Shihad are a four-piece band from New Zealand, comprising Jon Toogood (guitar/vocals), Tom Larkin (drums), Karl Kippenberger (bass) and Phil Knight (guitar). Their style is best described as "hard rock", although they were described as "metal" in their formative years.

Shihad were formed in 1988 in Wellington, New Zealand. They were briefly known between 2002-2004 as "Pacifier". During this time the band was attempting to break into the US market and it was decided that Shihad sounded too much like the arabic word 'jihad', thus the name change. Their major albums and EPs include:

Devolve (EP) - 1991
Churn - 1993
Killjoy - 1995
Shihad - 1996
Blue Light Disco (EP) - 1998
The General Electric - 1999
Pacifier - 2002 (as "Pacifier")
Live - 2003 (as "Pacifier")
Alive (EP) - 2004
Love is the New Hate - 2005
Beautiful Machine - 2008

In the course of their career, Shihad have toured with and supported rock acts such as Faith No More, Filter, Motorhead, Metallica, AC/DC, Ash, Silverchair and Fu Manchu, and have a reputation for their energetic and powerful live performances. Despite a huge following in New Zealand and Australia, they have never attained significant mainstream success outside of Australasia.

http://www.shihad.com/ - Shihad's official site.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shihad - Shihad's info on Wikipedia
http://shihadwiki.com/ - A Shihad Knowledge Base Wiki