Krokus

AFM Records vient d'ailleurs d'annoncer la signature du groupe culte Krokus !

voici un extrait du nouvel album de Krokus "handyman" à paraitre....bientôt, oreilles sensibles s'abstenir
http://krokusonline.seven49.net/data_access/krokusonline/audiofiles/Hellrazor.mp3

Un nouveau titre de Krokus intitulé "Angel of my Dreams" est disponible. Il est tiré de l'album "Hellraiser" qui sera disponible à partir du 15 Septembre.
http://krokusonline.seven49.net/data_access/krokusonline/audiofiles/Angel%20of%20my%20dreams.mp3

la pochette de KROKUS

KROKUS -


Swiss metallers KROKUS have announced a pair of live dates in Greece in support of their new album, Hellraiser, due for release on September 15th in Germany/Austria/Switzerland, September 18th in Europe and October 24th in North America via AFM. Recorded with producer Dennis Ward (PINK CREAM 69), Hellraiser will include the following tracks:
'Hellraiser',
'Too Wired To Sleep',
'Hangman',
'Angel Of My Dreams',
'Fight On',
'So Long',
'Spirit Of The Night',
'Midnite Fantasy',
'No Risk No Gain',
'Turnin’ Inside Out',
'Take My Love',
'Justice',
'Love Will Survive',
'Rocks Off!'.

En attendant sa sortie Lundi prochain, vous pouvez retrouver des extraits du "Hellraiser" de Krokus.

http://www.cede.ch/en/music-cd/frames/frameset.cfm?aobj=576392

KROKUS
"Hellraiser", le nouvel album de Krokus, vient d'entrer directement à la 2ème place des charts suisses et a été certifié disque d'or dans son pays

KROKUS Guitarist Mady Meyer: "We Have Some Songs That Could Succeed In Some Way"

Metal-Rules.com ( www.metal-rules.com ) has issued an interview with KROKUS guitarist Mady Meyer, conducted by Marko Syrjälä. The following is an excerpt:

Q: Hellraiser is your first album with Krokus. What kind of expectations do you have for this album ?

A: "To be honest I really don't know? It is hard to expect anything these days. It's hard to expect too much, maybe we have some songs that could succeed in some way. I think you have to listen to the album and make up your mind, because I think its got some really good stuff on it."

Check out the full interview here. http://www.website.com/

KROKUS, VINNY APPICE To Guest On The Classic Metal Show Next Week

The Classic Metal Show, heard 9 PM - 3 AM (EST) Saturdays at this location http://www.theclassicmetalshow.com/ have issued the following update in regards to next week's (October 21st) show:

"One of both Neeley and Chris' favorite bands over the course of time is the great KROKUS. They have had some ups and downs over their career, but currently are riding one of the best creative periods in the band's history. Fresh off their album and tour for Rock The Block, and their live album Fire And Gasoline, Krokus is back with a brand new album of fiery metal called Hellraiser. True to the name of the album, this one is a true barn burner of a release. We'll do a New Music Listening Party for Hellraiser, and are trying to work out an interview with vocalist Marc Storace. Additionally, we had Vinny Appice on the show a few months ago just to chat, but he's back with a brand new project called 3 LEGGED DOGG. The project features an all-star band, including Carlos Cavazo (ex-QUIET RIOT), Chas West (ex-BONHAM), Jimmy Bain (ex-DIO, RAINBOW) and of course the great Vinny Appice. We'll do a New Music Listening Party for 3 Legged Dogg's Frozen Summer, and we're scheduled to have Vinny Appice on the show to talk about it!"

KROKUS - Where Is Storace? Lost On Tour!


The following humorous tale (!) has been posted on BW&BK's famous BraveBoard by Peter Waelti from the KROKUS Globe Club For Clan And Fan:

"It's Friday, October 20th at 9:48 PM in Denver, Colorado and my cell phone (Natel) rings in the other room. Glued to the TV for a "must see" show, I ignore it. 10 minutes later it rings again. I ignore it again. My wife Donna is more curious than I and checks who's number is coming up. She shouts from the other room it's a 455 number". I shout back "it's an out of state number I do not recognize, most probably a solicitor" and further ignore it.

All day Krokus was on my mind. Wondered how they were doing on tour. So, as I was laying on the couch, reflecting on life during a commercial break, I started thinking '...hmm, 41 is the country code for Switzerland, 49 is the country code for Germany, could this 45 be a country code of a Scandinavian country in Europe?' Krokus plays Scandinavia, could it be that the boys in the band are
calling me? But then it's slightly past 6:00 AM in Europe, no way they would be calling at this hour, since they most likely went to bed sometime around 2:00 AM and everyone would be sleeping in the bunk of their tour bus, curtains shut. Oh well, nice thought. Wish them well.

Five minutes later the phone rings again. Same number. This time curiosity gets the best of me and I pick up the phone. On the other end, a voice (that I recognize) says: 'Peter, it's Marc (Storace - Krokus singer)'. To my response: 'Wow, great to hear from you' he adds:
'Well it's sort of an emergency. I'm calling from the gas station at the Tuelso Nord exit in Denmark because our tour bus left without me towards the German border. The people here were nice enough to let me borrow the phone, since mine is in the tour bus. Along with everything else including my passport. Even if one of the band members wake up, they will think I'm sleeping in my bunk with
curtains closed and won't wake me up most probably until 1:00 PM. All I have with me is my wallet and that had one of your Globe Club business cards in it with your phone number.'

Am I dreaming this or is it for real? Must be real, because they played Friday night in Copenhagen, Denmark and they are slated to play Flensburg, Germany the next day (today). Can't resist asking how this all happened. Marc explains. The tour bus driver Andrea stops at the Tuelso Nord exit gas station to use the bathroom and to get a cup of coffee. Marc was awake and used the opportunity to step off the bus himself stretching a little, then heading for the bathroom himself, without telling the driver, assuming she would drink the coffee inside the truck stop/gas station (instead the driver took it on board, driving towards the German border). On his way out, Marc was recognized by a couple of Krokus fans, involving him into a conversation and asking for autographs. Accommodating as he is and focused on his fans, he did not realize at this time that the tour bus had taken off without him.

I assure Marc that the Globe Club is the right place and the only phone number he really needs in his wallet, since we work "globally" [Denmark to Denver to Denmark/Germany] and will get a hold of someone or flag the tour bus down, one way or the other. Knowing that I have three hours until the bus should hit the border, I get to work. The easiest would have been to get a hold of one of the other band members in the bus. I call them all and leave messages on their voice mails. Don't have the number for the bus driver (the only one awake!). Next step: International Directory Assistance. After two hang-ups and an answering machine message in Danish I look for alternatives. Next step: authorities! I call the German Police Department emergency line in Flensburg (since I have no clue what border in Denmark they could be using), asking them to assist me with a telephone number for the Border Control in Denmark. I figured they could alert their officers to stop a blue Fairline tour bus! Traveling with the singer's passport but without him. I call all band members in the bus again, hoping one might hear a ring. In the meantime Marc calls back two times, inquiring about my progress while local gas station employees hold him hostage and enjoy having a rock'n'roll personality stranded at their usually boring work place (the good part about Marc's rock status was that they also let him use the phone to call the USA multiple times - we hope the employer is as understanding when he sees his next phone bill). Marc suggests calling the tour bus office somewhere in Germany for them to get a hold of their driver. Through the internet I find their web site and since they won't open until 9:00 AM in the morning, I send an e-mail, hoping someone will show up for work early (does anybody still do that???).

Finally, hours later, our drummer Stefan (Schwarzmann) gets up in the tour bus to use the bathroom and sees a message on his charging cell phone. The bus stops to regroup and recoup from the shock. A solution is found. They let me know that the tour manager will get a rental car and drive back about 350 kilometers to the Tuelso Nord gas station to pick up Marc "the voice" Storace.

As I call back Marc to let him know the good news, I can't help to think back to 1980 when I immigrated from Switzerland to the USA. Their then Swiss Manager Harry Sprenger visited me in Denver/Colorado and I still can vividly see him in my mind standing in my living room in Denver/Colorado, receiving a collect phone call from a Thommy Kiefer [Thommy Kiefer was a founding member of Krokus, somewhat of a cult figure for the fans and his 30th anniversary of his passing approaches this Christmas], who was stranded at a gas station somewhere in the good 'ole USA while the tour bus was gone, headed towards Tennessee for a gig that night. Deja-Vu? WOW! Whereas in the 80's for Thommy it definitely was "sex, drugs & rock'n'roll", for Marc in 2006 it was "coffee, fans & rock'n'roll". For me, it's only rock'n'roll, but I like it!!!"

KROKUS - Drummer Stefan Schwarzmann Playing Hellraiser Dates With Ruptured Hernia
Swiss rockers KROKUS have issued the following update:

"The Globe Club just got word from drummer Stefan Schwarzmann that during the entire tour of Hellraiser our “Tasmanian Devil Drummer Man” was playing with a ruptured (umbilical) hernia and literally “not missing a beat!”

Now that’s a commitment to excellence and a true example of “the show must go on.”

Stefan reports that he will get the hernia operated sometime in the first part of December. We wish him all the best and salute him as the “toughest rock drummer” in the world."

On the current European leg of Krokus' Hellraiser tour the band is playing 18 songs, eight of them in support of the Hellraiser album.

Here’s the set order:
'Hellraiser'
, 'Too Wired To Sleep'
, 'Hangman'
, 'Angel Of My Dreams'
, 'Long Stick Goes Boom!'
, 'Bad Boys Rag Dolls'
, 'Screaming In The Night'
, 'Fight On'
, 'Spirit Of The Night'
, 'Midnight Fantasy'
, 'Easy Rocker'
, 'Rock City'
, 'Rock ’n’ Roll Tonite'
, 'Celebration'
, 'Headhunter'
, 'Bedside Radio'
, 'Eat The Rich'
, 'Rocks Off!'.

Hello Bruno,
while KROKUS is hellraisin' through Europe the boys in the band are not just
slacking off during their days off in between concerts. The press wants to know
and they oblige! All of them share interview duties, mainly Marc as the front
man and longest standing member that branded the KROKUS music with his
incomparable voice since the early eighties.

So that you are informed about anything and everything KROKUS related as our
valuable fans, The GLOBE CLUB is listing below some links of interviews and
reviews of the newest album "Hellraiser". Simply copy the link and paste it in
your browser. And enjoy!

1. INTERVIEWS IN ENGLISH:

Mark Carras interviews Marc Storace for the US web-zine RockMyMonkey. His
knowledge about Marc's extra-curricular activities outside of KROKUS musically
and artistically is incredible and took Marc by surprise. You also may click the
mp3 version of the interview and listen to Mark and Marc. Our web master Tom
will list this interview as well under "NEWS" in the next couple of days.
http://www.RockMyMonkey.com


Lead guitarist Mandy Meyer is interviewed by web-zine www.metal-rules.com and as
with Marc the interviewer gets into detail about Mandy's musical past.
http://www.metal-rules.com/zine/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=693


2. "HELLRAISER" ALBUM REVIEWS IN ENGLISH:

http://www.blasting-zone.com/Krokus1.htm
http://www.piercingmetal.com/cd_krokus_hellraiser.htm
http://www.metalexpressradio.com/menu.php?main=reviews&id=1897
http://www.astrofaes.co.uk/index.php?revid=459


3. "HELLRAISER" ALBUM REVIEWS IN GERMAN:

http://www.sleaze-metal.com/reviews.html?do=view&id=2671
http://www.bright-eyes.de/baseportal/CDs/kritikendetail&Id==8055
http://www.wallsoffire.de/Reviews/show_review.php3?kritik_id=7230
http://www.music.ch/LF/reviews/ID1014/INFO/Krokus/Hellraiser/
http://www.rocktimes.de/gesamt/k/krokus/hellraiser.html
http://www.rocksensation.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=111&Itemid=31
http://www.myrevelations.de/cgi-bin/reviews.pl?cdreviews&review_detail&3402
http://www.home-of-rock.de/CD-Reviews/Krokus/Hellraiser.html
http://www.amboss-mag.de/reviews/Archiv2/06/r06-09/krokus.html
http://www.medazzarock.ch/reviews/review092006krokus.html
http://www.burnyourears.de/index.php?templateid=artikel&id=2435


4. "HELLRAISER" ALBUM REVIEWS IN SPANISH:

http://www.thisisrock.net


5. "HELLRAISER" ALBUM REVIEWS IN ITALIAN:

http://www.hardsounds.it/PUBLIC/recensione.php?id=2765


REMINDER: Our "Hellraiser" contest for your review of the album (see details on
our web site www.krokusonline.com under "NEWS" & scroll down) ends this coming
Tuesday, November 21st, 2006. I will leave 2 days later to join the band in
Malta for their performance in Marc's original home country. I'll sacrifice the
"Thanksgiving Turkey" ritual and give up pumpkin pie, because I have to witness
his triumphant return after 33 years since he played with a band on the island
(last time with TEA - the band I managed in the 70's) and for the first time
with KROKUS. We will stay at the Westin Resort Hotel Dragonara in
Valletta/Malta. What happens in Malta stays in Malta (sort of like Las Vegas!).
But in this case, for you fans, I'll report back to you all the crazy things
that happened down there.

Check out the trailer of Classic Rock Promotions in Valletta for the show in
Malta:
http://www.basement.com.mt/krokus/index.html

Those of you that took advantage of the "KROKUS GOES TO MALTA" travel package, I
will meet you personally at the V.I.P. "Meet & Greet" with the band. Those of
you living in the United States, I wish on behalf of the band and myself a happy
"Thanksgiving" to you all. And the rest of the world we thank as well. We surely
are grateful and give thanks to have such loyal fans. Kiss has the KISS ARMY; we
have the KROKUS PATROL! Without you there would be no reason to carry on.

Do your Christmas shopping early and give the gift of music to your friends and
family: the new "HELLRAISER" CD. If you have trouble finding it, go to
www.amazon.com or download it from www.i-tunes.com. Either way you will be
hellraisin' as well. It's contagious!!!

Rock On,
Peter

KROKUS GLOBE CLUB FOR CLAN AND FAN
P.O.BOX 17552
DENVER, COLORADO 80217
U.S.A.

And for tour updates visit www.krokusonline.com and click on "tour" or
www.pollstar.com under "KROKUS".

KROKUS To Announce US Summer Tour?


KROKUS vocalist Marc Storace recently spoke with The Hairball John Radio Show about the new Krokus release Hellraiser. Storace also gave hope to US fans regarding a possible summer tour.

Marc Storace: “Our people are working on it right now. I don’t want to mention any names at this state because I don’t want to disappoint anybody if it doesn’t work out. But it looks like a great tour. It would be a package tour and we would be able to reach a hell of a lot of our old fans as well as new ones.”

The entire conversation with Marc Storace is available in full streaming audio at the home site of The Hairball John Radio Show

KROKUS Live To Tell About Tour Bus Crash

Thanks to Peter Waelti of The KROKUS Globe Club For Clan And Fan for the following:

'Angel Of My Dreams' is their current single off the Hellraiser album. Krokus met their "Guardian Angel" in form of their female bus driver through Sweden during the band's current extensive European Tour. A new bus driver took over in Oslo/Norway and the "Guardian Angel" pointed out that the weight distribution in the bus and trailer was unbalanced and made sure that equipment was shifted accordingly before taking off from Oslo via Denmark on their way to Hamburg, Germany.

The band had looked forward to a day of rest on the 22nd of January on their day off. And then it happened without warning. Outside Rodby, south of Copenhagen/Denmark, a car slid into a truck. Trying to avoid a collision with the tour bus and the small car, the tour bus driver hit the back of a steel truck with the front window shattering and slid into the railing of the highway on the icy highway instead. If there would not have been the railing, the bus would have overturned.

It was a miracle that no one was seriously hurt. Just some cuts and bruises. The musicians exited the tour bus through a side window. Tony and Stefan helped the tour bus driver to exit the bus through the driver's door. His leg was jammed between the steering wheel and the body of the bus.

The tour bus company immediately sent a new bus to drive the band safely to Hamburg, so they could get some rest and calm their rattled nerves. Tour manager Carlo and crew stayed with the damaged bus to make sure that equipment was transferred properly and ready for the show today in Hamburg/Germany.

The show must go on, as they say in show business. And we are sure that Krokus will give an awesome show in Hamburg and the concert stops that follow. After all, they can thank their lucky stars and their "Swedish Angel Tour Bus Driver." This could have ended up really ugly

KROKUS Drummer To Repair Ruptured Hernia During Upcoming Band Break

Switzerland's KROKUS have issued the following update:

"KROKUS (has finished) their most extensive European tour yet as they rocked as "Special Guests" of HAMMERFALL across 15 countries. Marc (Storace - vocals) mentioned to the Globe Club recently in a phone conversation that it was an incredibly positive experience. Although the faithful Krokus fan heard a trimmed down, shorter set list because of the three band package each evening, the feedback from fans to the Globe Club were overwhelmingly great. Whereas Krokus is thankful for their solid fan base and the enthusiasm of their fans literally over decades, this tour helped to introduce Krokus to a younger audience that had never heard of KROKUS before. Go on our Guest Book and read the positive feedback from fans that before the Hammerfall tour never heard of Krokus. Krokus will take a well deserved break and continue as headliner (and their extended set list) the "Hellraiser 2007" tour on March 23rd in Switzerland. For current and confirmed tour dates click here. As already mentioned in our November 2006 newsletter, our brave drummer Stefan Schwarzmann played with a ruptured hernia since then and throughout this tour. He will use the break between now and March 23rd to get under the knife and due to his recuperation period we had to cancel and reschedule a concert or two for a later date. We wish Stefan on behalf of all Krokus fans all the best and a quick recovery."

KROKUS va recevoir un disque d'or en suisse pour, "Hellraiser", le 11 Avril à the Alpenrock House à Zurich.

"Hellraiser" s'est quand même classé n° 2 dans les charts suisses.
Le single "Angel of My Dreams" est telechargeable ici :

http://krokusonline.seven49.net/data_access/krokusonline/audiofiles/Angel%20of%20my%20dreams.mp3

KROKUS' Marc Storace: "The Gold And Platinum Awards That Hang On The Walls At Home Are Like Pictures Now"

Swedish webzine Metalshrine has issued an interview with KROKUS frontman Marc Storace. The following is an excerpt:

Q: Do you miss those days, when you toured in the 80s and sold millions of records?

A: "No, I don't miss it, but I'm happy I went through it. The gold and platinum awards that hang on the walls at home are like pictures now. We are here and now and the future is ahead and we have to work towards our goal."

Q: How are people reacting to the latest album?

A: "Very good and it's a good album and we can say that with confidence. It's such a variety of music and it actually combines the whole Krokus style on one record, instead of having one record sounding different than the other, you can hear a little bit of everything. For instance, Mandy Meyer is back in the band, playing lead and playing slide again. Something we haven't had since Tommy Keifer departed and Mandy replaced him for the Hardware tour in 81 - 82. And there are other elements of metal for example, which came from Mandy. It also got ballads on it and also radio friendly stuff like 'Angel Of My Dreams' and then the kick ass, more AC/DC oriented music. We came out at the same time, the same era as AC/DC and I think one band rubbs off on another. You can find elements of The Beatles in The Rolling Stones in the psychedelic days of the late 60s."

Read the complete interview at this location.

Hello Bruno,

We would like to take this opportunity to wish our American friends and fans a happy "4th Of July" Independence Day celebration. A good time to do some "hellraisin'..."!

American journalist Jeb Wright is a loyal friend and supporter of Krokus for many years now and I thought you might enjoy the interview he did recently with our Marc Storace:

TIME WARP!
Celebrating 25 Years of the Classic Krokus Album "One Vice At A Time"
with Singer Marc Storace

by Jeb Wright / www.classicrockrevisited.com

In the 1980's, Krokus found world-wide platinum success with the albums "Headhunter" and "The Blitz". While these recordings have become essential metal offerings, they would have not been possible without the album that came before them. "One Vice At A Time", released in 1982 on Arista Records, went gold in the United States, Canada as well as Switzerland and paved the way for Krokus' future success.

Krokus struggled to find their identity early on in their career resulting in much frustration and little success. Little did they know that one simple line up change would change their sound, their image and their future forever. The band adopted a metal sound and found a vocalist from their homeland of Switzerland. The only problem was that he lived in England. Vocalist Marc Storace recalls: "When I joined Krokus I had been living in London, England. Since that kept me apart from the rest of the band, we used every opportunity to try and write songs whilst being on the road. This is not a simple task since one lacks the physical time and energy most of the time. Back home in London, and off the road, I undertook several commuting journeys by train and plane to Switzerland in order to gel and intensify my creative work with the band. The initial commuting started in 1979 before our very first European tour prior to the recording of "Metal Rendez-Vous", my debut album with t!
he band. For the "Hardware" album, the band collected a reasonable amount of musical and lyrical ideas before my arrival and we took it from there. In actual fact, for both "Metal Rendez-Vous" and "Hardware" I contributed far more than I am credited for. However, things eventually changed for the better with "One Vice At A Time". My efforts had not been in vain."

"One Vice At A Time" was not only a pivotal album musically for the band, it was also very important in the business aspects of their career. "We had engaged Butch Stone, who previously managed Black Oak Arkansas, to manage us in the USA. Things started working out fine with Butch and the band simply saw no reason to continue working with a European based management too. Butch was a master at acquiring and renewing deals and we found a great ally in his old friend Mike Bone, who, at the time, was A&R for Arista Records in New York City. Mike had been a fan of Krokus since "Metal Rendez-Vous"."

Artista Records was founded by Clive Davis, one of the most powerful men in the music industry. If Clive thought a band could be successful then he was not afraid to lay money on the table. Storace remembers Davis' initial financial contribution to Krokus. "We received a huge seven-digit advance from the great Clive Davis, who discovered Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana and many others. We invested most of it back into Krokus for recording and touring in order to establish ourselves firmly in the USA. We also increased our salaries.
We met Clive Davis on several occasions. I was more excited than nervous to meet him since I felt confident to know that he loved the band as well as my singing. On one occasion we were summoned to his office in New York in order to discuss the song repertoire before recording "One Vice At A Time". There were more occasions when we were honored by Clive`s visits and invitations. For example, he turned up backstage at the Ritz Theater before that particular gig in New York. Another time he invited us to lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel prior to one of our concerts in Los Angeles. He also wined and dined Fernando and me before our Gold & Platinum Record presentations where we took pictures for the industry media like Billboard."

Davis and the rest of the Arista team had high expectations for the band's next release. Krokus took the pressure in stride and delivered the best album of their careers to that point. The band recorded the album at the famous Battery Studios in London with veteran producer Tony Platt manning the controls. Storace fondly recalls working at the legendary studio. "This was the second album we recorded in London, England. The other album we recorded there was "Hardware", which we had recorded in the Roundhouse in Camden Town. It was particularly great for me to be recording on home ground again. I drove up from South London every day and joined in the flow of things. LD, or "Little Dave" Glover, our US tour manager and our manager Butch Stone`s right hand man, flew in and stayed with the band during the whole recording period. As usual, we started the recordings by laying down the rhythm section foundations to all the songs. When the rhythm guitars were done we started with my !
lead vocals, even before any guitar solos were finished. Tony Platt, our producer, engaged Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) to do some backing vocals to add color, and in order to cover up the heavy Swiss accent from the Swiss/German boys, which at that early stage was slightly too overpowering. Mutt Lange also happened to be mixing AC/DC`s "For Those About to Rock" in Battery Studios at that time and often popped in for a listening break with his old assistant Tony while I was singing."

Storace recounts his time with Dickinson in the studio. "Bruce was cool. Unfortunately, we only got to chat for a while. He was stressed to leave right after the session but we met some time later on a flight to New York. Surprisingly, Bruce boarded the plane dressed in a Sherlock Holmes outfit and came and sat next to me for the whole flight - strange but true. Later on, Iron Maiden and Krokus met up on the road and we even played some big venues together." Krokus were lucky enough to bump into AC/DC while at Battery Studios. "They were sitting upstairs in the Green Room one evening quietly watching television. We kept our conversation short but we toured together later on in the USA."

On the production front Platt proved he had paid attention during his time working with Mutt Lange. He left nothing to chance and helped the band create the musical vision they desired. "Tony was very experienced having previously worked with Mutt Lange as an engineer. We got on very well and I remember how he occasionally coached me along the same lines as Mutt. He would drop in individual words wherever necessary if there was a good vocal line he did not wish to totally erase. Not that this was his favorite approach, naturally, he was happiest whenever I got the whole verse down spontaneously in one go with the required attitude. He was great at bringing across the mood of what he envisioned from the lyrics. He even inspired me with some great on-the-spot writing during the song "Playin' the Outlaw."

When the band were finished with recording it came time to concentrate on the album art. Storace confesses that the album almost had a totally different and embarrassing look. "We experienced the weirdest incident regarding our album cover artwork and that of AC/DC. AC/DC were already in the mixing stages for their album "For Those About To Rock" whilst we were still putting down lead vocals, guitar solos and backing vocals for our album. At that early stage, we were thinking of calling our album "Long Stick Goes Boom". I was involved with the artistic aspects of the band and had delivered sketches of my ideas in order to get them across. I had done some sketches depicting a cannon for our album cover so you can imagine our amazement when AC/DC came out with "For Those About to Rock" depicting a cannon on the front cover. Luckily, we still had plenty of time before our release to switch to "One Vice At A Time" and use the Portcullis idea instead, which, in all respect, turne!
d out even better. It was really spooky at the time but I guess great minds think alike."

Krokus had used the image on "Once Vice At A Time" on their previous tour and quickly made the change. "We had been using this Rock`n`Roll production company from Birmingham, England called Light & Sound, which was run by Steve Dawkes. They had built our Castle and Portcullis production. It had been done very professionally and had even survived the whole "Hardware" World Tour. We decided to immortalize it by using it as our album cover. With a few red lights and loads of artificial smoke the Portcullis looked as mystical and powerful as the real thing. A good photographer captured it on camera and the rest is history."

When asked how he feels "One Vice At A Time" holds up over the years, Storace quickly states: "Oh I think very strongly indeed. Over the years we have always played a minimum of three or more songs from that album in concert. Just to give you an example, "Long Stick Goes Boom", "Bad Boys Rag Dolls" and "American Woman" are in the present live set-list and hold up very strongly. It is one of my four all-time favorite Krokus albums next to "Metal Rendez-Vous", "Headhunter" and our latest killer "Hellraiser".

THE SONGS:

LONG STICK GOES BOOM
This song title originated from the Indian Chief Sitting Bull who said: "White man come with long stick that goes boom." These lyrics were written during a jam in a motel room one afternoon before soundcheck somewhere on tour in the good old US of A. The music and arrangement was pretty much fixed by the end of the tour. A rough demo for the producer was done in Solothurn/Switzerland.

BAD BOYS, RAG DOLLS
I had been flirting with this song title and chorus to describe my appreciation towards the loyalty of our fans for quite a while. Then I heard the high energy music from the band and it all fell in place almost automatically. We finished the lyrics in some other US motel room between lunchtime and soundcheck. Again, the music and arrangement were more or less set before the end of tour. A rough demo for the producer was also recorded in Solothurn.

PLAYIN' THE OUTLAW
The lyrics to this song are a very special example of what becomes possible when creative harmony reigns in a studio. Tony Platt was very instrumental for his inspiration. This song went through a whole lyrical overhaul during my vocal sessions in the studio.

TO THE TOP
Every once in a while a drummer contributes to songwriting. Freddie came up with this song title. I finished the whole lyric whilst putting down a rough demo in Solothurn.

DOWN THE DRAIN
Our bass player had an uncle who sent him these lyrics. This song deals with a sad case of social disease.

AMERICAN WOMAN
This is a cover version of a Guess Who song, which was also recently covered by Lenny Kravitz. Clive Davis suggested we do a cover version and he found it to be a great idea when we said we wanted to re-record "American Woman." I avoided listening to the original version again after copying the lyrics in order to develop my own individual interpretation of the song.

I'M ON THE RUN
I wrote these words on one of my commuting journeys to meet the band.

SAVE ME
A song about a rising musician's facing small town gossip after a successful world tour.

ROCK 'N' ROLL
These words describe the dark side, the abuse and decadence of Rock`n`Roll.


I hope you enjoyed this interview of the making of "One Vice At A Time" 25 years ago. If you're living in Europe, come and see Marc, Mandy, Dominique, Tony and Stefan at one of the festivals KROKUS will play and witness their dynamic and rocking live performance.

Rock On,

Peter Waelti

KROKUS GLOBE CLUB FOR CLAN AND FAN
P.O.BOX 17552
DENVER, COLORADO 80217
U.S.A.

KROKUS - New Photo Galleries Available




Peter Waelti, from the KROKUS Globe Clube For Clan And Fan, has issued the following update:

"As Krokus are taking a well deserved break in between their Hellraiser tour (the largest tour Krokus ever has done in their 30+ year history) to spend some time writing new songs for the next album, many of you have sent me mail, saying you already have 'withdrawal symptoms' from not being able to see them 'live'.

And then there are those of you that are waiting patiently until we can hit your parts of the world. You all like to look at least at 'live' pictures of Krokus.

For various reasons we fell behind in updating the Gallery pages. Last picture series was from Malta last year. Fasten your seatbelts, we uploaded 317 pictures in the last couple of days."

You can view the Krokus Photo Galleries here.