June is here and if you’re reading this, chances are you’re still hungover, bruised, and sunburnt from what may be the last Maryland Deathfest ever. Although I regretfully didn’t make the trek to extreme metal mecca, I’ll be getting the next best thing when Max and Igor Cavalera come through town this weekend to perform not one, but two Sepultura classics front to back: Beneath the Remains (1989) and Arise (1991). Originally, I was going to attempt a Top 10 Sepultura Songs list, but that got to be too troublesome. Perhaps I’ll revisit the idea in the future. Until then, I decided to put together a list that these groundbreaking siblings would also grace: Top 10 Heavy Metal Brothers. Who are the other 9 pairs? Read on and find out!
10. Anders and Jonas Björler (At the Gates, The Haunted)
Kicking off our list at #10 are the brothers Björler, Anders and Jonas, who got their start in Swedish melodic death metal godfathers At the Gates, playing guitars and bass respectively. The brothers were there from day one, playing and writing on the ripping The Red in the Sky is Ours (1992), all the way up to the groundbreaking Slaughter of the Soul (1995). Upon AtG’s 1996 breakup, they formed the more groove oriented The Haunted, achieving commercial success in their native Sweden, before reuniting with AtG once again in the late 2000s. Unfortunately, Anders left the band in 2017, as he was tired of largescale touring, but not before this lucky headbanger got to see them live. The band’s 2015 set at Chicago’s House of Blues remains an all time favorite of mine, behind only Autopsy’s 2020 Reggies show in terms of death metal.
At the Gates – “Slaughter of the Soul”
9. Brian and Eric Hoffman (Deicide)
In the early 90s, Deicide quickly gained a reputation as one of the fiercest bands in death metal. It wasn’t just for their sinister lyrics and outrageous imagery. Whether Glen Benton wants to admit it or not, a large part of this notoriety was the guitar duo of brothers Brian and Eric Hoffman. Together, the two riffed and soloed like two rabid hellhounds, taking the Kerry King/Jeff Hanneman formula and turning it up to 666. It seemed the unholy reign would never end, until the brothers acrimoniously split from the band in 2004. While subsequent releases have had their moment, Deicide haven’t been the same since. On the flip side of that coin, nor have the Hoffman brothers, who soldiered on by reviving the band’s old moniker, Amon. It sure would be cool to see them get together again for one more onslaught of an album, but I’m sure pigs will fly first.
Deicide – “Dead by Dawn”
8. John and Donald Tardy (Obituary)
Man there sure our a lot of death metal brothers out there. I guess as the old saying goes, the family that plays together stays together…right? Anyways, the story of the Tardy brothers dates nearly 40 years, all the way back in time to 1984. It was that year that vocalist John and drummer Donald would form a band named Executioner. After a 1985 demo, the band dropped the “E” in favor of the shorter and cooler sounding Xecutioner. And by 1988, three more demos and a split later, the band settled on a new name once and for all: Obituary. It was a name that suited them well, gracing a slew of albums that came to define death metal as a genre. Today, Obituary still tours relentlessly and never deviated from that old school death metal sound they helped innovate. If only all these stories had happy endings!
Obituary – “Find the Arise”
7. John and Mark Gallagher (Raven)
Raven: A band whose music is so charismatic, they needed two frontmen! Bassist and elder brother John may handle vocal duties, but guitarist and younger brother Mark is equally as energetic onstage and off. Together, the two brothers took the full tilt boogie of Status Quo, flipped it on its head, and revved it up to overdrive, paving the way for the 80s thrash metal revolution. After all, it was a little band named Metallica whose first trek on the road was opening for Raven. Although Raven never achieved the multiplatinum smashes, stadium sellouts, and mass appeal of Metallica, they also never pandered to any half-assed trends or fair weather fans. As far as I’m concerned, that’s an even greater accomplishment. Nearly 50 years since they first formed, Raven is still crashing, banging, and walloping today, unleashing utter chaos upon every club they play.
Raven – “Faster than the Speed of Light”
6. Michael and Rudolf Schenker (Scorpions)
The Schenker brothers saga begins in 1969, when Rudolf asked his kid brother Michael, then 14, to join his band, Scorpions. The younger Schenker quickly gained notoriety as a guitar prodigy, and not long after playing on the band’s debut album, Lonesome Crow (1972), was asked to join struggling English space rockers, UFO. As we know, the rest is history. UFO would be reinvented as a full blown metal juggernaut, while Scorpions would become pivotal in their own right, thanks to the six string heroics of Uli Jon Roth. Coincidentally, Schenker’s exit from UFO came not long after Roth’s departure from Scorpions. This resulted in the brothers being reunited again for one final hurrah, Lovedrive (1979). A creative 180 from their past output, Lovedrive saw Scorpions co-opting the powerful yet melodic and pop friendly tropes that Michael honed with UFO. Although Michael left Scorpions again to start his own namesake band, his contributions to the mega German outfit set them on the path to be global superstars.
