~ The German Hard RocK and Heavy Metal Guide ~
History forged in Steel 1978-1993
Yeah I hear what you're saying - Even attempting such a vast project as a "complete" German HR/HM Encyclopedia seem about as futile as ...making a US one? Bah! Long-time Metal collector and Corroseum forum member Prowler spits in the face of Impossible and hereby delivers unto the Metal world the first encyclopedia of the Largest-Yet-Least-Collected Metal-country in the world!
The main idea for this database was born a couple of years ago, when I had found out that in most of the cases, the style descriptions of many German underground bands was completely wrong or there wasn't any info available at all, because the items/bands were too obscure, or that noone had ever heard about them before. The first impulse was to print a book, but that idea was quickly abandoned as while adding known bands to this database, even more, completely unknown releases of even more obscure acts were found.
We also wanted to focus on any kind of heavy music/band that had ever been around from 1978-1993, so that's why we stopped adding releases to the discographys that was released after 1993 in case you might wonder. This database tries to cover every kind of Heavy Kraut Rock/AOR/Melodic Rock/Hard Rock/Crossover and Metal bands of all genres, that were active during that mentioned time range, no matter if these bands ever recorded anything. We are also aware that the list isn't nearly complete, meaning we are open for any kind of suggestions, corrections and help by adding more obscure bands. Especially the local acts are of huge interest, so we might have a short survey of that city/area's underground scene. We know that especially in the Kraut Rock scene there are tons of bands/albums that would most probably meet our requirements, but unfortunately most of these albums are so insanely expensive and rare, that it's impossible to buy all of them just to check out if they might include any possible Hard Rock riffs. We are open for your suggestions, don't worry, your name will be mentioned in the article. To get the site started, we first added the bands with vinyl/CD appearances, while the Demo bands will be added piece by piece in the future as well.
Last but surely not least, a BIG THANK YOU to Dan Edman who made all this possible, by granting me space and technical help. Without his heads up I'd most probably still be dreaming of something like this project.
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(*=useful for searching town of origin, related or comparable bands etc..)
LIST ALL GDR BANDS!
There are currently 2827 bands in the database.
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(last updated 2023-11-15 22:12:01)Waving Tan
Lineup:
Thomas Engel
Band-info:
Despite the quite Metal fooling artwork, this unknown trio called Waving Tan, prefered a rather melodic sort of Hard Rock, though really straight forward rocking, with AOR-ish hints. Guess the keyboards hindered these guys to enter Metal territory in the end. Despite those, these fashion interested (the single was sponsored by a fashion boutique) rockheads sounded quite convincing after all. Both songs, especially the heavier “The bill", know to attract fans of the melodic faction! No additional info could sadly be found on the 7" at all.Discography:
”Condemned to die/The bill" 7” EP 1984 (selfreleased)
Remedy (Frankfurt)
Lineup:
Klaus Texter (vocals)
Klaus Eggert (guitar)
H. Eggert (guitar)
Bips (bass)
N. Huybreghs (drums)
Band-info:
Frankfurt/Main-Remedy described themselves as "dirty Hard'n'Roll" and an old review tells of a very Rose Tattoo/AC-DC influenced sound. The fivepiece was formed late 1983 and active in the live scene since already summer 1984, prior to the first Demo recorded in 1984. For a short period the band was already buried, but early '88 they tried it once again and subsequently recorded their second Demo tape. Afterwards their vocalist sadly gave up. If you have more info, please get in contact.Discography:
"Dirty Hard Rock'n'Roll" Demo 1988 (selfreleased)
Surgery
Lineup:
Oliver Naegler
Band-info:
A young (average age 16) Metal band from Bensheim, south Hessen that was actively playing gigs during 1988. Some rehearsals were made and circulated and reviews have described them as 'a kind of progressive Speed Metal', but no studio recordings are known. Last lifesign was them advertising for a rhythm guitarist, so it might have been a short-time affair. On the other hand, Oliver Naegler did turn up in Bensheim progressive thrashers Access Denied who released a mini-CD in 1999, so it's entirely possible this was an early incarnation of this band. If you have more info, please get in touch.Discography:
Jealousy
Lineup:
Uwe Ertelt (vocals)
Band-info:
A Hard 'n' Heavy band from Dortmund, that started early '87. Since ex-Chronos Uwe Ertelt was on vocals, we guess this band would later become Pride, using the name Starlight for a short while inbetween. If you got more info, please get in touch.Discography:
Starlight
Lineup:
Uwe Ertelt (vocals)
Band-info:
Starlight was a project from Dortmund featuring ex-Chronos/later Pride vocalist Uwe Ertelt. It's possible this was just a shortlived, intermediate name of the band between a previous "Jealousy"-monicker and the later Pride-incarnation. An almost-full line-up did exist in 1988 though, judging by a drummer wanted-add we've come across. Influences mentioned were Mötley Crüe, Dokken and Great White. More info is needed.Discography:
Crusch Alba
Lineup:
Christian Ebert
Band-info:
