Formed in Munich during 1995, the German alternative hard rock and metal outfit Emil Bulls coalesced around vocalist Christoph "Christ" von Freydorf, drummer Stefan "Fini" Finauer, bassist Jamie "Citnoh" Richardson, and guitarists Stephan "Moik" Karl along with Franz Wickenhäuser. Two self-released efforts, Red Dick's Potato Garden from 1997 and Monogamy from 2000, preceded their move to a major label, which yielded Angel Delivery Service in 2001 and Porcelain in 2003. Following the latter album the group exited that deal and aligned with Pirate Records; drummer Fini also stepped away that same year, making way for Fabian Füss in time for a U.S. tour that featured performances at the historic CBGB. Back in Bavaria the band tracked The Southern Comfort—titled for the Bavarian region rather than the liquor—and issued the record in 2005. The Black Path surfaced in 2008 after the acoustic live set The Life Acoustic, while Phoenix, their seventh studio album, arrived the following year. Oceanic came next in 2011, then Sacrifice to Venus and the career-spanning Those Were the Days both appeared in 2014. Marking two decades together, the band issued XX in 2016, presenting fresh studio renditions of longstanding favorites.
