Schweisser

Biography

In 1987 five young men from the West Germany came together to form a band. These men were: Tommi Böck, Buffo Völker, Sepp Lautenbacher, Greulix Schrank, Miene Gruber. The name chosen for this newly formed band was "Die Schweisser" which can be translated as "The Welders". The name derives from the fact that all musicians wore welder´s goggles on their first live gig. This welder theme was to feature in the first two albums before disappearing almost completely. Die Schweisser made good use of a...

In 1987 five young men from the West Germany came together to form a band. These men were: Tommi Böck, Buffo Völker, Sepp Lautenbacher, Greulix Schrank, Miene Gruber.
The name chosen for this newly formed band was "Die Schweisser" which can be translated as "The Welders". The name derives from the fact that all musicians wore welder´s goggles on their first live gig. This welder theme was to feature in the first two albums before disappearing almost completely.
Die Schweisser made good use of a variety of instruments including saxophone to produce a very catchy rythym punk-style music.

Die Schweisser released their first promo album in 1990 called "Schweisser" and occasionally given the name "Schwarze Platte". This album was only produced on vinyl and only 1000 copies were produced and distrubted throughout Germany including the freshly opened east.

This album caught the eyes and ears of the audience and soon they were signed up with Intercord records, a partnership which lasted for many years. Die Schweisser were by now doing small gigs throughout Germany and the time had come to write and record their first commercial CD.

This new album was to be called "Auf der Autobahn zur Hölle" which translated means "On the Highway to Hell". If the AC/DC song comes to mind then don't be suprised as on the first song on the CD called "Autobahn", just near the end you hear the Highway to Hell guitar riff from AC/DC. The CD was a massive success for a German band.
They managed to be first German-language music video on Headbangers ball MTV and were also the first German language act at the Dynamo festival in the Netherlands. Die Schweisser never thought they could achieve this much and now many people were starting to take note of this young band. For them it was a breakthrough in the Metal/Hardcore scene and German language music.

Following the succes of "Auf der Autobahn zur Hölle", Die Schweisser went back into the studio to write a new album. It was during this time that the decision was made to drop the "Die" in Die Schweisser and from now on were to be known just as Schweisser.
It was also during the writing of this album that Schweisser started to take a new direction. They decided to make less use of the saxophone and more use of the heavy guitars. While "Auf der Autobahn zur Hölle" was leaning more toward the punk genre, The new album was leaning much more towards the Hardcore Metal scene, which is the direction they wanted to take. To represent this new heavier side of Schweisser the new album was called "Eisenkopf", which translated means "Iron Head"
Eisenkopf brings the band more recognition throughout Europe and people generally approve of the new heavy direction Schweisser have taken. Tommi Böck's vocals a prefect with this new heavy style and everything falls into place.

It is a long 3 years before the next CD is released. The next cd "Willkommen im Club" - Welcome in the Club, follows the heavy movements fo Eisenkopf, but this album seems to fit together a bit more smoothly than the previous. A good 3 years bewteen albums lets Schweisser have more time to fine tune this album. The result is a very powerful adreneline-fueled, angst-driven little bundle of joy.
By this stage they sound an almost completely different band to what they were 5 years before, while all the original members still remain.

It is only one year between the release of Willkommen im Club and the next album "Heiland" - "Saviour" released September 1997. In this one year, a big difference in the music has occured.This is the second turning point in Schweisser's musical direction. The new album is taken a step away from the Schweisserhardcore Metal scene and is turning towards good old rock. The album is an absolute ripper.While a few fans were a little saddened not to find it as heavy as the last 2 albums, they do enjoy the new sounds coming from the Schweisser heart. Heiland brings Schweisser into their secound wave of success. Two singles from this cd are released, "Es hört nie auf" in 1997 followed by "Friss Scheisse" in 1998. Friss Scheisse which means "Eat Shit" was produced in London with Mark Plati, who worked on the lastest David Bowie album. Two videos are produced and are given regular airtime on MTV. While there was only one year between this album and the previous "Eisenkopf" a lot of musical thought has gone into this album and it pays off for Schweisser.

For the next year Schweisser spend the time touring and writing songs. They play in Acoustic Wohnzimmer Tour in Dec ´98 - Jan. ´99. It would be hard to imagine Schweisser playing in an acoustic tour 3 years previously during the Eisenkopf, Willkommen im Club era. This just shows how Schweisser were not afraid of change.

Schweisser's 6th album begins recording in June 1999. The album is called "Bitte Warten" - "Please wait" and is released March 2000. With all the direction changes Schweisser have taken, people have become used to different styles. But this time, the album is slammed. The album is a lot softer than anyone would have expected, it comes out almost in the pop-genre. SchweisserFans start to turn on Schweisser and very few show up to the concerts. The album is like nothing they have produced so far, it is almost impossible to tell this was once a Metal band. Their is even rumours that the record company has said they couldn't write a soft album , so Schweisser went out to prove them wrong. All in all, it was not the reaction Schweisser had expected. With no one showing up to concerts, the decision was made for Schweisser to split. The wonderful band that entertained thousands was finished. It was definately not the way this should have ended. It was a very sad day and a terrible finish to a wonderful band

In August 2006, after 5 years since the band split. Tommi Böck reformed the Schweisser name with the help of two friends and released the first Schweisser album since "Bitte Warten". The album was called "Pororoca" which means 'Large destructive noise'


Taken with permission from Schweisser.org


== Discography ==
* Pororoca - [[2006]]
* Bitte Warten - [[2000]]
* Heiland - [[1997]]
* Wilkommen im Club - [[1996]]
* Eisenkopf - [[1994]]
* Auf der Autobahn zur Hölle - [[1992]]
* Schweisser/Schwarze Platte - [[1989]]

== Links ==
* [http://www.schweisser.org Homepage]


[[Category:German musical groups]]
[[Category:Industrial music groups]]
[[Category:German industrial groups]]
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