Bonfire is a German hard rock/heavy metal band, founded by Hans Ziller in Ingolstadt in 1972. In 1986, based on the advice of the record company and the management, the band changed its name to Bonfire. Original founder Ziller is still in the band and is the only one who has the rights to the Bonfire name.
Hans Ziller is a German musician, known as the founder, lead guitarist, backing vocalist and primary composer of the 1980s melodic hard rock band Bonfire. He founded the band Cacumen as a teenager in 1972. In 1989, in the middle of working on Bonfire's third album Point Blank—which, like the earlier albums, was produced by Michael Wagener—Ziller left the band because of insurmountable differences with the management and the rest of the band and began a project of his own called EZ Livin'. In 1993, he continued with Bonfire.
Don't Touch the Light is the first album by German hard rock band Bonfire, following its name change from Cacumen. It was released in 1986 on RCA Records.
Cacumen is the first full-length album by the heavy metal band Cacumen. It was released in 1981 on the independent label Rockport Records. The album came out after their single, Riding Away, was released two years prior and features a new version of that song. Cacumen would rename themselves Bonfire in 1986. In 2002/2003, Claus Lessmann and Hans Ziller purchased the rights to the Cacumen material and re-release the collection under the Bonfire name individually as well as a box set called The Early Days.
Bad Widow is the second and last full-length album by the German hard rock band Cacumen. It was released in 1983 on the independent label Boom Records. Cacumen would rename themselves Bonfire in 1986. In 2002/2003, Claus Lessmann and Hans Ziller purchased the rights to the Cacumen material and re-released the collection under the Bonfire name individually as well as a box set called The Early Days.
Fireworks is the second album by the German hard rock band Bonfire. It was released in 1987 on the label BMG International with two different covers, the worldwide one had a patterned similar to a decorated vault door while the North American version was simply four pictures of each band member in each corner of the cover. This album was recorded with a guest drummer, Ken Mary from Fifth Angel, because the band's drummer was fired during the writing sessions. A new drummer was hired just before the band toured in support of Fireworks. In 2003, the album was certified a Gold seller. Originally the band had recorded 25 songs, settling on 11 tracks.
Point Blank is the third album by the hard rock band Bonfire. It was released in 1989 on the label BMG International. During the recording sessions of this album, Hans Ziller was fired from the band, but the album features 10 songs written by him as well as 3 that feature him playing. Freddy Curci from Alias, Sheriff and Zion also contributed to additional backing vocals for this album. Originally, the band had recorded 30 songs and settled on 17 tracks for the album.
Feels Like Comin' Home is the "comeback" album by German heavy metal band Bonfire. It is the band's fifth album, released in 1996 on the independent label LZ Records, and featured the reunion of Bonfire. The album contains mostly English versions of the Glaub dran album by Lessmann/Ziller, and a German version of the album, Freudenfeuer, was released as well. Ex-Bonfire drummer Dominik Hülshorst contributed to the drums on the album.
Fuel to the Flames is the seventh album by the German hard rock band Bonfire. Released in 1999 by BMG International, it marks the return of the signature rock sound that the band had been known for.
Strike Ten is the eighth album by German heavy metal band Bonfire, but the tenth album release, hence the name. It was released in 2001 by BMG International and features a bonus song that was cut from the Fireworks album called "Angel in White", which was also a B-side to the single "Sleeping All Alone".
29 Golden Bullets is the third compilation by the German hard rock band Bonfire. It was released in 2001 by BMG International and features a bonus song that was cut from the Fireworks album called "Take Me by the Hand". The album is a double CD that features the band's most recognized songs; some were remixed and others edited for radio airplay and all have been digitally remastered.
Double X is the tenth album by the German hard rock band Bonfire. It was released in 2006 by BMG International. It celebrates 20 years of Bonfire music.
The Räuber is the eleventh album by the German hard rock band Bonfire. It was released in 2008 by LZ Records. The band collaborated with P.W. Politz to create a rock opera called The Räuber that debuted in Ingolstadt, Germany, in March 2008. The opera itself featured the band performing all the songs and went sold out for several weeks. A DVD was released in August 2008 that contained the opera performance as well as a full-length concert by the band. The album features music in both English and German.
"Riding Away" is the first single released by the German hard rock band Cacumen which would evolve into Bonfire. This is also the band's first release. In 2002/2003, Claus Lessmann and Hans Ziller purchased the rights to the Cacumen material and re-released the collection under the Bonfire name individually as well as a box set called The Early Days. This single was featured on Part 1 of the collection, added to the Cacumen self-titled album.
Free is the ninth album by German hard rock band Bonfire. It was released in 2003 by Sony/BMG/LZ Records and features music that leans more towards the once popular alternative sound. The album had two covers, one for German outlet and another for worldwide distribution. The German cover had a brown wall background while the other one was white. The band was highly criticized by their loyal fans as well as several critics for the material. Reaction overall from fans was less than favourable. The song "September on My Mind" is about the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. The reason "Friends" has such a long time frame is due to a large space after the song that was followed by band members Claus Lessmann and Hans Ziller making recordings of the album's songs.
"Deutsche Nationalhymne" is a single by the German heavy metal band Bonfire that had not appeared on a previously released album. It was released in 2010 by the imprint LZ Records and the first release by the band under their new contract with Universal Music. The single was only available in Germany and was recorded in support for the 2010 World Cup event in South Africa for the German football team. It was a recording of the German National Anthem in a hard rock arrangement. The song managed to enter the Top 50 Songs listing in Germany and it was the first time that a National Anthem had ever entered the Top 50 of any music chart.
Branded is the twelfth album by the German hard rock band Bonfire. It was released in 2011 by LZ Records and Sony Music. This is the first full album to be released with Bonfire's original drummer, Dominik Huelshorst, back behind the drum kit for the band. Two extra tracks were included, acoustic versions of "I Need You" and "Rivers Of Glory" that were recorded in 2011 with Claus Lessmann and Hans Ziller playing acoustic guitars and Chiara Ziller on piano.
Cry for Help is an EP by German hard rock band Bonfire. It was released in 2012 as a charity to prevent animal abuse. It was supported by PETA and specifically combated the Ukrainian government's policy to reward people for killing stray street dogs. The track "Cry for Help" was originally part of the album Double X, but has been re-recorded for this release. The band donated €1 to PETA for each sale made of the EP. Although Dominik Huelshorst was the one whom performed on this release, the band's new drummer, Harry Reischmann, is shown in the music video to the song.
Pearls is the sixth compilation by the German heavy metal band Bonfire. It is a greatest hits collection that was released by UDR in 2016, featuring a double CD set of several of the band’s most popular songs. The songs have all been re-recorded with the band line-up of the time and featured new versions and rewritten lyrics to some. This album was a means to celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary..
