EKPYROSIS was formed in Austria, in 1989, around CHRISTIAN GRUBER, vocalist and guitar player, his brother MARTIN, and drummer HELMUT WINTER. Less than 12 months later MARTIN and another member already threw in the proverbial towel. After the initial line-up changes, and the ensuing growing number of gigs, the first 6-track demo, entitled ALONE, was unleashed in 1990.

The next few years were spend playing clubs in and around Austria, and occasionally being offered the opening-act spot for mores established bands such as KREATOR, and even for heavy rock legends; DEEP PURPLE. A second 4-track subsequently went largely unnoticed by all except the loyal hardcore following EKPYROSIS had built up over the years.

In the summer of 1995 EKPYROSIS camped out in the ACADEMY RECORDING STUDIOS in Lubljana, Slovenia, where they recorded their first full-fledged CD album baptized LAST AND ONLY. ROCK HARD, one of the better German music magazines took notice, and gave them a good review. The underground also took notice, especially in Caracas, and they were subsequently booked for a two-week tour of Venezuela – of all places. The relative rise in popularity also travelled back to Europe, and resulted in more and better concerts, and opening-act-gigs for the likes of METAL CHURCH, PAUL Di’ANNO, KINGDOM COME, SKYCLAD, GOTTHARD and HELLOWEEN.

In 1999 EKPYROSIS decided to broaden their musical spectrum by adding keyboard player RICHARD EDLINGER as a fulltime 5th member of the band.

In March 1999 EKPYROSIS entered the COSMIC STUDIOS in Vienna, where they recorded GREY, their second album, for SLEDGEHAMMER/ RADIATION, a NUCLEAR BLAST distributed label. They nearly made it into the GUINNESS BOOK of RECORDS – primarily for having their agreement cancelled in less than 2 months time – a record surely ! The less than stellar sales figures were very likely a decisive factor.

In August of 2002 EKPYROSIS underwent another line-up change and guitarist MARKUS REICHL and bass-player MARKUS KRONSTEINER were respectively replaced by MARIO SCHEIBER and THOMAS PRETHALER. In the meantime the band had completed their third album, which they originally christened FIRE, but was renamed AFTER WAR once they inked a new agreement with MAUSOLEUM RECORDS.

EKPYROSIS: their difficult name was borrowed from Greek mythology and refers to the process of how earth was created from fire and will eventually return to that condition. An appropriate name for this band whose music burns with rare passion and aural aggression. The arrangements are innovative but without diminishing the force of the power-riffs. The impressive vocal harmonies deliver lyrics that are both surrealistic and socially critical - specifically lashing out against racism and the oppression of minorities.