Stormwitch
| Stormwitch | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Heavy metal , power metal |
| founding | 1979 |
| Website | https://www.stormwitch-band.de/ |
| Founding members | |
| Andreas Mück (aka Andy Aldrian) | |
| Harald Spengler (aka Lee Tarot) († 2013) | |
guitar |
Stefan Kauffmann (aka Steve Merchant) |
| Jürgen Wannenwetsch | |
| Peter Langer (aka Pete Lancer) | |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Andreas Mück |
bass |
Pietro Raneri |
Drums |
Alex Sauer |
| former members | |
guitar |
Stefan Kauffmann (1979–1992) |
guitar |
Harald Spengler (1979–1989) |
guitar |
Wolfgang Schludi (1989–1992) |
guitar |
Joachim "Joe" Gassmann (1992) |
guitar |
Damir Uzunovic (1992-1996) |
guitar |
Robert Balci (199? –1994; 2005) |
bass |
Ronny Gleisberg (alias Ronny Pearson) (1983-1989) |
bass |
Andreas "Andy" Jäger (aka Andy Hunter) (1989) |
Bass, guitar (1995–1996)
|
Martin Albrecht (1989–1996) |
guitar |
Siggi Maier (1995–1996) |
bass |
Jürgen Ustrnul (1995–1996) |
guitar |
Fabian Schwarz (2001-2005) |
guitar |
Martin Winkler (2001-2005) |
bass |
Dominik Schwarz (2001-2005) |
Drums |
Marc Oppold (2001-2005; 2016-2019) |
Keyboard |
Alex Schmidt (2001-2005) |
guitar |
Oliver Weislogel (2005-2006) |
Keyboard |
Andrew Roussak (2005-2006) |
Drums |
Michael Blechinger (2005-2006) |
Drums |
Harry Reischmann (2010-2011) |
Drums |
Stefan Köllner (2011–2012) |
guitar |
Marc Scheunert (2010-2013; 2016) |
Drums |
Peter Langer (1981–1996; 2012–2014) |
guitar |
Volker Schmietow (2014–2015; 2016–2019) |
guitar |
Ralf "Stoney" Spitznagel (2010-2015) |
Drums |
Michael Kasper (2014-2015) |
guitar |
Vsevolod Balkovoy (2016) |
Drums |
Sascha Schilling (2016) |
bass |
Jürgen Wannenwetsch ( 1979-1983 ; 2005-2019) |
guitar |
Tobias Kipp (2016-2019) |
guitar |
Nick Berger (2019-2020) |
guitar |
Johnny Kröner (2019-2020) |
Stormwitch , also known as "The Masters Of Black Romantic" is a German heavy metal - band consisting intermittently since 1979th
Band history
The band was founded in Gerstetten in 1979 by Andreas Mück, Harald Spengler, Stefan Kauffmann and Eddy Galeida under the name "Lemon Sylvan". Shortly afterwards, the first line-up was completed with Jürgen Wannenwetsch. He left the band in the autumn of 1983. His successor was Ronny Gleisberg, who also played in the production of the first LP Walpurgis Night .
First albums
In 1984 the band visited various studios with self-recorded songs to create a demo cassette. The studio of Peter Garratoni and Günther Marek, who also ran the music label GAMA, offered the band a record deal .
In the spring of 1984 the debut LP Walpurgis Night was recorded and released. All songs were recorded live in the studio and not track by track as usual.
A year later the second LP Tales Of Terror was released . This album was also released on CD in small numbers. From the second LP onwards, pseudonyms were also used with the aim of being accepted abroad. On these two albums the band is still shown in leather and rivets .
Image change - The Masters Of Black Romantic
In 1986 the band changed their image. Where previously gloomy topics dominated the lyrics, more and more fantasy - and medieval - but also pirate themes came into the songs. The band performed in baroque costumes and the title "The Masters Of Black Romantic" was introduced on the 1986 LP Stronger Than Heaven . This record also contained the song Ravenlord , which was covered by the Swedish band Hammerfall in the 1990s . There was a tour of Germany with the band Killer .
In 1987 the follow-up album The Beauty And The Beast was released on the GAMA label. From this album, the ballad Tears By The Firelight was covered by the Italian band White Skull in the late 1990s . Commercially, this was the band's most successful LP to date.
In 1989 the LP Eye Of The Storm was released. In the same year there was a tour in what was then the Eastern Bloc, u. a. in Hungary , where the LP Magyarorszagon (Live in Budapest) was recorded. It is not a live recording, but rather the studio versions of the songs with corresponding audience noises.
In 1988 bassist Ronny Gleisberg left the band and was replaced by Andreas Jäger. Guitarist Harald Spengler concentrated on the management of the band, his position on guitar was taken over by Wolfgang Schludi. A short time later, Andreas Jäger was joined by the later Mystic Prophecy - and Valley's Eve bassist Martin Albrecht. The management was taken over by his partner Marlies "Lis" Höniger. Harald Spengler withdrew.
Fractions
In 1991/1992 Stefan Kauffmann and Wolfgang Schludi left the band. The two were replaced by Agent Orange guitarist Damir Uzunovic and Letter X guitarist Joachim Gassmann. In this line-up, the concept album War Of The Wizards was released , which thematically deals with the novel The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien . The names of the protagonists have been changed for legal reasons. So Aragorn became "Aaron", Arwen became "Arleen" etc.
Shortly after the release, Joachim Gassmann left the band. Robert "Robbi" Balci briefly took over his position in the band's appearances.
