Boulder

Serious devotees of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the Gibson Flying V, Cleveland natives Boulder first began playing together in 1992, when the bandmembers decided to quit their various underground hardcore bands and fully embrace their love of classic '70s hard rock and heavy metal. Boulder features singer/bassist Jamie Walters backed up by drummer Patrick Munn and flanked by the Thin Lizzy-esque twin guitar assault of Terrence Hachins and Mark Gibbs. Together, the foursome quickly made a name for itself on the Ohio club circuit with raucous stage shows and an unabashedly silly sense of humor. They released a number of mini-L.P.s and cassettes (boasting such classic hard-rockers as "Kick the Pregnant" and "Pepper Keenan Punches Like a Girl") before unleashing their first proper album, The Rage of It All, in 1999. Signing with Tee Pee records the following year, they maintained a busy recording schedule with 2000's Ravage and Savage and 2002's Reaped in Half (appropriately split into two acts/halves).