Jochen "Zeno" Roth (30 June 1956 – 5 February 2018) was a German guitarist and songwriter, playing in a neoclassical/blues style. He was the younger brother of guitarist

Uli Jon Roth Uli Jon Roth (born Ulrich Roth; 18 December 1954) is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with the hard rock band Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Aca ...

Biography

In the 1970s, Roth and Ule W. Ritgen formed Black Angel in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, and played together for a few years while attending university. After the band, which played music influenced by Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, etc., broke up in 1977, Ritgen played bass in Zeno's brother

's band

Electric Sun Electric Sun was a heavy metal band formed by Uli Jon Roth after his departure from the Scorpions in 1978. They recorded three albums between 1979 and 1985. Their first album, ''Earthquake'', was released in 1979 and features guitarist/vocalis ...

, appearing on three of their albums. By 1980, Zeno Roth and Ule Ritgen were again working together, now playing in a more melodic style. They were joined by Michael Flexig on vocals, and the band was named Zeno. Their first (self-titled) album was released in 1986. The band supported the album with shows, including a date opening for

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

in Newcastle, England on 9 July 1986, on what was the band's last-ever tour with

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

. ''Zenology'' was released in 1995, with songs that had been composed in the non-active period. A third album, ''Listen to the Light'', was released in 1998. In April 1999, the band signed with

Toshiba EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. Whe ...

(

EMI Music Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

). In the annual reader's pop poll of 1998 by ''

Burrn! is a monthly Japanese magazine for fans of heavy metal music, published since September 1984. It is the major publication on heavy metal music in the country. As of 2013, it is published by Shinko Music Entertainment in Tokyo. The magazine's c ...

'' magazine, ''Listen to the Light'' was voted No. 2 as an album, and Zeno Roth reached the position No. 2 (guitarist) and No. 3 (songwriter). "Meet Me at the Rainbow" reached No. 9 as a tune. In 2000, Roth re-released the first three albums with bonus tracks, on a set called ''The Making of Zeno''. A compilation of previously unreleased material, ''Zenology II'', was released in 2004. In September 2006, the studio album ''Runway to the Gods'' was released. Roth was voted No. 2 as a guitarist in the annual ''Burrn!'' poll in 2006. Roth died on 5 February 2018. According to his brother, he had been sick for several years.

Discography

*''Zeno'' (1986) *''Zenology'' (1995) *''Listen to the Light'' (1998) *''Zenology II'' (2005) *''Runway to the Gods'' (2006)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, Zeno 2018 deaths 1956 births Musicians from Düsseldorf German guitarists German male guitarists