All images courtesy of Marc Storace

All images courtesy of Marc Storace

Much like the white wine he drinks before taking the stage, Marc Storace’s vocals remain equally as potent as they did in his prime.

The Maltese-born frontman would ultimately rise to prominence with the legendary Swiss rock band Krokus after years of toiling in limbo, but Storace was destined for rock ‘n’ roll stardom long before becoming a household name across the globe.

Equipped with an endless supply of energy, natural charisma, and a powerful set of pipes, Storace first cut his teeth with TEA, a progressive rock band based in Switzerland. With Storace at the helm, the band recorded three studio albums with decorated producer Dieter Dierks and shared stages with monstrous acts such as Queen and Nazareth. After seven years with TEA, however, the dynamic frontman returned to London to form the new wave band Eazy Money.

During his brief time with Eazy Money, Storace’s career suddenly began to take shape. Within a year-and-a-half, the Malta native generated interest from Rainbow and Krokus, a pair of established hard rock acts. Though the Rainbow audition wasn’t meant to be, Krokus needed to move fast, as their vocalist received a record contract from RCA and was set to embark on a solo career in Italy. For Storace, who had already grown skeptical of the long-term viability of Eazy Money, the decision was clear-cut after listening to demos of Metal Rendez-vous. The rest, as they say, is history.

Nearly five decades have elapsed since Storace first graced the stage with TEA, but the consummate showman still captivates audiences with his commanding stage presence and three-octave voice. Though the final days of Krokus remain imminent, the multi-faceted Storace has plenty of upcoming projects on his docket.

Amazingly, the 69-year-old has yet to exhibit any signs of slowing down.

I recently sat down with Marc to discuss his musical journey in a career-spanning interview.

Andrew:
I really appreciate you setting aside some time, Marc. I’d like to start by asking about your earliest introduction to music and growing up in Malta.

Marc:
Well, I grew up in a musical family. My father was a tenor and sang in a local church and took me with him. Across the road from that church, there was this jukebox and they played rock ‘n roll. I was too young to go into this bar. At 14, I joined my first band. It was a local band in Malta, and I happened to visit because I was interested in the bass; I wanted to grab the bass and fiddle around with it. One day, the cliché thing happened, where the singer was sick, and they had this birthday party coming up and they asked me to sit in because they knew I had a large repertoire of lyrics and I could sing. So, I sat in for the guy and ended up staying with the band; two years later I was still in the band, then I moved on to the next band.

Things changed; there was this live scene happening on the island. We had BFBS radio – British Forces Broadcasting Services – which had always updated their charts with the latest stuff from England and some U.S. stuff happening there, as well. Because Malta was in NATO, and in NATO you had the U.S. sixth fleet and all the crew and some U.S. families and their children going to school; the same thing with the British Forces; there was the Army and the Navy. These kids, they wanted to party at Christmas, Easter time, and summer holidays, so they hired our bands. The Maltese local bands were working a lot. Even the locals, the Maltese themselves, needed to dance and bop. These were the days where live music was really living, and it started before pop and rock ‘n’ roll and just went on through pop and rock ‘n’ roll. And then came hard rock and bands like Zeppelin and Deep Purple, and this was after the Woodstock and Flower Power wave. So, I went through all that, so I was quite in touch.

We had this pad, our apartment, where I had my record player in there – all my records — and everyone else brought their own vinyl stuff. We used to hang out and smoke pot and enjoy being hippies in the hippy times. Then, later on, things started to go more hard rock. We had this scene going, and thanks to that, I was always inspired. I was inspired before, as I said, at the age of 14 I had this whole repertoire of songs in my head, and this was around Kinks, Bee Gees, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Troggs. What happened then, through my pocket money, I would buy the clothes that my father would forbid, like Chelsea boots and tight jeans. I was living at home and just sleeping, eating, and going to school and my mind was all set; I knew I wanted to become a singer and make a profession out of it.

Andrew:
You grew up amid a blossoming music scene. Who were some of your most prominent vocal influences?

Marc:
Well, it goes back. I like Chuck Berry – not for his singing, especially – but for the style and the lyrics. But then, I was more into Little Richard; one of the first songs which I thought was really rebellious, the way he screamed, was “Lucille.” As I said, there was this bar across the church; this bar was only five doors away from the house I grew up in. We had a lively neighborhood; kids playing and Teddy boys hanging out, smoking cigarettes, drinking beer in the bar, playing darts, dancing with their sweethearts. And we weren’t allowed in; we used to sit on the corner on the steps of the opposite house and rock ‘n’ roll just seeped into our blood like a virus. They used to listen to all this stuff on this loud jukebox – Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Nat King Cole. It’s during a time when The Beatles came, and The Rolling Stones. Elvis was a big part of it. Elvis really influenced me because I loved singing his songs in the bathroom, doing my homework, whatever, but not ever thinking I wanted to be a singer. I just sang because I enjoyed trying to copy and mutate the voice of who I was listening to. And Ray Charles, as well; like the song, “Take these chains from my heart and set me free.” I was always really moved by Ray Charles because I knew he was blind. Then he sang, “Take these tears from my eyes and let me see,” so I was going, “Wow, that’s pretty emotional.”

Andrew:
You moved around a bit at an early age before ultimately finding stability in Switzerland. You initially spent some time with a band called Deaf for a brief period, before landing with the revered prog-rock band, TEA. What led you to that opportunity?

Marc:

The thing is, I reached a point in Malta where I thought, “Well if I wanna make a career out of singing, I have to get off the island. Whether I love it or not.” So, I went to London and in London, I sang with this cover band for a while and kept a day job. Then, I happened to meet this Swiss girl and she flew back to Switzerland. And after almost a year in London, I thought, “Well, time to head back to Malta, and I’ll stop and visit here. Maybe I’ll like the place, maybe not.” Anyway, I fell in love with Switzerland, and she knew these musicians. This manager introduced me to a band that was looking for a singer, and they were prog-rock as well. So, I joined this band and we spent seven months trying to write a rock opera, but we didn’t get far. During that time, I saw TEA performing. When the first band, Deaf, which I joined, was economically going down the drain and I couldn’t work in Switzerland because I didn’t have a work permit, I was starting to worry. I thought, “Well, okay. Maybe it’s time to take a train and head back south to my little island and see what I’m gonna do next.” But then, the roadie came up, his name was Réne Tinner, and he was working for TEA as well – and he said, “You know, I talked to the band and told them about you. They asked if you would like to come over and audition because the bass player doesn’t want to sing and play bass. He just wants to concentrate on bass.

