Angel Dust (band)
Encyclopedia
Angel Dust are a German
heavy metal
band. Initially active from 1984 to 1990 as speed
and thrash metal
band, they dropped their thrash roots in favor of a power
/progressive metal
sound upon reforming in 1998.
, Germany
in 1984 as a typical garage band. They took their name from a song title off English
black metal
band Venom
's debut album Welcome To Hell
. The band's musical style was initially heavily influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
and Bay Area thrash metal
scenes. They soon found their niche in the speed and thrash metal styles, which were widely popular at the time. The band released their debut studio album, Into the Dark Past, in 1986, and followed it up with To Dust You Will Decay, released in 1988. The band broke up in 1990 due to internal conflicts.
, and would consequently gain a solid reputation in Europe.
After releasing a few successful albums in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a series of line-up changes significantly reduced the band's activities. However, Angel Dust are still active, and have "enter[ed] the studio [in March of 2006] to record the long awaited successor from Of Human Bondage."
The band's first two albums are now rare metal collectibles. They were reissued unofficially in very limited quantities in late 2002-2003, with no label or copyright info and with two bonus tracks each.
Dirk Assmuth's sister Anja plays drums in power metal band called Duke.
A new full-length album will released on December 2011, titled "Tales from Ashes and Dust".
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band. Initially active from 1984 to 1990 as speed
Speed metal
Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....
and thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band, they dropped their thrash roots in favor of a power
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
/progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
sound upon reforming in 1998.
Initial career (1984-1990)
Angel Dust formed in DortmundDortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1984 as a typical garage band. They took their name from a song title off English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band Venom
Venom (band)
Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal —are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general...
's debut album Welcome To Hell
Welcome to Hell
Welcome to Hell is the debut album by the English heavy metal band Venom, released in December 1981. Welcome to Hell is often described as speed metal, but it had a great influence on the then-emerging thrash metal style, and crystallized the elements of what later became known as death metal and...
. The band's musical style was initially heavily influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
and Bay Area thrash metal
Bay Area thrash metal
Bay Area thrash metal, or "Bay Area thrash", referred to a steady following of heavy metal bands in the 1980s who formed and gained international status in the San Francisco Bay Area, California...
scenes. They soon found their niche in the speed and thrash metal styles, which were widely popular at the time. The band released their debut studio album, Into the Dark Past, in 1986, and followed it up with To Dust You Will Decay, released in 1988. The band broke up in 1990 due to internal conflicts.
Reunion (1998-present)
Although all members had gone their separate ways, founding member Frank Banx had no desire to let the Angel Dust name die. In 1998, Banx, and original drummer Dirk Assmuth, gathered a completely new lineup (including Frank Banx' younger brother Steven Banx on keyboards) to start from scratch. This reincarnation would handle music differently, shifting dramatically towards progressive metalProgressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
, and would consequently gain a solid reputation in Europe.
After releasing a few successful albums in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a series of line-up changes significantly reduced the band's activities. However, Angel Dust are still active, and have "enter[ed] the studio [in March of 2006] to record the long awaited successor from Of Human Bondage."
The band's first two albums are now rare metal collectibles. They were reissued unofficially in very limited quantities in late 2002-2003, with no label or copyright info and with two bonus tracks each.
Dirk Assmuth's sister Anja plays drums in power metal band called Duke.
A new full-length album will released on December 2011, titled "Tales from Ashes and Dust".
Current line up
- Dirk Thurisch - vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Bernd Aufermann - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Christian Polhmann - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Steven Banx - keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Dirk Assmuth - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Former members
- S.L. Coe - vocals
- Romme Keymer - guitar, vocals
- Andreas Lohrum - guitar, vocals
- Vinny Lynn - guitar
- Stefan K. Nauer - guitar
- Ritchie Wilkison - guitar
- Frank Banx - bass
- Carsten Kaiser - vocals
Discography
- Into the Dark Past (1986, Disaster)
- To Dust You Will Decay (1988, Disaster)
- Border of Reality (1998, Century Media)
- BleedBleedBleed may refer to:*Bleeding, the loss of blood*Bleed *Ink bleeding*Bleed *Bleed *Bleed *Bleed , a 2002 horror film...
(1999, Century Media) - Enlighten the DarknessEnlighten The DarknessEnlighten the Darkness is the 5th studio album by German heavy metal band Angel Dust, released in 2000.-Track listing:#"Let Me Live" - 5:53#"The One You Are" - 5:29#"Enjoy!" - 5:52#"Fly Away" - 6:47#"Come Into Resistance" - 5:24...
(2000, Century Media) - Of Human BondageOf Human BondageOf Human Bondage is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It is generally agreed to be his masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although Maugham stated, "This is a novel, not an autobiography, though much in it is autobiographical, more is pure invention." Maugham, who had...
(2002, Century Media) - Tales from Ashes and Dust (2011, Self-released/independent)
External links
- Official website
- Angel Dust at Encyclopaedia MetallumEncyclopaedia MetallumEncyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives is a website which lists bands from various forms of heavy metal music...