A Heavy Metal band from Bergen, Bavaria, formed in 1986 or '87. A 50-minute (!) demo was released in 1988, though it doesn't seem to have been circulated much. The only review we've found describes them as primitive but pretty good, no-frills HM, though perhaps a bit low-budget and repetitive. If you have more info, please get in contact.Discography:
Demo 1988 (selfreleased)
Metal Force
Lineup:
Axel Eltermann
Band-info:
A traditional Heavy Metal band from Mannheim (i.e. not to be confused with their Kiel namesakes) who we only know for releasing a quite good 4-song demo in 1988, "Lord Nightmare" supposedly being the stand-out track. If you have more info, please get in contact.Discography:
Demo 1988 (selfreleased)
Mercenary
Lineup:
Thomas Mann (vocals)
Frank Mellmann (guitar)
Matthias Wiese (guitar)
Claas Rüscher (bass)
Thomas Schröder (drums)
Band-info:
Mercenary was a teenager Thrash band from Nienburg that was founded in December 1986, and released a 4 track Demo tape in late 1987, recorded on an 8-track in their rehearsal room. If you got more info, please get in touch.Discography:
"Demo 1987" (selfreleased)
Votum
Lineup:
Michael Friese (vocals)
Rainer Meyer (bass)
Jean-Paul Kieffer (drums)
Jürgen Meyer (guitars)
Pascal Kieffer (guitars)
Band-info:
Votum was founded in Friedrichstal in summer 1984 Rainer Meyer (bass), Jean-Paul Kieffer (drums), Jürgen Meyer (guitars), Pascal Kieffer (guitars) who started rehearsing and playing instrumentals till in March '86 Michael Friese joined as vocalist. Their first demo was recorded in May 1987. They had a huge pensum of live shows before they recorded the second Demo in July 1988. Basically the band was acting very solid, playing their kinda own style of european Thrash, fast with a few breaks. The usual stuff what you expect if you think of Thrash. The definitely didn't had to hide behind other german bands of that period. The one who caused problems that I can't really get warm with their material is their vocalist. He sometimes sounds like he in places is singing the wrong song. His voice either wasn't that "unique", he's truly the weak point in the band. Nevertheless both tapes are quite listenable.Discography:
"Alcatraz" Demo 1987 (selfreleased)
"The Escalation" Demo 1988 (selfreleased)
Straightline
Lineup:
Andreas Vogel (guitar)
Thorsten Vollhardt (drums)
Andre Scharer (vocals)
Voller W (guitar)
Peter Daum (bass)
Band-info:
A young 5-piece from Riedstadt, Hessen, formed in 1985. The reviews of their 4-song 1987 demo tells of straight-up melodic Heavy Metal with a Scandinavian touch, though yet a bit underdeveloped. Andreas and Thorsten continued with the HM/Power-band Under Siege in the mid 90's, which later turned into Legal Hate in the 00's. More info is needed.Discography:
"Serpent's Kiss" Demo 1987 (selfreleased)
Chelsea
Lineup:
Dirk van Offern (vocals)
Michael Böing (guitar)
Jörg Landsdorfer (keyboard)
Band-info:
A local Hard Rock band from Duisburg, that already recorded a highly appreciated Demo tape (4 trax) back in 1987 and participated on an international band contest the same year. According to certain info, Chelsea's sound was similar to well known US commercial Hard Rock bands like Bon Jovi, while their vocalist strongly reminds of Dio and Gary Barden. The guys returned 3 years later as trio - Dirk van Offern (vocals), Michael Böing (guitar), Jörg Landsdorfer (keyboard) – and recorded their debut LP during early 1990 with session musicians, announced to be available in summer. The same time 4 of the preproduced album trax was spread as a Demo, that either was highly praised by national magazinen, yet the LP never saw the light of day at all. If you got more info, please get in touch.Discography:
Demo 1987 (selfreleased)
Necromancy
Lineup:
Thomas Claußnitzer
Stephan Arndt
Band-info:
A Thrash band "..with melodic guitarwork" from Ahrensburg, Hamburg area, who released a 70 min Live Demo "Metalstorm over Lübeck" in 1986. The guys were previously active as Regardless since 1981 and changed name to Anesthesia during early 1988. If you have more info please get in touch.Discography:
"Metalstorm over Lübeck" Demo 1986 (selfreleased)
Bernie Anthony
Lineup:
B. Achtelik (guitar, bass, keyboard, drum programming)
Vic Bryson (bass)
Michael Kostak (drums)
Band-info:
A solo project from Viernheim, near Mannheim, done by a young local musician, formerly a member of the Mannheim based Metal rockers Blast, who produced and recorded all instruments on his 4 track Demo "Rockin' just for you" all by himself in 1987. For the vocal parts he borrowed Steve Lydakis of fellow Mannheim Heavyrockers Aidean. The Demo achieved top reviews in the underground press, and surprised with a powerful production and guitar dominated commercially influenced melodic Hard Rock/Metal songs somewhere in the fairway of bands like Dokken. After the release of the demo he was able to add bassist Vic Bryson and drummer Michael Kostak (previously in Heidelberg HM act Highway Call, later in Bloodstone) to the line-up, but this constellation didn't last very long and isn't known to have resulted in any recordings. Bernie Anthony afterwards moved to L.A. and teamed up with swedish musician Björn Erik Melander (ex-Gotham City, Mogg) and formed the duo Anthony & Melander (Demo "Emergency holiday" 1988) while in 1990 they recorded another selftitled Demo as Hungry Heart with additional musicians.Discography:
"Rockin' just for you" Demo 1987 (selfreleased)
Rax
Lineup:
Jörg Wesenberg (vocals)
Dirk Martens (guitar)
Erik Brinkmeier (guitar)
Claus Prochnow (bass)
Bent Borwitzky (drums)
Band-info:
A melodic Heavy Metal band from Hamburg, which was active since the beginning of 1985. Their first demo "Dressed In Rags" was released in October 1986, a 35 min full-lenght affair of well-produced and melodic yet not too commercial HM. Peter Pickhard was then replaced by Claus Prochnow on bass and Stephan Rose by Bent Borwitzky on drums. The "Distant call" demo from June '88 received quite positive reviews with comparisons to either Rainbow of the Joe Lynn Turner era, with in places lots of speedy material. Prochnow left the band after "Distant call" and got replaced by 3rd bassist Jörg Petersen. During September '88 RAX was one of the winners of the local Hamburg Oxmox band contest. Also Dirk Martens was replaced by new guitarist Thomas Buuck in the late 80's. After another tape recorded around 1990 plus the appearance with the Melodic Metal trax "Panic in paradise" and "Welcome to the world" (very Accept-ish) on the local Hamburg scene compilation "The Desert's still alive Vol. II - Hard and Heavy", the guys produced their only CD "The winner's defeat" during 1993, that featured 4 tracks and was pressed in just tiny quantity. We'd be thankful if someone could provide a better pic of the cover and any further info is welcome as well.Discography:
"Dressed in rags" Demo 1986 (selfreleased)
"Distant call" Demo 1988 (selfreleased)
"The Desert's still alive Vol. II - Hard and Heavy" Comp.-CD Tracks 1990 (Baierle Special)
"The winner's defeat" MCD 1993 (selfreleased)
Vengeance (Hamburg)
Lineup:
Oliver Allewelt (vocals)
Thomas Buuck (guitar)
Thomas Köhn (guitar)
Ingo Znaniwitz (bass)
Lars Fallinski (drums)
Band-info:
A Heavy Metal band from Hamburg that probably was active before 1984 as Blizz. At least Oliver Allewelt was member of that band. However, the guys released a first Demo in 1984, and then the D&S label picked up Vengeance to produce the two trax "Hellfire" and "Metal in your veins" for their Break Out compilation. While "Metal in your veins" still was more on the melodic Heavy Metal side, the other number "Hellfire" being a fast driven melodic speed banger in the vein of early Helloween with very good riffing. The lads newly produced both these trax again for their second Demo "The imperious wicked", that got sometimes compared to Atlain. If you have more info, please get in touch.Discography:
Demo 1984 (selfreleased)
"Break Out - German Metal Tracks No.1" Comp.-LP Tracks 1985 (D&S)
"The imperious wicked" Demo 1987 (selfreleased)
Helium Head
Lineup:
Thomas Schmeink
Frank Ruhnau
Band-info:
A Duisburg band that was featured on the "C.B.Rfrischungen" sampler with the track "Lil' girl", that offers a sort of Hard Rock/Power Pop, or 'Ruhrpott-Rock' as they themselves liked to call it. The label also produced a 7" entitled "Star für eine Nacht" the same year, but I haven't heard this one yet. It was sung completely in german. The last sign of the band was a 4-song demo recorded in 1986 (or possibly '87). If you got more info, please get in touch.Discography:
"Lil' girl" Comp.-LP Track 1984 (C.B.Rfrischungen)
"Star für eine Nacht" 7" EP 1984 (C.B.R.)
"Star für eine Nacht" Comp.-LP Track 1985 (Querschnitt)
Demo 1986 (selfreleased)
Cerebral Apoplexy
Lineup:
Thomas Will
Band-info:
Thrash Metal cellarband from Lambsheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, active in the 2nd part of the 80's. Self-proclaimed influences were Metallica, Slayer and Hallows Eve, but no recordings are known. If you have more info, get in contact.Discography:
Monestery Brew
Lineup:
Frank "Megabanx" Banx (bass)
Schrammel (drums)
Chef (vocals, guitars)
Band-info:
An ultra-primitive joke-Thrash band from Herne, outside Dortmund who've been compared to both Sodom, S.O.D. and The Mentors. The line-up featuried Angel Dust bassist Frank Banx, as well as some more anonymous individuals only presented as Schrammel on drums and Chef on vocals and guitars. According to an old bio the latter were previously involved in an even more obscure act called Malicious Marauder, and 2 names that have turned up in contact addresses and who may or may not have been the real identities behind those aliases are Thomas Schmukal and Siggi Hahn, but more info is once again needed.Discography:
"Brutal And Toothless" Demo 1987 (selfreleased)
Malicious Marauder
Lineup:
Schrammel (drums)
Chef (vocals, guitars)
Band-info:
Unknowns from the Dortmund-area, active in the mid/late 80's and said to have included two members who later turned up in Angel Dust-bassist Frank Banx's joke-Thrash side project Monestery Brew, so we're guessing they were sorta kinda in the Thrash-vein? ...though probably not very good. If you have more info, please get in touch.Discography:
Rattlehead
Lineup:
Dietmar Felten (vocals)
Thomas Siegl (bass)
Rainer Ressemann (guitars)
Band-info:
Erlangen thrashers who started thrashing about in 1988 and released 2 thrash-demos in the following years, before changing their name to Delicate News. Some early members mentioned on M-A who may or may not have been part of the recording of the first demo are Norbert Gottschick on vocals as well as Sven Gallenbacher, Stefan Ascher and Klaus Burian - all occational drummers. More info is needed.Discography:
Demo 1989 (selfreleased)
"Screaming Days" Demo 1990 (selfreleased)
Toxic Trace
Lineup:
Andreas Horn (bass, vocals)
Frank Brotz
Band-info:
Fast yet technical thrash with raw Mille-style vocals was the shorthand description of this band from Gottmadingen, southern Germany. The only recorded legacy known to us is the 5 songs+intro "Maitrise" demo from 1990 (or possibly '89), but there is a mention that Wicca vocalist Patrick Skala joined the band shortly after the release of the demo and them later aiming for a more melodic Power Metal sound. A name-change might also have been in the cards, so if you know more, please get in contact.Discography:
"Maitrise" Demo 1990 (selfreleased)
Napalm Terror
Lineup:
Martin Böhler
Band-info:
Young thrashers from the small southern town of Bankholzen, close to the Swiss border and having no relation whatsoever to the infamous Extreme Napalm Terror grind-spoof'sters mind you. Around the time of recording their 6-song "First Attack" demo, the average age of the members should have been abouts 16 but it has still been described as relatively competent stuff, reminiscent of Protector with some angry HC-vibes added. If you have more info, please get in touch.Discography:
"First Attack" Demo 1990 (selfreleased)
Daydream
Lineup:
Michael Lauk (vocals)
Alexandre Mabeix (guitar)
Ralf Weber (bass)
Boris Zimmermann (drums)
Band-info:
This was post-Hailstorm from Freiburg, who already formed in 1986, and changed name to Daydream in December 1989. As Daydream they were down to a 4-piece, with Andre Gorzawski out of the band and recorded just a 6 track Demo tape, that contains original, melodic Power Metal with progressive structures and a Helloween touch, before they eventually would split up during the beginning of the 90’s. If you got more info, please get in touch.Discography:
“Daydream” Demo 1989 (selfreleased)
MP
Lineup:
Thomas Zeller (bass, vocals)
Andreas Wolk (guitar)
Thomas Schneider (drums)
Band-info:
MP originally stands for Metal Priests and indeed, the lads from Witten that are active consistently since the mid 80's, delivered the archetypical german Heavy Metal sound and would well have had the format to appear in the Gama releases catalogue either. But the Step Records label has been quicker to sign these guys and published all of their three 80's vinyls under their own banner. On the "Get it now" album Michael Link had replaced Thomas Schneider on the drums and on "Show down" from 1988 Sesamy B. took Schneiders part either, while also with Uwe Ulm a second guitarist completed the line up. The debut offers classic Metal sounding like a cross of mid 80's Accept and Gravestone/Grave Digger, and on "Get it now" (1987) & "Show down" (1988) MP in a way continued that mainly midpaced rocking style, though the sound got slightly more modern, and sometimes I feel reminded of bands like Steeler or Railway. Shortly after the "Show down" album release in autumn '88, Uwe Ulm (guitar) and Rüdiger Föll (drums) got introduced to fill the empty rows of MP. The following year Rüdiger and Andreas left the band to form Central Power Unit, but after a longer absence the one remaining original member Thomas Zeller returned with a new team (Jens Ribow - guitar, ex-Beatifix/Scarecrow, Uwe Ulm - guitar, Roland Dresel - bass, Chris Weller - keyboard), Bernd Schussele - drums) and album ("Melting point") in 1992 to hold the Metal flag higher than ever, and once again striked back with classic 80's Metal sound. But "Melting point" should remain MP's last studio album, though the band is still active.Discography:
"Bursting out" LP 1986 (Steps)
"Get it now" LP 1987 (Steps)
"Show down" LP 1988 (Steps)
"Melting point" CD 1992 (Savage)
Lazzer
Lineup:
Wolfgang Tampe (vocals)
Bernie Steinert (guitar)
Thomas Kraft (bass)
Bernd Köbele (drums)
Band-info:
A classic Heavy Metal band from Ettenheim, that released the superb "Metalized" EP in 1988 (1000 copies made), which features straight forward pushing speedy Metal in the vein of bands such as Atlain or Avenger. The guys was active since early 1987 and debuted with a 3 track Demo in autumn the same year. With Matthias Dittmann a second guitarist joined in May '88, but then vocalist Wolfgang Tample left to join Central Power Unit and one by one more members quit, so Lazzer unfortunately needed quite a while after the vinyl release to return with a completely new line up to intruduce their 1993'er true 80's alike sounding Power Metal Demo "Fight for your right", that either contained a Beastie Boy's cover. Roland Seidel (vox), Ingo Zimmermann (guitar) and Peter Scherer (drums) supported the only remaining original member Thomas Kraft, but either that line up wasn't steady enough to survive the eternity. Jens Ribow (ex-Scarecrow) had replaced guitarist Zimmermann already on Lazzer's last CD "Tales of the Cosmoverse" in 1995, that sounded way more modern than the previous releasesDiscography:
"Metalized" 12" EP 1988 (ATS)
"Fight for your right" Demo 1993 (selfreleased)
Central Power Unit
Lineup:
Andy Wolk (guitar)
Rüdiger Föll (drums)
Wolfgang Tampe (vocals)
Wolfgang Nübling (bass)
Bobby Benz (guitar)
Band-info:
A HM band from Emmendingen-Lahr in the south-west corner of Germany, cobbled together by ex-members from various other local "legends". Guitarist Andreas Wolk and drummer Rüdiger Föll were previously in MP/Metal Priest, singer Wolfgang Tampe came from Lazzer and bassist Wolfgang Nübling were part of a later line-up of Freiburg's oldies Heavy Load. They had their debut gig in Appenweier in the spring of 1990 and their 4-song promo-demo from the same year has been described as no frills, tight but not too exceptional Heavy Metal. More info is needed.Discography:
Promo-demo 1990 (Hippmann Music)
Anguish
Lineup:
Michael Corpus
Band-info:
A technical, sophisticated Thrash band from Titisee-Neustadt who we only know for releasing a 2-track "pre-demo" in 1989, supposedly as a taster for a lengthier affair planned to have been released in January 1990. So far we have no reliable info that this ever happened though. On this tape we are presented with the instrumental "Melody Of Disenchant" intro, as well as the 8 minute "Ignorance" and stylewise they've been compared to Annihilator. Currently there is nothing that seems to connect them to the Anguish from the same area that released a CD on D&S Records in 1996, but if you know more, please get in contact.Discography:
"Ignorance" Promo-demo 1989 (selfreleased)
Hardware
Lineup:
Sven Freytag (vocals)
Sigi Sigismund (bass)
Jörg Franz (guitar)
Bob Schiprowski (guitar)
Ralf Ehlert (guitar)
Gero Lütke (drums)
Band-info:
The Hannover band Hardware was formed in May 1982 and recorded 2 early Demo tapes in this and the following year. Shortly after they recorded their debut album "Common time heroes" independently with a 4 track machine, while the still young Steamhammer label only needed to manufacture the vinyls. The album recieved good feedback which I seriously can't really share. Though it sounds quite well produced for a 4 track recording, the material appears rather dull, without real ideas. The band took their influences besides an of course german touch, mainly from british bands, but rather was unsure if they wanted to play Hard Rock or pure Heavy Metal. Thankfully Steamhammer didn't drop them after that sleeping pill they called debut album and in January '85 with Mark Städler on vocals and new bass player Roland, the mid 80's classic "In cold blood" was recorded at the Sonic Acoustic studio in Wuppertal. Due to a stylistical change Hardware refocussed soundwise and added speed elements that sharpened their steel, so the guys could play in the same league like bands such as Vampyr, Atlain or Metal Sword. Sadly after that little ballbuster the band completely disappeared into the sinking for the rest of the 80's and only returned shortly in the early 90's with two CD singles that they wrote for their favorite football club Hannover 96. The former singer Sven Freytag returned with Lawdy in the late 80's and Jörg Franz was also playing with the band Attack.Discography:
"Demo 1982" (selfreleased)
"Demo 1983" (selfreleased)
"Common time heroes" LP 1984 (Steamhammer)
"In cold blood" MLP 1985 (Steamhammer)
"Wir fahren nach Berlin! MCD 1991 (Lava)
"Schwarz Weiß Grün Wir waren in Berlin" MCD 1992 (Lava)
TNT (Siegen)
Lineup:
Eberhard Weyel (vocals, guitar)
Bertram Kölsch (guitar, vocals)
Jochen Krämer (bass)
Volker Borchert (drums)
Band-info:
TNT from Siegen was the pre-Breaker band, starting back in January 1981 by drummer Volker Borchert and would later evolve to Accu§er. Their first recording was a 2 track Demo, containing "H.M. noise" and "Rock you tonight". Due to other bands with the name TNT, they changed name to Breaker in 1984, shortly after releasing their 2nd 4-track demo. Both are almost similar sounding to the Fulda T.N.T. which makes the whole Kuddelmuddel even worse. A few hints of Accept are audible as well, but well, Weyel's vocals just make the difference. If you got more info, please get in touch.Discography:
"Demo 1983" (selfreleased)
"Get your heavy metal charge" Demo 1984 (selfreleased)
Atomic On Rush
Lineup:
Jörg Reuter (vocals)
Guido Jabgui (guitar)
Thomas Rattunde (guitar)
Heiko Hornmann (drums)
Dirk Distelhorst (bass)
Band-info:
The peculiarly christened Atomic On Rush were formed in the late summer of 1982 in Wuppertal and weren't (as far as we know) a Rush-wannabe act at all, but instead described themselves as "The be-all end-all of Heavy Metal" and outside sources testify of both a tight, classy and heavy sound. They were an active live band in the North Rhine-Westphalia area, with a small but faithful fan-base and there is mention of a demo being planned around the end of 1983, with titles like "Stalingrad" and "Door To Hell" to be recorded, but at the moment we can neither confirm nor deny if this recording ever happened. It's however unlikely that the band was a lengthy affair, as vocalist Jörg Reuter turned up in Midnight Darkness shortly after, and Thomas Rattunde and Heiko Hornmann came to form Danton together with Dirkschneider-the-younger a few years later (Note the track "Stalingrad" on the Danton LP!)If you know more, please get in contact.
Discography:
Danton
Lineup:
Peter Dirkschneider (vocals)
Thomas Ratt (guitar)
Ralf Seelheim (guitar)
Marcus Bielenberg (bass)
Heiko Hornmann (drums)
Band-info:
Sometimes things couldn't be worse than having a famous big brother, that you not just share your name with, but also both your voices do sound almost identical. That's been the exact case with Danton, the band of Udo Dirkschneider's little brother Peter. Danton was founded around 1986 in Wuppertal, with drummer Heiko Hornmann and guitarist Thomas Ratt previously having been a part of Wuppertal obscurios Atomic On Rush. They published two Demo tapes in 1986 and '87, before Charly Rinne produced these guy's debut album "Way of destiny" 1988, that was published in November on Megavault Records from Gelsenkirchen (a sublabel of No Remorse). Bassist Marcus Bielenberg joined the group after Mordor called it quits around 1987. Though the Danton guys promised faithfully not to be an Accept copycat and wouldn't either have songs in their repertoire that would sound like Germany's Heavy Metal signboard, my ears do tell me something different. And it's not just Peter's vocals that stigmatize Danton's style with the mighty Accept burnmark. No, the main part of the material just reminds of mid 80's Accept over and over again, apart from two speedrippers, that perhaps could have been the direction that Danton would have needed to get recognized as an independent part of the German Metal movement. Shortly after the album the band collapsed, while Dirkschneider and Bielenberg founded Vanize in 1989. Heiko Hornmann joined Thrashers Amnesty. If you got more info about the band's Demos, please get in touch.
