Angel Dust (originally Angeldust) is a German heavy metal band from Dortmund. They played speed and thrash metal from 1984 to 1990. They reformed in 1998 and moved towards a power/progressive metal.
History Initial career (1984–1990) Angel Dust formed in Dortmund in 1984 as a garage band. They named themselves after a song off English black metal band Venom's debut album Welcome to Hell. The band's style was influenced by the new wave of British heavy metal and Bay Area thrash metal scenes. They found a niche in speed and thrash metal, which were popular at the time. The band released their debut studio album, Into the Dark Past, in 1986, and followed it up with To Dust You Will Decay, released in 1988. The band broke up in 1990 due to internal conflicts.
Reunion (1998–2011) In 1998, bassist Frank Banx and drummer Dirk Assmuth assembled a new lineup, including Banx's brother Steven on keyboards. This formation shifted towards progressive metal, and gained a reputation in Europe.
After releasing a few albums in the late 1990s and early 2000s, lineup changes reduced the band's activities. Angel Dust remain active, and "enter[ed] the studio [in March 2006] to record the long awaited successor from Of Human Bondage."
The band's first two albums are rare collectibles. They were reissued unofficially in limited quantities in late 2002–2003, with no label or copyright info and with two bonus tracks each.
Second reunion (2016–present) A second reunion was announced in September 2016. Pictures were posted to the band's Facebook page on 9 October 2017 announcing the recording of a new album. On 17 December 2018, the band announced via Facebook that the new album would be titled Ghosts, but they had not decided on a release date yet.
On 21 October 2020, an announcement was made by the band via Facebook they had begun recording the new album the day before. Work on the album seems to be very slow, though, as on 25 December 2024, the band announced that unfortunately the production of “Ghosts” is still not fully finished, but that more news on the subject would follow in January. However, Angel Dust had not released any further updates on “Ghosts” since then.
Members
Current lineup Dirk Assmuth – drums (1984–1990, 1997–2011, 2016–present) Bernd Aufermann – guitars (1997–2001, 2004–2011, 2016–present) Dirk Thurisch – vocals (1997–2005, 2010–2011, 2016–present) Boris Odenkirchen – keyboards (2016–present) Marc Herrmann – bass (2020–present)
Former members Frank Banx – bass (1984–1990, 1997–2003, 2016–2020; died 2022) S.L. Coe – vocals (1988–1990) Romme Keymer – guitars, vocals (1984–1987) Andreas Lohrum – guitars (1984–1987) Vinny Lynn – guitars (1988–1990) Stefan K. Nauer – guitars (1988–1990) Steven Banx – keyboards (1997–2011) Ritchie Wilkison – guitars (2001–2003) Carsten Kaiser – vocals (2005–2010) Christian Pohlmann – bass (2004–2011)
Timeline
Discography Into the Dark Past (1986, Disaster) To Dust You Will Decay (1988, Disaster) Border of Reality (1998, Century Media) Bleed (1999, Century Media) Enlighten the Darkness (2000, Century Media) Of Human Bondage (2001, Century Media)
References
External links Official website
Angel Dust at Encyclopaedia Metallum