Something is missing The unexpected resonance makes them try to intensify their sound even more. A human drummachine had to multiply dynamic and power of the beats. Dietmat Pîppke could be won for the project, he is a friend of Raphael and drummer of Bremens metal-punk.band Children of Riot. That is todays composition of the band.

Something is not missing Some people certainly notice that 44 X ES does not include a bassplayer. They were willing, but the bassplayers were weak. A roll with butter and marmelade...yes! But brawn on top of it....?

Get the show on the road A second gig in Hengelo in September 1993 positively confirms the composition of the band and they decide to make up a tape. It is realised with a 4-track recorder in their rehearsal room in October 1993. This tape, with 6 songs on it, takes part in a local contest called "Bremer Rockfîrderpreis" (Bremen Rock Support) and wins. At a live qualification concert 44 X ES are the second winners, it is their third gig ever.

Position and content The music of 44 X ES is diverse, but nevertheless coming from one Middle Europeasn culture, where still everybody can finish the kindergarden. The lyrics rather deal with the local peaple in their political and mundane life than presume to judge over the problems of other cultures. We have got enough ourselves. The music is certainly influenced by metal and techno, sampling is like the adventure of going shopping and metal is suitable to express strong emotions. Be honest, Harley-Davidson has become a vehicle for bank clerks, and the drug of the rave movement are exactly what the hippies dreamt of..We can assume that the social crossover is spread wider than that of any band. It is difficult to find identification and style here, but at least we can deal with it playfully, to bring about some meaning or at least fun.

The name "44 X ES" does not have any deeper meaning-just like every other good band name, but everybody is asking. The desire to know it all!

Live performance Playing gigs is not taking any chance but simply doing it. During the first show with the guitars as the only instruments, played by all three of them, the half-playback was more compelling need than virtue. Nevertheless it marked the way of the band, and paralell playing the DAT-tape became a firm ingredience, while keyboarders and bassplayers were ommitted in order not to endanger the musical consensus. The drummer is most important for the power required, we are talking about live performances and not disco dancing. In spite of the playback no gig is like another, the playlist is changed by arbitrary and new arrangements are tested. The much invoked contradiction between the joy of playing on stage and the performance of electronic work has never occurded to 44 X ES, quite the reverse! Punk is not dead but became electronic, to exhaust both audience and musicians. The band is rather a union of players than a useless collection os posers, though the singer has been seen wearing no shirt on stage.

The studio There was no such thing as studio recordings! the four from 44 X ES bought a small but sufficent equipment with their own money and fore- seeable incomes. All recordings are home-made, from the 4-track-demo (which only existed for booking and led to record deal) to the EP "Banish Silence". The "UZI-Beat Studio" is their rehearsal room with an Atari/Steinberg HD-System, to make band democracy and the Low Budget idea work. With some phantasy and good friends they could almost completely avoid expensive experts and create a much more intense work atmosphere. Independence and informality made the non-creative aspects of technology and organisation at least fairly tolerable, you can learn to cook with water.

Here wo go.... In spring of 1994 the band, then known as CRASH FOR EXCESS, plays as many gigs as possible, nearly 30 in Newfiveland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany until winter. The demo is send to a selection of independent record companies, with the results that they sign a contract with Zoth Ommog/Music Research from Bad Homburg in October 1994. On December 10 1994 the recordings of the "Banish Silence" EP begin in the rehearsal room with no overwhelming but, sensibly used, but very efficient equipment. The material is recorded within a week, and yet before christmas it is mixed in the "Clean Machine" studio in Hamburg, with the invaluable help of sound engineer Martin Carle. The mastering takes place in one of the band members flat. Before the EP is published as planned in Februar 1995, Castle Records become conscious of 44 X ES and new contracts are signed. "Banish Silence" is now out since May 1995.

...and we have only just started!

