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Rock and roll first enteredSwitzerland[1] in the 1950s, as a series of American musicians popularized the style internationally.[2]
The first Swiss rock band of note wereLes Sauterelles, formed in 1962 and often referred to as "the Swiss Beatles".[3] TheirShadows influenced all-instrumental 1965 single, "Hongkong", was the firstbeat song to hit number 1 on theSwiss Hitparade. Even more successful, their 1968 single, "Heavenly Club", topped the Swiss charts for seven weeks. After the group's demise in 1970, members of Les Sauterelles would go on to other Swiss bands such as Krokodil, Toad and TEA; vocalist Tony Vescoli would launch a solo career as a singer/songwriter.
Formed in 1969, Krokodil was an influential early Swissprogressive rock group, using exotic instruments such as thesitar. ComprisingZürich scene veterans Hardy Hepp, Walty Anselmo and Düde Dürst (ex-Les Sauterelles), with Mojo Weideli and English bassist Terry Stevens rounding out the line-up, Krokodil released a total of 5 albums through 1973. The Swissprogressive rock andpsychedelia scene also produced bands such as The Shiver,Brainticket, Island, Ertlif and Flame Dream.Bern's Sinus Studio was long the most influential studio in Switzerland.
The commercially most successful Swiss rock band of the 1970s wereRumpelstilz, fronted by "theBob Dylan of Switzerland",Polo Hofer. Rumpelstilz were pioneers of Mundartrock preferring to sing inBernese German rather than English. Their 1976 albumFüüf Narre im Charre (five jesters in the wheelbarrow) produced the massive hit singles "Teddybär" and "Kiosk", respectively. After the breakup of Rumpelstilz in 1978 Hofer would go on to a very successful solo career. His 1985 song "Alpenrose", co-written with former Rumpelstilz bandmate Hanery Ammann, was voted "Biggest Swiss Hit" of all time in 2006 by aSwiss German television audience. Rumpelstilz and Hofer were highly influential on bands like fellow Bernese rockersZüri West andPatent Ochsner, Switzerland most successful Mundartrock bands today.
Notable 1970s Swisshard andheavy rock acts include Brainticket off-shootToad, abluesy power trio perhaps best known for their debut single "Stay!",Marc Storace fronted semi-progressive outfitTEA, andKrokus who quickly rose to become the most popular Swiss hard rock hand when they added the aforementioned Storace as their new lead vocalist in time for 1980's moreheavy metal influencedMetal Rendez-Vous, their international break through. TheirTom Allom produced 1983 album,Headhunter, peaked at #25 on the U.S.Billboard 200 charts and wasRIAA certified gold in theUnited States, making it the best-selling Swiss record in history. Other Swiss hard rock bands to emerge in the wake of Krokus included theirSolothurn neighborsKiller, Black Angels, Crown, Steve Whitney Band, Stormbringer, Witchcraft, Bloody Six,Paganini as well asChina, Satrox and Alison in the latter part of the 1980s and early 90s.
At about the same period, there were a number ofpunk[4][5] andpub rock influenced bands, including the Looney Tunes, The Swiss Horns, Red Devil Band, Circus and Irrwisch.
In the early 1980s,extreme metal pioneersHellhammer emerged from suburban Zürich before morphing into the more sophisticatedCeltic Frost, a groundbreaking band whose pivotal early albums,Morbid Tales,To Mega Therion (with cover artwork by famed Swiss artistH.R. Giger) andInto the Pandemonium, revolutionized heavy metal musically as well as aesthetically. After the initial breakup of Celtic Frost, band leader Tom Warrior, a.k.a.Tom Gabriel Fischer, formedindustrial rock outfitApollyon Sun before successfully reforming Celtic Frost in 2001. As of 2008, Fischer was leading the CF spin-offTriptykon.
Equally as influential and acclaimed as Celtic Frost areThe Young Gods from Switzerland's French speakingRomandy region. Formed in 1985 and debuting with theirself-titled album in 1987, the experimentalIndustrial Rock trio, led by sole constant member Franz Treichler, a.k.a. Franz Muse, have released 8 studio albums to date and have been acknowledged as an influence by the likes ofDavid Bowie,U2'sThe Edge andFaith No More'sMike Patton. Other Romandy acts of international repute areValaisextreme metal bandSamael andGeneva's futuristic cyber metalists,Sybreed.
Another Zürich area band, with ties to Celtic Frost, are internationally renowned progressive thrash trioCoroner who released a string of highly acclaimed albums such asNo More Color andMental Vortex in the late 1980s through the mid 1990s. After the demise of Coroner, guitarist Tommy T. Baron, a.k.a. Tommy Vetterli, briefly joined German thrashersKreator while drummer Marquis Marky, a.k.a. Markus Edelmann, became a member of Tom Warrior's short livedApollyon Sun. As of 2010, Coroner were active again doing live shows. Yet another Zürich area metal band that made an impression in the late 1980s wereUster based five-piece Drifter with two major label releases,Reality Turns to Dust andNowhere to Hide, to their credit. Other notable Swiss extreme metal acts of that era includeMessiah, Excruciation, Bloodstar and Calhoun Conquer.
In the early 1990s, a very activeneo-prog scene began to flourish in the SouthernSwissCanton of Ticino, primarily exemplified by two bands, Clepsydra (InsideOut Music) and Shakary (SHK Records). Another Ticino band,Lugano basedGotthard, emerged in 1992 with theireponymous debut album (their only album not to reach number 1 on the Swiss album charts) and, guided by former Krokus bassistChris von Rohr, went on to become the most commercially successful Swiss hard rock group since the heyday of Krokus, with numerous gold and platinum certified releases in Switzerland during the course of their 25-year career. The group's best selling album,Homerun, has been certified 3 x platinum for sales in excess of 90,000 copies in their home country. In the shadows of Gotthard,Bern nativesShakra, who first came on the scene with their self-titled 1998 debut album, have established a solid career with several of their releases entering the Swiss and German album charts.
Switzerland's internationally most success new band of the last 10 years have beenEluveitie whose eclecticfolk metal style incorporates characteristics ofmelodic death metal combined with the melodies of traditionalCeltic music. Their 2014 album,Origins, reached number 1 on the Swiss album charts.
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