MARC STORACE

Marc Storace started out early in his native Malta with local bands like "Stonehendge" and "Cinnamon Hades". Soon he expanded his musical ambitions and moved further north, ending up eventually in Switzerland. In 1970, at the tender age of 19 years, he joined Swiss rock band TEA and recorded with them 3 albums between 1971 and 1974. TEA was the #1 Swiss rock band at that time and Marc got to know the KROKUS musicians while they played multiple gigs in support of TEA.

After the demise of TEA Marc moved to London and worked there with a band called "Easy Money" (their song "telephone man" was released on a "best of rock" album).

In late 1979 Marc was courted by KROKUS to become their vocalist and after a little persistence from KROKUS' side he commuted for a while from London to Switzerland and back. The "Metal Rendez-Vous" album was already written and Storace sang the parts along with arranging chorus melodies, making his recording debut with KROKUS. The 1980 release of that album catapulted KROKUS to the International music scene with Marc's trademark vocal prowess. Touring in support of the album followed and Marc was happy to return back to the UK and play legendary Reading Festival and later in years even headline the Hammersmith Odeon.

The success continued with 1981's release "Hardware", followed by 1982's "One Vic At A Time" and culminated in the 1983 blockbuster album "Headhunter" with the signature hit "Screaming In The Night". Especially America could not get enough of KROKUS and they headquartered for years at their manager's farm in Arkansas, when not on tour.

KROKUS and Marc continued their quest for success with the 1984 "The Blitz" release, followed by 1986's "Change of Address". The same year their first "live" album was released under the title "Alive And Screaming".

Next followed the release of 1988's "Heart Attack", followed by an extensive tour through the United States and Europe. Unfortunately, upon completion of the 1988 "Heart Attack" tour KROKUS effectively split, when Von Rohr and Storace walked out of the door. The continuos touring without breaks finally took its toll.

In the early 90's, Marc teamed up with ex-Toad guitarist Vic Vergeat and released in 1991 a critically acclaimed album entitled "Blue". This was Marc's first solo attempt and this album was released twice, sold out every time and is today a hard to find gem.

In 1994 Marc and Von Arb resolved their differences and announced a more spectacular reformation of KROKUS. They were joined by Maurer, Kohler and Steady and recorded a four track EP CD, covering the BTO hit "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet". That led to the 1995 release of "To Rock Or Not To Be", which sold heavily in Switzerland and Europe. A planned European tour in support of the album did not materialize. Marc was out of the picture once again. He recorded with Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple fame & Manfred Ehlert a CD/project called "Amen", with a second one to be released in 1996.

Marc re-emerged in 2000 to create his new act "DC World". Bearing in mind the AC/DC comparisons that had dogged KROKUS throughout their career, "DC World" was a brave move. The entire "DC World" was a medley of AC/DC songs with Marc taking on the vocal parts of the late Bon Scott and "Stampede" singer Peter Tanner the ones of Brian Johnson. The band also featured bassist Tony Castell and guitarist Dominique Favez. That same year he sang together with the well known Swiss band "China" (Patrick Mason played in that band after his short stint in KROKUS - and so does Marc's partner in the "Acoustical Mountain" project) and that recording was released the same year. And he recorded a single with Haslinger called "One World" (Rock Meets Classic). A very busy year for Marc creatively.

In the meantime Marc recognized more and more that grunge is out and rock is back in. In 2002 KROKUS announced the return of Storace and started working on the 2003 release "Rock The Block", followed by the second "live" album in KROKUS' career called "Fire & Gasoline", recorded in 2003 but released in 2004.

During the summer of 2004 Marc spent time in L.A. to record as guest vocalist with the US (studio) band "Warrior".

Taking time out from KROKUS's schedule, Marc also introduced his side project "Acoustical Mountain" in 2004 at the Verbier Xtreme Snowboarding competition. Then followed an appearance in his original homeland of Malta at the sixth annual "Music Marathon" to benefit various children charities, played at "Simon's Pub" in his hometown of Sliema.

In February of 2005 Von Arb announced his departure from KROKUS for health reasons. Now Marc was left as the only remaining member of the heydays and had to take charge all by himself on behalf of the project "KROKUS" to keep things moving along. His first task at hand was to find a replacement for Fern and he welcomed Mandy Meyer back into the fold. He still found time to add guest vocals to the German (studio) band "Biss" for the "Face Off" album before embarking in September of that year on the first KROKUS US tour in 17 years.

In 2006 the new album, first one without Von Arb since 1977, was released under the title "Hellraiser". That song was written and composed by Marc all by himself and originally served as a song on a soundtrack for a Swiss movie. The title song was re-recorded with the then current KROKUS line-up for the "Hellraiser" release. The same year he also found time in his busy schedule to guest-vocal on another "Biss" album entitled "X-tension".

November 18th, 2007 marked another milestone in Marc's KROKUS career with the reunion of the originals (Storace, Von Arb, Von Rohr & Steady) taking part in a Swiss TV show called "The Greatest Hits Of All Times". Although the medley was recorded in a playback format, the band received a standing ovation from the crowd. This was a "one time" event and he continued touring with the "Hellraiser" line-up for the remainder of the year and into early 2008. After the last concert of that tour in Gozo/Malta on February 2nd, 2008, he informed his band mates the following day that he wants to disband this line-up and continue KROKUS with the originals of the 1982 line-up.

August 2nd, 2008 saw the band reunited and "live in concert" at the "Stade De Suisse" in Bern, Switzerland. With the addition of Mark Kohler a true return of the 1982 formation took place. A truly "magical" moment in KROKUS history.

On February 26th, 2010, Sony Music released "Hoodoo", the first cd recorded by the originals since the 80's and co-written by Marc. It includes the Steppenwolf cover "Born To Be Wild".

February 23rd, 2013, Sony Music released "Dirty Dynamite". The CD was produced again by Chris Von Rohr. Vocals were recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios, hence the Beatles cover song "Help".


And as we speak, history is in the making...... (to be continued)