Ulrich Kusch (born 11 March 1967) is a heavy metal drummer. He is best known for playing with

Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weik ...

Gamma Ray A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically ...

, Masterplan and

Holy Moses Holy Moses is a German thrash metal band active from 1980 to 1994 and again since 2000. They are well noted for being fronted by Sabina Classen, who is the only constant member of Holy Moses, and for being one of the first German thrash metal ...

, among others. He is known for his technical style of playing, fast-paced

speed metal Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...

-like rhythm, and capable songwriting abilities.

Biography

During the 1980s and early 1990s, he used to be a studio musician and played for many bands, such as

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...

among others. In 1990, after first drummer of

Mathias Burchardt quit the band,

Kai Hansen Kai Michael Hansen (born 17 January 1963) is a German musician who is the founder, lead guitarist and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray. He is also one of the co-founders of metal band Helloween, which he rejoined in 2016. He is a promine ...

recruited Uli to perform for his band. In 1991, this lineup released their second full-length studio album, labeled '' Sigh No More'' and went on a world tour. However, Uli quit Gamma Ray in 1992. He Joined Axe La Chapelle 1993 and played the drums for the album "Grab What You Can" before he joined

, with whom he released ''

Master of the Rings ''Master of the Rings'' is the sixth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1994. It is the first to feature new members Andi Deris and Uli Kusch. This album contains four singles, which are " Where The Rain Grows", " Mr ...

'' in 1994 and ''

The Time of the Oath ''The Time of the Oath'' is the seventh studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1996. This is the first album following the death of the original drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg, who was fired from the band after ''Chameleon' ...

'' in 1996. That same year Helloween released the 2-CD live album ''

High Live ''High Live'' is a live album released in video and audio formats in 1996 by the German power metal band Helloween. The video was re-released on DVD in 2002 by Sanctuary Records. Track listing Disc one Disc two Credits * Andi Deris - Vocal ...

'', providing a decent demonstration of Uli's skills for performing live. That time Uli himself formed and produced with Gamma Ray guitarist

Henjo Richter Henjo Oliver Richter, (born 24 November 1963 in Hamburg, West Germany) is a guitarist and keyboardist in Gamma Ray, the German power metal band formed by Kai Hansen. Biography Henjo is a self-taught musician and started playing at the age of ...

the

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

tribute band Catch the Rainbow and soon other musicians joined them. Their album ''A Tribute to Rainbow'', with eleven covers of Rainbow songs, was released in 1999. It featured other members of Helloween and Gamma Ray as well as other bands. He also played in

Markus Grosskopf Markus Grosskopf (born 21 September 1965) is a German musician who is the bass guitarist, backing vocalist and a founding member of the power metal band Helloween. Biography Grosskopf started playing bass at the age of 15 when he became friend ...

's side-project Shockmachine for their only album in 1998. Helloween recorded ''

Better Than Raw ''Better Than Raw'' is the eighth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1998. The album spawned the singles "I Can" and "Hey Lord!". The album was recorded at Chateau du Pape and Crazy Cat Studios in Hamburg and at Mi Su ...

'' the same year, followed by the band's album of covers ''

Metal Jukebox ''Metal Jukebox'' is a cover album by German power metal band Helloween. The song "Lay All Your Love on Me" was released as a single in Japan. Each member of the band recorded their instruments independently (and in different countries and studio ...

'' in 1999. Uli stayed with Helloween up to 2000's ''

The Dark Ride ''The Dark Ride'' is the ninth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 2000. The album's style was quite different from ''Better Than Raw'' as it had a much darker sound, drop-tuned guitars, and gruffer vocals. The album ...

'', developing into a key songwriter for the band. Kusch also played on Sinner's 2000 album ''The End of Sanctuary''. In 2001, Uli and fellow bandmember

Roland Grapow Roland Grapow (born 30 August 1959 in Hamburg) is a German professional guitarist and music producer. Grapow is best known for his time in the power metal band Helloween, with which he played for 12 years after replacing founding member Kai Han ...

were fired from Helloween, following an e-mail from Michael Weikath. The two went on to form Masterplan, something they had originally been planning as a side project. With Masterplan Kusch recorded two studio albums, one

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

in 2003 and ''

Aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...

'' in 2005. That same year, Uli formed a new band called Beautiful Sin with help from Masterplan bandmate

Axel Mackenrott Axel Mackenrott (6 September 1969 in Hamburg, Germany) is the keyboard player for the heavy metal band Masterplan. Axel began playing at around 11 years of age with piano lessons, and went on to eventually acquire a Bachelor of Arts in musica ...

and members of

Pagan's Mind Pagan's Mind is a progressive metal band from Skien, Norway. They have released five studio albums, and the current line-up only features original members. Biography Founded in 2000 from the band Silverspoon by Nils K. Rue, Thorstein Aaby, and St ...

. Uli departed from Masterplan in October 2006 for personal and musical differences. He said at the time that Beautiful Sin became his new main priority. Uli also co-founded a new progressive power metal project called

Ride the Sky Ride the Sky was a progressive power metal band formed by ex-Helloween, Gamma Ray, and Masterplan drummer Uli Kusch, and Tears of Anger members Bjørn Jansson and Benny Jansson. History The ground work for Ride the Sky began in 2006 when dr ...

, which released its debut album '' New Protection'' under Nuclear Blast Records on 24 August 2007, but the band broke up in April 2008 due to poor media attention and minor support from the record company. He has also rejoined the progressive thrash metal outfit

and recorded the album '' Lurking Fear'' with the band. In late 2010, Uli joined

Symfonia Symfonia was a short-lived symphonic power metal supergroup formed in 2010 by Andre Matos (vocals), Timo Tolkki (guitars), Jari Kainulainen (bass), Mikko Härkin (keyboards) and Uli Kusch (drums). On February 18 of 2011, the band made its debut ...

, a power metal supergroup formed together by

André Matos Andre Coelho Matos (14 September 1971 – 8 June 2019) was a Brazilian singer and musician. He was involved in the heavy metal bands Viper, Angra, Shaman and Symfonia. Since 2006, Matos had been dedicating his time to his solo career. In 2 ...

Timo Tolkki Timo Tapio Tolkki (born 3 March 1966) is a Finnish musician best known as the former guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of the power metal band Stratovarius. With his tenure lasting for more than twenty years, he was the longest standin ...

Jari Kainulainen Jari "Jartsi" Kainulainen (born 29 April 1970) is a Finnish bass guitarist. He is best known for having been the bass player of the power metal band Stratovarius from 1993 until 2005. Kainulainen is currently the bassist of Masterplan, having ...

and

Mikko Härkin Mikko Härkin (born 25 May 1979 in Kuopio, Finland) is a Finnish power metal keyboardist, who has performed with Sonata Arctica and Kenziner. History Härkin begun to study piano at the age of 5. He joined ''Kenziner'' in 1998 and with them rec ...

. They made their debut performance at

Finnish Metal Expo Finnish Metal Expo was a heavy metal fair and festival held annually at Kaapelitehdas in Ruoholahti, Helsinki, Finland from 2005 to 2012. It was a part of the Helsinki Metal Meeting. It's original location was the Cablefactory in Helsinki, Finl ...

2011. The band entered the studio in November 2010 to begin recording their debut album,

In Paradisum "In paradisum" (English: "Into paradise") is an antiphon from the traditional Latin liturgy of the Western Church Requiem Mass. It is sung by the choir as the body is being taken out of the church. The text of the ''In paradisum'' — with or wit ...

and was released on 25 March 2011. During the preparations for the upcoming tour, Uli suffered from nerve damage in his left hand which led the band to hire Alex Landenburg as his replacement for the debut performance at Finnish Metal Expo, as well as some other dates. Latest news is that Uli has officially left the band to continue recovering from his nerve damage which made it impossible for him to play drums for a year. Since 2013 Uli is teaching drums at the "Kulturskole Trysil /Norway" and playing as a freelancer.

