Tankard

Biography

Tankard is a German thrash metal band from Frankfurt, founded in 1982. Alongside Kreator, Destruction and Sodom, Tankard is often considered one of the "Big Four" of Teutonic thrash metal. Stylistically, Tankard has consistently played thrash metal that thematically centres primarily on alcohol reverence, unlike the remaining "Big Teutonic Four" (Kreator, Destruction and Sodom), who are all known for covering such topics related to death, politics, violence and anti-fascism.

Formation and early years (1982–1985)

Tankard was formed in 1982 by three classmates, bassist Andreas "Gerre" Geremia, guitarist Axel Katzmann and vocalist Frank Thorwarth. Thorwarth and Gerre soon switched roles; at the same time the trio added drummer Oliver Werner and second guitarist Bernhard Rapprich. They chose their name from a dictionary upon seeing its definition as "beer mug". Their earliest written song was called "Ray Death", a song about nuclear war and their first gig was played in a local classroom in 1983. As drinking alcohol in the school was banned, they smuggled their beer in with milk cartons. Soon after, Bernhard Rapprich left the band as his conservative father did not want him "hanging around with a bunch of drunks" and he was replaced by Andy Bulgaropoulos.
With the lineup now stabilised, the band released their first demo, titled Heavy Metal Vanguard, in 1984. After this, the band toured with fellow German thrashers Sodom. SPV were interested in signing both bands, but allegedly SPV retracted a deal after seeing the band perform live. In 1985, they released a second demo, Alcoholic Metal, which cemented their thrash metal style and lyrical themes. Both of these demos were very popular in the underground, and on the strength of this demo they signed with Noise Records. The eight-track demo also features rough versions of four songs that would later appear on their debut album, Zombie Attack×Zombie Attack1986 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Zombie Attack3:51A2Acid Death4:17A3Mercenary3:27A4Maniac Forces5:09A5Alcohol2:09B1(Empty) Tankard4:45B2Thrash ’Till Death2:33B3Chains3:38B4Poison4:00B5Screamin’ Victims3:03.

The Noise years (1986–1995)

Zombie Attack was released in July 1986. In October 1987 their sophomore album, Chemical Invasion×Chemical Invasion1987 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Intro0:17A2Total Addiction3:26A3Tantrum3:15A4Don't Panic4:24A5Puke0:58A6For a Thousand Beers7:24B1Chemical Invasion5:27B2Farewell to a Slut4:10B3Traitor7:55B4Alcohol2:04B5Outro0:07, was released, with the album art being the first of eight done for the band by artist Sebastian Krüger, followed a year later by The Morning After. Both of these albums were produced by Harris Johns, who would go on to produce all of the band's albums up to 2000. However, shortly after the release of compilation Hair of the Dog×Hair of the DogDecember 1989 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1The Morning After4:282Alien3:103Don’t Panic4:244Zombie Attack3:515Chemical Invasion5:276Commandments2:537Tantrum3:158Maniac Forces5:109Shit‐Faced4:0410(Empty) Tankard4:43, original drummer Oliver Werner quit the band to be replaced by Arnulf Tunn, and the band released three albums with this lineup: The Meaning of Life×The Meaning of Life1990 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Open All Night5:442We Are Us4:413Dancing on Our Grave3:454Mechanical Man6:045Beermuda4:496The Meaning of Life5:417Space Beer4:338Always Them4:039Wheel of Rebirth6:1510Barfly4:1511Wonderful Life1:46, Stone Cold Sober×Stone Cold Sober1992 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Jurisdiction5:412Broken Image5:303Mindwild4:594Ugly Beauty5:085Centerfold3:246Behind the Back4:397Stone Cold Sober5:548Blood, Guts & Rock ’n’ Roll5:339Lost and Found (Tantrum, Part 2)5:2910Sleeping With the Past4:1511Freibier3:2912Of Strange Talking People Under Arabian Skies7:42 and Two-Faced×Two-Faced1994 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Death Penalty5:032R.T.V.4:333Betrayed3:334Nation Over Nation4:115Days of the Gun5:326Cities in Flames4:177Up From Zero5:488Two-Faced4:599Ich brauch' meinen Suff2:5510Cyberworld4:5111Mainhattan4:2412Jimmy B. Bad2:47. They also recorded the live album Fat, Ugly and Live×Fat, Ugly and Live1991 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1[intro]0:152The Meaning of Life5:233Mercenary3:414[intro to Beermuda]0:175Beermuda4:306Total Addiction3:487[intro to Poison]0:098Poison5:439We Are Us5:1110Maniac Forces4:4411Live to Dive3:1412Chemical Invasion5:5913The Morning After4:4614Space Beer4:4315Medley (Alcohol, Puke, Mon Cheri, Wonderful Life)4:4716[intro to (Empty) Tankard]0:2317(Empty) Tankard6:48 during this time. This lineup then folded when Tunn was replaced by Olaf Zissel, who remained in the band until 2024, in May 1994 and the next year founding member Axel Katzmann was forced to leave due to osteoarthritis in the wrist. That year the band released The Tankard, which is widely viewed as a very good album by fans and critics alike, and is their final album with Noise.

