Krokus - Alive and Screamin'
On October 14, 1986, "Alive and Screamin", the first live album by the band "Krokus", was released.
The mid-1980s were the golden age of the Swiss hard rock and heavy metal band "Krokus". Formed in 1975 in the city of Solothurn by bassist Chris von Rohr and guitarist Tommy Kiefer, the band transformed from a local progressive rock band into an international arena monster when they added the charismatic Maltese vocalist Marc Storace to their ranks in 1979, with a rough, shrill voice eerily reminiscent of the legendary Bon Scott from "AC/DC".
With a string of masterpiece albums that conquered the American market and earned gold and platinum album status - including "Metal Rendez-vous" (1980), "Hardware" (1981), "One Vice at a Time" (1982), the massive breakthrough album "Headhunter" (1983) produced by Tom Allom (Judas Priest's in-house producer), and "The Blitz" (1984) - "Krokus" established its position as one of the hottest, loudest and most energetic live bands in the world, playing the big stages alongside giants like "Def Leppard", "Judas Priest" and "Motörhead".
But in 1986, the band reached a crossroads. Their ninth studio album, "Change of Address," released earlier that year and produced by Tom Werman, attempted to polish and smooth the band's raw sound toward the commercial and shiny glam metal of Los Angeles. Long-time fans were less receptive to the polished change in direction, and their relationship with Arista Records also came to an end when the band decided to move to the MCA label. To close the contract with Arista with a bang and remind the world of the true power of "Krokus" without the filters of a studio, it was decided to release their first official live album that would document the band in their natural environment: on stage.
The album "Alive and Screamin" was recorded during the band's intensive 1986 North American tour, in five different cities in the United States and Canada: Amarillo (Texas), Cincinnati (Ohio), Baltimore (Maryland), Poughkeepsie (New York) and Toronto (Canada), using the Remote Recording Services and Westwood One recording vans. The band's lineup for this tour included vocalist Marc Storace, guitarists Fernando von Arb and Mark Kohler, bassist Tommy Keiser and drummer Jeff Klaven (along with live keyboardist Jai Winding).
The perfect man for the job was recruited to produce and mix the live album - legendary British producer and sound engineer Tony Platt, who engineered and recorded AC/DC's masterpieces "Highway to Hell" and "Back in Black" at Right Track Studios in New York (and mastering was handled by guru George Marino at Sterling Sound Studios). Platt gave the album a lively, powerful, and punchy sound that accurately conveys the feeling of electricity in the air and the roar of the American audience.
The show opened with a bang with the band's statement of intent - "Long Stick Goes Boom" from the album "One Vice at a Time". From the very first second when Fernando von Arb's heavy riff cuts through the roars of the crowd and the racing bass enters the picture, it's clear why the Swiss have been compared to their Australian brothers, with Marc Storace dominating the crowd with a firm hand.
Immediately after, the band kicks into even higher gear with "Eat the Rich", the energy bomb that opens the album "Headhunter", which showcases the deadly combination of Mark Kohler's precise rhythm guitars and von Arb's sharp, melodic solos, before the lights dim for the emotional climax of the evening - the timeless giant ballad "Screaming in the Night". In a live and moving six-minute performance, Storace manages to send shivers down his spine with every note, as the entire audience sings along with him to the iconic chorus that became the band's biggest MTV hit.
The high energies continue with the upbeat "Hot Shot City" (the only representative on the album from "Change of Address", which is performed live, muscular and much rougher than the studio version) and with the sweeping stadium anthem "Midnite Maniac" from "The Blitz", which reached the top of the Billboard rock chart. The band then returns to its early roots with the addictive "Bedside Radio" from "Metal Rendez-vous", which demonstrates the catchy, rock 'n' roll groove of its early days.
A special surprise on the album comes in the form of the song "Lay Me Down", an energetic and excellent hard-rock piece that did not appear on any of the band's previous studio albums, and was written especially for them by producer and songwriter Bob Marlette together with Sue Shifrin. Towards the end, the band salutes one of their biggest influences with a sweeping cover version of "Stayed Awake All Night" by the Canadian rock band "Bachman-Turner Overdrive" (originally performed on "Headhunter"), which transforms on stage into a sweeping guitar and drum jam lasting almost six minutes.
The crushing final chord is provided by the title track of her most successful album, "Headhunter". With a powerful display of Jeff Klaven's racing double bass, cutting riffs and Storace's impossible heavy metal screams that cross the limits of human ability, "Krokus" seals forty-two minutes of pure adrenaline without a single dull moment.
The album's gruesome and iconic cover, illustrated by renowned British fantasy and horror artist Les Edwards, is also etched in the memory of every 1980s metal fan: a monstrous, grotesque figure with yellow eyes and sharp teeth, waking up screaming from a bed in a dark room with curtains flapping in the wind - an illustration that perfectly captured the album's name and its wild spirit.
Upon its release, "Alive and Screamin" entered the US Billboard 200 and remains to this day the ultimate historical document that documents "Krokus" at the height of their power and glory. For those who want to understand why this Swiss band took 1980s America by storm, these nine live tracks are the most overwhelming answer.
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