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Warlock (band)

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Warlock

Warlock was a German heavy metal band, assembled in 1982. They also could be described as hard rock or even glam metal. The band gained some commercial success in the mid 1980s. By the end of the decade, singer Doro Pesch was the sole original member who remained in the band, and thus proceeded to form Doro, a band that was essentially a continuation of Warlock under a different name. Doro, the band, has several classic songs from Warlock in its repertoire.

Musical style

Warlock's music is always primarily described as heavy metal. Their style was more traditional in the beginning of the 1980s, as heard on the Burning the Witches album. They soon moved to a hard rock and glam metal style, starting with Hellbound. The band's influences are 1970s hard rock and heavy metal acts such as Judas Priest and Black Sabbath, N.W.O.B.H.M., as well as fellow German metal bands such as Scorpions and Accept. Other bands that had a similar sound include Ratt, Dokken, Medusa, and Zed Yago.

History

Warlock was formed in late 1982 in Düsseldorf. The band spent most of that year and 1983 performing in different German clubs, building a steady fan base. After recording a demo, Mausoleum Demo, and sending it to several record labels, the band obtained a contract with independent Belgian label Mausoleum.

The first line-up, which consisted of Doro Pesch on vocals, Peter Szigeti and Rudy Graf on guitars, Frank Rittel on bass, and Michael Eurich on drums, recorded the band's first two albums: Burning the Witches in 1984 and Hellbound in 1985. They toured in Europe to market the releases. In early 1985, the band signed a contract with label Phonogram.

Later that year, in the middle of the tour for Hellbound, Rudy Graf left the band and was replaced by Niko Arvanitis, formerly of Stormwind.

Warlock's third album, True As Steel, released in 1986, got a fair amount of North American radio airplay due to the hit single "Fight For Rock". The band's first music video was made for the song, airing on MTV. In August that year, Warlock opened for the Monsters of Rock festival at the Maimarktgelände in Mannheim, West Germany when Scorpions were headlining the all day concert. Def Leppard, Ozzy, MSG and Bon Jovi were also there.

After the tour for True As Steel ended, Frank Rittel and Peter Szigeti left the band and were replaced by Tommy Bolan, (formerly of Armed Forces), and Tommy Henriksen . With the new line-up, Warlock released their fourth and last album, Triumph And Agony, in 1987. The video for the single "All We Are" enjoyed heavy rotation on MTV's "Headbangers' Ball".

The band proceeded to make its first and sole extensive US tour, opening for Megadeth alongside Sanctuary, and playing several shows on their own with different opening acts, such as Fates Warning, Sword and Lillian Axe.

Michael Eurich and Niko Arvanitis left Warlock in December 1987, and were replaced by Bobby Rondinelli (formerly of Rainbow) and Jon Levin (mislabeled as "Jon Devin" in Doro's Force Majeure liner notes). Doro Pesch was now the only original member still in the band. At this time, the band's ex-manager sued for rights to the band name, and won. Doro continued to fight for her band name, but conceded with record label requests that rename the band Doro. Currently, Doro is active and still performs Warlock material. Around 2004 Doro reuinited with some original Warlock members for a festival appearance; legal troubles over using the band named ensued.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

EPs

Singles

Demos

Bootlegs

  • Metalbound (1985, LP, live recording with the first line-up, from September 14, 1985)
  • More Doro Power (1986, LP, live recording with the second line-up, from December 11, 1985)
  • Ready For Promotion (1986, LP, live recording with the second line-up, from August 16, 1986)
  • The Last Witch (1987, LP, live recording with the first line-up)
  • True As Steel + Triumph and Agony (2001, CD, Russian release, double album)
  • Music Box (2003, CD, Top Rec., Russian release, compilation)

VHS

DVD

Line-ups

1983-1985

1985-1987

1987-1988

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