Tankard (band)

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Tankard
Tankard With Full Force 2018 14.jpg
Tankard performing at With Full Force 2018
Background information
Origin Frankfurt, Germany
Genres Thrash metal
Years active1982–present
Labels
MembersAndreas Geremia
Andreas Gutjahr
Frank Thorwarth
Gerd Lücking
Past membersBernhard Rapprich
Axel Katzmann
Oliver Werner
Andy Bulgaropulos
Arnulf Tunn
Olaf Zissel
Website tankard.info
Tankard performing in 2017 Tankard fance 2017.jpg
Tankard performing in 2017

Tankard is a German thrash metal band from Frankfurt, founded in 1982. [1] Alongside Kreator, Destruction and Sodom, Tankard is often considered one of the "Big Four" of Teutonic thrash metal. Stylistically, Tankard have consistently played thrash metal that thematically centres primarily on alcohol reverence, unlike the remaining "Big Teutonic Four" (Kreator, Destruction and Sodom), who are all known for covering such topics related to death, politics, violence and anti-fascism.

Contents

History

Formation and early years (1982–1985)

Tankard was formed in 1982 by three classmates, bassist Andreas "Gerre" Geremia, guitarist Axel Katzmann and vocalist Frank Thorwarth. Thorwarth and Gerre soon switched roles; at the same time the trio added drummer Oliver Werner and second guitarist Bernhard Rapprich. They chose their name from a dictionary upon seeing its definition as "beer mug".[ citation needed ] Their earliest written song was called "Ray Death", a song about nuclear war and their first gig was played in a local classroom in 1983. As drinking alcohol in the school was banned, they smuggled their beer in with milk cartons. Soon after, Bernhard Rapprich left the band as his conservative father did not want him "hanging around with a bunch of drunks" and he was replaced by Andy Bulgaropoulos. [2]

With the lineup now stabilised, the band released their first demo, titled Heavy Metal Vanguard, in 1984. After this, the band toured with fellow German thrashers Sodom. SPV were interested in signing both bands, but allegedly SPV retracted a deal after seeing the band perform live. [3] In 1985, they released a second demo, Alcoholic Metal, which cemented their thrash metal style and lyrical themes. Both of these demos were very popular in the underground, and on the strength of this demo they signed with Noise Records. The eight-track demo also features rough versions of four songs that would later appear on their debut album, Zombie Attack .

The Noise years (1986–1995)

Zombie Attack was released in July 1986. In October 1987 their sophomore album, Chemical Invasion , was released, with the album art being the first of eight done for the band by artist Sebastian Krüger, [4] followed a year later by The Morning After . Both of these albums were produced by Harris Johns, who would go on to produce all of the band's albums up to 2000. However, shortly after the release of compilation Hair of the Dog, original drummer Oliver Werner quit the band to be replaced by Arnulf Tunn, and the band released three albums with this lineup: The Meaning of Life , Stone Cold Sober and Two-Faced . They also recorded the live album Fat, Ugly and Live during this time. This lineup then folded when Tunn was replaced by Olaf Zissel, who remains in the band to this day, in May 1994 and the next year founding member Katzmann was forced to leave due to osteoarthritis in the wrist. [5] That year the band released The Tankard , which is widely viewed as a very good album by fans and critics alike, [6] and is their final album with Noise. [7]

Later career (1995–present)

The band decided not to replace Katzmann and remain a one guitar band.[ citation needed ] Also, after the release of The Tankard, the band signed with Century Media Records. After the release of Disco Destroyer , longtime guitarist Andy Bulgaropoulos left the band to spend more time with his family. [8] He was replaced by Andreas Gutjahr, forming the current lineup of the band. The first album released with Gutjahr was Kings of Beer , which was their second and final studio album with Century Media. The band signed with AFM Records and release five studio albums in a decade with the label, starting with B-Day and ending with Vol(l)ume 14 . On 27 July 2012, the band announced their signing with Nuclear Blast and released their first album with the label, A Girl Called Cerveza , that day. Also that year, they released a four-way split with Sodom, Kreator and Destruction called The Big Teutonic 4 . This release cemented them as a major force in German metal. They released another studio album, R.I.B. on 20 June 2014.

In 2015, Olaf Zissel was hospitalised with what was suspected to be a stroke. He was replaced temporarily by Gerd Lücking of Holy Moses. Their latest album achieved no. 41 on the German charts. While they have built a fan base, they continue to have day jobs.