As a four-man combo, they released the second concept album Shogun in 1994 , which deals with the novel of the same name by James Clavell . In 1996 it was dissolved. Guitarist Damir Uzunovic and drummer Peter Langer devoted themselves to a new band (The Armada), bassist Martin Albrecht played in several other bands (Valley's Eve, Mystic Prophecy ). Andreas Mück and Marlies Höniger (management) stayed behind.
New beginning
Andreas Mück re-formed the combo in 2002 as the only member of the original line-up. He was supported by Martin Winkler, Fabian Schwarz, Dominik Schwarz (Runamok), Alex Schmidt and Marc Oppold. With this line-up, the band released the comeback album Dance With The Witches in the summer of 2002 . Various appearances followed, e.g. B. at the Wacken Open Air , the Bang Your Head Festival and the Summer Breeze .
The second album in this line-up was released in 2004 under the name Witchcraft on the Nuclear Blast record company . Then the record deal was terminated.
Renewed breaks
At the end of 2004 the previous line-up split from singer Mück and the management. Andreas Mück found a replacement in Jürgen Wannenwetsch, the very first bass player in the band, drummer Markus Ambrosi and the guitarist Robert Balci, who was already known from 1994. In this lineup, however, there was only one appearance ("Rock am Rand" -Open Air, Giengen / Sachsenhausen ).
A further line-up was found at the end of 2005 in Oliver Weislogel, Andrew Roussak, Michael Blechinger and Jürgen Wannenwetsch. Apart from a radio interview at the Free Radio Freudenstadt with presenter Uwe Klomfass (Uwes Rock Show) from June 2006, there is no audio record of this cast. Andy Mück and Oliver Weislogel played Eye Of The Storm, Tears By The Firelight and King In The Ring unplugged on this radio show. On the homepage in August 2008 Mück was listed as the only band member, but Wannenwetsch was still one of them in 2009 according to his own statement. He was also a member of the band with the following line-up.
Another new beginning
In spring 2010 the band announced a new, full line-up. This consisted of Andreas Mück (vocals), Jürgen Wannenwetsch (bass), Ralf "Stoney" Spitznagel (guitar), Marc Scheunert (guitar) and Harry Reischmann (drums). Reischmann was replaced in 2011 by Stefan Köllner (Ex-Domain, Ex- Symphorce ), and in 2012 he left the band again. His successor was the returned co-band founder Peter Langer. In April 2013, the separation from Marc Scheunert (guitar) was announced. His successor was Volker Schmietow (ex-Late Nite Romeo), who is more suitable for the band with his age. In the late summer of 2014, Peter Langer (drums) left the band again and was replaced by Michael Kasper. With this line-up the album "Season Of The Witch" was released.
In July 2015, Volker Schmietow left the band. Stormwitch initially performed without a second guitarist. In August 2015, the other guitarist Ralf “Stoney” Spitznagel also announced that he would be leaving the band in October. Drummer Michael Kasper also left the band. With that, the line-up had once again shrunk to the duo Mück / Wannenwetsch. In January 2016 the band presented a new line-up again. Sascha Schilling sat on the drums, on the guitars were Vsevolod Balkovoy and the returned Marc Scheunert, who had to leave the band in 2013 due to his young age. In May 2016 the guitarists Marc Scheunert and Vsevolod Balkovoy were replaced by the returning Volker Schmietow and newcomer Tobias Kipp. In June drummer Sascha Schilling left the band and was replaced by the returned Marc Oppold. With this line-up they played live a few times from 2016 to 2019 and released the album "Bound To The Witch" in 2018, which was very well received by the press and fans.
In August 2019 the musicians announced on Facebook that Andreas Mück broke up with you. The band's previous Facebook page will be closed and a new one will be set up. On this you can find the names of the new musicians: In addition to Andreas Mück, Niklas Berger (guitar), Johnny Kröner (guitar), Pietro Raneri (bass) and Alex Sauer (drums) now play with the band. The official website has stopped delivering content. On March 6th, Niklas Berger announced on his Facebook page that he and his colleague Johnny Kröner will be leaving the band. You played a total of two shows for Stormwitch.
Discography
Studio albums
- Walpurgis Night (1984)
- Tales of Terror (1985)
- Stronger Than Heaven (1986)
- The Beauty and the Beast (1987)
- Eye of the Storm (1989)
- War of the Wizards (1992)
- Shogun (1994)
- Dance with the Witches (2002)
- Witchcraft (2004)
- Runescape (2011)
- Season of the Witch (2015)
- Bound to the Witch (2018)
Compilations
- The Best Of (1992)
- Priest of Evil (1998)
Live publications
- Magyarorszagon / Live In Budapest (1989)
Re-releases
In 2004 the company BattleCry-Records bought all rights to the back catalog of the company GAMA, with which Stormwitch was also under contract during the first five albums. At the beginning of 2005 the (now very rare) first five albums were officially re-released, including the much sought-after LP “Tales Of Terror”. Each CD also contains bonus songs, most of which have never been released before.
In addition to the official re-releases from BattleCry Records, the live album, the best-of compilation and individual albums (e.g. "The Beauty And The Beast") have been re-released by various companies over the years, but mostly with different cover artwork and Album title. Licensing is also questionable.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Frantz-E. Petiteau: HEROIC FANTASY & METAL Volume 1. Camion Blanc BLANC, ISBN 2-357-79606-5 , RN 63.
- ↑ STORMWITCH - THE QUAKE, THE SHARDS AND THE PAIN
- ↑ Andreas Mück / Manati Herz: Official website of the band Stormwitch. In: https://www.stormwitch-band.de/ . Manati Herz, October 21, 2019, accessed on October 22, 2019 (German).