Battle of the Bands 12

Rules are simple. Two bands (or any artist; doesn't necessarily have to be a band) battle it out. You vote for the better band. Winner stays on. Request bands (only one request at a time per person) and they'll go into the challenger list. Each battle will last three days (roughly). Once a band loses, it will be unable to re-challenge for 10 rounds.

Battle of the Bands Championship History
1. The Rolling Stones (BOTB 1-2)
2. Pink Floyd (BOTB 2-5)
3. Metallica (BOTB 5-8)
4. David Bowie (BOTB 8 - )

BATTLE OF THE BANDS 12

CURRENT CHAMPION
DAVID BOWIE
BOTB #8: defeated Metallica
BOTB #9: defeated Alice Cooper
BOTB #10: defeated Guns 'N Roses
BOTB #11: defeated Daft Punk

David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter and actor. He was a figure in popular music for over five decades, regarded by critics and musicians as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, his music and stagecraft significantly influencing popular music. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million worldwide, made him one of the world's best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded nine platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, releasing eleven number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and seven gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

Born in Brixton, South London, Bowie developed an interest in music as a child, eventually studying art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963. "Space Oddity" became his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart after its release in July 1969. After a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of his single "Starman" and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which won him widespread popularity. In 1975, Bowie's style shifted radically towards a sound he characterised as "plastic soul", initially alienating many of his UK devotees but garnering him his first major US crossover success with the number-one single "Fame" and the album Young Americans. In 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and released Station to Station. The following year, he further confounded musical expectations with the electronic-inflected album Low (1977), the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno that would come to be known as the "Berlin Trilogy". "Heroes" (1977) and Lodger (1979) followed; each album reached the UK top five and received lasting critical praise.

After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes", its parent album Scary Monsters and Super Creeps, and "Under Pressure", a 1981 collaboration with Queen. He then reached his commercial peak in 1983 with Let's Dance, with its title track topping both UK and US charts. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. He also continued acting; his roles included Major Celliers in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), the Goblin King Jareth in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television appearances and cameos. He stopped concert touring after 2004, and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with the release of The Next Day. He remained musically active until he died of liver cancer two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar (2016).

VERSUS

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

Rage Against the Machine (also known as RATM or simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of rapper and vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk. They draw inspiration from early heavy metal instrumentation, as well as hip hop acts such as Afrika Bambaataa, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys, and Dutch crossover band Urban Dance Squad. Rage Against the Machine is well known for the members' leftist and revolutionary political views, which are expressed in many of the band's songs. As of 2010, they had sold over 16 million records worldwide.

In 1992, the band released its self-titled debut album, which became a commercial and critical success, leading to a slot in the 1993 Lollapalooza festival. In 2003, the album was ranked number 368 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The band did not release a follow-up record until 1996, with Evil Empire. The band's third album, The Battle of Los Angeles, followed in 1999, and in 2003, the album was ranked number 426 on the same list. During their initial nine-year run, they became one of the most popular and influential bands in music history, according to music journalist Colin Devenish. They were also ranked No. 33 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. The band had a large influence on the nu metal genre which came to prominence during the second half of the 1990s.

In 2000, the band released the cover album Renegades. The same year, growing tensions over the direction of the band prompted de la Rocha to quit, leading to the band's breakup. De la Rocha started a low-key solo career, while the rest of the band formed the rock supergroup Audioslave with Chris Cornell, then-former frontman of Soundgarden; Audioslave recorded three albums before disbanding in 2007. The same year, Rage Against the Machine announced a reunion and performed together for the first time in seven years at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2007. Up until 2011, the band continued to perform at more live venues and festivals around the world. In 2016, Morello, Commerford and Wilk formed a new band, Prophets of Rage, with Chuck D and B-Real.

Challenger List,
Challenger (requester):
Johnny Cash (Rhys)
Gov't Mule (Surreal)
Pantera (Sery)

DON'T FORGET TO REQUEST A CHALLENGER.