Fate (band)
Fate is a Danish AOR or hard rock band. It was founded in 1984 by the ex- Mercyful-Fate guitarist Hank Shermann (in Fate with only one "n": Sherman) in Copenhagen . After his departure (1988) it existed under the direction of Peter Steincke, initially until 1993, only to revive in 2006 with Steincke as the only original member.
Band history
The guitarist Hank Sherman, who had his first band experience with Brats from 1978 to 1981 and occasionally as a temporary worker at Danger Zone, was involved in founding Mercyful Fate in 1981 with Brats colleagues . With him came the first EP Mercyful Fate and the albums Melissa and Don't Break the Oath . He felt repulsed by the satanic / occult demeanor of the singer King Diamond and wore beach clothes on stage in 1984 in protest. In April 1985, Mercyful Fate broke up.
Sherman turned to the Copenhagen formation Maxim, which was without a guitarist at the time. The hard rockers sensed their great opportunity and advertised with the name of their newcomer and the reference to Mercyful Fate by trading under the name "Fate" from now on. Sherman gave up the musical reorientation in 1988; the others carried on as Fate. Sherman participated in the 1992 Reunion Mercyful Fates and worked on seven publications by 1999. In 2004 he started from scratch with the band Force Of Evil , together with Michael Denner , who - except for Fate - was his musical companion from the start.
The band's lineup in 1984 consisted of guitarist Hank Sherman (i.e. René Krolmark * July 11, 1958), bassist / keyboardist Pete Steiner (i.e. Peter Steincke, * December 16, 1959), drummer Bob Lance (i.e. Bjarne T. Holm, * May 15, 1960) and singer Jeff "Lox" Limbo (i.e. Jens Meinert).
Mercyful Fate was shrill both in habit and singing style and assigned to Black Metal in terms of lyrical and musical orientation , while Fate embodied traditional US American hard rock and commercial AOR. The record company EMI Denmark took a bite on their three-track demo , not least because Europe was currently in the thick of the business. The debut album was released in 1985 and was simply called Fate .
In April 1986 her second record was released under the title A Matter of Attitude , which is also considered a classic in the commercial AOR area, which is why it was re-released in 2004 as a re-issue. In addition to the boy-meets-girl theme that is typical of hard rock, there was also a good dash of humor, for example in the single Won't Stop , a caricature of the youth cult in the pop scene. On the following tour, the keyboard parts were taken over by Floyd Lafayette.
Before the third work Cruisin 'for a Bruisin' was released on November 14, 1988 , Sherman had lost interest: Neither the provocative heavy metal style of Mercyful Fate nor the adapted, soft rock of Fate found his approval, especially since his successes of King Diamond did not remain hidden and fueled the desire for harder things. And since he was not the head of Fate, he had to dare to start again, but this time as the band leader, from Zoser Mez. The album was recorded in the cast of Pete Steiner, Bob Lance, The Mysterious Mr. Moth (i.e. Jacob Moth, * 1967 ), Flemming Rothaus and Jeff "Lox" Limbo. First Rothaus joined them, whom they approached during the production, because of his external image on the street, because he was taken for a musician. He turned out to be a drummer, was willing to switch to Steiner's keyboards and brought the young guitarist Moth into the band.
Singer Jeff Limbo was noticeably displeasing to the other band musicians, as he did not do without David-Lee-Roth -like starry airs . Jeff Limbo left the band during a support tour of Fate for the exceptional Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen . Thereupon Moth and Rothaus saw no more prospects and quit their service.
The next album should feature less poses and glamor, but real metal roots, which was achieved thanks to the new front man Per Henriksen (after the name change Per Johansson) and the exceptional guitarist Mattias Eklundh (ex-Frozen Eyes) who joined in March 1989 . Sometimes sitting on a chair in the style of the blind Canadian Jeff Healey , the Gothenburg resident Eklundh (born October 6, 1969 ) works the electric guitar lying horizontally on his thighs. For him, Fate was the springboard for a career of his own. Today he is considered a virtuoso in his field, which is teeming with competition, which is why his name is not as common as that of Yngwie Malmsteen , Steve Vai or Joe Satriani . Scratch'n Sniff was published in 1990. The CD title has a not immediately recognizable smile component, because it bears the name for children's books with scratch-off odor fields. The resemblance to the otherwise very similar Swedish band Treat that Scratch And Bite had on the market was not intended . The stage names were given up; even the band name was up for grabs.
