Order of Nine

Order of Nine emerged in the twenty-first century as a heavy metal outfit based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, drawing its sound from the neglected proto-power metal acts of earlier decades—Jag Panzer, Helstar, Omen, and early Queensrÿche among them—that 1980s thrash and pop metal had relegated to obscure pages and brief notices inside Hit Parader. Vocalist Michael DeGrena launched the group in 2001 and remains its sole unchanging participant, guiding it through a comparable stretch of limited recognition across three studio albums: Of Once and Future Kings in 2002, Season of Reign in 2003, and A Means to Know End in 2008. The band persists regardless, its present roster featuring former Icarus Witch guitarist Steve Pollick alongside guitarist and keyboardist Scott Haggerty, bassist Mark Howard, and drummer J.R. Jameson.