Bonfire is a German heavy metal band from Ingolstadt. Formed in 1972 under the name Cacumen, the group's initial lineup after changing its name to Bonfire in 1986 consisted of lead vocalist Claus Lessmann, guitarists Hans Ziller and Horst Maier-Thorn, bassist Jörg Deisinger, and drummer Dominik Hülshorst. The band's current lineup includes Ziller, plus guitarist Frank Pané, bassist Ronnie Parkes (both of whom joined in 2015), drummer Fabio Alessandrini (since 2022), lead vocalist DYAN (since 2022).
Bonfire traces its roots back to Cacumen, a band formed by Hans Ziller in 1972 which released a single, two albums and an EP with various lineups.[1] The band changed its name to Bonfire and released Don't Touch the Light, their debut album with the new moniker, in 1986.[2] During the recording of its follow-up Fireworks the next year, Hülshorst left the band and Ken Mary stepped in temporarily as a session performer, before Tommy Wagner joined briefly for a few shows after its release.[3] In December 1987, a full-time replacement for Hülshorst was found in Edgar Patrik, formerly of Sinner and Samson.[4] During the subsequent tour, Maier-Thorn was forced to leave due to rheumatism and was replaced by Gerhard "Angel" Schleifer, also formerly of Sinner.[4] The group recorded its fourth album Point Blank in 1989.[5]
Shortly after recording Point Blank, Ziller left Bonfire in August 1989 due to "personal and musical differences".[6] According to Deisinger, the guitarist was fired following disputes with the band's management over alleged commitment issues.[4] After his dismissal, Ziller reportedly attempted to prevent the release of Point Blank, claiming he had not been "properly credited" on the album.[7] The album was released in October, however, and the band continued as a four-piece.[8] The new lineup released Knock Out in 1991 and recorded the group's first live album Live... the Best, before Lessmann also left in September 1992.[4] Lessmann and Ziller subsequently reunited to release the EP Glaub Dran.[9] In March 1993, Bonfire brought in Michael Bormann as their new frontman, with whom they toured until July 1994.[4]
After a two-year hiatus, Claus Lessmann and Hans Ziller regained the rights to the Bonfire name and reformed the band in 1996 to release Feels Like Comin' Home, an English re-recording of Glaub Dran with additional tracks.[1] The album featured contributions from a wide range of session musicians, as well as former drummer Dominik Hülshorst.[10] Also featured was keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Chris Lausmann, who subsequently became an official member of the band alongside new bassist Uwe Köhler and drummer Jürgen "Bam Bam" Wiehler.[11] The group issued Rebel Soul, Fuel to the Flames, and Strike Ten from 1998 to 2001.[12]
Following the release of Live Over Europe in 2002, Lausmann left Bonfire for "personal reasons".[9] The band continued as a four-piece (with Thomas Streck performing keyboards as a backup member).[13] By early 2006, the group was a five-piece again with the addition of Chris "Yps" Limburg on second guitar,[14] who had previously performed as a guest on 2005's One Acoustic Night.[15] The new lineup released two studio albums – Double X and The Räuber – as well as the live album Double X Vision.[12] In January 2009, Wiehler was replaced by the band's original drummer Dominik Hülshorst.[16] He remained in the band's lineup for three years, releasing Branded, Fireworks Still Alive and Cry for Help, before being replaced by Harry Reischmann in April 2012.[17]
After not releasing a new album since 2011, Bonfire announced at the beginning of 2015 that Lessmann, Limburg and Köhler had all left the band, replaced by David Reece (formerly of Accept), Frank Pané and Ronnie Parkes, respectively.[18] [19] The new lineup issued Glörious in April, before Reischmann was replaced by Tim Briedeband in December.[20] Pearls followed in March 2016, before Reece left that July due to "irreconcilable personal and professional differences".[21] The band's former vocalist Michael Bormann was originally slated to join as Reece's replacement, however he was unable to join until mid-October which led the group to bring in Alexx Stahl as a temporary stand-in for a short run of shows. Due to his performances, he was upgraded to an official member, instead of Bormann.[22]
Between 2017 and 2018, Bonfire released three studio albums with Stahl: Byte the Bullet, Temple of Lies and Legends.[12] In February 2019, drummer Briedeband was replaced by André Hilgers, another former member of Sinner.[23] Fistful of Fire and Roots followed in 2020 and 2021, respectively.[12]
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hans Ziller | all Bonfire releases, except "Sword and Stone" (1989), Knock Out (1991) and Live... the Best (1993) | |||
| Frank Pané | 2015–present | all Bonfire releases from Glörious (2015) onwards | ||
| Ronnie Parkes | ||||
| Fabio Alessandrini | 2022–present | all Bonfire releases from Freedom Is My Belief (MMXXIII Version) (2022) onwards | ||
| DYAN | all Bonfire releases from Fantasy (MMXXIII Version) (2022) onwards |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claus Lessmann | all Bonfire releases from Don't Touch the Light (1986) to Live in Wacken (2013) | ||||
| Jörg Deisinger | 1986–1994 | all Bonfire releases from Don't Touch the Light (1986) to Live... the Best (1993) | |||
| Horst Maier-Thorn | 1972–1988 | ||||
| Dominik Hülshorst | |||||
| Ken Mary | 1987 | drums | Firework (1987) | ||
| Tommy Wagner | 1987 | none | |||
| Edgar Patrik | 1987–1994 | ||||
| Gerhard "Angel" Schleifer | 1988–1994 | ||||
| Michael Bormann | none | ||||
| Uwe Köhler | 1996–2015 | all Bonfire releases from Rebel Soul (1997) to Live in Wacken (2013) | |||
| Jürgen "Bam Bam" Wiehler | 1996–2009 | ||||
| Chris Lausmann | 1996–2002 | ||||
| Chris "Yps" Limburg | 2006–2015 | all Bonfire releases from One Acoustic Night (2005) to "Treueband" (2012) | |||
| Harry Reischmann | 2012–2015 | drums | |||
| David Reece | 2015–2016 | lead vocals | |||
| Tim Breideband | 2015–2019 | all Bonfire releases from Pearls (2016) to Live on Holy Ground: Wacken 2018 (2019) | |||
| André Hilgers | 2019–2022 | all Bonfire releases from Live on Holy Ground: Wacken 2018 (2019) to Roots (2021) | |||
| Alexx Stahl | 2016–2022 | lead vocals | all Bonfire releases from Byte the Bullet (2017) to Freedom Is My Belief (MMXXIII Version) (2022) |
| Period | Members | Releases | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band known as Cacumen prior to May 1986 | |||
| May 1986 – May 1987 |
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| Summer 1987 |
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| Late 1987 |
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| December 1987 – July 1988 |
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| August 1988 – August 1989 |
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| August 1989 – September 1992 |
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| March 1993 – July 1994 |
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| Band inactive August 1994 – June 1996 | |||
| Summer – late 1996 |
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| Late 1996 – late 2002 |
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| Late 2002 – early 2006 |
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| Early 2006 – January 2009 |
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| January 2009 – April 2012 |
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| April 2012 – January 2015 |
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| January – December 2015 |
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| December 2015 – July 2016 |
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| July – August 2016 |
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| August 2016 – February 2019 |
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| February 2019 – May 2022 |
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| May 2022 - October 2022 |
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| October 2022 - December 2022 |
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| December 2022 - present |
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