The Rods are an American heavy metal band formed in 1980 by David "Rock" Feinstein (guitar, vocals), Steven Starmer (bass, vocals), and Carl Canedy (drums, vocals). After the first album Starmer was replaced by Garry Bordonaro. Feinstein had first come to mainstream attention after playing in Elf with his cousin Ronnie James Dio. The Rods' sound differed considerably from Elf, adopting a more traditional heavy metal sound compared with the blues rock sound that Elf preferred.