So, I hitchhiked with this little note with the address in my hand and went to TEA. They were living on the lake in this nice house; kind of with the whole band in one place. So, I thought, “Well, they’re more organized.” And I ended up joining the band and we stayed together for almost seven years. During that time, we recorded three albums with the producer of the Scorpions, Dieter Dierks. The whole thing was one big adventure. And for me, it was one hell of a big step compared to what I was doing in Malta because Malta was limited already geographically. With TEA, we would travel down to Italy, into France, up through Germany, and even as far as the U.K. We did a few exciting tours and to crown it all, close to the end of TEA, we went on tour with Queen. Little did we know what they would become. This was their first German, first European tour after their big success in London. We watched every soundcheck.

All images courtesy of Marc Storace

Andrew:
Obviously, TEA cut its teeth as a prog-rock band, but who were some of the band’s primary influences?

Marc:
Well, the usual stuff. We all came from Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Free, and earlier stuff. At the time when I joined them, I myself had slightly changed and came away from my hard rock roots and started listening to more prog-rock, which was very popular in Switzerland; there were bands like Genesis, Yes. When I was in London before I went to Switzerland for the first time, I walked into a shop and heard Yes playing through the speakers and I immediately bought the album because I thought they kicked ass, but they were so complicated; very intricate; nice melodies. I wanted to get into more of what they were doing. The guitar playing was incredible, and the keyboards. So, from there, it went on to Genesis. I discovered Genesis; Peter Gabriel was still singing and man, they had an attitude. But what they sang about wasn’t all about sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll; it was a little bit deeper. I guess they read a little more literature when they were at school. [Laughs].

But anyway, after the TEA phase I went back to London and formed a new wave band called Eazy Money. That lasted about a year, year-and-a-half, then I auditioned for Rainbow. And suddenly, the phone rang and it was Chris [von Rohr], the bass player and founding member of Krokus, asking me if I’d like to join the band because their singer was gonna do a solo career. He had a contract from RCA in Italy, and he was gonna leave the band. He had never recorded an album with them, but they had demos. So, I said, “Well, send me the demos and I’ll have a listen.” And that’s how it started.

Andrew:
You mentioned you auditioned for Rainbow between Eazy Money and joining Krokus. How did that opportunity arise and what are your memories from the audition?

Marc:
With my band Eazy Money, we used to rehearse in this place where many bands were rehearsing there in different rooms. I was called into the office one day, and it was this guy, Bob Adcock, who was a talent scout. He asked me if I’d like to fly over to Geneva and audition for Rainbow. I thought to myself, “Well, I’m not stupid,” … “Of course I will. But don’t tell my band, just in case I don’t get the job.” And off I went. But I was unprepared; it must have been a Thursday and I flew on a Saturday or something.

Anyway, I landed in Geneva and Cozy Powell picked me up. He was a racing driver; he had a license for racing. So, then he asked me, “Do you mind if I do a little bit of rally driving on the way to the castle?” And I thought, “Holy shit. Here we go.” I said, “Well, you have a license, so I guess I can trust you.” We got there with screaming tires; he was an incredible driver. He was sliding – you know how you slide the back into the corners? Ah, man. I got used to that; made me nervous at first. We came into these castle grounds, and I noticed there was a mobile studio there, with all the wiring going down into a cellar window. So, I thought, “Hell, they’re recording everything.” Roger Glover came down the steps to greet me and we walked in, and there’s a couple of the others there in the sitting room. We had tea, as usual with English people and even me at the time, living in London. In Malta, we drink tea like water.

The whole atmosphere was pretty intimidating. I’d never been to the USA at this point, and it was like, “Wow, this is how the real thing is,” compared to our little house in Switzerland with TEA in the earlier days. So, Cozy said, “Let’s go up to my room and listen to some songs and pick one up.” So, I picked “Man on the Silver Mountain,” Dio’s masterpiece. And Richie [Blackmore] came in – he poked his head in with a bottle of whisky … “Would you like a shot? It’s good for your nerves.” I said, “No, I never drink before I sing – not whisky anyway. If you have white wine, a drop of white wine will do.” We went down into the cellar, and it was Cozy and Richie and Don Airey on keyboards, and it was like, “Wow, is this for real?

We went through the paces and stuff, and when we went up for dinner afterward, Richie sat in front of me and I said, “You know, Richie, I didn’t unpack yet.” He said, “No, no. Calm down. Enjoy your food.” It was the band and crew in this big room. And then Don Airey comes up and says, “I would lock your room tonight.” I said, “Why? What’s happening?” He said, “You know, Richie gets up to his pranks. So, you never know.” So, I locked both sides; there were two doors to my room. I looked outside my window, and there were these nice, white horses out there on the field and I thought, “Wow, am I dreaming? Is this for real?

Anyway, I didn’t get the job and I carried on with my band. Then, this thing happened with Chris calling me. I thought, “Another audition? If my band finds out, they’re gonna really wallop me. And I deserve it,” because I kind of felt guilty doing this behind their backs. But the problem was, I wasn’t too happy with the way things were going internally with Eazy Money; although, Chrysalis was thinking of signing us and sending us on tour to the USA as an opening act for Genesis, which was something. But still, I didn’t feel so comfortable and so confident that Eazy Money would make it in the long run. I spent seven years with TEA; I’ve been married 30 years; been with Krokus for over 40 years. It’s like I look at it as a long-distance love affair.

Andrew:
Here’s where my timeline gets a bit hazy. Legendary AC/DC frontman Bon Scott passed away in 1980, the same year as your debut album with Krokus. You drew interest from the AC/DC camp regarding the vacancy, but was their interest sparked by your contributions to TEA and buzz surrounding the Rainbow audition, or had Metal Rendez-vous already made waves by that point?

Marc:
No, I don’t think that. I think it’s from the Metal Rendez-vous album because that made shockwaves all over Europe and across the big pond, to the USA and Canada. But I was only one of many who probably were asked to audition. I turned it down because I was happy like a pig in shit with the way things were going with Krokus. You know, I had been trying this, that, and the other, and so, when things start to work you don’t want to let go and put someone else’s shoes on. There’s risk involved; AC/DC was bigger than Krokus, but Krokus was going places and I thought, “Well, we’re gonna go far.” I felt like I was sitting high on my horse and we were going places. I didn’t wanna take any risks. I was familiar with the Swiss mentality through my years with TEA, so I felt at home working with the Swiss guys. They were like my new brothers and we had our first big success. And I didn’t wanna spoil it this time.