Heiko Grein date of birth: 03.05.1965, frankfurt main grown up in frankfurt/main job: cycle-messenger/student (greetings to the london messenger) hobbys: running around, clearing away , doing the dishes residence: a small flat somewhere in bremen

musical history: first guitar at the age of 19. a few more instruments and funny technical equipment later. ("i like these little led so much...") a lot of jammin' with a lot of people, but no real band at all. also jamming with markus in 1993. the start of it all.

favourites : a lot of hard-rock, starting up in the seventies. ac/dc (the early ones), black sabbath, further on glam-rock bands: queen (the early ones) up to the eigthies: joy division, bauhaus, acts around the birthday party, einstÅrzende neubauten, test department and other industrial-bands frankie goes to hollywood and more trevor horn acts, nineties: around ministry (skatenigs, revcocks) house-music, dancefloor, tekkno and a lot of well done pop-music. favourit meal: pizza, garlic instrument: mouth and throat
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Dietmar Pöppke 26.04.1970, verden

woke up somewhere in a little village. job: student, bottle-opener hobby: relaxing, drinking coffee residence: living at the hostel with markus

musical history: every kind of hard stuff. first drumset at the age of 14 persuading friends to buy themselves guitars. drummer in the metal-punk band "children of riot" (bremen) at the age of 17. they did some demo- tapes, live shows. recorded one lp, it was never released, cause of the label went bankrupt.

favourites : ac/dc, metallica, kissssssssssssssssssssssss !!!!!!!! later on speed - and trash metal

favourit meal: chips instrument: drumming and noising  44xes personal biographies

markus gronostay, 09.12.1966, marburg growing up very long job: can-opener, packer at the harbour, student hobby: something very strange without any chance to translate this! residence: living at the hostel with dietmar

musical history: bought his first and last "special price" guitar with 15, at the worlds bigest wholesale dealer. finished kindergarten and learned to blow the recorder. first band with 19. bought his first sampler in 1987. (the one we used for the "banish silence" ep)

favourites : from early eighties pop, to acid house, to tekkno/trance, movie-soundtracks , indutrial

favourit meal: chips ( red-white) instrument: german - "stromgitarre und weltraumorgel" english (?) - electro-guitar and outerspace-organ
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Raphael Kraft born 26.04.1970, hoya grown up? yes somewhere! job: sailor, packer, transport-worker, lumbermann hobby: having fun in one special place near his home-town. residence: sailor-hostel

musical history: first trumpet at the age of 12. trying to cut an egg with the strings of his first guitar at the age of 18. ("he never told us, if it works...") jamming with dietmar and friends. 1992 guitarplayer in an old punk-HC-band (bremen) where he met heiko a first, short time in 1993.

favourites : mike oldfield, metal-acts of the eighties, later on hardcore, right now radio but nothing else

favourit meal : everything except caper (maybe you understand...) instrument: sixstring electro-fence ------------------------------------------------------------------

KERRANG, July 1st (by Malcolm Dome)

Live Review - Fabrik, Magdeburg, Germany, Wednesday, May 24th

"44 X ES are something a frightening proposition when faced in the raw. They are a magnificent engine of fume, ferocity and fury - all wrapped in warped sense of humor. Industrial? Yep. Metal? UH-HUH. Melodic? Absolutely. And yet 44 X ES manage to neatly sidestep the trap of falling between all the stools. What they do is deliver uniquely combative, modern rock music that fits with NINE INCH NAILS, MINISTRY, MISERY LOVES CO., and Therapy?. Frontman Heiko Grein pulses with rage, blessed with an undead voice like he gargles with Glen Bartons blood. As for guitarist Markus Gronostay, he rips out some of the most electric riffs this side of hell. As one onlooker said: "Offstage he is such a nice bloke. But on stage, he looks like he would kill his gran for a coupla quid!" But this goes beyond mere personalities. There is a mesmeric reactivity th the songs that bring them to the boil. There is "No Ones dream (Hey Hey)", which opens with awesome Doom toll, before generating a veritable thrashing climax. There is "Rattrax", which is so hummably evil it brings the pain of pleasure to the senses. There ist "East" which has one of the grooviest riffs of 1995. There is "Body or Soul" fusing intensity and danceability with arrogant ease. They are heading this way soon. If you have a pulse, youl will be there!"