Discography

Holy Moses Holy Moses is a German thrash metal band active from 1980 to 1994 and again since 2000. They are well noted for being fronted by Sabina Classen, who is the only constant member of Holy Moses, and for being one of the first German thrash metal ...

* ''

Finished with the Dogs ''Finished with the Dogs'' is the second album by Holy Moses, released in 1987 on AAARRG Records. It was re-released on August 5, 2005 through Armageddon with 4 bonus live tracks. All music and lyrics are by Andy Classen and Sabina Classen. Tr ...

'' (1987) * ''

The New Machine of Liechtenstein ''The New Machine of Liechtenstein'' is the third album by Holy Moses, released in 1989 on WEA. It was re-released on 5 August 2005 through Armageddon and then in 2007 by Locomotive with 2 bonus live tracks. All music composed and arranged by ...

'' (1989) * ''World Chaos'' (1990)

Gamma Ray A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically ...

* '' Heading for the East'' (Live video) (1990) * '' Heaven Can Wait (EP)'' (1990) * '' Sigh No More'' (1991)

Axe La Chapelle

* ''Grab What You Can'' (1994)

Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weik ...

* ''

'' (1994) * ''

The Time Of The Oath ''The Time of the Oath'' is the seventh studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1996. This is the first album following the death of the original drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg, who was fired from the band after ''Chameleon' ...

'' (1996) * ''

'' (Live video) (1996) * ''

'' (1998) * ''

'' (1999) * ''

'' (2000)

Roland Grapow Roland Grapow (born 30 August 1959 in Hamburg) is a German professional guitarist and music producer. Grapow is best known for his time in the power metal band Helloween, with which he played for 12 years after replacing founding member Kai Han ...

* '' The Four Seasons of Life'' (1997)

Sinner

* ''The End of Sanctuary'' (2000)

Masterplan

* ''

Enlighten Me Enlighten Me may refer to: * "Enlighten Me" (Echo & the Bunnymen song), 1990 * "Enlighten Me" (Grouplove song) * "Enlighten Me" (Masterplan song) * ''Enlighten Me'' (album), a 2015 album by Jaymay {{disambiguation ...

'' EP (2002) * '' Masterplan'' (2003) * '' Back For My Life'' EP (2004) * ''

'' (2005)

Beautiful Sin

* '' The Unexpected'' (2006)

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...

* '' Lurking Fear'' (2007)

Ride the Sky Ride the Sky was a progressive power metal band formed by ex-Helloween, Gamma Ray, and Masterplan drummer Uli Kusch, and Tears of Anger members Bjørn Jansson and Benny Jansson. History The ground work for Ride the Sky began in 2006 when dr ...

* '' New Protection'' (2007)

Symfonia Symfonia was a short-lived symphonic power metal supergroup formed in 2010 by Andre Matos (vocals), Timo Tolkki (guitars), Jari Kainulainen (bass), Mikko Härkin (keyboards) and Uli Kusch (drums). On February 18 of 2011, the band made its debut ...

* ''

'' (2011)

Carnal Agony

* '' Preludes & Nocturnes'' (2014)

Majestica Majestica (formerly ReinXeed) is a symphonic/power metal band from Boden, Sweden. They were formed in 2000 by vocalist Tommy Johansson. They are influenced by soundtrack focused films such as ''The Lord of the Rings'' and bands like Helloween w ...

* ''Above the Sky'' (2019)

Last Union

* "Most Beautiful Day" (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kusch, Uli 1967 births Living people German heavy metal drummers Male drummers German male musicians Helloween members People from Aachen Masterplan (band) members Gamma Ray (band) members Sinner (band) members Symfonia members Mekong Delta (band) members