Atrocity (band)

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Atrocity is a German band formed in Ludwigsburg (not to be confused with the American peace punk band of the same name from Berkeley California, circa 1983). They started out as a death metal band, and their debut was the Blue Blood EP in 1989 followed by a concept album about drug use named Hallucinations. Their second album Todessehnsucht ventured into technical death metal, featuring a cover of "Arch Angel" by the band Death. Their musical scope broadened during the years, and the band even discovered medieval and horror influences on their Dracula based concept album Atrocity's Blut, named after the successful motion picture Bram Stoker's Dracula. It was released on 1994, and was followed by Calling The Rain mcd with included guest female vocals and acoustic themes.

The 1996 release Willenskraft introduced industrial elements, and the special bonus CD of the album's special edition (Kraft Und Wille) included even electronic remixes of the songs. The later releases saw original metal in decline: the following release Werk 80 featured versions of 1980's disco hits, and the band had no apparent direction for the following few years: the odd mcd-releases and experimental songs like Lili Marlene-covers (featured on Gemini) banished most of the fans. After year 2000 nothing was heard from Atrocity, and it was commonly thought they had just quit.

That was not the case, as the band had a perennial hiatus. They returned after four years with a brand new (and finally, full-length) album, Atlantis in 2004. The album is again a concept album based on the myths of sunken continent of Atlantis, and musically it features more rock-like approach along to metal. The album also features the guest vocals of Alexander's wife, Liv-Kristine Espanaes Krull (formerly in Theatre of Tragedy).

Trivia: The exactly same band members form also the atmospheric metal band Leaves' Eyes, which has Liv Kristine as a lead vocalist.