Atrocity is a German heavy metal band from Ludwigsburg that formed in 1985.

History

First started in 1985 as Instigators and playing

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. ...

, Atrocity arose as a

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

band with their debut EP, ''Blue Blood'', in 1989, followed soon by ''

Hallucinations A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...

'', a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Some ...

about drug use. Their second album, '' Todessehnsucht'' ("longing for death"), ventured into death metal classics with a cover of "Archangel" by the band

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

. Their musical scope broadened over the years, incorporating medieval and horror influences on their 1994

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...

-based concept album ''Atrocity's Blut'', (styled after the successful film '' Bram Stoker's Dracula''). ''Atrocity's Blut'' was followed by ''Calling the Rain'', an MCD with female vocals by guest singer Yasmin Krull and acoustic music. The 1996 release ''Willenskraft'' introduced industrial elements, with the special bonus CD of the album's special edition (''Kraft und Wille'') including electronic remixes of the songs. The later releases were less and less metallic; '' Werk 80'' featured versions of 1980s disco hits and the band had no apparent direction for the following few years. Unusual MCD releases and experimental songs like " Lili Marlene" covers (featured on ''Gemini'') estranged many of their original metal fans. After 2000, nothing had been heard from Atrocity and seemed to have disbanded. However, they returned after four years with a new concept album, ''Atlantis'', centered on the myths of the sunken continent of

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...

. The album also features the vocals of Alexander's wife, Liv-Kristine Espanaes Krull (formerly in

Theatre of Tragedy Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which influenced the gothic metal genre. History Formation (1993) Theatre of Tragedy was founded on 2 October 19 ...

). The band members also formed the atmospheric metal band

Leaves' Eyes Leaves' Eyes is a symphonic metal band from Germany and Norway. They were formed in 2003 by Liv Kristine, formerly the lead singer of Theatre of Tragedy, and the entire line-up of Atrocity. To date, the band has released eight studio albums, a ...

, which features Liv Kristine as lead singer. The release of the eleventh album ''After the Storm'' in 2010 started a new era for the band in the ethno metal genre. Yasmin Krull returned a second time as guest singer and instrumentalist for the project. On 11 November 2007, Atrocity announced that bassist Chris Lukhaup was leaving the band for personal reasons and that drummer Moritz Neuner was taking another turn in his working career. Seven Antonopolous was named as the new drummer in late October 2008.

Members

Current members

Alexander Krull Alexander Krull (born 31 July 1970) is a German musician who is the lead vocalist for metal band Atrocity, as well as backing vocalist in the band Leaves' Eyes. Biography Krull was born in Ludwigsburg, where he formed Atrocity in 1985. He ha ...

– vocals, keyboards, samples (1985–present) *Joris Nijenhuis – drums (2012–present) *Micki Richter - guitars (2019-present) *Andrea Nasso - bass (2021-present)

Former members

*René Tometschek – bass (1985–1988) *Gernot Winkler – drums (1985–1988) *Mathias Röderer – guitars (1985–2010) *Frank Knodel – guitars (1985–1988) *Oliver Klasen – bass (1988–1993) *Michael Schwarz – drums (1988–1999) *Richard Scharf – guitars (1988–1994) *Markus Knapp – bass (1994–1995) *Christian Lukhaup – bass (1995–2007) *Martin Schmidt – drums (1999–2005) *Moritz Neuner – drums (2005–2008) * Alla Fedynitch – bass (2008–2010) * Seven Antonopoulos – drums (2008–2010) * Nicholas Barker – drums (2008) *JB van der Wal – bass (2010–2013) *Roland Navratil – drums (2010–2012) *Sander van der Meer – guitars (2010–2015) *Pete Streit – guitars (2015–2019) *Thorsten Bauer – guitars (1994–2021), bass (2013–2021)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* 1990: ''

'' * 1992: '' Todessehnsucht'' * 1994: ''Blut'' * 1996: ''Willenskraft'' * 2000: ''Gemini'' * 2004: ''Atlantis'' * 2010: ''After the Storm'' * 2013: ''

Okkult ''Okkult'' is the eighth studio album by the heavy metal band Atrocity. It was released in 2013 on Napalm Records. With this album, the band returned to a death-metal sound, but also incorporated a symphonic metal edge. Track listing # "Pandaemo ...

'' * 2018: ''Okkult II'' * 2023: ''Okkult III''

Compilations

* 1995: ''Calling the Rain'' (acoustic album) * 1995: ''Die Liebe'' (collaboration album) * 1996: ''Kraft & Wille'' (video collection & ''The Hunt'' EP) * 1997: '' Werk 80'' (cover album) * 1999: '' Non Plus Ultra: 1989–1999'' (best-of) * 2008: '' Werk 80 II'' (cover album)

DVD

*2012: ''Die Gottlosen Jahre''

Demos

* 1988: ''Instigators'' * 1993: ''Promo '93''

EPs

* 1996: ''The Hunt'' * 1996: ''The Definition of Kraft and Wille'' * 2017: ''Masters of Darkness'' * 2019: ''Spell of Blood''

Music videos

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atrocity 1985 establishments in West Germany German death metal musical groups German heavy metal musical groups German gothic metal musical groups Massacre Records artists Musical groups established in 1985 Napalm Records artists Nuclear Blast artists Roadrunner Records artists