Krokus is a hard rock/ heavy metal band from Switzerland. They enjoyed success in North America during the 1980s. Krokus was founded in

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...

in 1975 by

Chris von Rohr Christoph "Chris" von Rohr (born 24 October 1951 in Solothurn) is a Swiss rock musician, record producer, author, columnist, radio and television presenter. He is best known for being a member and founder of the hard rock band, Krokus. History ...

(vocals and multi-instruments) and Tommy Kiefer (guitar), both former members of Kaktus. Former

TEA Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

vocalist

Marc Storace Marc Storace (''Sto-rah-che'') (born 7 October 1951) is a Maltese born rock vocalist. His career in music started in the 1960s. He is most noted for his position as frontman, lead singer and songwriter of Swiss hard rock band Krokus from 1980. B ...

joined the band as frontman in time for their ''

Metal Rendez-vous ''Metal Rendez-vous'' is the fourth studio album by the Swiss hard rock band Krokus, released in June 1980. It is the first Krokus release to feature vocalist Marc Storace; Chris von Rohr had formerly served as the band's lead vocalist but appe ...

'' album in 1980.

History

Early career (1975–1982)

Krokus was formed in 1975 as a primarily

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

act. The group's original lead singer, Peter Richard, left before the first album was recorded, leaving lead guitarist Tommy Kiefer to handle lead vocal duties for the band's self-titled debut album. However, Chris von Rohr, originally the drummer, would switch to lead vocals for the follow-up record, '' To You All'', remaining in this capacity into the late 1970s (along with playing keyboards and percussion). Rounding out the radically different new line-up were guitarist Fernando von Arb, bassist Jürg Naegeli, and drummer Freddy Steady who had released the "Rock Is Here" 7" as a trio under the name Montezuma in 1976. With this incarnation, Krokus became successful in Switzerland, touring throughout the country and releasing a third album, ''

Painkiller An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It i ...

'', in 1978. After seeing AC/DC in concert in the late 1970s, they decided to change their musical direction and adopted a new sound which was heavily influenced by that band. Since von Rohr possessed limited vocal abilities and was not capable of hitting the third octave, the band decided to hire a new lead vocalist. Eventually, after trying out several other frontmen,

, formerly of

and Eazy Money, was hired in 1979. With the new line-up in place, the band recorded and released the album ''

'' in 1980, which was Krokus' first hit and brought the band international recognition. The 1981 follow-up album, '' Hardware'', was recorded at the Roundhouse Studios in London and featured such songs as "Easy Rocker" and "Rock City", which are still a part of the band's live repertoire today. Lead guitarist Tommy Kiefer was forced to leave the band due to a heroin addiction early into the tour supporting ''Hardware'' and was replaced by newcomer

Mandy Meyer Armand "Mandy" Meyer (born August 29 1960) is a Swiss-Canadian guitarist best known for being a member of the hard rock band Gotthard, the progressive rock band Asia, and the heavy metal band Krokus. Meyer has also worked with Cobra, Stealin' H ...

(ex-BM Smith). Kiefer would commit suicide on 24 December 1986 for failure to conquer his heroin addiction. He was 34 years old. Meyer soon left, replaced by Mark Kohler, and teamed up with bassist Tommy Keiser (not to be confused with Tommy Kiefer) of fellow Swiss rockers Roxane to start his own band. Setting up headquarters in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

under the guidance of Krokus manager Butch Stone, the duo would recruit former

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...

vocalist

Jimi Jamison Jimmy Wayne Jamison (August 23, 1951 – September 1, 2014) was an American singer. Best known as Jimi Jamison, he earned recognition as the frontman for the rock bands Target (American band), Target, Cobra (American band), Cobra, and Survivor ( ...