All images courtesy of Marc Storace

Andrew:
That’s admirable that you remained loyal to Krokus and wanted to see it through. Before Axl Rose was named the interim fill-in for Brian Johnson on the Rock or Bust Tour in 2016, were you contacted or considered this time around?

Marc:
Well, I got a phone call, but it was from someone who knew Chris Slade. I said, “Yep, well, let’s see what happens. But I would give it a try.” Then it went in a different direction. This was also considering that I had spent so many years with Krokus and I knew the guys were thinking of calling it a day and that I didn’t wanna stop. You know, I had shown my loyalty, and so I told the guy, “Yeah, well, if they wanna consider, we can give it a try and see what happens.” But nothing ever happened. We went on to do our Farewell Tour and the biggest festival tour in Europe we ever did in 2019; the Adios Amigos Tour. One of the best gigs we enjoyed was doing Wacken; Wacken was incredible. Such a nice feeling, all those kids – 80,000 rocking kids out there. Not only kids. I mean, we’re no kids, either. [Laughs].

Andrew:
After years of toiling in relative anonymity on a national level before your arrival, Krokus broke ground and achieved commercial success with 1980’s Metal Rendez-vous. In what measurable way did fortune begin to change for the band?

Marc:
In Europe, we were already playing bigger places, especially in Switzerland itself. You know, suddenly, it was like, “Wow.” But we knew when we flew to the states, we had to break a lot of ice. So, we started off as an opening act; the first act out of three, usually. We toured first with Sammy Hagar; the first gig was in Fresno. I remember, we were all just amazed … “Wow, so this is what it’s like!” It was summer; good-looking people; spirited fans. We started getting into the whole spirit of things. During free time in between tours, we did our own thing. We would play clubs, and some of them were sleazy, so there was a big contrast. But everybody was so positive and we looked to give people their money’s worth and we wanted to learn from every gig we did. Until we sold our first platinum with Headhunter — we first released Hardware and then One Vice at a Time and then Headhunter – in between these albums, there was a lot of touring going on. A lot of road experience, so we became like real road warriors and really tough on stage. Our goal became to blow off the main act; that’s how it is. So, you come on there like a hydrogen bomb and give everything in those 30 minutes. After the first year, we were already doing special guest slots. You play a little longer; 45 instead of 30. And you’d give a little more and you learn to pace yourself. And then, you’d do headliners here and there. In the meantime, you’re getting on these big tours and then doing headliners and maybe a couple of clubs again. It’s a whole mixture of things to stay on the road. During the Headhunter era, we toured for nine months; it was long. Compared to someone like Def Leppard, or Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, they were touring like two years, so, OK, that’s not so long. But we never did that, thank God.

Andrew:
Krokus often embraced a collaborative approach to songwriting. Can you talk a bit about the creative process?

Marc:
Well, in the beginning, all the songs were written, so I was only allowed to do what I could on improvisations and bringing my own personal style into the songs. But later on, with the second album, I joined with “Burning Bones;” wrote the lyrics and vocal melody, and felt acceptance and confidence. By One Vice at a Time, I was writing more, and it just kept increasing. The band mainly wrote – it was Fernando and Chris. And before I joined, there was also Jurg Naegeli; he used to play bass before Chris because Chris was the lead singer before I joined. Then, we played musical chairs. Jurg became our sound engineer, and he also recorded our demos and helped with the production and all that stuff until he started his own studio in Solothurn, where the band comes from. That was a nice experience because, with TEA, I was already writing lyrics and vocal melodies for most of the songs. So, it was like I was starting again with Krokus with Metal Rendez-vous. Soon, I was doing everything. At one point, with The Blitz album, I was writing with Fernando a lot. And Change of Address. Then, we did Heart Attack, and I remember writing all the lyrics on that because the band was still reforming after a bad experience. Our record sales weren’t doing so well after we released Change of Address because the grunge scene was coming in and glam rock became unpopular again. With these waves, sometimes you’re in; sometimes you’re out.

Image credit: MCA Records/All images courtesy of Marc Storace

Andrew:
Going back to your TEA days for a moment, how did sharing stages with Queen and Nazareth prepare you for the bright lights and bigger platforms you experienced with Krokus?

Marc:
It was also a different kind of music, which allowed me to express myself more with Krokus than I did with TEA. Progressive music isn’t, as I said before, sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. It’s more heady stuff. Although, we moved a lot and got wild; I’ve got some old pictures of when we were playing at the Marquee Club in London. Seeing Queen, they moved a lot. With Krokus, I took it all with me. I took what I could with me, of course; the positive things. The way you carry yourself on stage says a lot. If you have some experience behind you, then you’re more confident and you can strut a little more on stage, you know? And also, communicating with the fans. There’s this spark that flies into the audience or it doesn’t. There has to be this spark to get the audience lit up and going. Whether it’s a smile at the right place, a scream at the right place, a move. The bigger the arena gets, the less they see you. In the older days, you didn’t have these big projectors, which projected these big giants on the screens. When you can hardly see the band members, you don’t know if they’re smiling or crying. We learned to project ourselves to the end of the hall. In a thousand to 20,000 seater, you have to project. It was sound amplification; There’s this big PA, which is doing it for you, and there are lights which help the mood expression. That’s why I was jumping and doing splits from the drum riser…and maybe keeping an eye on what David Lee Roth was doing. He was fantastic, with all his training in karate and stuff.

We did six months of karate when we were recording our Blitz album with Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock in Vancouver. We were doing karate not just for the movement, but also for – it gives you a straight back, and when you’re walking through concert halls, backstage areas, or you’re in a pub at night – you know how to defend yourself a little bit without carrying a weapon. Because fans come up to you and thank God in my case all of them were friendly, but you never know. Even guys who maybe are not fans and think they don’t like your face; that’s all it takes. You’re in a new city every night; you don’t know where the hell you are most of the time in the old days.

Andrew:
Did you find that the karate training translated?

Marc:
Yeah. It made me a little more confident, whether it was gonna help me when I needed it or not. But it gives you that confidence. And I guess it becomes a part of your aura, so when you’re walking around, you don’t look like a target. You don’t attract anything evil towards you.

Andrew:
Krokus adopted a sound reminiscent of early AC/DC, often drawing comparisons in the early 1980s. Did the two bands ever share a bill?

