Die Apokalyptischen Reiter

German metal band Die Apokalyptischen Reiter (roughly, "the Horsemen of the Apocalypse") formed in mid-1995. Comprised of frontman Fuchs, guitarist Pitrone, bassist Volk-Man, keyboardist Dr. Pest, and drummer Sir G., the group recorded its first demo tape, Firestorm, the following year, resulting in a deal with the Hammerheart label to release an expanded edition titled Soft and Stronger. In the wake of 1999's Allegro Barbaro, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter shifted away from the melodic death metal of previous efforts to the more epic and atmospheric approach first introduced via 2000's All You Need Is Love. The 2003 Nuclear Blast label debut, Have a Nice Trip, further refined the formula, boosting Fuchs' vocals in the mix and emphasizing more structured melodies and rhythms. After mounting their first headlining tour, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter traveled to Denmark to record the 2004 LP Samurai. Another strong commercial showing, it set the stage for 2006's Riders on the Storm, which debuted in the German Top 40. On 2008's Licht (Light), the band shifted its linguistic focus -- where previous recordings had featured lyrics in both German and English, Licht was recorded exclusively in German. Again they ran up the German charts, and followed up in 2009 with the live album Tobusucht-Reitermania, a summation of Die Apokalyptischen Reiter's career to date. After a two-year layoff, the band issued its first new studio collection in three years with 2011's Moral and Wahnsinn, which also appeared on the Nuclear Blast imprint. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi