Thumb was a German

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...

 Hardcore

Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

/Nu Metal

Nu metal

Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...

 band formed in November 1993 in Gütersloh

Gütersloh

Gütersloh is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in the area of Westphalia and the administrative region of Detmold. Gütersloh is the administrative centre for a district of the same name and has a population of 96,320 people.- Geography :...

. According to the band's official website they appear to have ceased in 2005 into various side projects; Steffen has joined H-Blockx

H-Blockx

H-Blockx is a nu metal/alternative punk/hardcore punk band founded in Münster, Germany in 1991.-1990s:The band rose to fame with their successful debut album, Time to Move, released in 1994 on Sing Sing Records, and produced by Ralph Quick and Chris Wagner. The music videos for "Risin' High" and...

, Jens is in Taetowier Studio, Jan-Hendrik is in Hudson, Claus is in Alternative Allstars and Axel is in Waterdown

Waterdown

Waterdown is a hardcore punk and post-hardcore band from Osnabrück, Germany. The band started in 2000 and consists of six members: Axel Pralat , Michael Janczak , Phillip Meyer , Christian Kruse , Holger Behrens , and Ingo Rieser . The band was signed to Victory Records till 2007...

.

Biography

The first home-made tapes were recorded and copied in 1994. Lupe was the last to join the band in October scratching his way to create a new version of Thumb. Record companies began to show an interest and EMI

EMI

The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

 signed a deal in March 1995. Six months later on 14 September Thumb’s debut was in the shops. A new star had entered the crossover arena. Genre-related bands Bad Religion

Bad Religion

Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...

, Dog Eat Dog

Dog Eat Dog (band)

Dog Eat Dog, an American band originally from Bergen County, New Jersey, began in 1990 as part of the hardcore music scenes of New York City and New Jersey. With members now scattered through New Jersey, Washington D.C. and Europe, the band now refers to themselves as being based out all three areas...

, Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....

 and Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...

 kept the band company in the next two years at live gigs in 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...

. Then it was time for the five to set to work in January 1997 and write the songs of their second album Exposure.

The album duly appeared on 5 May that year and proved to be a great surprise, because Thumb had changed direction. Their path even led them to America where they played in front of nearly 180,000 during the 1998 Vans Warped Tour. They played alongside greats like the Deftones

Deftones

Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...

, Bad Religion

Bad Religion

Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...

, NOFX

NOFX

NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...

 and many more at thirteen shows in three weeks.

Preparations for the third album slowly got underway at the start of 2000 but were abruptly interrupted when guitarist Axel Hilgenstöhler left the band half way through the year, the shock was compounded by the band's creative crisis. The band was on the brink of disintegrating, however, they were saved when new guitarist Axel Pralat along with the new blood coursing through the band's veins took things upwards again. Everything written and recorded up to that point was axed.

Albums

• Thumb (1995)
  1. Haunted
  2. Victim Of Your Lies
  3. Red Alert
  4. Fascism Sucks
  5. No More Blood
  6. Fed Up
  7. Skin Deep
  8. Deny
  9. Consumer's Rap-Sody
  10. It Ain't What You See
  11. Boredom
  12. (All The Way) Down

• Thumb Encore (1996)
  1. Red Alert ´96
  2. Aside
  3. Haunted
  4. Victim Of Your Lies
  5. Red Alert
  6. Fascism Sucks
  7. No More Blood
  8. Fed Up
  9. Skin Deep
  10. Deny
  11. Consumer's Rap-Sody
  12. It Ain't What You See
  13. Boredom
  14. (All The Way) Down
  15. I Don't Wanna Hear It
  16. Victim Of Your Lies
  17. It Ain't What You See (Live)
  18. Skindeep (Live)
  19. Fascism Sucks (Live)
  20. Haunted (Live)

• Exposure (1997)
  1. Break Me
  2. Sell Myself
  3. Seize The Day
  4. Values
  5. Thank You
  6. Remember
  7. Dad
  8. Reality
  9. This Life
  10. Exposure
  11. Cavemen In Disguise
  12. Aside

• Maximum Exposure (1998)
  1. Break Me
  2. Sell Myself
  3. Seize The Day
  4. Values
  5. Thank You
  6. Remember
  7. Dad
  8. Reality
  9. This Life
  10. Exposure
  11. Cavemen In Disguise
  12. Dad (Live)
  13. Red Alert (Live)
  14. Exposure (Live)
  15. Thank You (Live)
  16. No More Blood (Live)

• 3 (2001)
  1. Upside & Down
  2. Down Like Me
  3. Stupid
  4. Lie To You
  5. Youth
  6. Thumbtune
  7. Break My Back
  8. Fade Away
  9. Migraine
  10. Suck Me Dry
  11. Shorty
  12. More
  13. Confidence

Singles

• Red Alert (1995)
  1. ?

• No More Blood (1996)
  1. No More Blood (Intro)
  2. No More Blood

• Red Alert '96 (1996)
  1. Red Alert '96
  2. Haunted (Live)
  3. I Don't Wanna Hear It

• Aside (1996)
  1. Aside
  2. It Ain't What You See
  3. Boredom

• Sell Myself (1997)
  1. Sell Myself
  2. Dad
  3. Thank You For Hating Me

• Seize The Day (1997)
  1. Seize The Day
  2. Sell Myself (Recorded Live At ROCK AM RING '97)
  3. Values (Recorded Live At ROCKPALAST, E-Werk, Cologne '97)
  4. Cavemen In Disguise (Recorded Live At Colosseum, Munich, Support Rollins Tour '97)
  5. Dad (Recorded Live At Colosseum, Munich, Support Rollins Tour '97)

• Break Me (1998)
  1. Break Me
  2. Die Welt ist Eins (Featuring Thomas D)
  3. Red Alert (Live at Roskilde Festival '97)
  4. Exposure (Live at Roskilde Festival '97)
  5. Thank You For Hating Me (Live at Roskilde Festival '97)
  6. No More Blood (Live at Roskilde Festival '97)

• Down Like Me (2001)
  1. Down Like Me
  2. Break My Back

• Youth (2001)
  1. Youth (Radio Edit)
  2. Upside & Down
  3. Down Like Me (Steddybeats Remix)
  4. Youth (Extended Version)
  5. Stupid (Music Video)
  6. Down Like Me (Music Video)

Members

• Axel Pralat (Guitar), since 2000
• Jens Gössling (DJ)
• Steffen Wilmking (Drums)
• Jan-Hendrik Meyer (Bass)
• Claus Grabke (Vocals)