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Krokus was formed in Solothurn, SWITZERLAND around 1974 by a joint venture
with band members from the Rock act Montezuma, guitarist Fernando Von
Arb, bassist Jürg Naegeli and drummer Freddy Steady with vocalist
Chris Von Rohr and guitarist Tommy Kiefer.
They started out playing symphonic Rock releasing their self-titled debut
in 1976. "To You All" followed a year later, this was the first
album to feature the Krokus logo, that has remained their trademark through
the years.
"Painkiller", the band's third album, appeared in 1978, it was
also released under the title "Pay It In Metal" with five different
sleeve.
After a few changes, with the addition of new lead singer Mark Storace,
Von Rohr switched to the bass guitar spot, Krokus opted to shift musical
gears by issuing 1980's "Metal Rendez-Vous", a more Hard-Rock
based album which went on to sell 150,000 copies in Switzerland alone
and caught the attention of the British and American press.
Their first Billboard's Top 200 entry was "Hardware", which
hit #103 in 1981 spawning the Mainstream Rock top 30 hit "Winning
Man", plus a minor hit in "Burning Bones".
In 1982, following the replacement of Tommy Kiefer with rhythm guitarist
Mark Kohler, the group released "One Vice At A Time"; it peaked
at #53 on the U.S. Top 200 LPs & Tapes chart while "Long Stick
Goes Boom" grabbed a #22 on The Mainstream Rock Tracks list and the
cover of Guess Who's "American Woman" inched into the Canadian
Singles chart.
Krokus' seventh LP, "Headhunter", was recorded in Florida during
the next year; the album became their biggest hit so far peaking at #25
on The Billboard 200 chart and earned platinum status in U.S. gold awards
in Switzerland and Canada. The main single, the Classic-Rock ballad "Screaming
In The Night" peaked at #21 on The Mainstream Rock chart and was
followed by two more minor Rock-radio hits, "Stayed Awake All Night"
and "Eat The Rich".
In 1984, with a new drummer, Jeff Klaven on board, the band released "The
Blitz" which shot to #36 in the States; the #10 debut of the first
single, "Midnite Maniac", is the highest peak of the band's
releases ever in the U.S. Mainstream Rock airplay chart, the track then
crossed over to The Billboard Hot 100 hitting #71; the second single,
"Our Love", was another Mainstream Rock top 30 hit.
The Swiss rockers returned in 1986 with "Change Of Address",
it included their biggest hit although its numbers didn't match those
of the previous album, in fact their rendition of Alice
Cooper's classic "Schools Out" rose to #67 on The Billboard
Hot 100.
Despite their unstable line-up, Krokus resurfaced still a year later on
The Billboard 200 Albums chart with the live set "Alive And Screamin'"
and also recorded a new studio LP, "Heart Attack", which was
issued in early 1988 on new label MCA Records, it reached the #87 position
on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 list but the band eventually split up in
the midst of the ensuing tour.
In 1990 original Krokus member Fernando Von Arb started again with a
completely new line-up which consisted of himself, vocalist Peter Tanner,
guitarists Manny Maurer and Tony Castell and drummer Peter Haas and finally
they issued "Stampede" through Phonag Records.
After full four years Krokus had resolved their differences with Storace
and were ready for action retooled with a line-up of Storace, Von Arb,
Mark Kohler, Manny Maurer and drummer Freddy Steady; they released the
band's twelfth album, "To Rock Or Not To Be", in 1995, it included
the single "Flying Through The Night" which achieved gold status
in Switzerland.
Storace was out of the picture once again in 1999; Von Arb then recruited
British singer Carl Sentance to fill the gap and recorded "Round
13" with Haas on drums and new guitarist Chris Lauper.
The band announced the return of Marc Storace before they headed into
the studio to cut what would become "Rock The Block", it was
released in Switzerland in January of 2003, with all international territories
following in spring; backed by a new recording contract with Warner, the
CD soared straight to #1 in their home country.
In October 2006 Krokus released their fifteenth studio album called "Hellraiser",
it contains the single "Angel Of My Dreams".
Krokus biography is an exclusive of 100xr.com
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