Officially formed in 2000 by JD Tucker, Grendel was quickly picked up by the legendary German label NoiTekk (a subdivision of Black Rain Records), upon hearing their first promo CD. This promo included the club hit “Strangers” and, after additional production & mastering, would become their 2001 debut studio album, “Inhumane Amusement”.
After a year of touring & studio work, the “End Of Ages” EP was released and soon became a staple track for DJs world wide. This was shortly followed up in 2003, by the second full length album “Prescription Medicide” album, which saw the band truly entering the limelight, becoming album of the month in many magazines such as Orkus & Zillo, reach top 5 positions in prominent underground charts, including Deutsch Alternative Charts and number 1 for several months in the Dutch Underground Charts. With the success of this album, the band did extensive touring throughout Europe & North America.
In 2005 Grendel released their now classic “Soilbleed” EP, of which the title track is to this day an unmissable club hit worldwide. This release marked a true milestone in the band’s career and saw them touring larger stages throughout Europe, reaching a far greater audience, and topping alternative & sales charts. The EP was re-released in 2006 as “Soilbleed Redux” and featured additional material, such as a cover of Leaether Strip’s “Don’t Tame Your Soul”, “One.Eight.Zero” and a remix by New York artists Life Cried.
In the meantime, Grendel started working on their third full length album, entitled “Harsh Generation”. This was to become one of the most important & influential albums for the contemporary industrial & Electronic Body Music movement, marking new territory and a more matured sound & style. After it’s release in 2007, it remained on top positions of alternative charts, such as the DAC, GEWC, DUC for maximum periods of time.
To this day, this is also an unmissable part of any industrial/ebm DJs arsenal. Due to the success of this album, Grendel spent the following years touring extensively & intensively worldwide, drawing increasingly larger audiences.
Eventually, in 2009, the “Chemicals + Circuitry” EP was written & recorded. This turned out to be a slight diversion from the band’s familiar sound, but received much praise and again reached top positions in the charts (DAC, GEWC, DUC, etc.), with the title track quickly becoming a favourite amongst DJ’s and listens alike. This success would prompt a rework of the song on their following album, “Timewave Zero”, in 2012. Although returning to a more familiar sound, it would take on influences from a variety of contemporary dance music, such as trance, electro and house. This, again, would mark a big milestone in the band’s progress, branching out from familiar ground and reaching a wider audience. Much praise was given for this and it would gain not only top chart positions, but also high sales.
And most recently, in 2012, Grendel released the “Timewave : Zero” album. This album is both a return to their signature sound and taking on various influences from contemporary EDM styles, such as Trance, Complex Electro and House. All of this together has created the most mature Grendel sound to date and has gained highly positive feedback from both fans and media, scoring top positions in the DAC, GEWC, mailorder sales charts and more. In the years that followed, Grendel toured extensively on the success of this album in both Europe & North America.
During this period, JD moved to the UK in order to pursue various endeavours & career moves, where he became heavily influenced by the rich music, art and fashion culture of London. This resulted in a more refined and mature style, both musically and visually, incorporating his love for both contemporary and old school music of various genres.
After much hard work, October 2017 marks the release of his eagerly awaited magnum opus, “Age Of The Disposable Body”, on Infacted Records (EU) and Metropolis Records (US). Not only does this album offer a rich palet of sounds & styles, but also a huge step forward vocally and lyrically. It also sees guitarist Emanuelle Trinci involved in the creative process and guest appearance by Seamus Bradd of The.Invalid.
Pre-orders have started and it is already topping the sales chart at Germany’s main mail-order, Infrarot.de.
Live line up:
Vocals – JD Tucker
Keys (EU) – Sascha Pniok
Keys (US) – Neal Reed
Guitar (EU) – Emanuele Trinci
Guitar (US) – Erik Gustafson
Drums (EU) – Kekko Biogora
Drums (US) – Ben Tourkantonis
