Krokus (band)
Encyclopedia
Krokus is a hard rock/heavy metal band from Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. They enjoyed moderate success in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 during the 1980s.

Krokus was founded in Solothurn
Solothurn
The city of Solothurn is the capital of the Canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. The city also comprises the only municipality of the district of the same name.-Pre-roman settlement:...

 in 1974 by bassist (and original lead vocalist) Chris von Rohr and guitarist Tommy Kiefer. Former Eazy Money vocalist Marc Storace
Marc Storace
Marc Storace is a Maltese rock vocalist and songwriter. His career in music started in the 1960s, but he is most noted for his position as frontman, lead singer and songwriter of Swiss hard rock band Krokus from 1980. Before joining Krokus he sang with the Swiss progressive rockers TEA following ...

 joined the band as frontman in time for their Metal Rendez-vous
Metal Rendez-vous
Metal Rendez-vous is Krokus' fourth album, and the first to feature Marc Storace on vocals. It was released in 1980. The track Heatstrokes charted number one in the British Heavy Metal Charts, and arguably opened up markets for Krokus in Britain and the United States, along with Bedside Radio and...

album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 in 1980.

History

Krokus was formed in 1974 as a primarily prog rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 act. Chris von Rohr, originally the bassist, switched to lead vocals in the late 1970s and with that formation Krokus was successful in Switzerland, touring throughout the country. After seeing AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...

 in concert in the late 70s, they decided to change their musical direction and adopted a new sound which was heavily influenced by the 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, Marc Storace, formerly of TEA and Eazy Money, was hired. With the new lineup in place, the band recorded and released a new album entitled Metal Rendez-vous
Metal Rendez-vous
Metal Rendez-vous is Krokus' fourth album, and the first to feature Marc Storace on vocals. It was released in 1980. The track Heatstrokes charted number one in the British Heavy Metal Charts, and arguably opened up markets for Krokus in Britain and the United States, along with Bedside Radio and...

in 1980, bringing much wider international recognition.

The 1981 follow-up album, Hardware
Hardware (album)
Hardware is the fifth album by Krokus. It did not match up to the success of their previous album, Metal Rendez-vous.- Track listing :# "Celebration" - 3:23# "Easy Rocker" - 5:28...

, was recorded at the Hammersmith Studios in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and featured such songs as "Easy Rocker" and "Rock City", which are still a part of the band's live repertoire today.

In 1982, with new American management, Krokus recorded One Vice at a Time
One Vice at a Time
One Vice at a Time is Krokus' sixth album, released in 1982 on Arista Records. It was the first album to feature Mark Kohler on rhythm guitar. It includes a cover of The Guess Who's song "American Woman", and a song "Rock N' Roll" which is very similar to the Led Zeppelin song "Rock And Roll"...

, which featured the hits, "Long Stick Goes Boom," and the Guess Who
The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, they also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with numerous hit singles, including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "Share the Land"...

 cover, "American Woman
American Woman
American Woman is the seventh album by Canadian rock band The Guess Who, released in 1970. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts...

". Chris von Rohr described the album at the time as "the album AC/DC never made", as the influence of the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n band is difficult to ignore. The comparisons actually cast doubt on the creativity of the band, as many listeners now began to regard Krokus merely as AC/DC imitators. Nevertheless, Krokus became increasingly popular in Europe and began to receive attention in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

1983's Headhunter
Headhunter (album)
Headhunter is the seventh album by Krokus and was released in 1983. It achieved Gold status in the United States. The track "Screaming in the Night" was the band's biggest hit to date, and is still played on classic rock radio stations...

was awarded platinum album status in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and hit number 25 in the 1983 album charts. The album was Krokus' most successful album to date, both commercially and critically. It boasted the hit power ballad "Screaming in the Night", which saw heavy rotation on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 and would become one of the band's most recognizable songs. Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...

's Rob Halford
Rob Halford
Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...

 contributed backing vocals on the song "Ready to Burn".

1984 saw the band move in a more commercial direction with The Blitz, which featured a cover of Sweet
Sweet (band)
Sweet was a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as one of the most prominent glam rock acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first...

's 1973 hit song The Ballroom Blitz. Though a commercial success, the album was panned critically. Capitalizing on the wave of success enjoyed by heavy metal in the mid-1980s, the band then released Change of Address
Change of Address
Change of Address is Krokus' ninth album, and is largely seen to be their least successful. It has been described as "plainly one of the worst efforts" from Krokus, and the band's website claims that they and their musical style were put under too much pressure from their record company...

in 1986, which featured a cover of the Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...

 standard School's Out
School's Out (song)
Female pop duo Daphne & Celeste, released a cover of the song in 2000. The chorus is based on Alice Cooper's hit of the same name, and some other elements of that song have been retained, although much of the song is "original", in a pop-rap style...

. The album was a commercial and critical failure. Krokus then released a live album entitled Alive & Screamin'
Alive & Screamin'
Alive & Screamin' is hard rock band Krokus' first live album, recorded on their tour of the United States and Canada in 1986.- Track listing :# "Long Stick Goes Boom" – 5:33# "Eat the Rich" – 4:57# "Screaming in the Night" – 6:02...

as the band transitioned from Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...

 to MCA
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

.

In 2005, longtime lead guitarist Fernando von Arb left the band after continuing wrist problems required surgery. Mandy Meyer
Mandy Meyer
Armand Mandy Meyer is a Swiss guitar player 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' Horses and Katmandu. He was born August 29, 1960 in the town of Balcarres,...

, who had played with the band in the mid-1980s, replaced von Arb in the lineup. The new formation recorded the studio album Hellraiser 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
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

".

On 18 November 2007, the line up 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. 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
2009 IIHF World Championship
The 2009 IIHF World Championship took place in Switzerland from 24 April to 10 May. The games were played in the PostFinance Arena in Bern and Schluefweg in Kloten....

, hosted by Switzerland. The song was entitled "Live for the Action".

As of 3 March 2010, their latest album, Hoodoo, including a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 to Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf (band)
Steppenwolf are a Canadian-American rock group that was prominent in the late 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of Toronto group The...

's "Born To Be Wild
Born to Be Wild
"Born to Be Wild" is a rock song written by Mars Bonfire and made famous by the Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf. It is often used in popular culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude...

" and more ten songs, was released. It came in a regular and limited edition, the latter containing a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 featuring concert footage.

Origin of band name

The band name Krokus is German for crocus
Crocus
Crocus is a genus in the iris family comprising about 80 species of perennials growing from corms. Many are cultivated for their flowers appearing in autumn, winter, or spring...

, 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.

Studio albums

Year Album details Certifications Peak Chart Positions
1976 Krokus
Krokus (album)
Krokus is the self-titled first album by Swiss band Krokus. It was the only Krokus album to feature Hansi Droz and Remo Spadino. It is also the only Krokus album to show a progressive rock style...

1977 To You All
To You All
To You All is the second album by Krokus and a joint venture with the band Montezuma. It was the first album to feature the Krokus logo on the cover and contained their first video clip . It had limited success in Switzerland....

1978 Painkiller / Pay It In Metal
Painkiller (Krokus album)
Pain Killer is the third album by Krokus. It was recorded at Manor Studios, Oxford, England, and took just six days to produce.- Track listing :Side 1# "Killer" - 3:37# "Werewolf" - 3:03# "Rock Ladies" - 2:45# "Bad Love" - 4:26...

1979 Metal Rendez-vous
Metal Rendez-vous
Metal Rendez-vous is Krokus' fourth album, and the first to feature Marc Storace on vocals. It was released in 1980. The track Heatstrokes charted number one in the British Heavy Metal Charts, and arguably opened up markets for Krokus in Britain and the United States, along with Bedside Radio and...

US #201
1981 Hardware
Hardware (album)
Hardware is the fifth album by Krokus. It did not match up to the success of their previous album, Metal Rendez-vous.- Track listing :# "Celebration" - 3:23# "Easy Rocker" - 5:28...

US #103, UK #44
1982 One Vice at a Time
One Vice at a Time
One Vice at a Time is Krokus' sixth album, released in 1982 on Arista Records. It was the first album to feature Mark Kohler on rhythm guitar. It includes a cover of The Guess Who's song "American Woman", and a song "Rock N' Roll" which is very similar to the Led Zeppelin song "Rock And Roll"...


US#53, UK #28
1983 Headhunter
Headhunter (album)
Headhunter is the seventh album by Krokus and was released in 1983. It achieved Gold status in the United States. The track "Screaming in the Night" was the band's biggest hit to date, and is still played on classic rock radio stations...

US: Gold US #25 UK #74
1984 The Blitz US: Gold US #31
1986 Change of Address
Change of Address
Change of Address is Krokus' ninth album, and is largely seen to be their least successful. It has been described as "plainly one of the worst efforts" from Krokus, and the band's website claims that they and their musical style were put under too much pressure from their record company...

US
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 #45
1988 Heart Attack
Heart Attack (album)
Heart Attack is Krokus' tenth studio album, and is described by the band as "The last attempt to keep the band together in a deep crisis"....

US #87
1990 Stampede
Stampede (Krokus album)
Stampede is the eleventh studio album from Swiss band Krokus. It features an almost completely different line-up to that of their last album , and was, perhaps ironically, recorded in the band's home town of Solothurn by Jürg Naegeli, a former member of the band...

1995 To Rock or Not to Be
To Rock or Not to Be
To Rock or Not to Be is a 1995 album by Krokus. The album stayed seven weeks in the top ten of the Swiss charts, peaking at number 5.- Track listing :#"Lion Heart" - 5:16...

1999 Round 13
Round 13
Round 13 is the thirteenth album by Krokus. It includes a cover of "Heya" by J. J. Light .It was mixed by Tony Platt.Line-Up: Carl Sentance - Fernando Von Arb – Many Maurer - Peter Haas- Track listing :...

2003 Rock the Block
Rock the Block
Rock the Block is a 2003 album by Krokus. It was certified Gold in Switzerland.Line-Up: Marc Storace - Fernando Von Arb – Tony Castell – Dominique Favez – Patrick Aeby- Track listing :#"Mad World" - 3:56...

Switzerland: Gold
2006 Hellraiser
Hellraiser (album)
Hellraiser is the album from the Swiss hard rock band Krokus. It marks 30 years since the release of their first album, Krokus . It is also their first album on AFM Records. Armand "Mandy" Meyer featured as lead guitarist, replacing Fernando Von Arb...

Switzerland: Gold US #111
2010 Hoodoo
Hoodoo (Krokus album)
-Line-Up:*Marc Storace - vocals, Guitar*Fernando Von Arb - Guitar*Chris Von Rohr - Bass Guitar*Freddy Steady - drums*Mark Kohler - guitar...

Switzerland: Platinum

Live albums

  • Alive & Screamin'
    Alive & Screamin'
    Alive & Screamin' is hard rock band Krokus' first live album, recorded on their tour of the United States and Canada in 1986.- Track listing :# "Long Stick Goes Boom" – 5:33# "Eat the Rich" – 4:57# "Screaming in the Night" – 6:02...

    (1986) US
    Billboard 200
    The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

     #97
  • Fire and Gasoline (2004)

Compilation albums

  • Early Days '75-'78 (1980)
  • Stayed Awake All Night - The Best (1987)
  • The Dirty Dozen (1993)
  • Definitive Collection (2000)
  • The Collection (2000)
  • Best Of (2000)
  • Long Stick Goes Boom: The Anthology (2003)

Singles and EPs

  • "Tokyo Nights" (1980)
  • "Heatstrokes" (1980)
  • "Bedside Radio" (1980)
  • "Winning Man" (1981)
  • "Rock City" (1981)
  • "American Woman
    American Woman
    American Woman is the seventh album by Canadian rock band The Guess Who, released in 1970. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts...

    " (1982)
  • "Save Me" (1982)
  • "Bad Boys Rag Dolls" (1982)
  • "Stayed Awake All Night" (1983)
  • "Screaming in the Night" (1983)
  • "Midnite Maniac" (1984) #71 Hot 100, #10 US Rock
    Mainstream Rock Tracks
    Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...

  • "Ballroom Blitz
    Ballroom Blitz
    "The Ballroom Blitz" is a song written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and originally recorded by the English rock band Sweet ....

    " (1984)
  • "Our Love" (1984) #22 US Rock
  • "School's Out
    School's Out (song)
    Female pop duo Daphne & Celeste, released a cover of the song in 2000. The chorus is based on Alice Cooper's hit of the same name, and some other elements of that song have been retained, although much of the song is "original", in a pop-rap style...

    " (1986) #67 Hot 100
  • "Screaming in the Night (Live)" (1987)
  • "Let the Love Begin" (1987)
  • "Let It Go" (1988)
  • "Wild Love" (1988)
  • "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" (1994)
  • "I Want It All" (2003)
  • "Angel of My Dreams" (2006)

Videos & DVDs

  • The Video Blitz (1985, VHS)
  • Fire And Gasoline (2004, Bonus DVD)
  • As Long As We Live (2004, DVD)

Member history

Line-ups
1976 Krokus
  • Chris von Rohr
  • Hansi Droz
  • Remo Spadino
  • Tommy Kiefer
1977 To You All
1978 Pain Killer
  • Chris von Rohr
  • Fernando von Arb
  • Freddy Frutig (Freddy Steady)
  • Jürg Naegeli
  • Tommy Kiefer
  • 1979 Metal Rendez-Vous
    1981 Hardware
  • Chris von Rohr
  • Fernando von Arb
  • Freddy Frutig (Freddy Steady)
  • Marc Storace
  • Tommy Kiefer
  • 1982 Headhunter
  • Chris von Rohr
  • Fernando von Arb
  • Marc Storace
  • Mark Kohler
  • Steve Pace
  • 1984 The Blitz
  • Fernando von Arb
  • Jeff Klaven
  • Marc Storace
  • Mark Kohler
  • 1986 Alive And Screamin'
    1986 Change Of Address
  • Fernando von Arb
  • Jeff Klaven
  • Marc Storace
  • Mark Kohler
  • Tommy Keiser
  • 1988 Heart Attack
  • Chris von Rohr
  • Dani Crivelli
  • Fernando von Arb
  • Marc Storace
  • Mark Kohler
  • 1991 Stampede
  • Fernando von Arb
  • Many Maurer
  • Peter Haas
  • Peter Tanner
  • Tony Castell
  • 1995 To Rock Or Not To Be
  • Fernando von Arb
  • Freddy Frutig (Freddy Steady)
  • Many Maurer
  • Marc Storace
  • Mark Kohler
  • 1999 Round 13
  • Carl Sentance
  • Chris Lauper
  • Fernando von Arb
  • Many Maurer
  • Peter Haas
  • 2003 Rock The Block
    2004 Fire And Gasoline Live
  • Dominique Favez
  • Fernando von Arb
  • Marc Storace
  • Patrick Aeby
  • Tony Castell
  • 2006 Hellraiser
  • Dominique Favez
  • Mandy Meyer
  • Marc Storace
  • Stefan Schwarzmann
  • Tony Castell
  • 2010 Hoodoo
  • Chris Von Rohr
  • Fernando Von Arb
  • Freddy Steady
  • Marc Storace
  • Mark Kohler

  • External links

    The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
     
    x
    OK