Biography
Formed in Germany during 1988 by guitarist Udo Gerstenmeyer, Chinchilla joined the ranks of power metal acts whose grandiose style contrasted sharply with their whimsical band name. Their initial release came two years afterward as the No Mercy EP, yet the group dissolved shortly thereafter. A short-lived revival occurred in 1994 when Gerstenmeyer assembled a lineup featuring vocalist Martin Obermeier, bassist Michael Vetter, and drummer Mike Kuhner to produce the Who Is Who EP. Four additional years elapsed before the band issued their first full-length album, Horrorscope, in 1998. At that stage, Marc Peters handled bass duties alongside Steffen Theurer on drums. Keyboardist Marc Steck entered the fold along with vocalist Thomas Laasch ahead of the 2000 release Madness, marking Chinchilla's debut on the Metal Blade label. This configuration held steady for the follow-up effort The Last Millennium, issued in 2002 and faithful to the band's mid-paced brand of melodic power metal. Subsequent changes brought Josh Näberle on bass, Artur Diessner handling keyboards, and Criss Schwinn behind the drums in preparation for the ambitious conceptual work Madtropolis, unveiled in 2003.