Tours followed, alone and with fellow countrymen Pretty Maids . In Germany they opened for Axxis . Only current material was presented, because firstly it was supposed to be a settlement with the Limbo past, secondly the record company had invested in the new image and thirdly, only forty minutes of playing time were available as support.
Shortly thereafter, Eklundh left and was replaced by the Copenhagen talent Sören Hoff. The preparations for the new album stalled and gigs had to be canceled for financial reasons. The 1993 split was inevitable.
Holm alias Bob Lance took over the drums at Mercyful Fate in 1994 and played the albums Into the Unknown , Dead Again and 9 alongside Hank Sherman . Again under the name Bjarne Holm, he tried in 1999 with Sherman on the Virus 7 project, which was discontinued after an album released in 2000. In 2004 Sherman and Holm reappeared together with Denner as Force Of Evil.
In the same year Fate received an invitation to the Deep Impact Festival in Germany. Steincke and Johannsson from the last CD lineup plus the last singer Hoff plus two substitute musicians named Rasmus Duedahl (dr) and Nicklas Burmann (key) accepted the challenge. The performance led to the re-release of old Fate albums. And this in turn to inquire whether the group is back.
A permanent drummer was sought and found in Mikael Kvist, who had earned his spurs with the Swedish progressive metal band Elsesphere. Album V was recorded in winter 2005/2006 . They resorted to the producer Tommy Hansen, who already for Scratch'n Sniff , but also for output of the German power metal band Helloween was responsible and Pretty Maids. It was released in 2006. Instead of - as announced - presenting a successor in 2007, a best-of compilation was released in 2010 with the new singer Dagfinn Joensen .
Discography
Albums
| year | title | Label | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Fate | EMI | 2 cover variants: a) divided into four: portrait photo with instrument in each corner; typical "diamond logo" in the middle b) Group photo without instruments in an empty factory hall; top right FATE lettering with "concrete cracks" |
| 1986 | A matter of attitude | EMI | 2004 re-released |
| 1988 | Cruisin 'for a bruisin' | EMI | Co-composed by Sherman, but not recorded |
| 1990 | Scratch'n Sniff | EMI | 2 members have dropped their artist names; 2004 re-released |
| 2006 | V | MTM Music | |
| 2010 | 25 years. The Best of Fate 1985-2010 | NL records | Songs from all 5 albums, partly remastered, plus 2 new tracks |
| 2011 | Ghosts from the Past | AOR Heaven | |
| 2013 | If Not for the Devil | Avenue of Allies |
Singles
| year | title | Label | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Love On The Rox | EMI | 12 " |
| 1986 | Won't stop | EMI | 12 "+ 7" |
| 1987 | Summer love | EMI | 12 "+ 7" |
| 1988 | Lovers | EMI | 12 "+ 7" + CD promo |
| 1988 | Babe You Got A Friend | EMI | 7 " |
| 1990 | Freedom | EMI | 7 "+ CD promo |
| 1990 | You're The Best (Money Can Buy) | EMI | 7 " |
Web links
Footnotes
- ↑ It is often written that Fate was Sherman's band. This is a simple point of view that is not true. It was presented in more detail in detailed interviews, see e.g. B. Daniel Möller: "FATE - No rose- colored glasses", Break Out , issue not available [approx. End of 1988], p. 15. Zoser Mez: Break Out , 10/1991, p. 6.
- ↑ See various interviews, e.g. B. Angie Sauer: "FATE", Metal Star , 7/1991, p. 93. Also the band history on the official band website.
- ↑ Markus Baro: "FATE - shaken by fate", Break Out , 5/1991, p. 16f; Angie Bauer: "FATE", Metal Star , 7/1991, p. 93. It is popularly rumored that Limbo has been fired, and Steincke is now reducing the processes in this way.
- ↑ Christian Schlueter: "Unheard of: Heavy Metal was yesterday. The Swedish guitarist Mattias 'IA' Eklundh is revolutionizing an entire genre - and is leaving it behind", Frankfurter Rundschau , April 7, 2005, p. 23.
- ↑ In the Steinbruchtheater Nieder-Ramstadt on May 14, 1991, unpublished interview.