Vendetta (group)

German thrashers Achim "Daxx" Hömerlein (vocals / guitar), Michael "Micky" Wehner (solo guitar / vocals), Klaus "Heiner" Ullrich (bass) and Andreas "Samson" Samonil (drums) teamed up to create Vendetta in 1984 in Schweinfurt, a small town on the Main in Bavaria.

Their music was an excellent combination of pure German sourdough thrash metal / thrash metal and typical melodic and sophisticated American metal structures. Listening to the first two albums of the group for the first time, it is impossible to guess what will happen next: unexpected accelerations, stops, slowdowns. The complexity, complexity of the songs and their duration make listening to albums more than once.

After releasing two demos, one in 1985 under the name System of Death and the other two years later under the name Suicidal Lunacy , Vendetta debuted in 1987 with their full-length album Go and Live ... Stay and Die , released by Noise Records, with which The musicians signed a contract. This album has all of the above sound characteristics of Vendetta. Lyrics sung by Daxx and Micky talk about social issues such as drugs, corruption, violence, immigration, war, and politics. The release of the album was accompanied by a tour of Germany, during which Vendetta performed in company with Helstar and Tankard.

At the end of the tour, the musicians went to the Berlin Musiclab studio to further implement their musical ideas. The following year, Vendetta was on the road with their second Brain Damage album, which was also produced by Harris Johns. The quality and style of the record was in no way inferior to its predecessor. The disk was dominated by the same high-tech thrash, but there were a bit more slow and medium-tempo places. The album continues the traditions of its predecessor Go and Live ... Stay and Die : songs have become even more complex and melodic. The album also includes the song “Precious Existence”, which can be seen as a power ballad that is not typical for Vendetta, but is a logical continuation of the musical development of the band.

Vendetta was a very active concert band performing on the same stage with bands such as Paradox, Tankard, Exumer and Helstar.

The long search for the vocalist, which lasted all this time, was unsuccessful, and in 1990 Noise Records decided to relieve Vendetta of their duties, after which the group quickly broke up. Press support also played only a small role in popularizing Vendetta, as most fans of thrash metal of the time ignored the band, preferring the simpler thrash metal thresher. It is also believed that Noise Records refused to collaborate with musicians due to the low sales volume of their recordings. After the release of Brain Damage, the name Vendetta disappeared from the musical Olympus for a long time. The musicians reunited in 1998 and actively give concerts as before, but with a new line-up (“Heiner” is the only member of the original line-up, except Mario Vogel (vocals), Frank Schölch (guitar), Thomas “Lubber” Krämer (drums)).

In 2003, in their new line-up (plus “Daxx”), they recorded a new demo consisting of four songs called Dead People Are Cool . Vendetta toured Germany with Sodom and Fatal Embrace in September 2005. In November 2006, Vendetta signed a contract with the German label Metal Ax Records. The following year, the third Vendetta Hate album was released on Metal Ax Records. The album was recorded at the SU 2 studio in Zaarbrücken, where bands such as Autumnblaze, Tomorrows Eve or Powerwolf also recorded their albums. With songs like “Prepare Yourself For Hostility” or “Mother,” the album is reminiscent of Brain Damage . The sound of the album, however, differs from the sound of its predecessors, it has become more modern and aggressive. Hate is filled with aggression and unusual songs that, without compassion, find their way into the listener's brain.

For fans of the old school of thrash metal, the first Vendetta Go And Live ... Stay And Die and Brain Damage albums, which also included bonus recordings, were re-released on Metal Ax Records.

Schweinfurt's Vendetta belonged in the 1980s to one of the most unique, original, innovative and at the same time unappreciated thrash metal bands in general. The musicians themselves characterized their music as “V. A. S. T. metal "( Eng. FAST metal ), which is an abbreviation for the words fun ( Eng. Fun ), avant-garde ( Eng. Avant-garde ), speed ( Eng. Speed ) and thrash ( Eng. Thrash), from the very beginning to make it clear that they do not fall under any cliches about metal common at that time and do not want this.

From a musical and lyrical point of view, Vendetta was far from the typical “thrash metal thresher” in Germany at that time and was the favorite of the writing fraternity, which overwhelmed the group with enthusiastic criticism and willingly regarded Vendetta as the “German Metallica ”.

Discography of the Vendetta group has five full-length albums and three demos. In addition, a joint promotion with the Sabbat band was released.

Demos

• System of Death (1985)
• Suicidal Lunacy (1987)
• Demo (Dead People Are Cool) (2003)

Studio Albums

• Go And Live ... Stay And Die (1987)
• Brain Damage (1988)
• Hate (2007)
• Feed the Extermination (2011)
• The 5th (2017)

Promotions and collections

• A Cautionary Tale / And the Brave Man Fails (1988)

Last known composition

• Mario Vogel - vocals
• Frank Schölch - guitar (Sorrogate, Mystic Alliance)
• Klaus Heiner Ullrich - bass
• Thomas “Lubber” Krämer - drums

Former members

• Achim "Dax" Hömerlein (Achim "Daxx" Hömerlein) - vocals, guitar (Paradox)
• Frank Heller - Guitar (Bloody Climax)
• Michael “Micky” Wehner (Michael “Micky” Wehner) - vocals, guitar (Paradox)
• Andreas "Samson" Samonil - drums

• Vendetta (English) on Rate Your Music
• Vendetta on the Discogs website