Krokus biography
Krokus is a hard rock/heavy metal band from Switzerland. They enjoyed moderate success in North America during the 1980s.
Krokus was founded in Solothurn in 1974 by bassist (and original lead vocalist) Chris von Rohr and guitarist Tommy Kiefer. Former Eazy Money vocalist Marc Storace joined the band as frontman in time for their Metal Rendez-vous album in 1980.
History
Krokus was formed in 1974 as a primarily prog rock act. Chris von Rohr, originally the bassist, switched to lead vocals in the late 1970s and with that formation Krokus was successful in Switzerland, touring throughout the country. After seeing AC/DC in concert in the late 70s, they decided to change their musical direction and adopted a new sound which was heavily influenced by the band. Since von Rohr possessed limited vocal abilities and was not capable of hitting the third octave, the band decided to hire a new lead vocalist. Eventually, Marc Storace, formerly of
TEA and
Eazy Money, was hired. With the new lineup in place, the band recorded and released a new album entitled
Metal Rendez-vous in 1980, bringing much wider international recognition.
The 1981 follow-up album, Hardware, was recorded at the Roundhouse Studios in London and featured such songs as "Easy Rocker" and "Rock City", which are still a part of the band's live repertoire today.
In 1982, with new American management, Krokus recorded One Vice at a Time, which featured the hits, "Long Stick Goes Boom," and the Guess Who cover, "American Woman". Chris von Rohr described the album at the time as "the album AC/DC never made", as the influence of the Australian band is difficult to ignore. The comparisons actually cast doubt on the creativity of the band, as many listeners now began to regard Krokus merely as AC/DC imitators. Nevertheless, Krokus became increasingly popular in Europe and began to receive attention in the United States.
1983's Headhunter was awarded platinum album status in the United States and hit number 25 in the 1983 album charts. The album was Krokus' most successful album to date, both commercially and critically. It boasted the hit power ballad "Screaming in the Night", which saw heavy rotation on MTV and would become one of the band's most recognizable songs. Judas Priest's Rob Halford contributed backing vocals on the song "Ready to Burn".
1984 saw the band move in a more commercial direction with The Blitz, which featured a cover of Sweet's 1973 hit song The Ballroom Blitz. Though a commercial success, the album was panned critically. Capitalizing on the wave of success enjoyed by heavy metal in the mid-1980s, the band then released Change of Address in 1986, which featured a cover of the Alice Cooper standard School's Out. The album was a commercial and critical failure. Krokus then released a live album entitled Alive & Screamin' as the band transitioned from Arista Records to MCA.
Biography from 
, the free encyclopedia.
It may not have been reviewed by a professional editor, and recent changes may not show up straight away. See the latest version of this article. Used under licence. Subject to disclaimers.