List of Krokus band members

Krokus in 2008 (top) and 2013 (bottom).

Krokus are a Swiss hard rock band from Solothurn. Formed in 1974, the group originally consisted of lead vocalist Peter Richard, guitarist Tommy Kiefer, bassist Remo Spadino and drummer Chris von Rohr. By the time of the release of their self-titled debut album, Kiefer and von Rohr had taken over lead vocal duties. The band's current lineup features von Rohr on bass, keyboards and backing vocals (1974–1983, 1987–1989, and since 2008), lead vocalist Marc Storace (1979–1988, 1994–1999, and since 2002), lead guitarist Mandy Meyer (1980–1982, 2004–2008, and since 2012), rhythm guitarist Dominique Favez (2003–2008 and since 2014), and drummer Flavio Mezzodi (since 2013).

History[]

1974–1983[]

Krokus were formed in 1974 by guitarist Tommy Kiefer and drummer Chris von Rohr.^[1] The original lineup also included vocalist Peter Richard and bassist Remo Spadino.^[2] Richard left shortly after the band's first live show in 1975, at which point Kiefer took over primary lead vocal duties and Hansi Droz was brought in as a second guitarist.^[2] After the release of the group's self-titled debut album, Daniel Debritt briefly took over on lead vocals, but had left before the end of the year.^[3] Kiefer and von Rohr subsequently dismissed Droz and Spadino, and rebuilt the band by adding all three members of local trio Montezuma – Fernando von Arb on guitar, Jürg Naegeli on bass and Freddy "Steady" Frutig on drums, with von Rohr taking over lead vocals and keyboards.^[4] To You All and Pain Killer followed in 1977 and 1978.^[1]

Marc Storace joined on lead vocals in 1979, remaining through most of the 1980s. He rejoined for a five-year stint in the 1990s, and again in 2002.

For the tour in promotion of Pain Killer, Henry Friez was brought in to take over on lead vocals, with von Rohr switching to bass and Naegeli focusing on keyboards and live mixing.^[5] In late 1979, Friez was replaced by Marc Storace, who debuted on the 1980 release Metal Rendez-vous.^[6] During the album's promotional tour, Kiefer was temporarily replaced by Mandy Meyer.^[7] Shortly after the release of Hardware early the next year, the guitarist left permanently due to an ongoing heroin addiction, and Meyer remained as his replacement.^[8] By the beginning of 1982, however, Meyer had been left Switzerland to relocate to the United States and form Cobra, and was replaced in Krokus by Mark "Koki" Kohler.^[9] On 24 December 1986, Kiefer committed suicide by hanging after contracting AIDS around a year earlier.^[10]

After the release and promotion of 1982's One Vice at a Time, Freddy Steady left Krokus and was replaced by American drummer Steve Pace, the first non-European member of the group; when asked the following year about the lineup change, Storace claimed that it was made due to "musical direction and technical ability".^[11] Headhunter was released in 1983, and during the subsequent tour von Rohr became the last founding member to leave the band, when he was dismissed after giving "a tell-tale interview" to a Swiss newspaper regarding the band's drug-heavy touring lifestyle.^[12] With scheduled shows remaining on the tour, Kohler switched to bass and Patrick Mahassen briefly joined on rhythm guitar.^[13] At the end of the year, following the conclusion of the touring cycle, Mahassen was fired and Pace also left.^[13]

1984–2005[]

In preparation for the recording of The Blitz in 1984, Steve Pace was replaced by former Cobra drummer Jeff Klaven. Patrick Mahassen briefly returned during early sessions, but was fired again shortly thereafter and did not feature on the record. Upon the album's release, Andy Tanas took over on bass, allowing Mark Kohler to return to his original role of rhythm guitarist.^[14] Towards the end of The Blitz touring cycle, Tanas left due to "direction differences".^[15] Tommy Keiser, another former member of Cobra, took his place.^[16] The new lineup issued Change of Address in 1986, the tour for which spawned a live album, Alive and Screamin'.^[1]

In early 1987, Krokus parted ways with Keiser and Klaven, with frontman Mark Storace claiming that the former "just wouldn't work hard enough and lacked the musical depth we were looking for", and that the latter had become "fed up with touring". They were replaced by the returning Chris von Rohr and former Killer drummer Dani Crivelli, respectively.^[17] Heart Attack was released the next year, however after the subsequent promotional tour it was announced in August 1988 that Storace had been dismissed from the group.^[18] Lead guitarist Fernando von Arb departed around the same time.^[19] Storace and von Arb were replaced by Björn Lodin of Baltimoore and Crivelli's former Killer bandmate Many Maurer, respectively, although by early the next year the group had disbanded entirely.^[19]

Following the band's breakup in 1989, Fernando von Arb rebuilt Krokus and led the group during the 1990s.

In early 1990, Fernando von Arb (on bass) formed a new lineup of Krokus with Maurer, lead vocalist Peter Tanner, rhythm guitarist Tony Castell and drummer Peter "Rabbit" Haas. The band issued Stampede and toured until 1991, before going on hiatus again when von Arb was diagnosed with lymphoma.^[20] In early 1994, von Arb (back on guitar) reformed Krokus yet again, retaining Maurer on bass and reuniting with vocalist Marc Storace, rhythm guitarist Mark Kohler and drummer Freddy Steady.^[21] The new lineup released To Rock or Not to Be and toured during 1995, before disbanding again due to various members' family commitments making it difficult to commit full-time.^[22]

In spring 1999, Fernando von Arb reformed Krokus for a third time, retaining Many Maurer on bass and adding lead vocalist Carl Sentance, rhythm guitarist Chris Lauper and former drummer Peter Haas.^[23] After the release of Round 13, Haas was replaced by Cliff Rodgers.^[24] After the first leg of the tour, Lauper, Maurer and Rodgers were replaced by Dave Stettler, Tony Castell and Marcel Kopp, respectively.^[23] The group continued touring until it was announced in April 2002 that former vocalist Marc Storace would be returning to the lineup.^[25] With his return, the frontman brought solo band members Dominique Favez on rhythm guitar and Patrick Aeby on drums to Krokus.^[26]

Since 2005[]

Following the release of Rock the Block and Fire and Gasoline Live, von Arb left Krokus in February 2005 for the first time since joining in 1976.^[27] The departure occurred after the guitarist developed tendonitis in his wrist,^[28] although Storace claimed at the time that he "basically did not want to tour".^[26] von Arb was replaced by former guitarist Mandy Meyer.^[28] In November, Aeby also left the band.^[29] He was replaced in January 2006 by Stefan Schwarzmann, formerly of U.D.O., Accept and Helloween.^[30] The new lineup released Hellraiser in 2006 and toured until February 2008, when it was announced that the band would be taking "an artistic break".^[31]

In April 2008, it was announced that guitarist Fernando von Arb, bassist Chris von Rohr and drummer Freddy Steady had all returned to Krokus.^[32] Rhythm guitarist Mark Kohler followed in May, marking a reunion of the One Vice at a Time (1982) lineup.^[33] The band released Hoodoo in 2010, before Steady left in May 2011.^[34] He was replaced by Unisonic and Pink Cream 69 drummer Kosta Zafiriou, who was credited as a backup musician rather than an official member.^[35] In December 2012, the group expanded to a three-guitarist lineup for the first time when Mandy Meyer returned again.^[36] Dirty Dynamite was released in March 2013.^[37] Helloween drummer Dani Löble took over for a few shows in May 2013,^[38] before Flavio Mezzodi joined as a full-time member the same month.^[39]

During 2014 and 2015, Dominique Favez toured with Krokus in place of von Arb and Kohler, who were unable to tour.^[40] The band issued Big Rocks, a collection of cover versions, in January 2017.^[41]

Members[]

Current[]

