Axxis
| Axxis | |
|---|---|
 Axxis 2007 at the Masters of Rock in Vizovice ( Czech Republic ) |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Hard Rock , Power Metal , Melodic Metal , Electronic Rock (elements) |
| founding | 1988 |
| Website | www.axxis.de |
| Current occupation | |
| Bernhard Weiß (since 1988) | |
| Matthias Degener (since 2019) | |
| Rob Schomaker (since 2003) | |
| Harry Oellers (since 1990) | |
| Dirk Brand (since 2012) | |
| former members | |
guitar |
Walter Pietsch (1988–1998) |
guitar |
Guido Wehmeyer (1999-2006) |
bass |
Werner Kleinhans (1988–1994) |
bass |
Markus Gfeller (1994–1998) |
bass |
Udo "Kuno" Niemeyer (1998-2003) |
Drums |
Richard Michalski (1988-2003) |
Drums |
André Hilgers (2004-2008) |
Drums |
Alex Landenburg (2008-2011) |
guitar |
Marco Wriedt (2007-2015) |
guitar |
Stefan Weber (2015-2018) |
Axxis is a German hard rock - band in the late 1980s became known. One of the hallmarks of the band is the distinctive and high voice of singer Bernhard Weiß . Over time, the band took elements of Power Metal into their repertoire.
Band history
Axxis was founded before 1988. In 1988 the band consisted of singer Bernhard Weiß, guitarist Walter Pietsch, bassist Werner Kleinhans and drummer Richard Michalski. After a one-song demo tape called Tears of the Trees , the four signed their first record deal with EMI and became known practically overnight.
The debut album Kingdom of the Night was released in February 1989 and made it into the German album charts. Among other things, the band plays concerts in the opening act for Black Sabbath , the album was also sold in Europe, Australia, Japan, Canada and the USA and achieved sales of over 100,000 pieces. At the end of the year, the band was recognized for the best-selling debut album by a German rock band of all time .
For the second album, the band added keyboardist Harry Oellers to the line-up. The second work Axxis II was released in August 1990, accompanied by the first headlining tour through Europe. The live album Access All Areas was released in May 1991 and cemented the band's status. In 1993 Axxis made an entry in the Guinness Book of Records : Almost 100 minutes after their live performance in the EMI press plant in Cologne, three of the songs had already been pressed on vinyl . This maxi was the last record made by their record company EMI-Electrola at the time.
That same year, Axxis were back with The Big Thrill , their first album recorded in the US. After the release, Axxis played for the first time in Japan. A best-of album called Profile - The Best of Axxis and an acoustic tour established the band in the land of the rising sun. In Europe they were touring with the Russian band Gorky Park in the opening act. Following this tour, bassist Werner Kleinhans left the band and was replaced by Markus Gfeller.
For the next album Matters of Survival (February 1995), the group worked in Los Angeles with producer Keith Olsen (including Whitesnake and Foreigner ). The highlight of the year was her return to the Rock am Ring Festival after her debut there in 1993.
The album Voodoo Vibes , released in February 1997, was recorded by the group together with producer Thomas Kemper in just 18 days in Dieter Dierks' studios . The album is noticeably influenced by grunge , which was very fashionable in rock during the 1990s. However, many fans did not like the willingness to experiment. In an interview that he gave to Metal Hammer in 2004 , Bernhard Weiß admitted that he was too influenced by trends at the time.
After the release of this album, a tour with UDO as co-headliner followed before guitarist Walter Pietsch left the band in January 1998. He was replaced by Guido Wehmeyer. Bassist Markus Gfeller also got out; for him came Kuno Niemeyer.
The following year the band made a rarity album called Pure & Rough available for download on the Internet platform MP3.com , which was sold on the band's website after the platform went down. In the same year the band appeared in the new line-up at the Wacken Open Air .
In March 2000 Axxis were back with a new album. The album Back to the Kingdom gave a new start thanks to the title based on the debut. A tour with Pink Cream 69 followed like an appearance at the Rockmachina Festival in Spain.
In September 2001 the next studio album, Eyes of Darkness , was released, which includes a cover version of Aphrodite's Child song The Four Horsemen . The band went on a European tour with Kamelot from January 2002 , with Axxis acting as the headliner in Germany, but the support band for the rest of the tour .
For the 2003 album Time Machine , the band brought Pink Cream 69 drummer Kosta Zafiriou into the studio because Richard Michalski had been missing for over a year and the police search for the musician was unsuccessful. The album turned out surprisingly tough compared to previous albums. After the release, André Hilgers from Silent Force joined the band as the new drummer . In 2004 Axxis toured Europe with Pink Cream 69 and Crystal Ball . In July, bassist Kuno Niemeyer left the band and was replaced by Rob Schomaker. In 2005 concerts with Gotthard followed .
Her ninth studio album will be released in January 2006 with Paradise in Flames . The singer Lakonia, who can already be heard on Time Machine as a background singer, sang on some songs for the first time in a duet with Bernhard Weiß. In March they toured Italy, Belgium and Switzerland in support of Helloween . A double headliner tour in Germany with Krokus followed in May . Guitarist Guido Wehmeyer left the band in December 2006. His replacement at the end of January 2007 was 22-year-old Marco Wriedt.
On November 16, 2007, Axxis released their tenth album Doom of Destiny , the limited edition of which includes a German-language song (Engel aus Hass) as a bonus track for the first time. Also this time they were supported vocally by Lakonia - even more intensely than before. From November 2007 to the end of January 2008, Axxis were on tour throughout Europe as support with Helloween and Gamma Ray .
