(Photos: Kay Winter, www.winterpol.net)
Michael Keuter
Vocals
Heiko Holler
Guitars
Björn Tiemann
Keyboard
Hans Strenge
Bass
Jan Keimer
Drums
The hard core of Ricochet with keyboardist Björn Tiemann, drummer Jan Keimer and guitarist Heiko Holler have been playing together since the early 90s. Bassist Hans Strenge has also been with the band for over 20 years, and singer Michael Keuter for almost 10. This experience is clearly noticeable in the band. Nevertheless, Ricochet never rest on their laurels, but are always eager to bring new facets into their music.
The typical Ricochet sound can be described as dark-melancholic, but always melodic and "somewhere between rock and metal". Besides influences from classic rock, prog rock and metal, they also incorporate elements of Arabic music. This range can be explained not least by the different musical backgrounds of the band members, all of whom are also involved in the songwriting. Singer Michael Keuter, for example, played for years in the Uriah Heep cover band Easy Livin', but also made music with some Helloween band members. Keyboardist Björn Tiemann toured Europe in the late 90s with Kingdom Come, among others.
The recordings for the current album "Kazakhstan" already took place in 2020/21, but the completion and release was - like so many other things - delayed by the Corona pandemic. Already during the recordings there were strict conditions and during the mix they wanted to be as complete as possible, which was not possible for a long time. The same applies to live performances and a possible CD release party. In the meantime, however, the band is in good spirits to follow up the successful live history (including a performance at the W:O:A 1998) with further highlights in the near future.