Later career (1995–present)

The band decided not to replace Katzmann and remain a one guitar band. Also, after the release of The Tankard, the band signed with Century Media Records. After the release of Disco Destroyer, longtime guitarist Andy Bulgaropoulos left the band to spend more time with his family. He was replaced by Andreas Gutjahr, forming the longest-lived lineup of the band. The first album released with Gutjahr was Kings of Beer×Kings of Beer17 May 2000 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Flirtin' With Desaster4:032Dark Exile4:543Hot Dog Inferno3:264Hell Bent for Jesus4:215Kings of Beer5:386I'm So Sorry!3:137Talk Show Prostitute4:368Incredible Loudness3:449Land of the Free5:0910Mirror, Mirror4:2011Tattoo Coward6:16, which was their second and final studio album with Century Media. The band signed with AFM Records and release five studio albums in a decade with the label, starting with B-Day×B-Day10 July 2002 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 28 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Notorious Scum3:522Rectifier4:123Need Money for Beer3:364Ugly, Fat and Still Alive3:575Underground (Atmosphere: Hostile)4:246Voodoo Box4:227Sunscars3:218Zero Dude4:269New Liver Please!3:3510Rundown Quarter3:3411Alcoholic Nightmares5:11Disc 21Incredible Loudness4:522Devils Game4:343Arson4:334Mercenary3:415Heavy Metal3:366Death by Whips5:277Rundown Quarter4:078Alcohol2:449Intro0:5310Zombie Attack3:4511Deadly Intention2:5812Mercenary4:1913Poison4:2414Alien3:1915Thunder and Lightning5:2016Acid Death4:4517Screaming Victims3:35 and ending with Vol(l)ume 14. On 27 July 2012, the band announced their signing with Nuclear Blast and released their first album with the label, A Girl Called Cerveza×A Girl Called Cerveza25 July 2012 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Rapid Fire (A Tyrant's Elegy)5:122A Girl Called Cerveza4:143Witchhunt 2.05:434Masters of Farces4:095The Metal Ladyboy5:006Not One Day Dead (But One Day Mad)4:017Son of a Fridge5:548Fandom at Random5:289Metal Magnolia5:0810Running on Fumes5:30, that day. Also that year, they released a four-way split with Sodom, Kreator and Destruction called The Big Teutonic 4. This release cemented them as a major force in German metal. They released another studio album, R.I.B.×R.I.B.20 June 2014 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 19 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11War Cry3:542Fooled by Your Guts3:073R.I.B. (Rest In Beer)5:054Riders of the Doom3:435Hope Can't Die5:166No One Hit Wonder3:087Breakfast for Champions4:318Enemy of Order3:329Clockwise to Deadline4:3710The Party Ain't Over 'til We Say So3:21Disc 21Intro2Zombie Attack3The Morning After4Not One Day Dead5Stay Thirsty!6Rules for Fools7Rectifier8Chemical Invasion9(Empty) Tankard on 20 June 2014.
In 2015, Olaf Zissel was hospitalised with what was suspected to be a stroke. He was replaced temporarily by Gerd Lücking of Holy Moses. Their latest album achieved no. 41 on the German charts. While they have built a fan base, they continue to have day jobs.
Tankard's 17th studio album One Foot in the Grave×One Foot in the Grave2 June 2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Pay To Pray5:222Arena Of The True Lies5:083Don`t Bullshit Us!3:564One Foot In The Grave4:475Syrian Nightmare4:316Northern Crown (Lament Of The Undead King)4:227Lock`Em Up!4:108The Evil That Men Display3:149Secret Order 15167:2310Sole Grinder5:28, was released on 2 June 2017. The band released its 18th studio album, Pavlov's Dawgs, on 30 September 2022. A music video was made for the song "Lockdown Forever", directed by Renatus Töpke.
On 20 June 2024, drummer Olaf Zissel had departed Tankard and was replaced by Gerd Lücking. As part of the "Big Teutonic" four series, the band performed together with Kreator, Sodom and Destruction for the first time on 20 July 2024 at the Klash of the Ruhrpott festival, which took place at Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Tankard is currently working on new material for their next album, which is planned for release in 2026.

Current

Andreas "Gerre" Geremia – vocals (1982–present)
Frank Thorwarth – bass (1982–present)
Andreas Gutjahr – guitars (1999–present)
Gerd Lücking – drums (2024–present)

Former

Oliver Werner – drums (1982–1989)
Axel Katzmann – guitars (1982–1995)
Andy Bulgaropulos – guitars (1983–1999)
Bernhard Rapprich – guitars (1982–1983)
Arnulf Tunn – drums (1989–1994)
Olaf Zissel – drums (1994–2024)

Other releases

Heavy Metal Vanguard (1984) – demo
Alcoholic Metal (1985) – demo
Alien (1989) – EP
Hair of the Dog (1989) – compilation
Open All Night (1990) – video
Fat, Ugly and Live (1991) – live album
Fat, Ugly and Still (A) Live (2005) – DVD
Best Case Scenario: 25 Years in Beers (2007) – re-recorded compilation album
Schwarz-weiß wie Schnee (2017) – EP
Hymns for the Drunk (2018) – compilation
For a Thousand Beers (2022) – boxed set