List of Artillery band members
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Artillery is a Danish thrash metal band from Taastrup. Formed in 1982, the group originally consisted of guitarists Jørgen Sandau and Benny Petersen, bassist Pete Hurricane and drummer Carsten Nielsen. By the time they recorded their first demo at the end of the year, the band featured brothers Michael and Morten Stützer in place of Petersen and Hurricane, respectively, as well as vocalist Per Onink. Michael Stützer is the only remaining original member of the band, which also includes bassist Peter Thorslund (who first joined in 1988), drummer Frederik Kjelstrup Hansen, vocalist Martin Steene and guitarist René Loua (all of whom joined in 2023).
1982–1992
Artillery was formed in June 1982 by guitarist Jørgen Sandau and drummer Carsten Nielsen.[1] The initial lineup also included guitarist Benny Petersen and bassist Pete Hurricane, although Petersen was quickly replaced by Ken C. Jack, before both were replaced by brothers Michael and Morten Stützer, respectively, alongside the arrival of Per Onink as the band's first vocalist.[2] After recording their first demo We Are the Dead at the end of 1982, the band parted ways with Onink (in June 1983)[3] and replaced him with Carsten Lohmann (in September)[3] for second demo Shellshock.[4] After a third demo, Deeds of Darkness, Lohmann was replaced by Flemming Rönsdorf at the start of 1985, recording the band's full-length debut Fear of Tomorrow.[5] Around this time, Sandau dropped lead guitar duties.[3]
The band recorded its second album Terror Squad during 1986, but when it was delayed for almost a year and the band had to turn down several tours as a result, they decided to split up.[6] For the last three weeks of the group's initial tenure, Nielsen was replaced on drums by Henrik Quaade.[3] A year after disbanding, Artillery reformed in August 1988 after being offered a tour in the Soviet Union.[7] After a short string of local shows with the existing lineup (including Nielsen on drums), Sandau left due to a "musical discrepancy", at which point Morten Stützer switched to rhythm guitar.[8] Bass was performed on the Soviet tour in early 1989 by stand-in Peter Thorslund.[3] Michael "Romchael" Rasmussen took over from May to August, before he was fired and Thorslund took over permanently.[9]
At the beginning of 1990, Artillery recorded their third album By Inheritance.[3] Shortly after its release, the band's lineup splintered — first, in August, Michael Stützer left to reform his old band Missing Link; the next month, Rönsdorf also departed, with John Mathiasen taking his place; and in December, Nielsen was replaced by returning drummer Henrik Quaade, while Samir Belmaati joined to replace Stützer.[9] After recording The Mind Factory demo, Quaade was replaced by Benny Dallschmidt at the end of 1991 and Mickey Finn replaced Mathiasen in 1992, prior to Artillery disbanding.[9]
1998–2023
Artillery returned in August 1998, playing a single show to promote the compilation Deadly Relics.[10] The show featured Rönsdorf, the Stützer brothers and Thorslund, plus Missing Link drummer Sven Olsen.[3] During the summer of 1999, the trio recorded a comeback album entitled B.A.C.K. with Per Möller Jensen on drums, which was followed the next year by the single "Jester" with the same lineup.[3] After a four-year break, Artillery played a single show in December 2004 with Hatesphere members Mikael Ehlert on bass and Anders Gyldenøhr on drums.[11] The next reformed in November 2007, after the release of the box set Through the Years, with Michael and Morsten Stützer joined by returning bassist Peter Thorslund, original drummer Carsten Nielsen, and new vocalist Søren Nico Adamsen.[12] This lineup remained stable for several years, releasing the live album and video One Foot in the Grave, the Other One in the Trash in 2008,[13] plus studio albums When Death Comes in 2009 and My Blood in 2011.[14]
In April 2012, Nielsen announced that he was leaving Artillery due to "personal reasons" after two final shows, which took place at the end of May.[15] He was replaced the next month by Josua Madsen.[16] In September, Adamsen also left for the same reported reason, with Michael Bastholm Dahl taking his place.[17] The new lineup released Legions (2013), Penalty by Perception (2016) and The Face of Fear (2018), before Morten Stützer died on 2 October 2019.[18] The band continued with Kræn Meier, who had been filling in for Stützer during his illness since 2017, as an official band member.[19] In 2020, the band recorded "The Last Journey" in tribute to Stützer, with the regular lineup joined by former vocalists Flemming Rönsdorf and Søren Nico Adamsen.[20] In January 2023, Madsen was replaced by Frederik Kjelstrup Hansen.[21] Just over a month later, after rehearsing with a new band, Madsen was hit by a bus and died on 8 March 2013.[22] Starting in April, Søren Nico Adamsen temporarily filled in for Dahl.[23]
Since 2023
Dahl officially stepped down from Artillery in September 2023.[24] He was followed by Meier, who quit due to "personal differences" in November.[25] Later in the month, the band unveiled Martin Steene as its new vocalist.[26] The next month, René Loua was announced as the band's new rhythm guitarist.[27]
Members
Current
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Stützer |
|
|
all Artillery releases to date, except The Mind Factory (1991) | |
| Peter Thorslund |
|
|
all Artillery releases from By Inheritance (1990) to date, except B.A.C.K. (1999) and "Jester" (2000) | |
| Frederik Kjelstrup Hansen | 2023–present | drums | none to date | |
| Martin Steene | lead vocals | |||
| René Loua |
|
Former
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jørgen Sandau |
|
rhythm and lead (until early 1985) guitars | all Artillery releases from We Are the Dead (1982) to Terror Squad (1987) | |
| Carsten Nielsen |
|
drums |
| |
| Pete Hurricane | 1982 | bass | none | |
| Benny Petersen | lead and rhythm guitars | |||
| Ken C. Jack | ||||
| Morten Stützer |
|
|
all Artillery releases from We Are the Dead (1982) to The Face of Fear (2018) | |
| Per Onink | 1982–1983 | lead vocals | We Are the Dead (1982) | |
| Carsten Lohmann | 1983–1984 |
| ||
| Flemming Rönsdorf |
|
| ||
| Henrik Quaade |
|
drums | The Mind Factory (1991) | |
| Michael "Romchael" Rasmussen | 1989 | bass | none | |
| John Mathiasen | 1990–1992 | lead vocals | The Mind Factory (1991) | |
| Samir Belmaati | lead guitar | |||
| Benny Dallschmidt | 1991–1992 | drums | none | |
| Mickey Finn | 1992 | lead vocals | ||
| Sven Olsen | 1998 (one-off live member) | drums | ||
| Per Möller Jensen | 1999–2000 (session/touring) |
| ||
| Mikael Ehlert | 2004 (one-off live members) | bass | none | |
| Anders Gyldenøhr | drums | |||
| Søren Nico Adamsen |
|
lead vocals |
| |
| Josua Madsen | 2012–2023 (his death) |
|
all Artillery releases from Legions (2013) to Raw Live at Copenhell (2024) | |
| Michael Bastholm Dahl | 2012–2023 | lead vocals | ||
| Kræn Meier | 2017–2023 (touring substitute only until October 2019) |
|
|
Timeline
