Die Apokalyptischen Reiter (German for " The Apocalyptic Riders") is a

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, Germany based heavy metal band signed to

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

in Europe and

The End Records The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specializes in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music. Early years (1998–2005) The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of helping ...

in North America.

Musical style

The band's original style, featured on their releases up to and including ''Allegro Barbaro'' and on a few songs on ''

All You Need Is Love "All You Need Is Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in July 1967. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was Britain's contribution t ...

'', consists of

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 ...

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

blended with melodic compositions. In later albums, the death metal influence declined, resulting in less chaotic composition (often centered around a verse and chorus with a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

), more constant tempo, longer songs and

clean vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

(although not exclusively). This resulted in a more polished and accessible sound. The band uses lyrics in both English and German with a shift from mainly English songs to more German ones on recent albums ('' Licht'' is entirely in German). The release of '' Have a Nice Trip'' marked somewhat of a turning point for the band; although they retained the essence of heavy metal, they began experimenting with many other styles of music such as ambient and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

Members

Current line-up * Fuchs (Daniel Täumel) – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1995–present) * Volk-Man (Volkmar Weber) – bass, screamed vocals (1995–present) * Dr. Pest (Mark Szakul) – keyboards (1995–present) * Sir G. (Georg Lenhardt) – drums (2000–present) * Ady (Adrian Vogel) – lead guitar (2009–present) File:Die Apokalyptischen Reiter Rockharz 2018 15.jpg, Daniel "Fuchs" Täumel File:Die Apokalyptischen Reiter Rockharz 2018 18.jpg, Volkmar "Volk-Man" Weber File:Die Apokalyptischen Reiter Rockharz 2018 12.jpg, Mark "Dr. Pest" Szakul File:Die Apokalyptischen Reiter Rockharz 2018 13.jpg, Georg "Sir G." Lenhardt File:Die Apokalyptischen Reiter Rockharz 2018 19.jpg, Adrian "Ady" Vogel Former members * Skelleton – drums, screamed vocals (1995–2000) * Pitrone (Peter Pfau) – lead guitar (2002–2008) * Lady Cat-Man (Cathleen Gliemann) – lead guitar (2008–2009)

Timeline

Discography

Albums: * 1997 – ''Soft & Stronger'' * 1999 – ''Allegro Barbaro'' * 2000 – ''

'' * 2003 – '' Have a Nice Trip'' (#95 in Germany) * 2004 – ''

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

'' * 2006 – ''

Riders on the Storm "Riders on the Storm" is a song by American rock band the Doors. It was released in June 1971, as the second single from '' L.A. Woman'', their sixth studio album and the last with lead singer Jim Morrison. The song reached number 14 on the U.S ...

'' (#31 in Germany, #74 in Austria) * 2008 – '' Licht'' (#29 in Germany, #49 in Austria, #88 in Switzerland) * 2011 – ''Moral & Wahnsinn'' (#18 in Germany, # 41 in Austria, #61 in Switzerland) * 2014 – ''Tief.Tiefer'' (#22 in Germany, #72 in Switzerland) * 2017 – ''Der Rote Reiter'' (#10 in Germany, # 29 in Austria) * 2021 – ''The Divine Horsemen'' * 2022 – ''Wilde Kinder'' Demos: * 1996 – ''Firestorm'' (Demo) EPs: * 1998 – ''Dschinghis Khan'' (EP) * 2006 – ''Friede sei mit Dir'' (EP) * 2008 – ''Der Weg'' (EP) DVDs: * 2006 – ''Friede sei mit Dir'' (live-DVD) * 2008 – ''Tobsucht'' (DVD and two live-CDs) * 2009 – ''Adrenalin''

References

External links

Official German homepage
*
Official German fanclub
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apokalyptischen Reiter German heavy metal musical groups German melodic death metal musical groups German power metal musical groups German folk metal musical groups German thrash metal musical groups Reggae metal musical groups German symphonic metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1995 Musical quintets Nuclear Blast artists Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in popular culture