Paradox

Although they didn’t fare nearly as well as fellow Teutonic thrashers like Kreator and Sodom in terms of career longevity or commercial success, Würzburg, Germany’s Paradox certainly seemed, on the surface, to have a better shot at the big time with their more melodic and accessible style. Formed in February of 1986 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Charly Steinhauer, lead guitarist Markus Spyth, bassist Roland Stahl, and drummer Axel Blaha, the group was heavily influenced by the biggest of all thrash bands — Metallica — and quickly parlayed a few impressive demos into a deal with Roadrunner Records and a very impressive debut album, Product of Imagination, the following year. This earned Paradox many accolades in their homeland, with both Rock Hard and Metal Hammer magazines naming them “Best Newcomer,” while fans voted them favorite German band behind only all-time heroes Accept and the Scorpions. But Paradox remained largely undiscovered beyond Germany’s borders, and despite closing out the year on a high with performances at Holland’s Dynamo and Portugal’s Festa Avante festivals, the group’s sophomore album, Heresy (produced by top thrash producer Harris Johns and introducing new bassist Matthias Schmidt), became something of a make-or-break proposition by the time it was released in 1989. Sadly, and despite showing marked songwriting improvement over its predecessor, the final verdict was indeed “break,” and Paradox fell apart due to disappointing sales and after being dropped by Roadrunner. A new version of the band was assembled by Steinhauer in 1999 with the express purpose of playing at the Wacken Open Air Festival, but then stuck around long enough to record a third Paradox album, Collision Course, in 2000. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia