Atrocity

Atrocity emerged in the late ’80s as the singular vision of vocalist Alex Krull, who assembled an initial lineup featuring guitarists Mathias Roderer and Richard Scharff, bassist Oliver Klassen, and drummer Michael Schwarz. The group issued its first recording, the 1990 single “Blue Blood,” before unveiling the full-length Hallucinations. Their next effort, Longing for Death, arrived in 1992 and stirred limited controversy after the label rejected the original German title Todessehnsucht. Following Klassen’s departure, Markus Knapp assumed bass duties for 1994’s Blut, an album whose gothic flourishes and vampiric imagery distanced longtime death-metal supporters while attracting a fresh audience within the burgeoning goth-metal scene. After parting ways with Roadrunner Records, the band moved to Massacre Records and pursued a more pronounced gothic direction. In 1995 they delivered two strikingly divergent projects: the eccentric collaboration Die Liebe with the German new-wave outfit Das Ich, and the album Calling the Train, which featured guest vocals from Krull’s sister Yasmin. Around the same period, Torsten Bauer took over for Scharff and Chris Lukhaup replaced Knapp. Both 1995 releases, noted for their experimental character, led to numerous festival slots and tours that helped propagate the band’s gothic-metal aesthetic. After completing 1996’s Willenskraft, the musicians assembled a collection of ’80s pop covers titled Werk 80. They introduced a fetish-themed stage production during their inaugural U.S. tour and, in 1998, swapped Michael Schwarz for drummer Martin Schmidt. The sonic palette continued evolving with the addition of techno rhythms and lower vocal registers. The year 2000 brought Gemini, a further genre-blurring release whose darker, synth-heavy textures revealed an intensified dark-wave fascination. While maintaining an active touring schedule, the group began composing material in 2001 intended as the successor to Gemini.