Scorpions – “Lovedrive”
5. Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott (Pantera)
In a decade dominated by grunge and alternative rock, Pantera were the unlikeliest superstars of the 90s, but it didn’t happen overnight. It was the sheer determination and persistence of founding brothers Dimebag Darrell (guitars) and Vinnie Paul (drums). The band formed in 1981 and released a string of pedestrian glam metal albums on their own Metal Magic record label, but to no avail. Come 1988, the band introduced new singer Phil Anselmo and beefed up their sound, but it still wasn’t cutting it. Fast forward to 1990. After a decade of breaking their asses, Pantera scored a major label deal with Atco Records. Little did they know this deal would usher in a heavy metal revolution. Pantera combined their love of brutal thrash, earthshaking grooves, flashy musicianship, and arena rock hooks to create a sound that soon became synonymous. Many will argue “Exhorder did it first”. There is indeed a striking similarity. However, as far as I’m concerned, Exhorder lacked the aforementioned hooks, and never put it all together as cohesively as Pantera. Although both Dime and Vinnie are tragically no longer with us, their musical legacy lives on forever.
Pantera – “Domination”
4. Albert and Joe Bouchard (Blue Öyster Cult)
Although Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma have been proudly flying the hook and cross flag for 50 years, their success was not the result of their partnership alone. A key ingredient of the classic BÖC sound was yet another dynamic duo, who also happened to be brothers, Albert and Joe Bouchard. These two didn’t just hold down the rhythm for BÖC, playing drums and bass respectively, but wrote and sang on some of the finest songs in their catalog. From Albert, we got “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll”, “Career of Evil”, and “Sinful Love”. Meanwhile, Joe provided us “Hot Rails to Hell”, “Morning Final”, and the greatest BÖC song ever recorded (in my humble opinion), “Nosferatu”. Albert would exit the band in 1981, not long after the release of their mega selling Fire of Unknown Origin album. Joe stuck it out until 1986. Despite a brief rift in the 80s, the brothers have since settled their differences and continue to collaborate musically to this day.
Blue Öyster Cult – “Hot Rails to Hell”
3. Max and Igor Cavalera (Sepultura, Cavalera Conspiracy)
Quite frankly, I don’t care how long the current lineup of today’s so called “Sepultura” has been together. I don’t care that the band has been without a Cavalera brother for nearly as long as they were with one or both. At the end of the day, the Cavaleras were the heart (Igor) and soul (Max) of Sepultura. The band’s most groundbreaking work is reflective of the brothers’ creative evolution and ongoing quest to explore new musical territory (pun fully intended). In the span of roughly a decade, the band touched on barbaric black metal (1985’s Bestial Devastation and 1986’s Morbid Visions), pummeling death/thrash (1987’s Schizophrenia, 1989’s Beneath the Remains, and 1991’s Arise), moshy groove metal (1993’s Chaos A.D.), and eventually, tribal nu metal (1996’s Roots). Regardless of whatever my feelings of those last couple Cavalera era albums are (spoiler alert: I don’t hold them in the fondest regard), the fact of the matter is Sepultura have spent the last 25 years since putting out rehashes of one or the other, falling short time and time again. And while I was never a diehard Cavalera Conspiracy fan either, there’s no denying that the fire still burns within these extreme metal trailblazers.
Sepultura – “Beneath the Remains”
2. Angus and Malcolm Young (AC/DC)
When Angus and Malcolm Young formed AC/DC in 1973, they never could’ve imagined that their brand of “high voltage rock and roll”, initially intended for Australia’s roughest and rowdiest pubs, would catapult them to global superstardom, transcending hard rock and heavy metal entirely. Whether you prefer the whiskey fueled chaos of the Bon Scott years or the anthemic sheen of the Brian Johnson years, it was the brothers Young who held it down from the very beginning. The formula was simple: Malcolm would unleash a fierce, bluesy hook that’d live rent free in your head for days. Angus would rip all over it like the little devil he is. Sadly, a bout with dementia would lead to Malcolm’s retirement from the band, and eventual death. While it hasn’t been the same without him, Angus is keeping it in the family, soldiering on with cousin Steve who previously filled in for Malcolm in 1988.
AC/DC – “Riff Raff”
- Eddie and Alex Van Halen
Let’s be real here: You knew this was going to be the #1 spot before you even read this list. How could it not? When Van Halen exploded onto the scene in 1978, there was no other band like them. Their self titled debut sounded as if it came from the future. Needless to say, every 80s metal band, whether they played glam, thrash, power, or anything in between, owed a debt to these brothers. While Eddie’s over the top guitar playing tends to get all the limelight, let’s not also forget the powerful, yet intricate drumming of Alex. Clearly a disciple of Ian Paice and Bill Ward, Alex’s drum patterns could alternate between rapid aggression and jazzy precision, sometimes within a single song! I can’t think of a better example of this than on my favorite Van Halen song of all time. Crank it up LOUD!!!
Van Halen – “Light Up the Sky”
I was totally expecting Angus and Malcolm to be #1, totally forgot about Van Halen for a sec!