Messiah

Biography

Messiah is a death/black and thrash metal band from Switzerland. The band has had three vocalists over its existence, with vocalist Andy Kaina's tenure the longest. Guitarist R.B. Broggi has been the band's only constant member since inception.
Their sound has been described as "hopelessly un-commercial" by AllMusic and has drawn comparisons to Hellhammer and Kreator. The band's lasti influence on the development of extreme metal substantially eclipses their commercial success.

Formation, studio album releases and reunion show (1984–2003)

Messiah's debut album, Hymn to Abramelin×Hymn to Abramelin1986 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Hymn to Abramelin1:142Messiah (Extra version)2:543Anarchus4:234Space Invaders3:545Thrashing Madness2:376Future Agressor2:287Empire of the Damned3:088Total Maniac3:599The Dentist8:01, was released in 1986 through Chainsaw Murder Records. Their second LP, Extreme Cold Weather×Extreme Cold Weather1987 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracksA1Extreme Cold Weather4:21A2Enjoy Yourself2:25A3Johannes Paul Der Letzte (Dedicated In Hate To Pope John Paul II)4:14A4Mother Theresa (Dedicated In Love To Mother Theresa)1:27A5Hyper Borea5:41A6Radezky March: We Hate To Be In The Army Now2:28A7Nero5:52B1Hymn To Abramelin / Messiah (Extra Version) / Space Invaders6:41B2Thrashing Madness2:10B3Golden Dawn5:46B4The Last Inferno2:56B5Resurrection2:56B6Olé Perversus2:30, came out in 1987 and was re-issued on CD three years later by Nuclear Blast. The release contained the band's debut album. The band signed to Noise Records, which released their next album, Choir of Horrors×Choir of Horrors1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Choir of Horrors4:532Akasha Chronicle3:543Weeping Willow5:214Lycantropus Erectus3:225Münchhausen Syndrom5:076Cautio Criminalis4:267Northern Command4:028Weena6:47, in 1991. Messiah released two more albums, Rotten Perish×Rotten Perish24 August 1992 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Prelude: Act of Fate2:312For Those Who Will Fail4:133Living With a Confidence3:494Raped Bodies4:095Lines of Thought of a Convicted Man1:336Contrition4:287Condemned Cell4:258Dreams of Eschaton4:479Anorexia Nervosa4:3210Deformed Creatures3:5011Alzheimer's Disease3:5112Ascension of a Divine Ordinance9:49 and Underground×Underground1994 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Battle in the Ancient North3:382Revelation of Fire3:503Underground4:314Epitaph3:415The Way of the Strong4:176Living in a Lie4:377Screams of Frustration2:498The Ballad of Jesus2:199Dark Lust5:4610One Thousand Pallid Deaths5:0611The End3:14, through Noise, but disbanded in the mid-1990s.
The band reunited for a show in 2003. Afterwards, the band stated they had no desire to reunite.

Reunion, Fatal Grotesque Symbols – Darken Universe, and Fracmont (2017–present)

At the end of 2017, the band was asked by a concert promoter to play a few secret shows in Lucerne, Switzerland. The band accepted, and following the shows, started writing a new album in the beginning of 2018.
In June 2020, the band announced that the EP Fatal Grotesque Symbols – Darken Universe would be released on 7 August, and that a full-length album titled Fracmont×Fracmont11 September 2020 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Sacrosanctus Primitivus2:162Fracmont9:403Morte Al Dente6:344Urbi Et Orbi4:365Singularity2:336Children Of Faith6:357Dein Wille Geschehe4:118Miracle Far Beyond Disaster2:379My Flesh - Your Soul4:0910Throne Of Diabolic Heretics6:15 would be released a month later on 11 September, the band's first studio album in 26 years.

Current members

R.B. Broggi – guitars (1984–1995, 2003, 2017–present)
Patrick Hersche – bass (1989–1992, 2003, 2017–present)
Steve Karrer – drums (1990–1995, 2003, 2017–present)
Marcus Seebach – vocals (2022–present)
V.O. Pulver – guitars (2023–present)

Former members

Rolf "Jazzi" Heer – drums (1984–1989)
Reto Wilhelm Kühne – bass, vocals (1984–1988)
Andre Steiner – guitars (1985)
Dave Phillips - bass (1988–1989)
Dani Raess – guitar (1989–1990)
Pete Schuler – drums (1989–1990)
Christofer Johnsson – vocals (1994–1995)
Oliver Koll – bass (1994–1995)
Andy Kaina – vocals (1990–1994, 2003, 2017–2021) (died 2022)

Albums

Hymn to Abramelin (1986)
Extreme Cold Weather (1987)
Choir of Horrors (1991)
Rotten Perish (1992)
Underground (1994)
Fracmont (2020)
Christus Hypercubus (2024)

Live Albums

Reanimation, Live at Abart (2010)
The Choir of Horrors and Rotten Perish Era Live (2018)

EPs

Psychomorphia (1990)
The Ballad of Jesus (1994)
Fatal Grotesque Symbols – Darken Universe (2020)

Compilations

Powerthrash / The Infernal Thrashing (2004)
Space Invaders (2018)

DVDs

20 Years of Infernal Thrashing Madness (2004)

Demos

Demo 1984 (1984)
Infernal Thrashing (1985)
Powerthrash (1985)
Live Baar (1985)
Extreme Cold Weather (1986)