, ex-

Black Oak Arkansas Black Oak Arkansas is an American Southern rock band named after the band's hometown of Black Oak, Arkansas. The band reached the height of its fame in the 1970charting ten albums according to Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Their style is punctuated ...

guitarist/keyboardist Jack Holder, and drummer Jeff Klaven and issued their sole album, '' First Strike'', under the name Cobra in 1983. Klaven and Keiser would both subsequently join Krokus. Meyer went on to join

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and formed the short-lived Katmandu, although he would return to the Krokus line-up himself some years later. Jamison went on to perform backing vocals on Krokus recordings, in addition to replacing

Dave Bickler David Bickler (born March 31, 1953) is an American singer, best known as the lead singer for the rock band Survivor from 1978 until 1983, most notably on the #1 U.S. hit "Eye of the Tiger". In addition to his wide vocal range, his trademark l ...

in the band Survivor and achieving massive success with that group.

Rise to popularity and success years (1982–1988)

In 1982, with new American management, Krokus recorded ''

One Vice at a Time ''One Vice at a Time'' is the sixth studio album by the Swiss hard rock band Krokus, released in 1982 by Arista Records. It is notable for the strong influence of Australian hard rock band AC/DC on the songs and production, and was the first alb ...

'', which features the hits, "Long Stick Goes Boom," and the Guess Who cover, "

American Woman "American Woman" is a song by Canadian rock band the Guess Who, released January 1970, from the album of the same name. It was later released in March 1970 as a single backed with "No Sugar Tonight", and it reached number one for three weeks ...

". By the time this album was recorded, the band had parted ways with Naegeli, at which point multi-instrumentalist von Rohr assumed the additional role of primary bassist. This album was also the first to feature Mark Kohler on guitar. Chris von Rohr described the album at the time as "the album AC/DC never made", as the influence of the Australian band is difficult to ignore. The comparisons actually cast doubt on the creativity of the band, as many listeners now, in spite of the Swiss band's much wider musical spectrum, began to regard Krokus merely as AC/DC imitators. Nevertheless, Krokus became increasingly popular in Europe and began to receive attention and success in the United States. 1983's '' Headhunter'' was the band's first album awarded with

Gold album Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

status in the United States and hit number 25 in the 1983 ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. The album was Krokus' most successful album to date, both commercially and critically. It boasted the hit

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romance (love), romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn m ...

"Screaming in the Night", which saw heavy rotation on MTV and would become one of the band's most recognizable songs. Judas Priest's Rob Halford contributed backing vocals on the song "Ready to Burn". Bassist/keyboardist/percussionist Chris von Rohr was fired in late 1983 due to his writing an article published in a main Swiss newspaper exposing the band's rock'n`roll habits, prior to the band's appearance at the RockPop Festival in Dortmund, Germany, with rhythm guitarist Mark Kohler switching over to bass and Patrick Mason, aka Patrick Mahassen, who had also played in the Swiss band Crown, taking over rhythm guitar duties for the remainder of the ''Headhunter'' tour; however, Mahassen exited the band prior to the recording of the next album, ''

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

'', another Gold certified album, which the band completed as a four-piece. The tour for this album featured Mark Kohler returning to his main instrument, with Andy Tanas, formerly of Black Oak Arkansas, joining on the bass. These shows also featured Loverboy's Doug Johnson on keyboards. Meanwhile, von Rohr would go on to produce the band Headhunter's eponymous 1985 album, featuring future Krokus members Peter Tanner and Many Maurer, and release a solo album in 1987, entitled ''Hammer & Tongue'' (re-issued in 1993 as ''The Good, The Bad and The Dog'' after the release of von Rohr's autobiography, "Hunde wollt ihr ewig rocken"), which featured contributions from his former Krokus bandmates, Marc Storace and Fernando von Arb. Pushed into a corner by their own management and record company, 1984 saw the band move in a

Glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

direction with ''The Blitz'', which featured a cover of

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketone ...

's 1973 hit "

The Ballroom Blitz "The Ballroom Blitz" (often called "Ballroom Blitz") is a song by British glam rock band The Sweet, written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. The song reached number one in Canada, number two in the UK Singles Chart and the Australian Chart, an ...