In 2008 they played again at Wacken Open Air , this time as headliners on the party days.
After André Hilgers left, the Mekong Delta and former Annihilator tour drummer Alex Landenburg was announced as the new drummer on November 8th, but he only played in the band for a short time. Dirk Brand replaced him more and more often and then officially joined the band in 2012.
At the end of August 2009, their new album Utopia was released , which also features a regular track in German for the first time in the band's history. In addition, a 12-minute anniversary song was recorded on the album for the band's 20th anniversary, on which Andi Deris (Helloween), Doro Pesch (Doro), Schmier ( Destruction ), David Readman ( Pink Cream 69 ), Claus Lessmann ( Bonfire ), Rolf Stahlhofen (Ex- Söhne Mannheims ), Walter Pietsch (Ex-AXXIS) sing to the band's medley.
At the end of the year, a sold out four-hour concert was given in the Bochum colliery to mark its 20th anniversary. Fans urged to be allowed to record this concert. The band allowed it and decided to produce a DVD from this material. For a year the different film formats were processed, the material was viewed and 33 songs were mixed. Cover , booklet , pressing everything was completely created by fans and band.
At the beginning of 2011, Axxis founded their own label Phonotraxx Publishing , which has existed as a music publisher since 2002 and produced the first real, official bootleg DVD for a band worldwide. In June 2011 this DVD called 20 Years of Axxis - The Legendary Anniversary Live Show was released as an official bootleg . In the course of this release, Axxis went on a partially sold out tour in 2011 with the support band Dawn of Destiny , who also appear on Phonotraxx, and only played songs from the first three albums of their career. Drummer Alex Landenburg left the band at the end of 2011. Dirk Brand was his successor . In 2012 Mercury Falling signed a record deal with the AXXIS label Phonotraxx and played some shows with them.
On February 28, 2014, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the band, a black and a white edition of the album Kingdom of the Night II was released . The white edition also contains the song 21 Crosses , which is supposed to commemorate the 21 victims of the accident at the 2010 Love Parade . The band performed with this song on July 24, 2014 on the occasion of a memorial service for the victims in Duisburg.
On the occasion of their 25th anniversary, Axxis celebrated their anniversary on December 28, 2014. Friends and artists who were companions of the band were invited. Together they produced a 3-hour DVD called 25 Years of Rock & Power - Axxis & Friends . The participating artists were Doro Pesch , Victor Smolski (Ex-Rage), Hannes Braun ( Kissin 'Dynamite ), André Hilgers (Ex-Rage, ex-Axxis, Silent Force), Jeanette Scherff ( Dawn of Destiny ), Lucky Maniatopoulos ( Rage ), Janni Maniatopoulos (Tri State Corner), Pitti Hecht ( Scorpions Percussion) and Axxis founding member Werner Kleinhans. The DVD was released again on Phonotraxx Publishing's own label.
After a creative break, Axxis returned in early 2017 with the album Retrolution , which entered the German charts at number 36, and in October 2018 the new studio album was released under the title Monster Hero , both of which were accompanied by a successful tour.
On the occasion of their 30th anniversary in 2019, they released their first live Blu-Ray Bang Your Head with Axxis . In November 2019, a new double album, Best of EMI-Years, will be released with new recordings of songs from 1989–1997.
Discography
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Studio albums
- 1989: Kingdom of the Night
- 1990: Axxis II
- 1993: The Big Thrill
- 1995: Matters of Survival
- 1997: Voodoo Vibes
- 2000: Back to the Kingdom
- 2001: Eyes of Darkness
- 2004: Time Machine
- 2006: Paradise in Flames
- 2007: Doom of Destiny
- 2009: Utopia
- 2012: reDISCOver (ed) (cover)
- 2014: Kingdom of the Night II (Black Edition)
- 2014: Kingdom of the Night II (White Edition)
- 2017: Retrolution
- 2018: Monster Hero
Live albums and compilations
- 1991: Access All Areas (Live)
- 1994: Profile - The Best of Axxis (Japan compilation)
- 1999: Pure & Rough (Internet CD, available from the homepage)
- 2006: Best of Ballads & Acoustic Specials
- 2011: 20 Years of Axxis: The legendary Anniversary Live Show (double DVD and double CD)
- 2019: Best of EMI Years (double CD, best of with new recordings of songs from 1989–1997)
Singles and EPs
- 1989: Kingdom of the Night
- 1989: Living in a World
- 1989: Fire and Ice
- 1990: Tears of the Trees
- 1990: Ships Are Sailing
- 1990: Touch the Rainbow
- 1990: Hold You
- 1990: Save Me
- 1991: Little Look Back (live)
- 1993: Stay Don't Leave Me
- 1993: Love Doesn't Know Any Distance
- 1995: Another Day
- 1997: Sarajevo
- 2000: Collection of Power (Fan EP)
Video albums
- 2011: 20 Years of Axxis: "The legendary Anniversary Show" Zeche / Bochum (live)
- 2015: 25 Years of Rock & Power - Axxis & Friends - A Very Special Show (live)
- 2019: Bang Your Head with Axxis (Blu-Ray live from the 'Bang Your Head' Festival 2017)
swell
- ↑ Thomas Richter: Axxis moved when performing at the Loveparade commemoration. WAZ.de, July 25, 2014, accessed on October 13, 2015 .
- ↑ Chart tracking: DE / CH