Marc:
We don’t know why, but we toured with AC/DC, but it was only a handful of gigs, unfortunately. We enjoyed it because knew we had more or less the same audience. So, we went down very well; maybe we went down too well. Because that’s the problem; when you’re going down too well, then you’re no longer welcome, you know? So, it can work both ways. As far as more details, you know, AC/DC stay to themselves, so you don’t learn much about what’s going on within their business or what they talk about during their meetings. So, whatever. I just let it go. We played with them lately, after the reunion — after 2008–  in one of the big stadiums here. As usual, our sound was turned down by about fifty percent of the loudness and we played in daylight, because [AC/DC] likes to come on as soon as the sun starts to set; which is a great effect. If we were the headliner, we’d probably do the same thing, but maybe give the special guest a little bit more volume, you know? Anyway, in life, you gotta be flexible, otherwise, you’re gonna die too young.

All images courtesy of Marc Storace

Andrew:
Headhunter proved to be the band’s breakthrough album and has incredibly stood the test of time. What do you recall from the recording of the 1983 classic?

Marc:
That was the recording process that I loved most, and I had actually not experienced it in that way since the TEA days with Dieter Dierks; he had a big studio up in Cologne, where the Scorpions would go to, and everyone had his own booth. So, to start off the recording, the first thing you do is, you have the drummer in the middle of the biggest room and all the amps are in different rooms. And the band stands around the drummer, and you go through the paces. I have my lyrics, and I kind of do a little bit of directing, letting the band know the chorus is coming now; now it’s the bridge; now it’s the verse. With sign language! This whole shit is really exciting, and I miss that. And that happened again for the Headhunter album. So, what I do in that first stage, whilst we’re laying down the basic tracks, is I concentrate more on the arrangements. So, it’s the guide vocals that I’m singing, which I then repeat everything else. I go over the whole stuff again, but this time, I’m alone in the booth wearing headphones, and I have all the basic tracks of the band. And everyone else has gone home, in the hotel, or in the club, or whatever. And I’m in the studio alone; I was alone with Tom Allom, and Chris used to hang out there, and Fernando [von Arb] to go over the whole thing.

I was really happy. I think five of those were first takes. “Screaming in the Night” was also one of them, and “Eat the Rich” was one of them and a couple of the others. And there were others that I repeated just because I wanted to repeat them and try maybe different angles and different approaches, but they were kind of rejected later on. In the end, you sit in a control room and start jumping tracks. You record maybe 3-5 tracks of one song and start choosing the best sentences out of five tracks, or you throw out the obviously bad ones and start narrowing it down until you have the favorite track. It’s a process that I like, and it still works the same, only today you have pro tools.

But the recording I’m doing now for my solo album, the basic tracks have been done the same way as I did in Florida in Bee Jay Studios for the Headhunter album. With the whole band in one big room, and I’m behind the glass and helping them with the guide vocals to know what’s coming next. You’re so into this stuff sometimes, you’re not reading your notes, maybe.

Andrew:
I’m amazed that “Screaming in the Night” was a first take. The vocals on that track highlight your range and diversity, but it seems rather complex to nail on the first try.

Marc:
Yeah, but I was at my peak then, you know? I could sing circles in my highest note, and my highest notes – I was hitting four octaves on my best day. So, yeah, of course, I got tired, too. But I could go on for hours compared to today. Today, I don’t hit those highs like I used to. But since I was born with a kind of high voice and my bass isn’t as low as I would like it to be – but you can’t have your cake and eat it, too – my lower notes are still pretty high and I think it fits my age. I feel like I’m a bottle of red wine; the older it gets, it gets better in some places, and some sour stuff is gone. If you listen to the last two Krokus albums, Hoodoo and Dirty Dynamite, you’ll hear that I’m not screaming my ass off anymore like I used to. It’s a different age; I don’t drive around in my car as crazy as I used to, either. Coming of a certain age, you enjoy other things. There are other goals for me today than screaming high notes…writing and performing great songs with a powerful rock band is what keeps me satisfied.

Andrew:
The video for “Screaming in the Night” received heavy rotation on MTV and exemplifies the band’s innate musicianship. Tell us about your memories from the video shoot.

Marc:
Oh yeah, I remember that very well. It was one of my favorite video recording experiences. It was recorded by Joe Dea. He’s from San Francisco; we’re still in touch. He’s an artist now. We were put together by the record company, I guess, and we met in Los Angeles. We were rehearsing for the tour at SIR Studios on Sunset Boulevard, somewhere close to the Chinese Theatre. Joe came in and we started talking, he asked me about the lyrics and stuff, and he said, “Well, here’s an idea. It’s not gonna literally be following your lyrics.” I said, “Well, I don’t care. As long as it makes sense and it’s rock ‘n’ roll.” So, he came up with this concept that reminds one of the Road Warriors movie. It’s like after the Holocaust or after the end of the world, or after a big, nuclear war; humankind has to do with whatever’s left and you’re still fighting evil, as always. It was a great concept, and what was really special to me, was the part where my chains are broken and I put on my Nikes. [Laughs] and climb down the ladder into that diner, then go walking over all the guy’s breakfasts after seeing see my loved one is alive reading the news on T.V. …crossing dimensions!

All images courtesy of Marc Storace

Andrew:
Headhunter included backing vocals from Judas Priest’s Rob Halford [“Ready to Burn”] and Survivor’s Jimi Jamison [“Screaming in the Night”]. How did they become involved?

Marc:
Well, Jimi Jamison was an old acquaintance, God rest his soul. He lived in Memphis and was the singer of the band Cobra. And the lead guitarist of Cobra was Mandy Meyer, who’s in Krokus now. Mandy joined Krokus in ’82; we did the One Vice at a Time Tour and he toured Europe with us. Then, we took on Mark Kohler and Mark stayed in the band. So, Jimi was singing, and Mandy Meyer was playing guitar, and the guys were in Memphis and managed by our same manager. So, it was easy. We flew [Jimi] in and he was there for a couple of days. We hung out together and did the vocals. It was always nice to see him.

And, with Rob Halford, Tom Allom was the producer for Judas Priest. So, he was like one of the top choices. [Tom] flew into Arkansas, because we were doing the pre-production with Bob Ketchum, God rest his soul. We used to record our demos at Bob’s place, and Tom Allom flew in, and we went over all the ideas we had, and talked about new stuff and lyrics. It was very, very inspiring. We felt good with him. I really enjoyed Tom and I’m still in touch with Tom. He’s living not far away down in Milan, close to Switzerland. We met recently at a Judas Priest concert. We had a good evening; Judas Priest really kicked ass. Anyway, we did the pre-production, he was there for about a week, during which time, he fell off a horse and damaged one of his arms. And this was my favorite horse in Arkansas. It was a black stallion. He threw a lot of people off, just because he was too sensitive. So, [Tom] did the production in plaster. One of his arms was in plaster, so he couldn’t fiddle with the nobs or play his piano in the corner. Although he tried to get the ligaments going a little bit, and the hand muscles.