". Though a commercial success, the album was panned critically. The band hit the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with "Midnite Maniac" from that album, becoming the first Swiss act to do so. Capitalizing on the wave of success enjoyed by heavy metal in the mid-1980s, the band then released ''

Change of Address Post offices and other mail service providers typically offer a mail forwarding service, commonly known as hybrid mail or virtual post office box services, to redirect mail addressed to one location to another address – usually for a given per ...

'' in 1986, which featured a cover of the

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

standard " School's Out". The album production was way too clean and polished for Krokus and it became a commercial failure. As a counterbalance, Krokus soon released a live album entitled ''

Alive and Screamin' ''Alive and Screamin is the first live album by the Swiss hard rock band Krokus (band), Krokus, recorded on their tour of the United States and Canada in 1986. Track listing Personnel ;Krokus *Marc Storace – Singing, vocals *Fernand ...

'' while the band transitioned from Arista Records to MCA for the release of their ''

Heart Attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

'' album in 1988. ''Heart Attack'' was a last desperate attempt to keep the band together. It saw the return of bassist/keyboardist/percussionist Chris von Rohr with Dani Crivelli (who had played on von Rohr's solo album the previous year) on drums and was similarly written and produced in the band's early 80's style. However, the Swiss flagship of international heavy rock needed time out. Fernando and Marc had endured 8 years of constant writing, recording and touring with hardly any time off. Coming dangerously close to a burn-out they went on hiatus at the end of 1988. Von Rohr, Kohler and Crivelli tried to continue with Swedish vocalist Björn Lodin (from the bands

Baltimoore Baltimoore is a Swedish rock band, led by Swedish singer Björn Lodin. Lodin was originally approached by Elektra Records in 1987 to record a solo album, but Lodin opted to use the moniker ''Baltimoore'' rather than his own name. In 1992, Lodi ...

and Six Feet Under) and lead guitarist Many Maurer, Crivelli's former bandmate from

Killer A killer is someone or something that kills, such as a murderer or a serial killer. Killer may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Killer (''Home and Away''), a character from ''Home and Away'' * Killer Kane, ...

. That line-up was short lived and never recorded any material.

Later years (1989–2006)

Guitarist Fernando von Arb would remain the sole constant member throughout most of the 1990s as Krokus carried on with ever-changing line-ups. 1990's ''

Stampede A stampede () is a situation in which a group of large animals suddenly start running in the same direction, especially because they are excited or frightened. Non-human species associated with stampede behavior include zebras, cattle, elephants ...

'' featured von Arb, former Headhunter members Peter Tanner (ex-Bloody Six, Witchcraft) and Many Maurer (ex-

), drummer Peter Haas (ex-Calhoun Conquer), and bassist Tony Castell. 1995 saw a brief reunion of the classic ''

'' line-up, minus von Rohr, on the ''

To Rock or Not to Be ''To Rock or Not to Be'' is the twelfth studio album by the Swiss hard rock band Krokus, released in 1995. The album stayed seven weeks in the top ten of the Swiss charts, peaking at number 5. The album briefly reunited 4/5th of the ''One Vic ...

'' album. Welsh vocalist Carl Sentance (ex-

Persian Risk Persian Risk are a Welsh heavy metal band from the new wave of British heavy metal era formed in 1979 and hailing from Cardiff, Wales. The brainchild of ex-Stoned Soul Party guitarist Phil Campbell, he recruited vocalist Jon Deverill, second ...

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...

Band) joined the band for ''

Round 13 ''Round 13'' is the thirteenth studio album by the Swiss hard rock band Krokus, and the only album to feature Welsh vocalist Carl Sentance, formerly of Persian Risk and the Geezer Butler Band. It includes a cover of "Heya" by J. J. Light (a ...

