Markus Grosskopf
Encyclopedia
Markus Großkopf, born 21 September 1965 in Hamburg
, Germany
, is the bass guitarist, and one of only two remaining original members of the German power metal
band Helloween
(The other being guitarist Michael Weikath
). Markus Grosskopf's family members currently live in South Africa, Canada, US, and Germany.
He started playing bass at the age of 15 when he became friends with a drummer and a guitar player. They were looking for a bass player so he bought his first bass and started jamming with covers of the Sex Pistols
, the Ramones
and the like. Some time later he decided to leave in hope of finding a heavier band with more live playing opportunities. That is when he met Kai Hansen
and his band "Second Hell", with whom he started playing. The band soon joined forces with former "Powerfool" guitarist Michael Weikath
and adopted the name Helloween
, the original lineup being Kai Hansen
(guitars/vocals), Michael Weikath
(guitars), Markus Großkopf (bass) and Ingo Schwichtenberg
(drums).
Grosskopf writes some of the band's songs, which were initially mostly used as a b-sides, but since Rabbit Don't Come Easy
(which contained 3 songs, credited to Markus), tracks written by him are present as regular on the albums.
vocalist Tobias Sammet
's project Avantasia
and on Uriah Heep
members' arranged version of Salisbury
. He also worked with the band Kickhunter, which released their first album "Hearts and Bones" on which Markus played the role of bass, guitarist and producer but his most important and ambitious is his Bass-Guitar focused side-project Markus Grosskopf's Bassinvaders
.
or Just a Little Sign
, and fingers for more lead type of playing, as on Eagle Fly Free or Halloween. His playing style has also expanded on one of Helloween's more recent albums Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy
, where much more bass solos and lead parts are heard, like "Invisible Man", "Light the Universe
" and even some slap bass on the first single "Mrs. God
", but before that, on song "Goin' Home" from Pink Bubbles Go Ape
, one can hear slap for the first time in Helloween
discography, but his virtuosity can be see Better In His Side-Project Markus Grosskopf's Bassinvaders
.
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, 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...
, is the bass guitarist, and one of only two remaining original members of the German power metal
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...
band Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
(The other being guitarist Michael Weikath
Michael Weikath
Michael Ingo Joachim Weikath is the guitarist of the German Power metal band Helloween."Weiki" was born in Hamburg, Germany. He is one of the Helloween founding members, along with the musicians Kai Hansen , Markus Grosskopf and Ingo Schwichtenberg . Along with Grosskopf he is the only other...
). Markus Grosskopf's family members currently live in South Africa, Canada, US, and Germany.
He started playing bass at the age of 15 when he became friends with a drummer and a guitar player. They were looking for a bass player so he bought his first bass and started jamming with covers of the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
, the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
and the like. Some time later he decided to leave in hope of finding a heavier band with more live playing opportunities. That is when he met Kai Hansen
Kai Hansen
Kai Michael Hansen is a power metal guitarist and vocalist.Hansen is the founder, lead guitarist, and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray, and the co-founder and former member of German metal band Helloween. He is a prominent figure in power metal, and has sold millions of albums worldwide...
and his band "Second Hell", with whom he started playing. The band soon joined forces with former "Powerfool" guitarist Michael Weikath
Michael Weikath
Michael Ingo Joachim Weikath is the guitarist of the German Power metal band Helloween."Weiki" was born in Hamburg, Germany. He is one of the Helloween founding members, along with the musicians Kai Hansen , Markus Grosskopf and Ingo Schwichtenberg . Along with Grosskopf he is the only other...
and adopted the name Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
, the original lineup being Kai Hansen
Kai Hansen
Kai Michael Hansen is a power metal guitarist and vocalist.Hansen is the founder, lead guitarist, and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray, and the co-founder and former member of German metal band Helloween. He is a prominent figure in power metal, and has sold millions of albums worldwide...
(guitars/vocals), Michael Weikath
Michael Weikath
Michael Ingo Joachim Weikath is the guitarist of the German Power metal band Helloween."Weiki" was born in Hamburg, Germany. He is one of the Helloween founding members, along with the musicians Kai Hansen , Markus Grosskopf and Ingo Schwichtenberg . Along with Grosskopf he is the only other...
(guitars), Markus Großkopf (bass) and Ingo Schwichtenberg
Ingo Schwichtenberg
Ingo Schwichtenberg was one of the founding members of German power metal band Helloween and was famous for his high-energy drumming....
(drums).
Grosskopf writes some of the band's songs, which were initially mostly used as a b-sides, but since Rabbit Don't Come Easy
Rabbit Don't Come Easy
Rabbit Don't Come Easy is the tenth album by the German power metal/heavy metal band Helloween. It is something of a return to the roots for the band. Rabbit Don't Come Easy combines many old classic Helloween elements with newer sounds and a modern production.No drummer is listed in the band...
(which contained 3 songs, credited to Markus), tracks written by him are present as regular on the albums.
Side projects
His first side project was Shockmachine were played both bass and rhythm guitar. They released their first album, Shockmachine, in 1998. Markus has also played bass on the two first albums of EdguyEdguy
-Demos, AFM years :Edguy was founded in 1992 by 14-year-old students Tobias Sammet, Jens Ludwig, Dominik Storch and Dirk Sauer. The name "Edguy" was an affectionate epithet for Mr. Edgar Siedschlag, their math teacher at the time. In 1994, the band released two demos, Evil Minded and Children of...
vocalist Tobias Sammet
Tobias Sammet
Tobias Sammet is the vocalist and primary songwriter of the German Power metal band Edguy, as well as the creator of the metal opera Avantasia and a member of the metal project Final Chapter. He also made guest appearances on the Rob Rock album Holy Hell and the metal opera Aina...
's project Avantasia
Avantasia
Avantasia is a heavy metal project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist and frontman of the band Edguy. The project's title is a portmanteau of the words "avalon" and "fantasia" and describes "a world beyond human imagination"...
and on Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...
members' arranged version of Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
. He also worked with the band Kickhunter, which released their first album "Hearts and Bones" on which Markus played the role of bass, guitarist and producer but his most important and ambitious is his Bass-Guitar focused side-project Markus Grosskopf's Bassinvaders
Bassinvaders
Bassinvaders is the bass guitar focused side-project of Helloween bassist Markus Grosskopf....
.
Playing style
Grosskopf's playing style has been known to include very prominent basslines, and occasionally he has a solo like in "Heavy Metal (Is The Law)" or "Eagle Fly Free", which is one of his most famous. He is known to use both his fingers and a pick, depending on the song. He regularly uses a pick for the more straightfoward, simple bass lines, as in I Want OutI Want Out
"I Want Out" is a song by the German heavy metal band Helloween from the album Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2, that was released as a single in 1988....
or Just a Little Sign
Just a Little Sign
"Just A Little Sign" is a song by the German power metal band Helloween from their album Rabbit Don't Come Easy. It is about a depressed man going to a night club intending to enjoy the music. He then unexpectedly falls in love with a woman there but is too afraid to tell her...
, and fingers for more lead type of playing, as on Eagle Fly Free or Halloween. His playing style has also expanded on one of Helloween's more recent albums Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy
Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy
Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy is the eleventh studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released October 31, 2005. The musicians, Andi Deris , Michael Weikath , Markus Grosskopf , Sascha Gerstner and new addition Dani Löble , see this recording in direct context with their 1987 and...
, where much more bass solos and lead parts are heard, like "Invisible Man", "Light the Universe
Light the Universe
Light the Universe is a song by the German power metal band Helloween from their album Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy.It features Candice Night from Blackmore's Night as co-vocalist...
" and even some slap bass on the first single "Mrs. God
Mrs. God
"Mrs. God" is a song by the German power metal band Helloween from their album Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy. The song is about the emancipation of women showing Helloween's sense of humour...
", but before that, on song "Goin' Home" from Pink Bubbles Go Ape
Pink Bubbles Go Ape
Pink Bubbles Go Ape is the fourth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1991. It marked the departure of guitarist Kai Hansen, with Roland Grapow replacing him...
, one can hear slap for the first time in Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
discography, but his virtuosity can be see Better In His Side-Project Markus Grosskopf's Bassinvaders
Bassinvaders
Bassinvaders is the bass guitar focused side-project of Helloween bassist Markus Grosskopf....
.
Bass guitars
- Dommenget Telecaster Custom Bass
- Fender Precision Bass
- Sandberg American Basses