Ostrogoth ( Belgium )

last recording lineup:

Peter De Wint
vocals (Crossfire)
Rudy Vercruysse
guitars
Juno Martins
guitars
Sylvain Cherotti
bass
Kris Taerwe
keyboards
Mario Pauwels
drums

former members:

Marc De Brauwer
vocals
Hans Van De Kerckhove
guitars
Marnix Van de Kauter
bass

BIOGRAPHY :

After the almost mandatory personnel changes most new bands struggle through at the beginning of their formation, the OSTROGOTH line-up stabilized in 1981. They played traditional heavy metal combined with early elements of NWOBHM, but with a bigger sound and more pathos. Early 1984, less than a year after the release of "FULL MOON'S EYES" the 4-track mini-album which had established OSTROGOTH'S name and solid reputation from Europe, all the way across the Atlantic, to the east coast of the United States, the band unleashed their first full length long player upon their devoted fans. ECSTASY AND DANGER was a significant album crammed with memorable riffs and eternal metal hymns. Over the years it has become one of the undisputed classic heavy metal albums of the 80s. By 1985 major record companies around the world had finally caught on that there were big bucks to be made in heavy metal and they were spending proverbial zillions recording and promoting acts in this genre of music. In order to remain at the forefront of the scene it had become necessary to deliver more commercial and more polished, even radio-friendly productions, so for their third effort OSTROGOTH enlisted the expert production skills of ALEX GIETZ, my eccentric German friend whom they had met, and with whom they had socialized on several occasions, at my offices and in bars. ALEX had produced bands such as UNDERDOG and AXE KILLERS for MAUSOLEUM, and OSTROGOTH admired both his work as well as his offbeat character. The resulting album: TOO HOT will in my opinion always remain one of the most underrated hard rock records of the 80s. In 1986, after the demise of ELDORADO ENTERTAINMENT & COMMUNICATIONS, the parent company of MAUSOLEUM RECORDS, both HANS VAN DE KERCHOVE and MARNIX VAN DE KAUTER decided to quit the band. MARNIX found it increasingly difficult to combine his job at the national television station with his musical career as OSTROGOTH'S bass player, and HANS, an Egyptologist, had received a prestigious teaching post at a German University. Both were no doubt also disillusioned by the collapse of their record label. Tragically, HANS died from heart failure not long thereafter. The remaining members of the band enrolled SYLVAIN CHEROTTI on bass, and JUNAO MARTINS on guitar. They were also lucky to be able to convince PETER DE WINT, one of heavy metal's greatest singers, to join up as replacement for MARC DE BRAUWER, the vocalist-extraordinaire who had recently quit due to personal problems. Finally keyboard player CHRIS TAERWE was added to the new line-up, and OSTROGOTH became something of a power-metal-monster.

DISCOGRAPHY :

If It's Loud, We're Proud Split, 1983
Full Moon's Eyes EP, 1983
Demo Demo, 1983
Ecstasy and Danger Full-length, 1984
Too Hot Full-length, 1985
Feelings of Fury Full-length, 1987
Mausoleum: The Official 20th Anniversary Concert Album Split, 2003

Many thanks to cronos for this great picture