which was later postponed until February 2015. With news of the postponement came an announcement of additional dates in Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester. On 25 February, it was confirmed that the band would be third-stage headliners at the 2015 Download Festival. On 12 May 2015, Simpson posted on Instagram that Fightstar had returned to the studio to work on new material with producer Carl Bown and began using Twitter for updates on the progress of the album. On 22 July it was announced that the band would release Behind The Devil's Back on 16 October, with a string of UK dates promoting the album to follow. On 26 July the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show introduced "Animal", the band's first new song in five years which was released digitally on iTunes on 7 August. On 10 November 2015 Simpson reunited with Busted to record new music and tour, saying that Fightstar would continue to tour and release music as a "passion project" for its members.

Did they tour with anyone?

OUT:

IN: Pendulum is an Australian drum and bass and electronic rock band founded in 2002. Pendulum originally formed in the city of Perth, Western Australia by Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen, and Paul "El Hornet" Harding. The band was later expanded to include members, Ben Mount, Peredur ap Gwynedd, and KJ Sawka. Members Swire and McGrillen also formed the electro house duo Knife Party.

When Pendulum was formed, their musical style was considerably more drum and bass sounding than the work they were known for later in their career. Signature tunes such as "Masochist", "Vault", "Back 2 You" and "Voyager", which were released on labels such as Uprising Records, 31 Records, Renegade Hardware and Low Profile Records, have a darker, more amelodic air to them which is substantially absent from their later productions. The band's newer work is regarded as generally leaning heavily towards a mainstream, dance-driven sound. Early work such as "Another Planet" seems to indicate an early affinity with a more global sound, similar to other Breakbeat Kaos artists such as DJ Fresh and Adam F. The group has produced various remixes of other artists also; one of the best-known being the remix of "Voodoo People", originally by The Prodigy. In 2008-2010, they covered/remixed songs including Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", Linkin Park's "The Catalyst", Calvin Harris's "I'm Not Alone", Coldplay's "Violet Hill", and Metallica's "Master of Puppets". Pendulum's versions of "I'm Not Alone" and "Master Of Puppets" both exist as studio recordings but have not been officially released, and are only previewed during DJ sets. The original live version of "Master of Puppets" was played as an instrumental introduction for "Slam", and was featured on their first live album/DVD. During their American tour as the supporting band for Linkin Park, the song was played in its entirety, with Rob doing vocals. Pendulum have also remixed their own music and, on occasion, television theme songs, such as Australian television's "ABC News Theme" in May 2010. The remix proved to be immensely popular with listeners of Australian youth radio station Triple J, polling at number 11 in the 2010 Triple J Hottest 100 countdown. Pendulum's musical style consisted of a fusion of drum and bass (along with other electronic genres), alternative rock and heavy metal, with the inclusion of acoustic instruments. This creates a sound reminiscent of electronic rock, albeit with much more prominent drum and bass and, more recently, dubstep influences. Some songs, such as "Slam", "Propane Nightmares" and "Witchcraft" are synth-led, whilst others, such as "Showdown", "The Tempest" and "Comprachicos", are guitar-led. Bassist Gareth McGrillen stated in an interview on Channel 4 that they use 13 computers during the live performances, all of which are mixing the sounds produced by the instruments in real time. Rob Swire stated in issues of TJECK magazine and Rock Sound magazine that he would like to begin producing songs with a punk style to them, which Gareth clarified to mean "A raw, aggressive, less polished method of producing". Pendulum were known to be fans of progressive rock and progressive metal bands, which may have inspired them to fuse multiple genres of music together, which is standard practice in those genres.

Who else was in the band

OUT:

IN: Mario Lanza (born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza; January 31, 1921 - October 7, 1959) was an American tenor of Italian ancestry, and an actor and Hollywood film star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16. After appearing at the Hollywood Bowl in 1947, Lanza signed a seven-year film contract with Louis B. Mayer, the head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who saw his performance and was impressed by his singing.

Lanza was the first RCA Victor Red Seal artist to win a gold disc and the first artist to sell 2 1/2 million albums Lanza was referred to by some sources as the "new Caruso" after his "instant success" in Hollywood films, while MGM hoped he would become the movie studio's "singing Clark Gable" for his good looks and powerful voice. In 1994, outstanding tenor Jose Carreras paid tribute to Lanza during a worldwide concert tour, saying of him, "If I'm an opera singer, it's thanks to Mario Lanza." His equally outstanding colleague Placido Domingo echoed these comments in a 2009 CBS interview with, "Lanza's passion and the way his voice sounds are what made me sing opera. I actually owe my love for opera ... to a kid from Philadelphia." Even today "the magnitude of his contribution to popular music is still hotly debated," and because he appeared on the operatic stage only twice, many critics feel that he needed to have had more "operatic quality time" in major theaters before he could be considered a star of that art form. His films, especially The Great Caruso, influenced numerous future opera stars, including Joseph Calleja, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. According to opera historian Clyde McCants, "Of all the Hollywood singers who performed operatic music ... the one who made the greatest impact was Mario Lanza." Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper concluded that "there had never been anyone like Mario, and I doubt whether we shall ever see his like again".

Have others spoken highly of him?

OUT:
In 1994, outstanding tenor Jose Carreras paid tribute to Lanza during a worldwide concert tour, saying of him, "If I'm an opera singer, it's thanks to Mario Lanza.