Andrew:
The immense success of Headhunter served as a springboard for Krokus, who secured a highly coveted opening slot for the ascending Def Leppard on the Pyromania Tour. However, the tour would end prematurely for Krokus. Can you take me through the events that led to the fallout?

Marc:
Well, it was the best tour of our lives. It was the best time for rock ‘n’ roll; it was the best time for hard rock. It was the heyday of the rock business as we know it, in the clichés of big tour support, big budgets for recordings, and so on. We had a big, good, loyal crew on that tour. We hitched up with Def Leppard, and our album was climbing the Billboard charts – the top 100 – right behind Def Leppard. And Michael Jackson was out there with Thriller. So, you can imagine this whole US music scene; it was such a cool time. I doubt it will ever return in the same way, like kids partying in the parking lot, convertibles, beers, smooching, dancing, all the clichés that we only see in movies today.

This whole thing with Def Leppard started out so great, and with Def Leppard, we did arenas; the biggest arenas all over the USA. I have to remind you that Krokus was, at that point in 1983, we had been on the road paying our dues and learning the ropes, so we were quite a tough band to follow. “Screaming in the Night” was turning us slowly into a top act, and we reached No. 24 on the US Billboard charts. Which was, for us – a band coming from Switzerland, known for its chocolate, cheese, Swiss watches, and banks – and here we are, a hard rock band that looks weather-beaten like a bunch of pirates hitting the stage in the wildest look we ever had. It was great because the kids loved us and they wanted us back, and we gave encores. We came out once or twice, then obviously, you ran out of time and Def Leppard had to set up and stuff. But then, later on, things were going so great and we were getting on so well with the band; hanging out sometimes backstage. I used to do these jams with Phil Collen in hotel bars. If there was a cover band playing, might get up and jam with them. You never knew what was gonna happen in the next state. And these bars after the show was amazing partying going on. Stuff like we never really experienced again in this dimension. So, things were going so great. We were selling records; Def Leppard was selling a huge amount of records and merchandise. Everyone was happy – except for the fact that they wanted to kick Michael Jackson off the first position. He was holding them back from climbing into the first place with Pyromania. Pyromania is today still the best record that they ever did, in my eyes, because it sounded real analog; not too polished. We talked about stuff like that backstage with the guys. But then, shit happened.

I don’t know from where or why, but I guess we were becoming uncomfortable for the Lepps because we were getting too much applause and the kids wanted us back for encores and stuff. I was doing these singalongs; stage left, stage right, stage middle, everybody together. The whole house singing along. It was amazing; goosebumps. Then, suddenly out of the blue, our manager walked into our dressing room one of those afternoons and said, “I’ve had a complaint from the Lepps. It’s about you, Marc.” … “Me? What did I do?” … “Well, they don’t want you to do your singalongs from the same positions that Joe Elliott is using on stage. So, they’re gonna mark it off with this white tape and you’re not to go over it.” I said, “Well, okay. Shit. I was having fun. What happened?” Before the show, that evening, he came up to me and said, “You know what? Forget about those lines because I’m not into that. I can’t accept this rule myself.” He said, “I’m the manager. You go ahead and do what you did before. If anyone complains, send them to me.” And that’s what I did. Here I am, doing my thing, meaning no harm. And the next thing we knew, that evening after our show, Peter Mensch, Def Leppard’s manager, came up and said, “You guys are off the tour after our show!” So, both managers walked out and I guess they got into some kind of a hot argument. A few days later, we were off the tour. That’s why we never did the whole thing. Which was a big pity, and I still regret what happened to this day.

But one thing I did, in 2019 – now we’re fast-forwarding from 1983 to 2019 – Sweden Rock Festival was one of the first festivals from the festival tour which we did in 2019; our Farewell Tour in Europe; Adios Amigos from Krokus. We were playing on the same bill as Def Leppard, again, for the first time since Pyromania. I thought, “Wow, what a great opportunity. I wanna go in there and meet the boys and I wanna tell Joe Elliott personally how the story was,” because everyone had pointed their fingers at me and I wanted to get the facts right. So, I met Joe – surrounded by everyone else – the two bands came together. It was like everyone slapping each other’s backs, giving hugs, handshakes, and all that. Because time heals, and that’s what I told Joe. I said, “I want to say this, just in case something happens and we never see each other again. We’re not getting younger.” I said, “I’m sorry for what happened. I followed what my manager told me to do and that’s why I did what I did. I just wanted you to know.” He said, “Eh, come on! This was like a hundred years ago. I never thought about it again.” We were hugging and stuff, and it did me a load of good to get that thing off my shoulders and be at peace again with the Lepps.

That night, we all watched their show from the side of the stage as we did in 1983, and after the show, we had a drink together. So, peace was done. And actually, we were booked to play with the Lepps again in Mexico on the last lap of our Adios Amigos Tour, which had to be canceled because of the pandemic.

Andrew:
That’s great that you guys were able to bury the hatchet after all these years. Now if only you could do the same with Dee Snider.

Marc:
Yeah, you know, I would love to but with Dee it was another thing where it was a band thing. There was definitely a misunderstanding there in the deal. The stage clothes that his wife made for us, well, we didn’t like them. So, our tour manager said he’s not gonna write a check for something we don’t want. And basically, that’s it. I guess this wasn’t accepted by the Snider’s and it turned into a heated argument. I don’t know the details, I just said, “No, I don’t like them. Bye-bye.” It’s not my thing to discuss stage clothes. So, anyway, a lot of water under the bridge. Time heals, but it seems not with everybody. It seems like this left a long-lasting wound in the heart of Dee Snider’s wife. All I know is, this thing haunted me and the rest of the band as well because he loudmouths us – he loudmouths a lot of people – and we’re one of those bands he loves to loudmouth; put us down; throw shit on us.

Fast-forward again from the 80s. A few years ago, I did numerous tours with this organization called Rock Meets Classic in Europe, especially in Germany. There’s a whole orchestra and a kick-ass rock band and all these different singers; Ian Gillen of Deep Purple, for one . And I was on a couple of those tours, and then I was booked again for long one playing big Sold-Out halls mostly in Germany. At the end of the tour, we were supposed to play in Wacken, and Dee Snider was gonna headline. So, I thought, “Okay, this will be a good opportunity to meet face-to-face with Dee and maybe we can drink a beer and talk about it, slap each other on the shoulder, and bury the hatchet.” But it turned out in a very negative way. I got a phone call from the guys who organized, he said, “Marc, I have a problem. Dee is headlining and the headliner has the right to refuse acts on the billing. And Dee said, “I’m not gonna step on stage if Storace is not kicked off the bill.” I said, “Well, shit. That’s some decision you have to do.” And then he said, “You know, we have a relationship, too. Everything is booked, so it’s up to you, Marc. I’ll take whatever decision you want because you’re my friend.” I said, “Don’t worry. If that’s the way it is…” So, he said, “Well, I’m gonna pay you anyway, and thanks a lot for this decision. I really appreciate it.” So, that’s the way it was; I didn’t play Wacken with Rock Meets Classic because of Dee Snider.

I’ve matured since the heyday of the wild, kick-ass rock ‘n’ roll days. I mean, we’re still kickin’ ass, but we’re maybe less wild and a little bit more mature; like, when the wine gets older, it tastes better. Some people don’t have this quality, so, it’s a pity. And maybe we’re never gonna shake hands, but I hope something happens that’ll open up Dee Snider’s eyes, and he can look back and maybe laugh about things. There was so much shit happening in those fast days; wild days. So much shit happened; there were a lot of people doing mistakes everywhere. It’s like the thing with the Lepps; I met Joe Elliott, we shook hands, and we toasted our friendship because life is short.

All images courtesy of Marc Storace

Andrew:
The band adopted a vastly different sound on Change of the Address, just three years after achieving monumental success with Headhunter. What prompted the switch?

Marc:
Well, it was the whole changing-face of the business. You know, shifting sounds and bad advice, if you like. Because Chris [von Rohr] was right; he was fighting for that. He had his negative stuff happening at that time, too. That was mainly part of the reason why later on he was kicked out of the band; but that`s another story…he was a founding member. But he was right in saying, “We just sold platinum with Headhunter. We’re successful with the way we are. Why do you want to change us? We don’t want to change.” So then, there was a bit of a revolution happening there. Then things got worse, personal things started coming up, and in the end, there was a feud between him and Fernando. Chris came back to Switzerland and he spilled the beans on a lot of internal secrets and got us into trouble. I was living in London at that time because I joined Krokus on the agreement that they don’t expect me to live in Switzerland again. After all, I had my share during the TEA days, and I had my own thing going in London family-wise. So, the headlines Chris did here, I didn’t suffer directly from them. It was all rock ‘n’ roll in the end, anyway.

Andrew:
What were your thoughts on the album upon completion?

Marc:
I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all. During The Blitz, it stayed in the back of my head that we had our biggest success with Headhunter, and now we were being changed into a band that was slightly more glam because the record company wanted us to attract more girls. We were writing differently; I was singing differently and using another dimension of my singing archive. I have a wide spectrum of singing possibilities; I can go from blues to jazz if you like. It goes that wide. And even classical. So, I have to really be careful sometimes about where to go and stay aware of which shop I’m in. What are we selling? What do our fans expect from us when they fork out their hard-earned money and buy a record? In those days, I took that really seriously. Then, we were at Bob Ketchum’s place — the first time writing songs for The Blitz – and I didn’t feel too comfortable. I thought the songs were too fast; there was no kick anymore in the guitar sound. But I had agreed, with Fernando, that we go in this different direction, so I couldn’t complain.

And with Change of Address, it got worse. I thought maybe it’s because we had another producer now. During the recordings, the week before I had to go in to record my vocals, my father had this serious stroke, and I had to fly to Malta. I dropped everything at the drop of a hat and flew in to say farewell to my dad. So, I came back feeling real bluesy. So, you feel that in the way I’m singing. But it wasn’t good for Krokus. The whole music wasn’t really good for Krokus; the arrangement; not enough distorted guitars and bombastic stuff. Although, when I look and listen sometimes today, I think if they were differently produced, a few of those songs would stand up next to some others if you gave them that bombastic sound. For example, take “Russian Winter” on the Headhunter album; there’s the classical side of me. If you take that and then take, say, “Say goodbye but never deny/All the love you’re leaving behind;” that’s another hymn. So, the instrumentation is all different, though. But it goes to show, you can take a melody and make it sound jazzy, classical, rocky, or bluesy; it depends on how you produce the thing.

Andrew:
Chris von Rohr is obviously the founding member of Krokus, but he was also a critical component of the band’s most revered albums. Talk about his impact if you could.

Marc:
Chris is the founding member of Krokus, and he sang on the three albums before I joined. They had a certain amount of success before I joined, but not on an international level, which completely changed after my debut album was released, Metal Rendez-vous. So, Chris started playing bass, but he still continued being the main inspiration in the band; like, the engine in a vehicle. He’s very active, restless, and comes up with ideas. Chris sees the potential in a person very quickly. So, if it’s a drummer, bass player, singer – whatever – he knows how to use that and fit it into the vehicle he’s driving. He was always looking for the best riffs and stuff, which is why he worked so closely with Fernando and Tommy Kiefer. I received a demo for Metal Rendez-vous – the singer left the band for a solo thing and I received the demos. I must say, the songs were on a different level than the first three where Chris was singing. The new singer had a voice that was also slightly gritty. He was a better singer than Chris.

So, I took over, and I had a higher range than the other singer, so I put my own style into it. I wanted to enrich the songs, obviously. I did loads of improvisations and harmony vocals and changed lyrics here and there in the studio whilst recording. It was a great, great time. I had the time of my life recording that; I was getting on very well with Tommy Kiefer. But Chris, he’s the type who’s in the control room with the engineer and the producer and Fernando’s there as well; making sure that their ideas come over and are even better than before. Then, life on the road with Chris, I could communicate even still today on a different level than I do, say, with Fernando. It works very well because we’ve matured, we grew older, and we learned not to step on each ther’s toes. We know Chris is a good producer for Krokus; he also proved himself as the producer of Gotthard, which is another hard rock band in Switzerland. So, Fernando and I decided to let Chris do it; let him lead the way and do it almost in an official manner. Fern, when we’re writing new songs – which isn’t very often nowadays, unfortunately – Fern would come up with most of the riffs. And I come up with lyrics, as well as Chris, and we throw in song titles. So, it’s a joint venture when we’re composing. And we’re also open to ideas from the other band members. So, if they throw in a good riff, it’s not turned down.

