Since its emergence in the 1950s, rock music has expanded to multiple subgenres like alternative rock, punk rock, and heavy metal. The last two even had subgenres of their own.

If you have listened to pretty much every rock music available, these five facts about selected bands and artists will hopefully make you appreciate them and their songs even more.

Fact #1: Three members of Roxy Music went to art school.

Roxy Music’s avant-garde image can be attributed to the members having attended art colleges in the UK. Because of their fondness for mixing genes, the “not-pop, not-rock” group pushed boundaries and inspired future punks before punk was even a thing.

The band broke up in 1983 but performed together (without synthesizer Brian Eno) in 2001 for their 30th anniversary, in 2011 for their 40th, and in 2019 when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Fact #2: Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes and Mandy Moore found love online.

No matter how hard the music you rock to, punks and metalheads are still softies who’d want to find love or at least some action. The best hookup sites of the UK will show you a lot of hot gals and guys in your area who are also looking for a casual fling. It’s really a good chance to meet celebrities because online dating gives more freedom than meeting in real life. But still you have to check if it’s an official account or just a copy created by music fans.

Even famous musicians have had relationships that started online. Taylor Goldsmith, from the folk-rock band Dawes, started dating Mandy Moore. She posted a photo of the band’s album on her Instagram. Taylor saw the post and messaged her, and then they started emailing each other. They have been married since 2018 and have a baby together.

Fact #3: Researchers used AC/DC’s music to help fight cancer.

A silver lining for metalheads fighting cancer: the University of South Australia discovered that playing AC/DC’s Thunderstruck on a loudspeaker while a cancer patient was undergoing chemo effectively improves the treatment’s efficiency.

This wasn’t the first time the band was indirectly involved in health research, though. Over the years, studies have shown that fans who listen to heavy metal don’t experience negative psychological effects at all. In fact, listening to your favorite music, even if it’s thrash metal, will make you feel cathartic and can help boost your mental health.

Fact #4: Tool’s first demo, 72826 was released in 1991 on a cassette tape.

In 1991, Tool released their first demo called 72826 on a cassette tape. Back then, only 1,500 units were available and sold through the mail for US$ 5.

Although they’re not the most prolific metal band and only released an album every few years or so, they still have one of the biggest fanbases in the genre. They had their big break after touring with Lollapalooza in 1993 and released their debut album, Undertow.

Fact #5: Thy Art Is Murder’s early songs cover misogynistic subjects.

The Australian death-metal band, Thy Art Is Murder, has become an essential part of every metalhead’s playlist. Their album, Human Target, consists of songs with themes that will make you think. The tracks also showed the band’s improved technical proficiency, songwriting, and sound.

But before they became popular outside of their homeland, the band’s first EP had songs considered to be misogynistic.

Even though their early songs are still popular among their long-time fans, frontman CJ McMahon has rejected requests to play them at their gigs. They also addressed this issue in one of the Human Target tracks called Atonement. In this song, they explored themes of sexual violence in “the shoes of a woman that’s had to overcome [it]”.

Time to give these bands another listen

Your favorite musicians are more than their songs. Hopefully, these facts help you discover another angle to their music.

If you’d like to listen to a different record with death metal and grindcore elements, check out Pray U Prey’s second LP, The Omega Kill.