The Rods are an American heavy metal band formed in 1980 by David "Rock" Feinstein (guitar, vocals) orn in 1947 Steven Starmer (bass, vocals), and Carl Canedy (drums, vocals). After the first album Starmer was replaced by Garry Bordonaro. Feinstein had first come to mainstream attention after playing in

Elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

with his cousin

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and H ...

. The Rods' sound differed considerably from Elf, adopting a more traditional heavy metal sound compared with the blues-rock sound that Elf preferred. Their first album was originally released independently as ''Rock Hard'' in 1980 and the following year the band was signed by

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

, who reordered the album tracks and released it simply titled ''The Rods''. Their second album ''Wild Dogs'' followed in 1982 and was re-released in 2004. The Rods' third album, released 1983, was entitled ''In the Raw''. In 1984 Canedy and Bordonaro played on

Jack Starr Jack Starr (born 1951) is an American heavy metal and blues guitarist and songwriter, born of a French mother and American father. Biography He learned to play guitar by ear, copying the riffs of R&B records. His first semi-professional ban ...

's album '' Out of the Darkness'' with

Rhett Forrester Rhett Forrester (September 22, 1956 – January 22, 1994) was an American musician best known as the lead singer for New York-based band Riot from 1981 until 1984. Biography Forrester was born on September 22, 1956, in Tucker, Georgia. His m ...

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and

Gary Driscoll John Gary Driscoll (18 April 1946 – 8 June 1987) was an American R&B-style rock drummer who performed in a number of successful bands from the 1960s until his unsolved death by murder on June 10, 1987. He first entered the music scene when ...

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. Then in 1984 the Rods released their fourth studio album ''Let Them Eat Metal'' and recorded the album ''The Rods Live''. Their album ''Heavier Than Thou'' was originally released in 1986. An album was also released the same year, entitled ''Hollywood'' under the name Canedy, Feinstein, Bordonaro & Caudle (all of the band members). Rick Caudle handled lead vocals on that album, with Feinstein only playing guitar. Following poor sales of their final two albums the group split up. Canedy is also a producer of heavy metal bands, and his credits include

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

's '' Armed and Dangerous'' and ''

Spreading the Disease ''Spreading the Disease'' is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Anthrax, released on October 30, 1985 by Megaforce Records and Island Records. It was the band's first album to feature vocalist Joey Belladonna and bassist Fr ...

'', Exciter's ''

Violence & Force ''Violence & Force'' is the second studio album by the Canadian speed metal band Exciter, released through Megaforce Records in February 1984. The album was produced by The Rods drummer Carl Canedy, who had already produced Anthrax's debut alb ...

'', Overkill's '' Feel the Fire'',

Possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...

's '' Beyond the Gates'' and Roxx Gang's ''Love 'Em and Leave 'Em''. In 2008 the Rods announced that they were reuniting with the line-up of Feinstein, Bordonaro and Canedy, and in August 2008 they played at the Metal Rock Fest in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

, Norway. The album ''Vengeance'' was released in 2011 to positive reviews, and ''The Brotherhood of Metal'' was released in 2019.

Discography

*''Rock Hard'' (1980), reissued as ''The Rods'' (1981) *''Full Throttle'' (EP) (1981) *''Wild Dogs'' (1982) *''In the Raw'' (1983) *''The Rods (Live)'' (1983) *''Let Them Eat Metal'' (1984) *''Hollywood'' (1986, reissued in 2015) – released under the name Canedy, Feinstein, Bordonaro & Caudle *''Heavier Than Thou'' (1986) *''Vengeance'' (2011) *''Brotherhood of Metal'' (2019)

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rods, The Heavy metal musical groups from New York (state)