Messiah (band)
| Messiah | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| origin | Switzerland |
| Genre (s) | Death metal , thrash metal |
| founding | 1984, 2019 |
| resolution | 1995 |
| Last occupation | |
| Christofer Johnsson | |
| Oliver Koll | |
| Remo "Bröggi" Broggi | |
| Steve Karrer | |
Messiah was a Swiss death / thrash metal band that existed from 1984 to 1995.
Band name
The band name was inspired by a song by the Swiss death metal band Hellhammer , which was first released on the 1983 demo Satanic Rites . In the US, the records were released under the name The Messiah or Messiah AD , as there is another band with the same name in the US. There are also other namesakes, such as B. an acid house band from London formed in 1988 .
history
The band was founded in 1984 by guitarist Remo "Bröggi" Broggi, the singer at the time Reto Wilhelm "Tschösi" Kühne and the drummer Rolf "Jazzi" Heer. They recorded the first Powerthrash demo in 1985 without having mastered their instruments. It was a spontaneous recording of her rehearsal. They later recorded the second demo Infernal Thrashing in the studio . Both demos had a circulation of approx. 200 to 300 copies and were released on cassette. Messiah made the first official appearance with Celtic Frost in December 1985 in Switzerland.
In 1986 they recorded the first album Hymn to Abramelin in an 8-track studio in Baar , which was distributed by a private label Chainsaw Murder Records. The album was ignored by the mass media, but achieved cult status among thrash metal supporters. It was released as a long-playing record with an edition of 2,000 copies with a black cover and, when this was sold out, an edition of 5,000 copies with a red cover was reprinted. The next album Extreme Cold Weather was also recorded in Baar and released first as a demo and later as a long-playing record with a circulation of 12,000 copies.
During this time (1985 to 1987) Messiah had several appearances in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland. During this time there were also changes in the band composition and the first tendencies to break up became noticeable. Broggi wanted the band to develop more towards Grindcore or Death Metal and Kühne, on the other hand, wanted to become more extreme and chaotic. In 1987 Messiah broke up because of personal and musical differences. The guitarist formed the band Cruise Missile, which was unsuccessful.
In 1990 Messiah came back with a new line-up (vocals: Andy Kaina, guitar: Remo Broggi, bass guitar: Patrick Hersche and drums: Steve Karrer) with the EP Psychomorphia , which was distributed by the Noise Records label , which was also the label of Celtic Frost at the time and was coroner . The new album could now be assigned to Death Metal. In the same year the band went on a tour with Deicide . The death metal albums Choir of Horrors 1991 and Rotten Perish 1992 were recorded with the same band member .
Then Hersche and Kaina left the band. New additions came Christofer Johnsson of the Swedish band Therion as a singer and Oliver Koll bass. With these two new band members, the style changed and with the album Underground , released in 1994 , they pushed towards Thrash Metal. Since for Broggi the style had finally developed away from the original project Messiah and he could therefore no longer recognize the early years, he broke up the band.
In 2019 the band performed for a concert at the Maryland Deathfest .
Music genre
The band played different styles of metal. The first two records Hymn to Abramelin (1986) and Extreme Cold Weather (1987) belong to a very own experimental style, which cannot be clearly classified as Death Metal or Thrash Metal. Messiah saw themselves as an extreme metal band back then. The guitars are not tuned lower, as is often the case in Death Metal, and the guttural vocals are a very loud scream. Compared to contemporary Thrash Metal releases, Hymn to Abramelin was very raw, fast and the singing according to the Tales of the Macabre was “just sick”, Bold singing “screamed like a madman, obsessed and original”: the sound was comparable to Death at the time of their demo recordings and the tapping of Destruction . On Extreme Cold Weather the singing on the studio side of the record sounds as if the speakers are defective, on the live side, which contains recordings of various concerts and is missing on the joint CD release of Hymn to Abramelin and Extreme Cold Weather , the quality varies accordingly depending on the song.
The EP Psychomorphia (1990) and the albums Choir of Horrors (1991) and Rotten Perish (1992) can be assigned to classic Death Metal.
The fifth album Underground (1994) as well as the decoupled EP The Ballad of Jesus have all the characteristics of Thrash Metal in the style of z. B. Sacred Reich or Slayer .
Discography
Studio albums
- 1986: Hymn to Abramelin
- 1987: Extreme Cold Weather
- 1991: Choir of Horrors
- 1992: Rotten Perish
- 1994: Underground
Demos
- 1984: Demo 1984
- 1985: Infernal Thrashing
- 1985: Powerthrash
- 1985: Live Baar
- 1986: Extreme Cold Weather
Compilations
- 1994: Powerthrash / The Infernal Thrashing
Singles and EPs
- 1990: Psychomorphia
- 1994: The Ballad of Jesus
Videos and DVDs
- 2003: 20 Years of Infernal Thrashing Madness
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Arto: Interview with Messiah .
- ↑ Messiah (Acid House) at Discogs
- ↑ a b c MESSIAH . "Hymn To Abramelin" / "Extreme Cold Weather" . In: Tales of the Macabre , No. 5.
- ↑ Frank Albrecht: MESSIAH . Psychomorphia . In: Rock Hard , No. 53.
- ↑ BrooklynVegan.com: Maryland Deathfest 2019 adds bands (Cryptic Slaughter, Messiah, Rippikoulu, more). Retrieved May 24, 2019 .