Warlock

F

ounded in 1982 with members of the underground bands Snakebite and Beast, originally under the the name Snakebite in Düsseldorf, West Germany in 1980. After recording a four-track demo and sending it to several record labels and music magazines, the band obtained a contract with the Belgian independent label 'Mausoleum Records'.

Warlock's debut, Burning The Witches in 1984, featuring Rudy Graf (guitars), Peter Szigeti (guitar), Frank Rittel (bass), Doro Pesch (vocals) and Michael Eurich (drums) received acclaim as a top-notch "Euro-Metal"/power metal album of the period, likewise for the follow-up Hellbound (1985).

On True as Steel (1986), Nico Arvanitis replaced Graf and though succeeding albums the band progressed toward a more mainstream direction. Over time it became clearer and clearer that vocalist Doro Pesch was the star here, and sure enough, by the time of Triumph and Agony (1987) featuring Tommy Bolan replacing Szigeti and Tommy Henriksen replacing Rittel, Warlock was pretty much Doro's solo band, and it was made official soon afterward, with future releases going under the name Doro; she would assume a solo career. Graf would go on to join Rage, while Rittel and Szigeti went on to join U.D.O.