Lee Altus
Lee Altus (born May 13, 1966 in Odessa ) is an American guitarist of Ukrainian descent. He plays for the bands Heathen and Exodus . In the mid-1990s he was active for the German band Die Krupps .
Career
Altus grew up in the Soviet Union as the son of a conductor and an opera singer and wanted to become a professional ice hockey player in his youth . When he and his family moved to California at the age of 16, his parents gave him a guitar that he practiced for up to 15 hours a day. He mostly played his favorite albums. Altus put his focus on rock and metal , but also tried to incorporate elements of classical music . His role models were Ritchie Blackmore , Uli Jon Roth , Michael Schenker , Gary Moore and John Sykes .
In April 1985 he was one of the founding members of the band Heathen, for which he wrote most of the music. Altus played the two albums Breaking the Silence and Victims of Deception with Heathen . In the meantime, Altus was in conversation with the band Megadeth as a replacement for Jeff Young who had left. He declined the offer, however, after he saw during band rehearsals how Megadeth singer Dave Mustaine constantly insulted his fellow musicians and sometimes spat on them. In 1993 Altus joined the German band Die Krupps together with drummer Darren Minter. With this band he recorded the albums II - The Final Option , III - Odyssey of the Mind and Paradise Now . At the end of 1997 Altus left the Krupps due to differences of opinion with singer Jürgen Engler and returned to the USA.
On the occasion of the "Thrash-of-the-Titans" festival for the cancer- stricken Will singer Chuck Billy , there was a reunion of Heathen. After several concerts, the band recorded a demo in 2005 . Since Heathen did not get a record deal with this demo, Altus joined the band Exodus. Altus can be heard on the Exodus albums Shovel Headed Kill Machine , The Atrocity Exhibition - Exhibit A , Let There Be Blood , Exhibit B - The human condition and Blood In, Blood Out . In 2010 he released the new album The Evolution of Chaos with Heathen .
Discography
With Heathen
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With Die Krupps
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With exodus
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Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ HEATHEN Lee Altus on CBS NEWS 1987. CBS News , accessed on July 22, 2013 (English).
- ↑ Conny Schiffbauer: Tonetalk: Lee Altus . In: Rock Hard , August 2013, p. 126
- ↑ Thomas Kupfer: Psychopaths dance the samba . In: Rock Hard, April 2001, p. 136
- ↑ Thomas Kupfer: A coat full of schnapps . In: Rock Hard, May 2004, page 101
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Altus, Lee |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American guitarist of Russian descent |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 13, 1966 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Odessa , Soviet Union |