But as I said, songwriting is a rare thing nowadays. That’s what led me, actually, to the frustration from my side within our successful union; the creative side. I like writing songs; I can write in a wide spectrum. So, when the pandemic came, I had a lot of time, so that’s why I decided to continue writing and adding to the hundred songs in my archives and then choose the best for a rock album to release later this year.

All images courtesy of Marc Storace

Andrew:
The 90s were a very tumultuous time for bands of your genre. Obviously, Krokus disbanded in 1988, so how did you navigate the uncharted waters of such a turbulent era for music?

Marc:
For me, it was the age when the nonbelievers started to say, “It’s the age of the dying dinosaurs of hard rock.” It’s going; it’s never coming back. But I didn’t give up; I did an album, it was supposed to be my solo album, but then it became Blue. There are songs on it which I still feel very close to. I would change the production because we went slightly pop rock, but this was intentional because there was no way you were gonna get a hard rock out on the road in Europe and live from that. There was really no market. Anyway, Blue did its time, and I experimented with different things; I did the Amen albums, which are more like experimental rock – I don’t really know what to call it – but it was experimental stuff by this musician friend of mine, multi-instrumentalist Manfred Ehlert – who also worked with Glenn Hughes. And Glenn also sang on the album, so I got to know Glenn. At the same time, I had fallen in love during the Blue era, and that’s why I actually recorded “When A Man Loves a Woman” for my wife. We had two kids in the 90s; ’93 and ’95. So, I had other things to keep me occupied.

I did the John Lennon thing for a while; the houseman. Baking bread; doing the shopping; I’ve been up all night rocking the babes back to sleep. I know all about that. So, for me, it was very educational to know what the rest of the world – the people who are not rock stars – how they live. The normal joe on the road, or his wife. It was very important for me. And today, I’m a more socially-minded person than I ever was, thanks to that. I was just into music and now I know a little more about life.

Then, one day, we flew to Florida with the kids. My daughter, Giuliana, was only four and Luca was six, and we flew to Disney World. We did the whole thing there; there’s so much to do; Epcot Center, Universal, and all the rides and stuff. It was amazing. That’s still something we talk about to this day. Now they’re living with their partners, and Cornelia and I share this big house with a 17-year-old cat called Whisky.

Back then, just by chance – Luca was a newborn baby, so this was ’93 – my mom had died, and I went to this festival in Switzerland. Suddenly, I bumped into Fernando for the first time since we had split in ’88. We didn’t split on good terms. Anyway, he said to me straight before I could open my mouth, “I have to tell you something.” So, I said, “Okay. He said, “I have cancer.” So, I said, “Holy shit.” I took a big gulp and I thought, “Wow, I couldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.” And we were buddies. All I could think about was that we were musician buddies; we went through so much on the road. Immediately, for me, I buried the hatchet straight away. He said, “Come, come. Let’s go,” and we went someplace and started talking. Then, I invited him home for dinner, he met baby Luca and gave him a whole bottle of feed. He met my wife. From then, it started.

After that, we got together – he already had some kind of a Krokus band going – and we did this gig with Nazareth. After that, he decided to change all the musicians, we ended up doing a tour – and people showed up! And this was during the time of the dying, Hard Rock dinosaurs. We had sold-out halls in Switzerland, so we thought, “Wow, fuck. This is great.” So, on the strength of that, we thought we’d write an album, and we did To Rock or Not to Be. This was a title which we had remembered from our ex-tour manager from the 80s, Little Dave – LD Glover – who we’re still in touch with. Little Dave was the guy who used to dress up as the henchman and carry the big axe onto the stage and give it to Fernando. And Fernando, this was during the end of Headhunter, he used to take the axe and smash a guitar to smithereens every night and then stick the spike into its belly and hold it up to the crowd. They used to go ape-shit nuts; incredible how they used to scream.

To Rock or Not to Be was a success. It went straight to gold in Switzerland, but it didn’t look so great outside of Switzerland. And we had families. The whole Krokus of the 80s got back together except Chris, because he was producing Gotthard at the time, and we were not on talking terms. So, it was sold out, but we couldn’t go on tour, because Mark Kohler had babies, Freddy [Steady] had babies, and I had babies. When you’re in that situation, you don’t just drop everything, pack your suitcase, and run off with a band. It’s pure psychology if you’re a normal-thinking guy. So, we split up again but reunited again in 2004 for ROCK THE BLOCK. This was shortly followed by the HELLRAISER album.

Andrew:
Essentially, every incarnation of the band featured you and Fernando. You remained the constants amid a host of lineup changes. What willed you to keep the Krokus legacy alive?

Marc:
Well, when you put your back into something for so many years, it’s more than an addiction – it becomes like a baby. You don’t wanna drop it, especially when you know there are fans out there who appreciate it. You know, because, you wouldn’t wanna do it to an empty hall, would you? And as long as it’s fun; that’s what we always say. If it’s not fun, stop doing it because then you’re gonna strain your whole system and get sick. So, this is how it is; it’s still fun for me to go out there and do it, and that’s why I’m doing a solo album. And I hope we can finish the Adios Amigos Farewell Tour that we started in Europe.

Andrew:
Throughout the 2000s, Krokus continued to make new music, producing five albums within the past 14 years. Did the band ever feel compelled to alter the sound to coincide with the ever-changing musical landscape?

Marc:
I think we learned a big lesson about changing the sound during The Blitz and Change of Address era. In fact, when we did Heart Attack, the last 80s studio album, we tried to get back to where we left off, going one [album] further back than Headhunter, which is One Vice at a Time; more or less. You don’t wanna do a full copy. That’s how it was with Hoodoo and the last two studio albums we did. If you wanna hear us live, I think the best thing is to get hold of the DVD and CD we recorded live at Wacken in 2019. It’s only an hour, but it’s a good Krokus hour. And it’s what we sound like and would like to sound like today.

All images courtesy of Marc Storace

Andrew:
Your voice remains in prime condition after all these years. What sort of maintenance must you go through to ensure your voice is always stage-ready?