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Chris von Rohr	1974–1983 1987–1989 2008–present	bass (since 1978) drums (1974–76) keyboards percussion vocals (lead 1976–78, backing otherwise)	all Krokus releases from Krokus (1976) to Headhunter (1983), and from Hoodoo (2010) onwards Heart Attack (1988)
	Fernando von Arb	1976–1988 1990–1991 1994–1995 1999–2005 2008–present	lead and rhythm guitars backing vocals keyboards bass (1990–91)	all Krokus releases from To You All (1977) onwards, except Hellraiser (2006)
	Marc "The Voice" Storace	1979–1988 1994–1995 2002–present	lead vocals	all Krokus releases from Metal Rendez-vous (1980) to Heart Attack (1988), and from Rock the Block (2003) onwards "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" (1994) To Rock or Not to Be (1995)
	Armand "Mandy" Meyer	1981 2005–2008 2012–present	lead and rhythm guitars	Hellraiser (2006) Dirty Dynamite (2013) Long Stick Goes Boom: Live from da House of Rust (2014) Big Rocks (2017)
	Mark "Koki" Kohler	1982–1989 1994–1995 2008–present	rhythm guitar bass (1983–84)	all Krokus releases from One Vice at a Time (1982) to Heart Attack (1988), and from Hoodoo (2010) onwards "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" (1994) To Rock or Not to Be (1995)
	Flavio Mezzodi	2013–present	drums percussion	Long Stick Goes Boom: Live from da House of Rust (2014) Big Rocks (2017)

Former[]

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Tommy Kiefer	1974–1981 (died 1986)	lead and rhythm guitars vocals (lead 1975–76, backing otherwise)	all Krokus releases from Krokus (1976) to Hardware (1981)
	Remo Spadino	1974–1976 (died 2010)	bass	Krokus (1976) To You All (1977)
	Peter Richard	1974–1975	lead vocals
	Hansi Droz	1975–1976 (died 1999)	rhythm guitar	Krokus (1976)
	Daniel Debritt	1976	lead vocals	none
	Freddy "Steady" Frutig	1976–1982 1994–1995 2008–2011	drums percussion backing vocals	all Krokus releases from To You All (1977) to One Vice at a Time (1982) "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" (1994) To Rock or Not to Be (1995) Hoodoo (2010)
	Jürg Naegeli	1976–1981	bass keyboards backing vocals	To You All (1977) Pain Killer (1978) Metal Rendez-vous (1980) Hardware (1981) Stampede (1990) "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" (1994) To Rock or Not to Be (1995)
	Henry Friez	1978–1979	lead vocals	none
	Steve Pace	1982–1984	drums percussion	Headhunter (1983)
	Patrick Mahassen	1983–1984	rhythm guitar	none
	Jeff Klaven	1984–1987	drums percussion	The Blitz (1984) Change of Address (1986) Alive and Screamin' (1986)
	Andy Tanas	1984–1985	bass	none
	Tommy Keiser	1985–1987		Change of Address (1986) Alive and Screamin' (1986)
	Dani Crivelli	1987–1989 (died 2013)	drums percussion	Heart Attack (1988)
	Many Maurer	1988–1989 1990–1991 1994–1995 1999–2000	bass lead guitar (1988–91)	Stampede (1990) "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" (1994) To Rock or Not to Be (1995) Round 13 (1999)
	Björn Lodin	1988–1989	lead vocals	none
	Peter "Rabbit" Haas	1990–1991 1999	drums percussion	Stampede (1990) Round 13 (1999)
	Tony "T.C." Castell	1990–1991 2000–2008	rhythm guitar bass 2000–08) backing vocals	Stampede (1990) To Rock or Not to Be (1995) Rock the Block (2003) Fire and Gasoline Live (2004) Hellraiser (2006)
	Peter Tanner	1990–1991	lead vocals	Stampede (1990)
	Carl Sentance	1999–2002		Round 13 (1999)
	Chris Lauper	1999–2000	rhythm guitar
	Cliff Rodgers		drums	none
	Dave Stettler	2000–2002	rhythm guitar
	Marcel Kopp		drums
	Dominique Favez	2002–2008 2014–2015 (temporary touring substitute)	rhythm guitar	Rock the Block (2003) Fire and Gasoline Live (2004) Hellraiser (2006)
	Patrick Aeby	2002–2005	drums percussion	Rock the Block (2003) Fire and Gasoline Live (2004)
	Stefan Schwarzmann	2006–2008		Hellraiser (2006)
	Kosta Zafiriou	2011–2013 (backup member)		Dirty Dynamite (2013)
	Daniel "Dani" Löble	2013 (backup member)		none

Timeline[]

Lineups[]

References[]

External links[]

• Krokus official website