At the time of their first recording, pioneering New Wave of British Heavy Metal group Samson consisted of guitarist Paul Samson, bassist Chris Aylmer, drummer Thunderstick (real name: Barry Graham; concealed his identity by wearing a rapist-style mask), and vocalist Bruce Bruce, better known as Bruce Dickinson. The group got most of its attention playing with Iron Maiden, but this backfired when Bruce Bruce left Samson to join them, adopting his real name. Thunderstick had also left the group at this point, and the band underwent several personnel turnovers over the course of the '80s, still managing to turn out some quality work.