Marc:
I guess I try to rest my voice at every opportunity if I’m not up late at night in some bar talking. In between tours and recording albums – well, recording albums doesn’t happen that often anymore – I have quite a lot of time for myself. I guess I eat the right food, drink the right things, and try not to overdo it. And keep a certain amount of fitness; I don’t overdo it with exercise; I don’t go to a gym or anything like that. I respect my tool; this is what I work with. So, I can’t go trashing it too much. I’ve been lucky. On the road, in my whole life, I’ve only had to cancel twice, because I had doctors orders … “You are going to kill your voice forever if you sing tonight.” I guess after so many years, I know how to handle it, so I don’t get hoarse and can use the high-powered turbo with a gritty sound without burning my vocal cords. But I warm up first. Usually, I have to drive or be driven to a concert or a rehearsal. And, on the way, I start reverberating resonance in my throat, into my cranial cavities from my thorax. And what it sounds like, is a Tibetan monk. Before I go to the highest note, I like to try to go down to the cellar of my voice and just sit around there and warm it up a little bit and come up slowly. If you have the time, it’s the best thing to do; have a warm cup of tea or something. But before going on stage, I drink an espresso and a Grappa, and I always have a glass of white wine; dry white wine to perk me up; there’s sugar in there as well. I have to take care of it, especially at my age now.

There’s this notion that to be a rock ‘n’ roll singer, you have to live rock ‘n’ roll like crazy and be reckless all the time; which is something we have left behind us. We simply enjoy doing what we do, using the craftsmanship that we learned, and get the buzz out of it when everything sounds like a well-oiled machine.

Andrew:
With four members of the Headhunter lineup currently in the fold, Krokus is slated to embark on a highly anticipated Farewell Tour in the US at some point. Do you have an update for us?

Marc:
Oh, I absolutely have no updates regarding that, unfortunately. I would like to know myself. But it’s all quiet on the Krokus front, right now.

I don’t even look at it right now, to tell you the truth. My expectations start from 2023 for Krokus. And for me, if I’m lucky, I already have a couple of festivals booked, and more dates are being booked for next year. I’ll start off with a couple of showcases, but who knows what’s gonna happen.

I’ve always liked being involved in other projects on the side. I’m in this thing called This is Rock, which is the history of rock told musically «live» and also verbally by this guy who comes out on stage and talks about it with a lot of projection stuff happening on the backdrops. The whole thing is really exciting. The last gig I ever played before the lockdown was with This is Rock in March, a year and a half ago. We have some gigs booked for this December, so hopefully we’re gonna do those, too. And I’m gonna be doing a couple of showcases with my band and we’ll take it from there. As far as Krokus goes, we’re not looking at making a move before 2023.

Andrew:
I understand you potentially have a documentary in the works, but I haven’t heard much on that front in a bit. Has there been any progress?

Marc:
Well, I have a meeting regarding a documentary on Thursday [7/8] with a film director. We’re gonna plan and do the first leg; fly down to Malta where I was born and raised and sang in my first band before moving to London. And then ending up in Switzerland and doing the rest of the world. It’s easy to go back to my roots, but the difficult part is, what do you film? Because there’s so much.

All images courtesy of Marc Storace

Andrew:
I appreciate you being so gracious with your time, Marc. Lastly, I wanted to close out our conversation by discussing your upcoming solo album. Although the project is in its early stages, what are you able to share?

Marc:
Well, there’s not much to say, really; except that I’m really excited. I have to, ironically, thank COVID that I had the time to finally release all the pent-up emotions and some old compositions that I had collected in my old drawer over the years. Because I`ve really enjoyed being creative, instead of moping and grumbling that nothing is happening.

First, I started off with my daughter, Giuliana; she sings. It’s a nice, sensitive, sweet voice. We covered duets and I put them on my Facebook. The reaction was so great, that we were called up by a couple of T.V. stations and went there and sang live. We sing live to playbacks, of course, but we sing live without the band. This became fun. Then we said, “Okay, now let’s stop,” because she already had an offer for a record contract. And I said, “Honey, we have to get some songs going for you before we do anything. So, let’s take a step back now. You got enough limelight, otherwise, it’s gonna turn into pressure.” So, she’s happy doing her thing now, and while she’s collecting song material, I got straight into the creative mood I was in. I carried on writing and I got involved with this guy in New Castle via the internet and these other two guys, whose friendship started when we did this big productionfor television that turned out to be very popular; it’s called Sing My Song. You get together with six other singers, and each singer sings songs of the other guys. So basically, covering other people`s stuff, and they cover yours. I was the only hard rock singer. You work on each song, and you recompose it and re-arrange it. You’re allowed to change lyrics and everything; this became a big hit when all the episodes were shown during lockdown. I have a gold record hanging up in my sitting room from this project.

So, the two guys who produced it, Massimo and Cyrill, they were also playing in the band. Afterwards they said, “You know, we’ve done this. How about getting together and writing some songs?” So, I kept this in mind, and when lockdown came, they showed this whole first series that we had recorded in Gran Canaria. After that, I started working on old stuff that I had recorded here in Basel with a friend of mine; a guitar player called Charly Preissel. Also, with the guy in New Castle and the two guys from the Sing My Song project. There was no time pressure, which is the greatest thing because you can step back and look at your work objectively. It’s like someone doing a painting; wake up the next morning, have another look, then go back to the brushes. Anyway, the whole thing came together, we found the right musicians and went into Powerplay Studios, which is run by Cyrill & Massi. We did the basic tracks in no time, and now we’re starting to look at guitars and stuff like that. I’ve got all lyrics; all the vocal melodies. When all that’s done, do some backing vocals and go for the big thing…you know…the mix! You can screw it all up in a mix, you know.

But it’s a rock album. Obviously, I’m a singer and singers love ballads, so there’s gonna be a couple of them. And some go-getters, scorchers; fast tunes. I’m really looking forward to the reaction. I’m not expecting to out-sell Krokus or anything; Krokus is still my No. 1 priority; that’s clear. And I’m not even trying to sound or mutate into a new Krokus. It doesn’t sound like Krokus, but it sounds like me, and that’s enough for me. And it rocks. We’ve got some heavy distorted guitars there. Something else which is not in Krokus style is a Hammond organ; I love the Hammond organ. We had that in TEA. So, there’s a touch of that in there, but it’s only a slight touch. As I said before, I don’t go for high-pitched vocals anymore, but this album will be high energy rock. The band and I are going full gas, full throttle on emotions most of the time. I hope everyone enjoys it that gets to listen to it.

All images courtesy of Marc Storace

Interested in learning more about Krokus? Check out the link below:

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2 responses to “An Interview with Marc Storace of Krokus”

  1. […] on the very first take. “I used to be at my peak then, you realize?” he defined to VWMusic. “I might sing circles [around]  my highest observe, and my highest notes – I used to be […]

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  2. […] Night” on the very first take. “I was at my peak then, you know?” he explained to VWMusic. “I could sing circles [around]  my highest note, and my highest notes – I was […]

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