As devoted headbangers of the 90s know, there are still plenty of heavy metal bands that continue to make albums and play shows (despite getting NO promotion from Mtv, radio, or record companies).

But c'mon...we have to admit that heavy metal has certainly had its share of flashes-in-the-pan.

This is a list I compiled of 26 Heavy Metal bands, A through Z, that had their 15 minutes of fame, then seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. Believe me- I could name more than 26, but I chose what I thought was the most fitting for each letter. A pattern I've noticed among many of these 26 bands is the following:

• Band had a debut album with a video or two
• Band had a second album that almost nobody bought nor heard much about
• Band seemingly dropped off the face of the earth

The List...

• Autograph
  Yep, "Turn Up The Radio", because Russia produced someone other than Gorky Park.
• Bang Tango
  "Saaamm-wunnnnn...A little someone just like you"
• Contraband
  The super-group that nobody liked!
• Danger Danger
  Who had had the songs "Naughty, Naughty" and "Bang, Bang". Remember, remember?
• E-Z-O
  ...because Loudness was not the only metal band from Asia! "You're a Million Miles Away" from a platinum album.
• Firehouse
  Oh if ever the was a band that this list was designed for...
• Grim Reaper
  Beavis: "Aauughh! Shut up!"
• Hurricane
  I say blah, blah, blah, blah, bye-bye
• Impelliteri
  Did I spell that right? By the way, the keyboard-on-a-guitar-strap always looked lame.
• Junkyard
  Now they DO have "All the Time In The World". But hey, "That's Life In Hollywood."
• Killer Dwarves
  Immortalized on a demin jacket in the movie "The Gate". It was hard trying to choose between them or Kingdom Come for the letter K. "We Stand Alone", but not in the record store's discount bin.
• Loudness
  Yes, I know they were an Asian band that began with the letter "L", you unoriginal racist bastard!
• Man-o-War
  "The Gods Made Heavy Metal And It's Never Gonna Die." Well, I just cited 13 exceptions, and I can show 13 more.
• Nitro
  OK, OK! You're a fast guitarist! Enough already! And that singer with the hair and that scream...I thought he just got electrocuted. "Auugghhh! Frieght Train Running!"
• Odin
  Boy, there is one pissed Norse god out there...
• Precious Metal
  And we wonder why an aerosol-rotted hole in the ozone layer was discovered in the 80s.
• Quartz
  It was either that or Quiet Riot for "Q".
• Roxy Blue
  "Want Some?" ...what? Old Van Halen sound-alikes?
• Sleeze Beeze
  Puh-leeze. "Screwed, Blued, and Tattooed" and probably unemployed.
• Trixter
  I'm not even going to touch this one.
• Ugly Kid Joe
  "And I, Hate Everything..." about this band.
• Vixen
  "I've Been Living On The Edge Of A Broken Heart", and living on aquanet hairspray too.
• Wrathchild America
  Was it just me, or when one of their videos was on Headbanger's ball, did you go "Well, I think I'll go leave to take a piss now."
• XYZ
  Thinking of a band for the letter X was certainly no problem. "Innnnn-siiiide-Ouuuut."
• Y & T
  Over & Out. And speaking of Summertime Girls...
• Zebra
  "Wait Until The Summer's Gone..." and these 26 bands gone, too.

"Ha ha ha, oh how I hate the 80s. My Alternative, Grunge, and Techno CD collection is so cool..."

Be forewarned that in about 5 years (maybe less), somebody may very well start a page of "Short-lived 90s bands" that will include some of your once-favorite bands.

Notice that the 3-step pattern I outlined is already becoming true for many 90's bands? If you don't believe me, then could you please tell me when the new EMF single is coming out? What's the latest on The Presidents of the USA, Bush, and Dinosaur Jr.? Have you seen any new videos from Cake, Stone Roses, Prodigy, or Sublime? When does the next Spin Doctors tour start? I rest my case. Every genre of music will have their share of short-lived bands. This was just a list for heavy metal.