It all began in 2020 and the virus that paralyzed everything. The musicians Michael Vetter (guitar & bass, ex-Pump) and Roland Seidel (vocals, ex-Wasteland), condemned to do nothing, decided to become active together during the bleak phase of the worldwide lockdown. Two “lost souls” suddenly merged into a fervent unit with the aim of breaking through the silence and lethargy and creating a series of first-class metal songs. In a very short time, twelve epic heavy metal songs were created, which seem to be a symbiosis of the energy of bands like Iron Maiden, the darkness of Black Sabbath and the playfulness of Helloween. Soon there could be no other goal than to immortalize these songs on a CD and present them to the public.
Drummer Axel Winkler (ex-Subway), Axel Mackenrott (Masterplan) on keyboards and Tommy Laasch (Chinchilla) for backing vocals were engaged for the studio work. To ensure that the album is guaranteed to blow the potential listener’s ears off, the album was mixed and mastered by Achim Köhler (Primal Fear, Brainstorm, among others), who gave the songs an absolutely unique, epic and modern sound. With “Rock Of Angels Records”, the perfect partner for a great and intensive collaboration was found after just a few weeks, while the line-up was completed by Aki Reißmann (guitar, ex-Pump) and finally by Pappe Lee (bass, Licence).
“Heavenly Creatures” was released in January 2021 and is a multi-layered, melodic yet heavy album with a dark mood. Once again produced by Achim Köhler, “Servants Of The Devil” came out two years later, perfecting the style and once again offering a great musical spectrum. From doomy, powerful, profound power metal to mercilessly blasting and pumping metal anthems. Without exception, all tracks captivate with that certain something that can only be found in BLACK & DAMNED, as
well as their flair for timeless hooklines. Backing vocals were provided by Bastian Rose (Vanish) and Sven Vöhri (Dust & Bones) as well as Daniel Galmarini (Mercury Falling) as guest keyboardist.
In the four years since, BLACK & DAMNED have made a first-class name for themselves, sharing the stage with Vicious Rumors, Rage and Tankard, among others, and earning great reviews in the local magazines. “Black & Damned manage the balancing act between heaven and hell with flying colors”, attests Metal Hammer, while Breakout indulges: ”best stuff for all power metallers with heart.”
It is now clear that the band from the Stuttgart area can be described as a real enrichment of the heavy metal world and so they took no prisoners, used the energy of past live shows and composed ten new neckbreakers, which they recorded in the fall of 2024 under the aegis of ex-Primal Fear guitarist Stefan Leibing. These include the hard-hitting “Ruthless Wrath”, the sluggish earworm “Red Heavens” and the opening uptempo anthem “Silence Breaker”, which lives up to its name. Once
again, this gripping melancholy hovers over the entire work, which is incredibly captivating and addictive. BLACK & DAMNED have grown together as a unit and “Resurrection” is a consistently hot iron, forged by five thoroughbred metallers, which will be released worldwide on March 14 via ROAR.