Bonfire is a German 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.
Claus Lessmann is a German heavy metal musician and former lead singer of heavy metal band Bonfire. He was the only member and the only singer of Bonfire to have appeared on all of the band's albums. Lessmann was also one of the two original members of the band until January 2015, the other being lead guitarist Hans Ziller. Before joining Bonfire in 1978, he was in the bands Ginger and Sunset. He is currently the vocalist for Phantom 5. Phantom 5 has released two albums.
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.
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.
The Early Days is the fourth compilation by German hard rock band Bonfire. It was released in 2004 by LZ Records and is a five-part CD set that was initially sold individually and then released as a box set. The set is a re-release of all the Cacumen material including the "Riding Away" single, the albums Cacumen and Bad Widow, and the Longing for You EP; the EZ Livin' album, After the Fire; and the Lessmann/Ziller album, Glaub dran. All tracks have been digitally remastered and feature previously unreleased songs.
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.
Double Vision is the fourth live album by German hard rock band Bonfire. It was released in 2007 by LZ Records. It is a live album, recorded in England during Firefest III in Nottingham. It was billed as "a live celebration of 20 years of rock 'n' roll" by Bonfire. A DVD of the concert was released not long after this album. Chris Limburg was in a motorcycle accident prior to this concert, which is why he was not moving around the stage as much as he usually does.
Joerg Deisinger is a German musician and the former bassist and a founding member of the German 1980s heavy metal band Bonfire.
David L. Reece is an American vocalist who has been active in the heavy metal rock scene professionally since the late 1980s, recording with several bands in diverse genres including Bonfire from January 2015 to July 2016. He is best known for his time with the band Accept, appearing on their 1989 album Eat the Heat.
"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.
Who's Foolin' Who is the second compilation by the German hard rock band Bonfire. It is a greatest hits collection that was released by BMG International in 2000. The album contains material from Bonfire's first four albums. The title is from one of the band's songs from the album Point Blank.
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.
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.
Fireworks Still Alive is the fifth live album by the German heavy metal band Bonfire. It was released in 2011 by LZ Records and Sony Music. All the live performances on the album were recorded at various venues/concerts by Bonfire throughout Europe. The concept was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of the band's studio album, Fireworks, and the entire album is presented on the live edition. In addition, the band included live performances of a song from their last studio album as well as a cover song from Gotthard. One studio song was included, an edited version of Let It Grow from Branded.
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.
Glorious is the thirteenth album by the German heavy metal band Bonfire. It was released in 2015 by Borlia Records. This is the first album by what is deemed to be the third incarnation of the band, after the group had broken up earlier in the year and was resurrected by Hans Ziller by renaming his temporary music project, EZ Livin', to Bonfire. The album features a Beatles cover song as well as two remade songs from Bonfire’s most successful album, Fireworks.
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..