No Request
Lineup:
Josef Scheller (guitar)
Bernd Zitterbart (guitar)
Wolfgang Zapke (bass)
Dieter Herman (drums)
Band-info:
No Request were formed in 1981 in Westheim, Bavaria. At the time of recording their first 4-track demo in 1983, their line-up had stabilized as to your left/top. They are mostly known from the Metal Hour sampler where they contributed the two good trax "Shadows of the future" and Ride hard". "Ride hard" has an Accept-ish touch and "Shadows of the future" is a nice typical german banger. Both trax spread a healthy dose of power and are more than solid efforts. If you got more info, please get in touch.
Prowler
Lineup:
Andy Sedlmeier (guitar, vocals)
Klaus Sedlmeier (vocals, keyboard)
Martin Böttcher (bass)
Matthias Lehmann (drums)
Band-info:
One more of West Berlin's early Heavy Metal acts, formed in 1980 when the local scene there still wasn't infected by the US Glam stuff. Prowler's sound on the one obscure Demo dating from 1983 that we've heard so far offered several strong NWOBHM twin leads, while the whole sound of the tape inclined into a pleasant melodic direction. Their band name was sometimes presented as an acronym, standing for Powerful Rock Of Wild Loud Exciting Rhythm. Further info is needed.(Thanx to Rumblefist for the suggestion)
Discography:
"Prowler '82" Demo 1982 (selfreleased)
"The Way Of The World" Demo 198? (selfreleased)
"The Light" Demo 198? (selfreleased)
"Prowler Live" Demo 198? (selfreleased)
"Vicious Circle" Demo 1983 (selfreleased)
Roxxon
Lineup:
Jürgen Eidt (drums)
Richie Thurlow (vocals)
Max Paus (guitars)
Paul le Butt (bass)
Werner Chabowski (guitar)
Band-info:
Hannover Heavy Rock unknowns with NWOBHM inspired sound, formed by drummer Jürgen Eidt in early 1980 as RUBBISH. In early '81 they tried their luck in Berlin, doing a few local radio interviews and trying to sort out a proper studio recording, but they quickly discovered their name worked against them as everyone though they were a punk band. A renaming to Roxxon came about, and in February 1982 their first demo was recorded, produced by none other than Scorpions bassist Francis Buchholz, which also led to an unlikely opening-spot for for the Scorp's in march 1982.Founding member Jürgen Eidt later ran the Roxxon Studio (Glory Anthem, Crack Buster etc..) and after that the Roxxon ACB CD pressing plant. Richie Thurlow also had a short stint with Rated-X, appearing on the band's last single. Roxxon recorded 2 Demos within the years 1982-83. The first one featured the 2 songs "Little schoolgirls" and "Cover girls", while Demo 2 had "Hard as a rock", "Cover girls" and "Can't get enough" on the agenda. If you have more info, please get in contact.
(Thanx to Rumblefist for the additional info)
Discography:
Demo 1982 (selfreleased)
Demo 1983 (selfreleased)
Steam (Frankfurt)
Lineup:
Jee Pee (vocals)
Michael Wickler (guitar)
Freddy Haller (guitar)
Mike Fischer (bass, synth)
Thomas Gietzen (drums)
Band-info:
The Bruchköbel (Frankfurt/Main area) based Steam had its origin in another Frankfurt band called Overlord, but plenty of members were exchanged in their early years and few survived until their first vinyl appearance, the track "I don't know" on the "Rockactive I" sampler from 1983. The same song was also featured again on their one and only album "Can't get enough" and by now all old Overlord members were gone. It was produced for Vip Records by ex-Schloss drummer Willy Waid 1984 and while the LP wasn't any revelation in terms of heavyness, there are some trax featured like "Keep rockin'" that indeed used to animate the listener to nod satisfied. Steam did not fully try to revive 70's sounds (except of 2 hard boogieing trax) or copying Accept, but instead focussed on their style of melodic Heavy Metal/Hard Rock, reminding even of Angeles Del Infierno on "Bad guys", though "Can't get enough" remained their last sign of existence. Prior to the vinyl appearances the band already debuted with a Demo dating from March 31 1982 (5 trax) and another 4 track tape from the following year 1983.(Thanx to Rumblefist for additional info)
Overlord
Lineup:
Michael Steitz (bass)
Dieter Hofmann (guitar)
Dieter Pfeilschifter (vocals)
Jürgen Bauer (guitar)
Michael Stockan (drums)
Band-info:
Frankfurt AC/DC-wannabees formed in 1980 who was rather active on the local live-scene back in the days. One Mick Hunter and one Joey Gadd replaced Jürgen and Michael Stocken on guitars and drums respectively and apparently tried to steer the band towards a more Southern Rock-direction, which led to the band breaking up. The original line-up later reformed as Steam, but it seems few (if any) of these members were left by the time Steam's "Can't Get Enough" LP was released.Discography:
Thunderstruck
Lineup:
Norbert Howahl (vocals)
Albert Klein (keyboard)
Phil Tesch (drums)
Rolf Tanzius (guitar)
Lemmi Leimbach (bass)
Band-info:
A band from Cologne active since 1983 till at least 1991. The 1983 line-up featured Rolf Tanzius on guitar, Phil Tesch on drums and Norbert Howahl on vocals, as well as some more anonymous nicks like Babab on keys and Uwe on Bass. Back then they were described as quality proper Heavy Metal, despite the keyboards but they later steered towards a more melodic Hard Rock sound. Flying Skull's Rudi Becker apparently joined the band on guitar around 1989, and in their last known line up from 1991 we also find F. Schwillus on bass and P. Schommers (ex-Heartware) on drums. If you got more info, please get in touch.Discography:
Greenback
Lineup:
Frank Papenbroock (guitar)
Carsten Okkens (bass)
Ole Ludwig (drums)
Achim Ehrenstein (vocals)
Jochen Midwer (guitar)
Band-info:
Greenback from Hamburg started up as SPIDER back in February 1977, with Martin Müller and Frank Papenbroock on guitars and Ole Ludwig on drums. Six months later Martin was out and Carsten Okkens joined on bass and this line-up laster for about year, before a momentary breakup. In early 1980 the band reformed as Greenback, with Achim Ehrenstein joining on vocals and in April 1981 the line-up was complete with Jochen Midwer on second guitar. This line-up did record the "Automatic gun" Demo 1982, featuring just the same titled track, that's been a Power/Speed Metal rager like early Jaguar or Accept's "Fast as a shark". 1983 one more 6 track Demo was published, including tunes like "Waiting For The End", "Sunday Nights", "Feel The Power", "Virgin Killer", "Automatic Gun", "Persecution" etc.. that has been a straight-up NWOBHM influenced Heavy Metal affair with some occasional "Killers" era Iron Maiden influences. In 1984, Carsten left for personal reasons and was replaced by Serge Demolieré, who also left the band later the same year. If anyone has more info about the further destinies of the band, please get in contact.Discography:
"Automatic gun" Demo 1982 (selfreleased)
"Demo 2" Demo 1983 (selfreleased)
Iron Horse
Lineup:
Frank Graeper (guitar, vocals)
Ralf Gurtzgen (guitar)
Stephan Rothe (bass)
Stefan Breitbach (keyboard)
Thomas Bunse (drums)
Band-info:
A Heavy Rock band from Kaarst, formed in 1981. The band was however rechristened to Iron Force in the years to follow, since at least 2 other bands shared this monicker (so no, no relation to the infamous Kienberg Iron Horse). A demo was recorded, but it's yet unclear if it was during their 'Horse'- or 'Force'-period. As the latter they are mostly known for appearing on Noise Records' "Rock From Hell"-compilation from 1983. If you have more info, get in touch.Discography:
Iron Force
Lineup:
Frank Graeper (guitar, vocals)
Ralf Gurtzgen (guitar)
Stephan Rothe (bass)
Stefan Breitbach (keyboard)
Thomas Bunse (drums)
Band-info:
A Heavy Rock band from Kaarst, formed in 1981 under the name Iron Horse. The band was however rechristened to Iron Force since at least 2 other bands shared this monicker (so no, no relation to the infamous Kienberg Iron Horse). A demo was recorded in the early days, but it's yet unclear if it was a 'Horse'- or 'Force'-affair. Their one claim to fame was however their 2 trax "Tyger in the city" and "The band is on the road", recorded in late '83 for Noise Records' "Rock from Hell" sampler. Both of the songs still feature Rock'n'Roll influenced, quite british sounding Hard Rock/Heavy Metal mix with almost Biker Rock feeling. If you got more info, please get in touch.
Tyrant (Berlin)
Lineup:
Andy Atkins (vocals)
Andreas Klapstein (drums)
Mike Wegner (guitar)
Michael Hardt (guitar)
Matthias Fischer (bass)
Band-info:
Heavy Rockers from West Berlin, formed in october 1981 by ex-members of earlier Berlin acts like No Mercy and Cadillac. A demo was recorded some time in 1982-83, containing titles such as "HM Breakout", "Ready To Rock", "Like A Spider" as well as a cover of "Paint It Black". In early 1983 the bassist-position was apparently replaced by Torsten Evers, but not much else is know about the band after that and it's possible they either broke up or changed their name, as both Atkins and Klapstein ended up in the band Chaser later the same year. While their logo might have been even cooler that that of their more famous Ulm namesakes, the music is said to have been more melodic and sophisticated, though still fairly hard & heavy. If you got more info, please get in touch.Discography:
Killroy
Lineup:
Tim Bailey (vocals)
Bernd Rücker (bass)
Franz Sperber (guitar)
Alex Brückl (guitar)
Chris Gräf (drums)
Band-info:
Not to be confused with the Hard Rock commando from Trier, these the bavarian Killroy had used a double L in their name, just like in Llama. The band formed during the later mid 80’s, possibly around 1987, and was residing in Grainau/Garmisch-Partenkirchen, directly on the austrian border in southern Germany. The band’s first Demo "Amen", recorded pretty late for that kind of Metal in 1992, offered quite entertaining, highly 80’s inspired Power Metal in best US Metal tradition reminding sometimes a bit of Meliah Rage and featured 4 songs in total. The Demo immediately called the infamous Inline Music label on the plan and the band started producing their only album "Gem" during 1993. If Inline music used the same scheme like on their other productions, we can assume that the lads had to finance the recordings themselves. Nevertheless, ex-Not Fragile’s Raico Ebel co-produced the material, that was eventually available on CD during 1994 and of course got completely ignored at that time. Just like on the earlier released Demo, the album was recorded by Tim Bailey (vocals), Bernd Rücker (bass), Franz Sperber (guitar), Alex Brückl (guitar) and Chris Gräf on the drums, but Killroy wasn’t seen afterwards anymore at all.Discography:
„Amen" Demo 1992 (selfreleased)
Mithril
Lineup:
Stefan Zoerner
Band-info:
Not to be confused with any similarly-named German bands from the 00's, this was an amateurish HM act from Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg who released a demo in 1991 to little fanfare, but I guess at least they had a pretty logo going for them. If you have more info, please get in contact.Discography:
"Midnight Serenades" Demo 1991 (selfreleased)
Madvision
Lineup:
Manuela Schewitz (vocals)
Matthias Schwind (guitar)
Bernd Mayer (guitar)
Joe Hagl (bass)
Jürgen Guckert (drums)
Band-info:
A quite unique band originating from Herxheim, south of Mannheim, who recorded their first 3 song tape during 1989, that featured an inimitable sort of Heavy Metal, that a magazine decribed as "Opera meets Metal". The reason for that strange description was Madvisions female singer Manuela, whose voice was sounding somehow comparable to Kate Bush's, ranging in highest fields. The song "Modern world" either adopted speed elements. In 1991 a second 3 track demo followed in an equally eclectic, melo-metal style, and in 1993 their one full-length CD was released, then under their new monicker Kings Head. If you got further info, please get in touch.Discography:
"Madvision" Demo 1989 (selfreleased)
"Crazy Down Town" Demo 1991 (selfrealeased)
Kilroy
Lineup:
Wolfgang Prinz
Band-info:
A hard rock band from Trier, close to the Luxemburg border. Stylewise they were about 15 years too late with their more than competent, atmospheric and proggish 70's style Hard Rock. We only know of a 1990 demo tape, but a few old live clips preserved on YT prove they were active live at least a couple of years after that ...and probably a few years prior as well. If you have more info, please get in contact.Discography:
Demo 1990 (selfreleased)
Pin Stripe
Lineup:
Reviello Michele (vocals)
Frank Stürmer
Band-info:
A band from Aschaffenburg, Offenbach/Frankfurt area, that was actively playing live during the late 80's and beginning of the 90's. Their one known demo is described as decent commercial Hard Rock with corny keyboards. In 1991 they reappeared with 2 tracks on a local LP sampler. Further info is welcome.Discography:
"Fire Dancer" Demo 1989 (Selfreleased)
"Aschaffenburger Rocksampler" Comp.-LP Tracks 1991 (Rockwerk)
Force Ten
Lineup:
Band-info:
A Metal band from the area of Hessen or Aschaffenburg (Frankfurt/Hanau area), that was actively playing live during 1990 and who we are guessing is the same band also featured on a local sampler around this time. If you got further info (or love proving people wrong on the internet), please get in touch.Discography:
"Aschaffenburger Rocksampler" Comp.-LP Tracks 1991 (Rockwerk)
Goo Stuff Guns
Lineup:
T. "Cheese" Ries (guitars)
Rooby (vocals)
B. Hayder (bass)
Schadow (guitars)
D. Lückert (drums)
Band-info:
Typically cowboy-boots-wearin', slide-guitar-playin' sleazoid Hard Rockers from Aschaffenburg, outside Frankfurt. They released a demo in 1990 and had an additional 2 songs featured on a local sampler 1 year later. If you have more info, get in touch.Discography:
"First Shot Is Deadly" Demo 1990 (selfreleased)
"Aschaffenburger Rocksampler" Comp.-LP Tracks 1991 (Rockwerk)
Black & White
Lineup:
Franz Ullrich (vocals)
Band-info:
A local hard rock band from Aschaffenburg in the Offenbach/Frankfurt area, that released a demo in 1990 and was actively playing live during this time. It's possible the vocalist was the same Franz Ullrich as the one singing on the Stampede LP 10 years earlier, but we can only speculate... Further info is welcome.Discography:
Demo 1990 (selfreleased)
Gaia Returns
Lineup:
Clemens Dachs (guitars)
Wolfgang Korn (bass)
Stefan Noack (vocals)
Stefan Brem (guitars)
Thomas Chimainski (drums)
Band-info:
A melodic Metal/HR band from Nuremberg, formed in January 1987 merely as 'Gaia' by guitarist Clemens Dachs and bassist Wolfgang Korn. Stefan Noack later joined on vocals and in July 1989 Stefan Brem added his 2nd guitar. Finally, Thomas Chimainski completed the steady line-up on drums and in 1991 (or possibly 1990) their first demo was recorded. A second tape followed in 1993, but their one and only full-lengh debut didn't see the light of day until 1996, in form of a privately released CD. The band is still active today, but exclusively as a cover-band, with only the 2 guitarists remaining from the original line-up. You can visit their homepage here.Discography:
"Human Games" Demo 1991 (selfreleased)
"Voices" Demo 1993 (selfreleased)
"Roxanne" Comp.-CD Track 1993 ("Out of the shade - Franken")
No Corroseum-feature would be complete without some proper sampler CDRs!
Straight from Prowler's personal archive we present thee...
download ~Volume West~
download ~Volume East~
(For more obscure German goodies, check out "Teutonic Evasion", the German edition of the Veterans Of The Various-Wars samplers...)
Straight from Prowler's personal archive we present thee...
download ~Volume West~
download ~Volume East~
(For more obscure German goodies, check out "Teutonic Evasion", the German edition of the Veterans Of The Various-Wars samplers...)
Keep exploring the olde German Metal scene on these other sections of The Corroseum:
