KROKUS

Over a period of 3 decades KROKUS have recorded a total of 15 studio albums, 2 "live" albums and 3 "Best of..." (some remastered) albums with various line-up's.
The breakthrough came in 1980 with Triple Platinum selling METAL RENDEZ-VOUS. Fernando Von Arb on lead-guitar, Chris Von Rohr on the mighty bass and drummer Freddy Steady established an International identity for the band and instant recognition with the powerful vocals of Marc “the voice” Storace. Three Rock Classics were born (“Bedside Radio”, “Heatstrokes” and “Tokyo Nights”) and caught the attention not only of the Swiss fans but also the British and American public as well as the press. In fact, “Heatstrokes” shot up to first place in the British Heavy Metal charts.

Their follow-up record HARDWARE in 1981 shot straight to GOLD in Switzerland! It contains the big hits “Winning Man”, “Celebration” and the ultimate anthem for their hard rocking fans, “Easy Rocker”. All remain regular staples in their live set-list to this day.

Then in 1982 followed the album ONE VICE AT A TIME. That album contains the hits “Long Stick Goes Boom!”, “Down The Drain”, “Playin’ The Outlaw” and the song that opened the doors to Canada: “American Woman”. Another GOLD Record Award.

The 1983 HEADHUNTER release was their biggest selling album Worldwide to today. The songs for this album were written in the USA and recorded in Florida. It earned Platinum status in America (over one million copies sold), Gold Record Awards in Switzerland and Canada respectively! “Screaming In The Night” became their biggest hit so far, and still can be found today on radio play lists all around the world as a timeless classic rock ballad. Other songs like “Eat The Rich”, “Stayed Awake All Night” or the title track “Headhunter” are steadily requested by live audiences and the band obliges!

In 1984 THE BLITZ was released. Yet again the band did their song writing in the USA, which by now was practically their second home. They wrote the hits “Midnite Maniac”, “Out Of Control” and the ballad that won young ladies’ hearts, “Our Love”! The rocked up version of “Ballroom Blitz” served not only for the album title but led to a sought after VHS/LaserDisc bit called “The Video Blitz”. The recordings were made in Canada and produced by the late, great Bruce Fairbairn.

1988 the album HEART ATTACK was released and time would tell that this was the last transatlantic concert tour for a long time. This album also featured the only song (“Winning Man”) that was recorded on a studio album twice (first time recording was in 1981 on the “Hardware” album).
Musically, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Tonight” showed great live potential but promoting it on the radio waves brought its challenges due to changing music trends! Years of writing, recording and touring endlessly drained the band’s energy ...disheartened and burnt out they did what so many other bands in the eighties did as well: the "ORIGINAL" line-up went on a hiatus “until further notice”.
2007 And Beyond….
Now let's "fast forward" to the fall of 2007. The Swiss TV show "Die Grössten Schweizer Hits" ("Greatest Swiss Hits Of All Times") ran a six-part series, each broadcasting on Sunday evenings with different topics to record numbers of viewers. On November 18th KROKUS performed for the first time in 23 years in the classic line-up (minus Tommy Kiefer RIP), featuring Marc Storace on vocals, Fernando Von Arb on guitar, Chris Von Rohr on bass and Freddy Steady on drums. The medley consisted of the songs “Tokyo Nights”, “Bedside Radio” and “Heatstrokes”, all originally released on KROKUS’s 1980 album “Metal Rendez-Vous”.

During the Swiss TV Show the musicians, much to their surprise, were presented by BMG (record label) with the “Diamond Record Award” for overall record sales in Switzerland during their tenure with the label (mainly in the early to mid 80’s). This is an extremely rare award to be handed out. To put this into perspective, the “Diamond Record Award” equals receiving 40 “Gold Record Awards” or 20 “Platinum Record Awards” in comparison.
“Bedside Radio”, originally released in November of 1979 as a single in Switzerland, was back in the “Swiss Hitparade Charts” (equivalent to the US “Billboard Charts”). It shot from zero to 58 immediately in its first week after the broadcast. This originally promoted "one time reunion" would become the overture to the "impossible".
April 20th, 2008 the official KROKUS web site announced the comeback of the "originals" that created hit after hit in the early 80's while playing stadiums in the States and Worldwide. KROKUS has come full circle!

The reformed original line-up will only play one concert in 2008 at the "Stade De Suisse" Football Stadium in Bern/Switzerland on August 2nd. Fans from all over the world plan to be part of rock history in the making! After that the band will work on a comeback album to be released sometime in 2009, followed by a tour.

The creation of the "Globe Club", led by longtime friend Peter Waelti, broadens the communication with our fan base in the meantime and offers regular news updates as they become available. Subscribe to the "Globe Club For Clan And Fan" on our official KROKUS web site www.krokusonline.com and find out when we will be rocking on a stage nearby your town in the future.

The stage for the glorious return of the "originals" is set! As Marc’s T-shirt during a radio live performance at a classic rock station in Denver/Colorado rightfully reads: “THE PAST IS BACK TO KICK YOUR ASS”