Cacophony was an American heavy metal band formed in 1986 by guitarists

Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist of thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until 1989, as well ...

and

Jason Becker Jason Eli Becker (born July 22, 1969) is an American composer and former guitarist. At the age of 16, he became part of the Shrapnel Records-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman, and they released two albums, '' Speed Metal Sy ...

, and signed to

Shrapnel Records Shrapnel Records is an American record label group founded by record producer Mike Varney. The group principally uses the ''Shrapnel Records'' record label, a guitar-oriented label which features shred guitar, hard rock, metal and progressive ...

. They released two studio albums and remained active until 1989, after which both guitarists forged their own solo careers and joined other bands.

History

The two albums released by Cacophony, '' Speed Metal Symphony'' (1987) and ''

Go Off! ''Go Off!'' is the second and final studio album by heavy metal band Cacophony, released in 1988 through Shrapnel Records. About two years after the album's release, guitarist Jason Becker was diagnosed with ALS, which eventually led to his ...

'' (1988), were showpieces of the kind of highly technical playing typical of the 1980s shred era, with songs featuring fast

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

melodic A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term c ...

solos, exotic neoclassical

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

and dual guitar harmonizations. Several of the tracks were entirely

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

, which prominently demonstrated Friedman and Becker's renowned technical skills. In a 2009 article by ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original a ...

'' magazine, ''Speed Metal Symphony'' was ranked ninth in a list of all-time top ten shred albums.''Guitar World'' Staff (2009-07-09)
"Top 10 Shred Albums of All Time"
''

''.

Future US Future US, Inc. (formerly known as Imagine Media and The Future Network USA) is an American mass media, media company, corporation specializing in targeted advertising, targeted magazines and websites in the video games, music, and technology ...

. Archived fro
the original
on 2011-05-28. Retrieved 2015-08-03. Both Friedman and Becker released their own solo albums—''

Dragon's Kiss ''Dragon's Kiss'' is the first studio album by the American heavy metal guitarist Marty Friedman, released on August 8, 1988, through Shrapnel Records (United States) and Roadrunner Records (Europe). The album was reissued on CD in 1991. Critic ...

'' and '' Perpetual Burn'', respectively—in 1988, before the release of ''Go Off!'' Friedman later joined the

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

in 1990, remaining with them for nine years as well as releasing several more solo albums, while Becker enjoyed a short stint in

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...

's solo band from 1989 to 1991. Becker's time with Roth was abruptly cut short due to an onset of

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...

, a degenerative disease that rendered him completely unable to play and, soon afterwards, move or speak.

Band members

*Peter Marrino –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

*Dan Bryant – vocals (last tour only) *

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

– guitar *Atma Anur –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Deen Castronovo Deen Joseph Castronovo (born August 17, 1964) is an American drummer and singer best known for being a member of classic rock band Journey and hard rock acts Bad English and Hardline. He currently plays drums and sings for the bands Journey, ...

– drums *Kenny Stavropoulos – drums (live only) *Jimmy O'Shea –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, backing vocals *Craig Swain – bass, backing vocals (live only)

Discography

*1987: '' Speed Metal Symphony'' *1988: ''

References

External links

Shrapnel Records official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cacophony Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1989 Heavy metal musical groups from California 1986 establishments in California Shrapnel Records artists