'', with Haas returning on drums. In 2003, the band released ''

Rock the Block ''Rock the Block'' is the fourteenth studio album by Swiss hard rock band Krokus, released in 2003. The album peaked at No. 1 in the Swiss Album Chart and was certified Gold in Switzerland. Track listing All songs by Fernando von Arb and Marc ...

'' with the new line-up of Marc Storace on vocals, Fernando von Arb on lead guitar, bass and keyboards, Dominique Favez on rhythm and lead guitar, Tony Castell on bass and rhythm guitar, and Patrick Aeby on drums and percussion. In 2004 the same line-up released the live CD ''Fire and Gasoline''. In 2005, longtime guitarist/bassist/keyboardist Fernando von Arb left the band because of continuing wrist problems which required surgery.

, who had played with the band in the early 1980s, replaced von Arb in the then current line-up. The new formation (Storace, Meyer, Favez, Castell,

Stefan Schwarzmann Stefan Schwarzmann (born 11 November 1965Larkin, Colin (2006). ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Oxford University Press. p. 189. .) is a German drummer who has recorded for Accept,Montgomery, James et al (2005)"Metal File: Korn, Motorhead, ...

and Dennis Ward) recorded the studio album ''

Hellraiser ''Hellraiser'' is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, and produced by Christopher Figg, based on Barker's 1986 novella ''The Hellbound Heart''. The film marked Barker's directorial debut. Its plot invol ...

'' in 2006, which went to gold in Switzerland on the first day of sales. It generally received very good reviews. In an interview in 2008, Marc Storace stated that Krokus was becoming more and more "metal". Prior to the album's release date, the band already released the ballad "Angel of My Dreams" as a downloadable MP3.

Reunion with "classic lineup" (2007–2011)

On 18 November 2007, the lineup featuring Chris von Rohr, Fernando von Arb, Freddy Steady and Marc Storace reunited to play a medley ("Tokyo Nights", "Bedside Radio" and "Heatstrokes") during the TV show, ''Die grössten Schweizer Hits'', on Swiss television. This led to their reunion concert on 2 August 2008 (with the addition of Mark Kohler). Krokus's cover of Sweet's "The Ballroom Blitz" also appeared in the 2007 game ''Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s''. It was announced on 20 April 2008, that the classic lineup of Chris von Rohr, Fernando von Arb, Freddy Steady, Mark Kohler and Marc Storace had reunited, and would be releasing a new studio record in 2010 with a supporting world tour. On 2 August 2008, the band performed live in the Stade de Suisse in Bern. Krokus performed the official anthem of the 2009 Ice Hockey World Championships, hosted by Switzerland. The song was entitled "Live for the Action". On 3 March 2010, the album '' Hoodoo'' including a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of Steppenwolf's "

Born to Be Wild "Born to Be Wild" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first performed by the band Steppenwolf. The song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is most notably featured in the 1969 f ...

" and ten other songs, was released. It came in a regular and limited edition, the latter containing a DVD featuring concert footage. In May 2011, drummer/percussionist Fready Steady announced he was leaving the band.

Reunion with Mandy Meyer and retirement (2012–present)

In December 2012, it was announced guitarist Mandy Meyer was once again rejoining the band after having filled in for an ailing Fernando von Arb at the Loud Park Festival in Japan in October 2011. Krokus released their seventeenth studio album ''

Dirty Dynamite ''Dirty Dynamite'' is the seventeenth studio album from Swiss melodic hard rock band Krokus, released through The End Records in North America. It includes a cover of the Beatles song "Help!". Reception Since its release, the album has been me ...

'' on 22 February 2013. On 21 April 2013, it was reported that former drummer/percussionist Dani Crivelli, who played on the band's 1988 ''

'', had died. According to the German language Swiss daily ''

Blick ''Blick'' is a Swiss German-language daily newspaper, and online news website covering current affairs, entertainment, sports and lifestyle. History and profile ''Blick'' was established in 1959. The newspaper was the first Swiss tabloid public ...

