Guess the Band's Name Origin (2)

About This Quiz

What’s the deal?

We give you a random slice of real life (a movie, a street sign, your grandma’s favorite book—whatever).

Four band names pop up. Tap the one that actually borrowed it.

Wrong answers look legit, but they won’t bite.

Sources shuffle every round, so everyone gets a lane they know.

See what weird facts actually stick.

START QUIZ

1/20

Borrowed from the name of a human-sized torture device from medieval times?

[D] Iron Maiden | Medieval museums display these spike-lined coffins. Steve Harris thought torture devices made perfect heavy metal imagery for galloping bass lines.

2/20

Refers to William's schoolteacher calling him extremely idle?

[C] Billy Idol | Teacher called William Broad idle. He kept the insult, added punk sneer, making detention slip vocabulary into MTV platinum success.

3/20

Lifted from the title of a 1950 blues song by Muddy Waters?

[A] The Rolling Stones | Muddy Waters sang about rolling stones gathering no moss. British boys borrowed Chicago blues wisdom for eternal touring philosophy.

4/20

Marks the fact that the band formed on the 41st day of their summer break?

[B] Sum 41 | Ajax teenagers counted summer days forming their band. Math homework finally proved useful: day 41 equals pop-punk success formula.

5/20

Titled after a 1963 paperback investigating sexual paraphilias in the United States?

[C] The Velvet Underground | Michael Leigh's scandalous book explored hidden desires. Lou Reed found the title perfect for New York's artistic underbelly explorations.

6/20

Inspired by the words printed on a sewing machine the band member saw?

[B] AC/DC | Sister Margaret's sewing machine label sparked rock history. Alternating current meets direct current: simple electrical terminology became thunderous Australian rock identity.

7/20

Takes its name from a sex toy mentioned in William Burroughs' novel 'The Naked Lunch'?

[B] Steely Dan | Burroughs' fictional steam-powered dildo became sophisticated jazz rock. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker turned literary smut into Grammy-winning studio perfectionism.

8/20

Because the band's British guitarist felt like this in an American lineup?

[D] Foreigner | Mick Jones felt British alienation in American rock. Immigration anxiety became FM radio dominance through power ballad assimilation success.

9/20

Built from the surname of the frontman, whose given name is Jon?

[A] Bon Jovi | John Bongiovi shortened his surname for marquee appeal. Italian-American heritage became arena rock royalty through strategic vowel removal.

10/20

Created by fusing together the names of Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns?

[D] Guns n' Roses | Two struggling bands merged names and members. Axl's Hollywood Rose met Tracii's L.A. Guns, creating Sunset Strip's most dangerous chemistry.

11/20

Taken from the name of their PE teacher Mr. Skinner, who disciplined them over their long hair?

[D] Lynyrd Skynyrd | Leonard Skinner hated hippie hair, gave detentions. Students immortalized their tormentor through deliberate misspelling and Southern rock rebellion.

12/20

Inspired by a drawing in which Ed, the guitarist's younger brother, depicted brother Jim stuffing the Earth into his mouth?

[C] Jimmy Eat World | Tom Linton's crayon masterpiece depicted brother Jim consuming Earth. Childhood art became emo anthem inspiration through sibling rivalry.

13/20

Borrowed from the title of a 1963 Italian horror film featuring Boris Karloff?

[A] Black Sabbath | Boris Karloff's Italian horror film inspired Birmingham doom. Movie marquees met factory town blues, birthing heavy metal's darkest originators.

14/20

Takes its title from the German town that suffered a fatal airshow disaster in 1988?

[D] Rammstein | Ramstein airbase tragedy inspired deliberate misspelling. German industrial metal commemorates catastrophe through pyrotechnics, making memorial from military accident.

15/20

Taken directly from the Massachusetts town where the band is based?

[C] Boston | Tom Scholz's basement studio location became the brand. Geographic simplicity worked: MIT engineer made spaceship guitars sound like hometown pride.

16/20

Draws on a World War II Allied pilots' term for unexplained aerial phenomena?

[C] Foo Fighters | WWII pilots called mysterious lights "foo fighters." Dave Grohl resurrected military UFO slang for post-Nirvana rock redemption project.

17/20

Taken from a Grammy-winning Nino & April jazz tune that was the guitarist's grandmother's favourite?

[C] Deep Purple | Ritchie Blackmore's grandmother adored this jazz standard. Sweet memory became heavy metal thunder, proving grandmas inspire headbanging classics too.

18/20

Titled for a concept meaning ultimate inner calm and enlightenment?

[C] Nirvana | Buddhist enlightenment concept meets grunge angst. Kurt Cobain found irony naming chaos after ultimate peace, creating beautiful contradictions through distortion.

19/20

A punning twist on Buddy Holly's band the 'Crickets'?

[B] The Beatles | Crickets inspired beetles, but spelling got punny. John Lennon loved wordplay: insects became "beat" music, launching Liverpool lads into history.

20/20

Simply the family name of the Dutch-born drummerâ€“guitarist in this American group?

[A] Van Halen | Eddie and Alex's Dutch surname became American rock royalty. Immigration from Netherlands to Pasadena produced finger-tapping revolution history.