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After the almost mandatory personnel changes most new bands
struggle through at the beginning of their formation, the
OSTROGOTH line-up stabilized in 1981. They played traditional
heavy metal combined with early elements of NWOBHM, but with
a bigger sound and more pathos.
Early 1984, less than a year after the release of "FULL
MOON'S EYES" the 4-track mini-album which had established
OSTROGOTH'S name and solid reputation from Europe, all the
way across the Atlantic, to the east coast of the United States,
the band unleashed their first full length long player upon
their devoted fans. ECSTASY AND DANGER was a significant album
crammed with memorable riffs and eternal metal hymns. Over
the years it has become one of the undisputed classic heavy
metal albums of the 80s.
By 1985 major record companies around the world had finally
caught on that there were big bucks to be made in heavy metal
and they were spending proverbial zillions recording and promoting
acts in this genre of music. In order to remain at the forefront
of the scene it had become necessary to deliver more commercial
and more polished, even radio-friendly productions, so for
their third effort OSTROGOTH enlisted the expert production
skills of ALEX GIETZ, my eccentric German friend whom they
had met, and with whom they had socialized on several occasions,
at my offices and in bars. ALEX had produced bands such as
UNDERDOG and AXE KILLERS for MAUSOLEUM, and OSTROGOTH admired
both his work as well as his offbeat character. The resulting
album: TOO HOT will in my opinion always remain one of the
most underrated hard rock records of the 80s.
In 1986, after the demise of ELDORADO ENTERTAINMENT &
COMMUNICATIONS, the parent company of MAUSOLEUM RECORDS, both
HANS VAN DE KERCHOVE and MARNIX VAN DE KAUTER decided to quit
the band. MARNIX found it increasingly difficult to combine
his job at the national television station with his musical
career as OSTROGOTH'S bass player, and HANS, an Egyptologist,
had received a prestigious teaching post at a German University.
Both were no doubt also disillusioned by the collapse of their
record label. Tragically, HANS died from heart failure not
long thereafter.
The remaining members of the band enrolled SYLVAIN CHEROTTI
on bass, and JUNAO MARTINS on guitar. They were also lucky
to be able to convince PETER DE WINT, one of heavy metal's
greatest singers, to join up as replacement for MARC DE BRAUWER,
the vocalist-extraordinaire who had recently quit due to personal
problems. Finally keyboard player CHRIS TAERWE was added to
the new line-up, and OSTROGOTH became something of a power-metal-monster.
By then I had managed to form ULTRAPRIME, a new record label,
for which this renaissance OSTROGOTH line-up recorded FEELINGS
OF FURY, their fourth album. My personnel favorite? I love
them all; FULL MOON'S EYES because it captured a moment in
time and brought us together, ECTASY AND DANGER because most
of the songs have anthem-like qualities, TOO HOT for it's
refined production, and FEELINGS OF FURY for it's impressive
power. I'm also happy and proud that these people are still
my friends in 2002, twenty years after I first met them, and
signed them to my label.
Alfie FALCKENBACH
February 2002
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