IN: King's X is an American rock band that combines progressive metal, funk and soul with vocal arrangements influenced by gospel, blues, and British Invasion rock groups. The band's lyrics are largely based on the members' struggles with religion and self-acceptance. King's X was ranked No. 83 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

The band was moved up to Megaforce's parent label Atlantic Records for the release of their fourth album, King's X, in early 1992. However, rising tensions with Taylor led the band to eschew the upbeat approach of previous albums and turn out a darker, more introspective effort. Unfortunately, despite critical praise, their new style did not translate well among the record-buying public, thus garnering fewer sales than Faith, Hope, Love. "Black Flag", the album's lone single, received only moderate airplay on MTV and radio. Not long after the release of King's X, the band parted ways with Taylor. The details of the split were not made public, but it was believed to be rather bitter. Taylor would admit in 1996 that his company Wilde Silas MusicWorks was growing and, as a result, he was no longer giving King's X, whom he considered "the top dogs," the attention they deserved. In the aftermath, King's X took over a year off to consider their collective future together. The band members followed other, non-musical pursuits; most notably, guitarist Ty Tabor took up semi-professional motocross motorcycle racing.  With grunge at the peak of its popularity, and Pearl Jam's bassist Jeff Ament declaring that "King's X invented grunge" (despite the group's trademark sound being very different from that of the commercially successful grunge acts), the band went looking for a new sound upon their return. They enlisted veteran producer Brendan O'Brien, who had recently produced albums for Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam. The resulting album, 1994's Dogman, showcased a much more muscular and heavy sound from the group, along with less abstract and spiritual lyrics. The record received a heavier promotional push from Atlantic including a compilation promotional CD entitled: Building Blox, as King's X enjoyed a successful tour, capped by an appearance at the Woodstock '94 festival in August. They also toured in support of such bands as the Scorpions, Pearl Jam, Motley Crue and Type O Negative, but despite a return to the Top 100 for the group, the album failed to sell as well as Atlantic had hoped, and the label's support for the group quickly faded.  The band's third release under Atlantic, 1996's Ear Candy, would also be their last for the label (not including a subsequent Best of King's X compilation). Although it sold to the band's sizeable core following, it lacked the relative mainstream success of previous efforts. The record was soon out of print, and it seemed that the group's chance for commercial success had come and gone.

What was something that happened in the Atlantic Era?

OUT: The band was moved up to Megaforce's parent label Atlantic Records for the release of their fourth album,


IN: Vincent Kennedy McMahon was born on August 24, 1945 in Pinehurst, North Carolina, the younger son of Victoria (Askew) and Vincent James McMahon. His father left the family when McMahon was still a baby and took his elder son Rod with him, therefore McMahon did not meet him until age twelve. McMahon's paternal grandfather was promoter Roderick James "Jess" McMahon, whose parents were Irish emigrants from County Galway. His paternal grandmother, Rose Davis, was also of Irish descent.

On February 21, 1980, McMahon officially founded Titan Sports, and the company's headquarters were established in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, using the now defunct Cape Cod Coliseum as a home base for the company. At the time of his purchase of the WWF, professional wrestling was a business run by regional promotions. The various promoters shared an understanding that they would not invade each other's territories, as this practice had gone on undeterred for decades; McMahon had a different vision of what the industry could become. In 1983, the WWF split from the National Wrestling Alliance a second time, after initially splitting from them in 1963 before rejoining them in 1971. The NWA was the governing body for all the regional territories across the country and as far away as Japan.  He began expanding the company nationally by promoting in areas outside of the company's Northeast U.S. stomping grounds and by signing talent from other companies, such as the American Wrestling Association (AWA). In 1984, he recruited Hulk Hogan to be the WWF's charismatic new megastar, and the two quickly drew the ire of industry peers as the promotion began traveling and broadcasting into rival territories. Nevertheless, McMahon (who still also fronted as the WWF's squeaky clean babyface announcer) created The Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection by incorporating pop music stars into wrestling storylines. As a result, the WWF was able to expand its fanbase into a national mainstream audience as the promotion was featured heavily on MTV programming. On March 31, 1985, he ran the first WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden, available on closed circuit television in various markets throughout the U.S.  During the late 1980s, McMahon shaped the WWF into a unique sports entertainment brand that reached out to family audiences while attracting fans who had never before paid attention to pro wrestling. By directing his storylines towards highly publicized supercards, McMahon capitalized on a fledgling revenue stream by promoting these events live on PPV television. In 1987, the WWF reportedly drew 93,173 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome (which was called the "biggest crowd in sports entertainment history") for WrestleMania III, which featured the main event of Hulk Hogan versus Andre the Giant.

is there anything interesting about the wrestling boom?

OUT:
In 1984, he recruited Hulk Hogan to be the WWF's charismatic new megastar,