Tankard's 17th studio album One Foot in the Grave , was released on 2 June 2017. [9] The band released its 18th studio album, Pavlov's Dawgs, on 30 September 2022. [10] A music video was made for the song Lockdown Forever directed by Renatus Töpke. [11]

On 20 June 2024, drummer Olaf Zissel had departed the band and was replaced by Gerd Lücking. [12] As part of the "Big Teutonic" four series, Tankard performed together with Kreator, Sodom and Destruction for the first time on July 20, 2024 at the Klash of the Ruhrpott festival, which took place at Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. [13]

Band members

Current members

Former members

Timeline

Tankard (band)

Discography

Studio albums

Release dateTitleLabel
1986 Zombie Attack Noise Records
1987 Chemical Invasion Noise Records
1988The Morning AfterNoise Records
1990The Meaning of LifeNoise Records
1992 Stone Cold Sober Noise Records
1994Two-FacedNoise Records
1995The TankardNoise Records
1998 Disco Destroyer Century Media
2000 Kings of Beer Century Media
2002B-Day AFM Records
2004 Beast of Bourbon AFM Records
2006 The Beauty and the Beer AFM Records
2008 Thirst AFM Records
2010 Vol(l)ume 14 AFM Records
2012 A Girl Called Cerveza Nuclear Blast
2014R.I.B.Nuclear Blast
2017 One Foot in the Grave Nuclear Blast
2022Pavlov's DawgsReaper Entertainment [14]

Other releases

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Destruction (band)</span> German thrash metal band

Destruction is a German thrash metal band formed in 1982. They have been credited as one of the "Big Four" of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom and Tankard. In addition to helping pioneer black metal, Destruction was part of the second wave of thrash metal in the mid-to-late 1980s, along with US bands Testament, Sacred Reich, Death Angel and Dark Angel. For most of the 1990s, the band was not signed to a record label and self-produced their albums until they signed a contract with Nuclear Blast in the early 2000s.

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<i>Chemical Invasion</i> 1987 studio album by Tankard

Chemical Invasion is the second studio album by German thrash metal band Tankard, released in October 1987.

<i>Zombie Attack</i> 1986 studio album by Tankard

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<i>Disco Destroyer</i> 1998 studio album by Tankard

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<i>Kings of Beer</i> 2000 studio album by Tankard

Kings of Beer is the ninth studio album by German thrash metal band Tankard, released on 28 April 2000. It is their first album with guitarist Andy Gutjahr. The album was re-released by AFM Records in 2007 with a cover version of Metallica's "Damage, Inc.".

<i>Beast of Bourbon</i> 2004 studio album by Tankard

Beast of Bourbon is the eleventh studio album by German thrash metal band Tankard on 22 March 2004.

<i>The Beauty and the Beer</i> 2006 studio album by Tankard

The Beauty and the Beer is the twelfth studio album by German thrash metal band Tankard released on 26 May 2006.

<i>Thirst</i> (Tankard album) 2008 studio album by Tankard

Thirst is the thirteenth studio album by German thrash metal band Tankard, released on 19 December 2008. The limited edition of this album was sold with a bonus DVD.

<i>Stone Cold Sober</i> (album) 1992 studio album by Tankard

Stone Cold Sober is the fifth studio album by German thrash metal band Tankard. It was released on 9 June 1992 and reissued in 2005 by Nuclear Blast.

<i>Vol(l)ume 14</i> 2010 studio album by Tankard

Vol(l)ume 14 is the fourteenth studio album by the German thrash metal band Tankard, released through AFM Records.

<i>A Girl Called Cerveza</i> 2012 studio album by Tankard

A Girl Called Cerveza is the fifteenth studio album by the German thrash metal band Tankard released through Nuclear Blast Records, released on 27 July 2012.

<i>Spiritual Genocide</i> 2012 studio album by Destruction

Spiritual Genocide is the twelfth studio album by German thrash metal band Destruction. It was released as a celebration of the band's 30th anniversary.

<i>One Foot in the Grave</i> (Tankard album) 2017 studio album by Tankard

One Foot in the Grave is the seventeenth studio album by the German thrash metal band Tankard. It was released on 2 June 2017, on the Nuclear Blast label.

References

  1. ↑ Rittner, Ronny (2017). "Tankard – One Foot In The Grave". Rock Hard . Vol. 35, no. 361. p. 95.
  2. ↑ "Tankard Band Bio 1". Tankard.info. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Tankard Band Bio 2". Tankard.info. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Tankard Band Bio 3". Tankard.info. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  5. ↑ "Tankard Band Bio 3". Tankard.info. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "AllMusic". AllMusic. tankard. Retrieved 25 June 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ↑ "Discogs". tankard. Discogs. Retrieved 25 June 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. ↑ "Tankard Band Bio 1". Tankard.info. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  9. ↑ "Tankard – One Foot In The Grave". Musicline.de (in German). Phononet. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "TANKARD Announce New Album 'Pavlov's Dawgs' To Be Released In September". Metal Addicts. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  11. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNJQ4Hnjp0I&ab_channel=ReaperEntertainment
  12. ↑ "Tankard announce change on drums". Chaoszine. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  13. ↑ "'Big Four' Of German Thrash Metal, KREATOR, SODOM, DESTRUCTION And TANKARD, Announce 2024 Festival". Blabbermouth.net . 31 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  14. ↑ Tankard Andreas "Gerre" Geremia Interview-'For A Thousand Beers' Box Set & New Album Details, 8 February 2022, retrieved 16 April 2022
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