Battle of the Bands 20

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 (Won @ BOTB 1)
2. Pink Floyd (Won @ BOTB 2)
3. Metallica (Won @ BOTB 5)
4. David Bowie (Won @ BOTB 8)
5. Johnny Cash (Won @ BOTB 13)
6. The Smiths (Won @ BOTB 16)
7. Deep Purple (Won @ BOTB 18)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS 20

CURRENT CHAMPIONS
DEEP PURPLE
BOTB 18: defeated The Smiths
BOTB 19: defeated The Grateful Dead

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical approach changed over the years. Originally formed as a progressive rock band, the band shifted to a heavier sound in 1970. Deep Purple, together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, have been referred to as the "unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid-seventies". They were listed in the 1975 Guinness Book of World Records as "the globe's loudest band" for a 1972 concert at London's Rainbow Theatre, and have sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Deep Purple have had several line-up changes and an eight-year hiatus (1976–1984). The 1968–1976 line-ups are commonly labelled Mark I, II, III and IV. Their second and most commercially successful line-up featured Ian Gillan (vocals), Jon Lord (keyboards, backing vocals), Roger Glover (bass), Ian Paice (drums), and Ritchie Blackmore (guitar). This line-up was active from 1969 to 1973, and was revived from 1984 to 1989, and again from 1992 to 1993. The band achieved more modest success in the intervening periods between 1968 and 1969 with the line-up including Rod Evans (lead vocals) and Nick Simper (bass, backing vocals), between 1974 and 1976 (Tommy Bolin replacing Blackmore in 1975) with the line-up including David Coverdale (lead vocals) and Glenn Hughes (bass, vocals), and between 1989 and 1992 with the line-up including Joe Lynn Turner (vocals). The band's line-up (currently featuring Ian Gillan, and guitarist Steve Morse from 1994) has been much more stable in recent years, although keyboardist Jon Lord's retirement from the band in 2002 (being succeeded by Don Airey) left Ian Paice as the only original Deep Purple member still in the band.

Deep Purple were ranked number 22 on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock programme and a poll on British radio station Planet Rock ranked them 5th among the "most influential bands ever".The band received the Legend Award at the 2008 World Music Awards. Deep Purple were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.

VERSUS

BLUE ÖYSTER CULT

Blue Öyster Cult (often abbreviated BÖC) is an American rock band formed in Long Island, New York in 1967, whose most successful work includes the hard rock and heavy metal songs "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Godzilla" and "Burnin' for You". Blue Oyster Cult has sold over 24 million records worldwide, including 7 million records in the United States alone.[citation needed] The band's music videos, especially "Burnin' for You", received heavy rotation on MTV when the music television network premiered in 1981, cementing the band's contribution to the development and success of the music video in modern pop culture.

Blue Öyster Cult's longest lasting and most commercially successful lineup included Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals), Eric Bloom (lead vocals, "stun guitar"), Allen Lanier (keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, backing vocals) and Albert Bouchard (drums, percussion, backing vocals). The band's current lineup includes Roeser and Bloom, as well as Jules Radino (drums, percussion), Richie Castellano (keyboard, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), and Kasim Sulton (bass, backing vocals).

Because of their unique sound and diversity, Blue Öyster Cult has been influential to many modern bands that span many genres, and are often viewed as important pioneers of several different styles of rock music that came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s. Many heavy metal bands have cited them as a major influence, and bands such as Metallica and Iced Earth have covered their songs on studio recordings and during live performances. Blue Öyster Cult has also been an influence on many of the harder-edged, psychedelic bands in the modern jam band scene because of their intimate live shows and extended improvisations. In 2015, titles and lines from the band's songs provided structure and narrative for the third Robert Galbraith (pseudonym for J. K. Rowling) novel – Career of Evil (a Cormoran Strike novel).

Challenger List,
Challenger (requester):
Led Zepellin (Reamer)
Disturbed (Rhys)

DON'T FORGET TO REQUEST A CHALLENGER.