Crematory (band)

Crematory
Background information
Origin	Westhofen, Germany
Genres	Death metal (early) Melodic death metal[1] Gothic metal[1][2][3][4]
Years active	1991–2001, 2003–present
Labels	Massacre (1993–1996, 2006–present) Nuclear Blast (1996–2006)
Associated acts	Mystic Circle
Website	www.crematory.de
Members
Gerhard "Felix" Stass - growling Matthias Hechler - guitar, clean vocals Katrin Goger - keyboards Harald Heine - bass Markus Jüllich - drums
Past members
Marc Zimmer - bass, clean vocals/screaming Heinz Steinhauser - bass, clean vocals/screaming Lothar "Lotte" Forst - guitars, clean vocals

Crematory is a gothic^[5]/melodic death metal^[1] band formed in Mannheim, Germany in 1991.

History

The band received its earliest recognition in the mid-1990s by touring with My Dying Bride, Tiamat and Atrocity.^[3] Much like the latter two groups, the band had begun as traditional death metal, then evolved with an industrial music and gothic metal musical direction on later albums. The band would receive heavy rotation on MTV Germany,^[6] and would also make appearances at various extreme metal festivals, including Germany's Wacken Open Air in the years 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2008, in addition to inclusion on Nuclear Blast compilation samplers.

The band re-signed to Massacre Records in 2006 after a 10 year stint with Nuclear Blast; Massacre had been the band's first label.

Active for almost 20 years (with a brief split between 2001 and 2003) they are among one of Europe's longest running bands affiliated with the gothic metal genre.^[3]

Line-up

Current members

• Gerhard Stass - vocals (1991–present)
• Matthias Hechler - guitar and vocals (1998–present)
• Katrin Goger - keyboards (1992–present)
• Harald Heine - bass guitar (1993–present)
• Markus Jüllich - drums (1991–present)

Former members

• Marc Zimmer - bass, vocals (1991–1993)
• Lothar "Lotte" Forst - guitar, vocals (1991–1998)

Sessional live members

• Heinz Steinhauser - bass, vocals (1993)

Discography

Demos

• Crematory (1992)

Studio Albums

• Transmigration (1993)
• …Just Dreaming (1994)
• Illusions (1995)
• Crematory (Das Deutsche Album) (1996)
• Awake (1997)
• Act Seven (1999)
• Believe (2000)
• Revolution (2004)
• Klagebilder (2006)
• Pray (2008)
• Infinity (2010)^[7]

Live

• Live... At The Out Of The Dark Festivals (1997)
• Remind (2001)
• LiveRevolution (2005)

Singles, EP's

• Ist Es Wahr (1996)
• Fly (1999)
• Greed (2004)

Collection

• Early Years (1999)
• Remind (2001)
• Black Pearls (2010)

Trivia

• One of the founding members was Bassist Marc Zimmer, who would leave the band in 1992 to focus on Mystic Circle.
• Jüllich and Goger are married.
• The band collaborated on the Metallica tribute album, A Tribute to the Four Horsemen, with the song "One".

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Bowar, Chad. "Pray review". About.com. http://heavymetal.about.com/od/cdreviews/fr/crematorypray.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-24. 
2. ^ Nuclear Blast America
3. ^ ^{a b c} CREMATORY | Unique, Detailed Biography | MusicMight
4. ^ Crematory in Allmusic.com
5. ^ Nuclear Blast America
6. ^ [1]
7. ^ http://www.crematory.de/main/news/e_news.php

External links

• Official Site
• Official Myspace
• Official Site - Massacre Records
• Official Site - Nuclear Blast Germany
• Official Site - Nuclear Blast USA
• Unofficial Site - Crematory Web