'', Crivelli fell off a bridge to his death in Trimbach, Canton of Solothurn. Swiss drummer/percussionist Flavio Mezzodi joined Krokus in May 2013 and played on their "Dirty Dynamite Tour". The band sold out an unprecedented 4 shows at the Kofmehl (House of Rust) in their hometown of Solothurn. The concerts were recorded for an upcoming live album and the fourth concert was released as '' Long Stick Goes Boom: Live from da House of Rust'' in 2014. In April/May 2015 the band returned for some dates in the United States, where they had not performed since 2005. Fernando von Arb was not part of that tour, as he cannot travel for long distances and Krokus performed as a 5-piece band. This was another reason why Mandy Meyer was brought back into the fold in 2013 as second lead guitarist. Mark Kohler also needs to take longer leaves of absence from the band and in his place Dominique Favez will play once more rhythm guitar. Dominique recorded on the 2003 ''

'' album, 2004's ''Fire and Gasoline'' and 2006's ''Hellraiser'' and is no stranger to Krokus fans. The band's 18th studio release, a covers album entitled ''Big Rocks'', was issued in January 2017. In September 2018, Krokus announced their retirement and would embark on their farewell tour in 2019. In June 2019, the band announced a final tour to take place in North America starting in 2020, but the dates were postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In April 2020, the band announced, via their Instagram account, plans to restart their final tour in 2021: Although the tour did not happen in 2021 either, in April 2022, vocalist Marc Storace still expressed interest in finishing the tour sometime in the future.

Origin of band name

The band name ''Krokus'' is German for

crocus ''Crocus'' (; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stems remain under ...

, a flower common throughout Europe. Early in the spring of 1975, band founder Chris von Rohr observed a field of these flowers while traveling by train. He was returning from L'Ecole des Chefs located in France after an aborted career in the culinary arts, and it was around this time the idea for the band was formed. The band members stated that it was the perfect name, since it featured "rok" in the middle.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

*''Early Days '75–'78'' (1980) *''Stayed Awake All Night – The Best'' (1989) *''The Dirty Dozen'' (1993) *''Definitive Collection'' (2000) *''The Collection'' (2000) *''Best Of'' (2000) *''Headhunter Blitz'' (2002) *''Long Stick Goes Boom: The Anthology'' (2003)

Live albums

*''

'' (1986) *'' Long Stick Goes Boom: Live from da House of Rust'' (2014) *''Adios Amigos: Live @ Wacken'' (2021)

Singles

Videos and DVDs

*''The Video Blitz'' (1985, VHS & LaserDisc) *''Screaming in the Night'' (1986, VHS) *''Fire and Gasoline'' (2004, bonus DVD) *''As Long as We Live'' (2004, DVD) *''Live at Rocksound Festival, Huttwil 2006 '' (2006, DVD) *''Hoodoo'' (2010, DVD) *''Krokus Live at Baloise Session'' (2014, Blu-ray disc) *''Brooklyn Zoo Club 1982'' (2015, DVD) *''Krokus – The Early Years 1977–1981'' (2017, DVD)

Band members

Current members *

– bass, keyboards, percussion, drums, vocals *

Fernando von Arb Fernando von Arb or simply FVA (born 17 January 1953) is a Swiss guitarist, songwriter and producer. He is best known for being the lead guitarist of the Swiss hard rock band Krokus. Career In the early 1970s, Von Arb was playing in th ...

– lead and rhythm guitars, keyboards, bass, vocals * Marc "The Voice" Storace – lead vocals * Armand "Mandy" Meyer – lead and rhythm guitars *Mark "Koki" Kohler – rhythm and lead guitars, bass *Flavio Mezzodi – drums, percussion

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krokus 1975 establishments in Switzerland Arista Records artists Musical groups established in 1975 Musical quintets People from the canton of Solothurn Swiss glam metal musical groups Swiss hard rock musical groups Swiss heavy metal musical groups People from Solothurn