Tankard (band)
| Tankard | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Frankfurt, Germany |
| Genres | Thrash metal, teutonic thrash metal |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | http://www.tankard.info |
| Members | Andreas Geremia Andreas Gutjahr Frank Thorwarth Olaf Zissel |
| Past members | Bernhard Rapprich Axel Katzmann Oliver Werner Andy Bulgaropulos Arnulf Tunn |
Tankard is a thrash metal band from Frankfurt am Main, Germany, founded in 1982. Along with Kreator, Destruction and Sodom, Tankard is often considered one of the "Big Teutonic 4" of Teutonic thrash metal. They released their first record in 1986 and continue to write and record in the same vein: fast metal songs in honour of alcohol.
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 Berhard Rapprich. They chose their name from a dictionary upon seeing its definition as "beer mug". 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.
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. 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
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