Biography
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Years Active
1996 – present (28 years)
Richthofen is a german neue deutsche härte band. Founded 1996 by producer Andy Classen (ex Holy Moses) and vocalist Dirk Weiss (ex Warpath), Richthofen merged industrial with darker death metal and grindcore elements.
Richthofen's first album "Seelenwalzer" was the product of a summer long collaboration of Weiss and Classen at his Stage One Studio. Musicians from Hate Squad, Shit for Brains and Erosion contributed to the record. BMG Records signed Richthofen and positioned them successfully as a heavier and musically more sophisticated version of Rammstein. Richthofen toured Germany and Europe with acts like Dimmu Borgir, Kreator and Krisiun.
In 1997 Classen and Weiss locked themselves away at Stage One Studio to produce their sophomore album. The first evening of the sessions Weiss showed Classen Jim Jarmusch's "Dead Man". Deeply impressed by the movie and its soundtrack Classen bought a Telecaster and a Fender Twin Reverb amp the very next day.
The resulting album had a distinct country & blues influenced sound, drawing from inspirations from Neil Young, Tom Waits and Johnny Cash while merging it with the trademark industrial metal of Richthofen. Classen and Weiss were convinced to have produced a very unique record with strong songs but BMG was less impressed. The album was rejected by the record company and remains unpublished to this day.
Dissatisfied with these developments Andy Classen left Richthofen while Dirk Weiss assembled a new band with former Warpath bass player Maurer and Niederschlag/Endhammer guitarist Michi Schlusseneck. Together they composed and recorded a complete new record with the title "Helden der Zeit" which subsequently was published by BMG in 1998.
One year later the Richthofen family filed a legal complained over the use of the Richthofen name against Dirk Weiss, forcing him to abandon the name and putting an end to the band.
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