Pay It In Metal

Returning to the part of my mission statement that covers metal, today I’ve got Switzerland’s most famous import other than army knives, Krokus.

No Life ‘til Metal sums up Krokus as such: “OK, I know, this is the band that everyone makes fun of. I know they were considered a poor man's AC/DC and that they were not the most original or the most technical musicians, but SO WHAT! What matters is that the music is infectious, heavy, and well, I like it. That's what matters!”

Krokus was founded 1974 by bassist (and original lead vocalist) Chris von Rohr, and guitarist Tommy Kiefer. Originally a symphonic rock outfit, they changed to metal because their former direction was unprofitable. Current singer Marc Storace joined the band in 1980, when they recorded the triple-platinum selling (in Switzerland) Metal Rendez-vous. Von Rohr left the band in 1988 and guitarist Fernando von Arb in 2005, leaving Storace as the group’s veteran.

Krokus is still actively touring and recording. They released Hellraiser this year on the AFM label. Their Web site has 2007 tour information.

My Krokus collection dates back a few years to when this stuff was released on vinyl. 1984 was the last time I bought a Krokus album. I’ve arranged these songs in order from oldest to newest. The Pay It In Metal album doesn’t have band credits, and, until I started researching for this post, I had no idea von Rohr was the singer. So, you learn something every day.

Pay It.mp3 from Pay It In Metal, 1978
Heatstrokes.mp3 from Metal Rendez-vous, 1980
American Woman.mp3 from One Vice at a Time, 1982
Screaming in the Night.mp3 from Headhunter, 1983
Eat the Rich.mp3 from Headhunter, 1983
Ballroom Blitz.mp3 from The Blitz, 1984

posted by aikin @ 4:28 PM