Onward

Onward was an American power metal band built around talented guitarist Toby Knapp -- a native of Sheridan, WY who first came to public attention in 1993, as a six-string shredder recording for the specialized Shrapnel label. But with the decline in popularity of flashy guitar heroes throughout the '90s, Knapp had no choice but to seek reinvention as a band player, surrounding himself with vocalist Michael Grant, bassist Randy LaFrance (soon replaced by Chris Payette), and drummer Jon Pereau in order to launch the symbolically named Onward. Signing with Century Media, the quartet issued its first two albums -- 2001's Evermoving and 2002's Reawaken -- in quick succession, but their melodic power metal style was as refined as it was predictable. Before too long, the group had been dropped and had broken up, but they did resurface long enough to produce a third independent album in 2007's The Neverending Sun, before disintegrating once again. Knapp moved to Montana and continues to perform on a local level, while singer Michael Grant went on to join respected retro-metal outfit Crescent Shield.