Metal Hammer, July 1995

NOW this is interesting. When some of the more extreme bands around (DLD, Godflesh, Pitch Shifter) began experimenting with technology, utilising tools usually used by dance and techno musicians, it was disappointing that the majority of it was either industrial noise or 200bpm grinds that went nowhere. But German band "44XES" have approached things differently. Ostensibly a death metal band, with vocalist Heiko Greins rasping growls, speedy riffs and gunshot beets, they use vocal samples, chopping keyboard riffs and sweeping synth chords, all of which would be at home in any good, hard rechno track, and weld them to the songs. Not all of it works-the sampled orchestra sounds on "Bend or Break" sit uneasily with the trashy guitars. But when it gels, as on "The Colour of Overload" it makes for a very heavy challenging sound."

Bryn Roberts

Metal Hammer (Germany) 05/95

"The debut mini album 'Banish Silence' from 44XES, who secure their position among the most promising newcomers with a colorful mixture of fierce hardcore- rythms, Full-bodied guitarriffs and intelligently inserted keyboard sequences. In songs like "Neon Bugs","Bend or Break","USS Headfucker" or "Trans Am" they do not trash at random but created, with sense and taste, little hardcore/ trash/metal- mini works of art. At some points an industrial flair emerges from staccato drums and atonal singing that even "chiefindie" Trent Reznor and his Nine Inch Nails could not have done better. The two masterminds behind 44XES, Markus Gronostay and Heiko Grein, know their business and created considerable eigth highlights in a metal terrain that (when misused) can become dull easily and then, soon is a nuisance."

Matthias Mineur, 6 out of 7 points

Iron Pages, 05/95

"A fresh comes from Bremen, from a band with the extraordinary name 44 X ES. The guys have sacked their bassplayer and replaced him by a sequencer. The result can be admired on their debut "Banish Silence", on which heart-warming electro-carnage reigns together with powerful metal guitars. The boys stand out with a good mixture of melodies, machine-like driving monotony and rockfeeling. Ir really kicks and shows the way to a new direction."

Intro, 05/95

"What do a condom and a bassplayer have in common? It is safer with but more fun without! Aha! The gentlemen from 44XES hnow what is going on. But do you know one thing? I am a bassplayer, so now you will get a slating! No, just kidding! The bands first mini album offers almost 32 minutes of partly complex, partly straight industrial death that swings between the cornerstones Fear Factory, Sisters of Mercy (keyboards...) and Skrew, and present itself aggressively and skillfully performed. Really cool samples and some complex structures help to discover some- thing new again and again. Good thing!"

Christian Kruse

Like to know some voices in german:

... Endlich mal eine deutsche Band, die ihr eigenes Süppchen kocht und dem Hörer mal ein intensives Klangerlebnis beschert ... (No Quarter)

... Höhepunkt des Abends war jedoch zweifelsfrei der Auftritt von "Crash 44 X ES": Harte Klänge und lebendige Bühnenshow standen so im Einklang, daß es das Publikum nicht mehr hielt. ...

Kostengünstige Ohrenspülung Bremer Formation "Crash for Excess" entzückte ihr Publikum ... "UNO-Schutzzone" für Rock- und Metalfans umgestalten ... ... Wie man unter Zuhilfenahme von modernen Instrumenten einen solchen infernalischen Lärm veranstalten kann, bleibt wohl das Geheimnis der Bremer Band ... (Die Norddeutsche, 4/94)

... Die gut gelungene Kombination von brachialen Gitarren und Technoelementen brachte des Hörers Kick! ... (Intro, 3/94)

BREMER, 5/94

BANDPORTRAIT: CRASH FOR EXCESS - 44 X ES

"Was sich Sepp Herberger unter der Aussage "elf Freunde sollt ihr sein" als Ideal einer Fußballmannschaft vorstellte, wurde bei der Bremer Gruppe "Crash For Excess" Realität: Die vier Musiker haben nach einem knappen Jahr Arbeit ein "vorläufiges Maximum an musikalischer wie persönlicher Einheit erreicht", so Sänger Heiko Grein.

Da CrashXXXX - wie die Gruppe von nun an im Text genannt werden soll - ohne einen Bassisten arbeitet, ist zu Beginn unseres Gespräches natürlich der Witz zum Thema fällig: "Was haben ein Kondom und ein Bassist gemeinsam? Mit ist sicherer, aber ohne macht mehr Spaß" (Markus Gronostay). CrashXXXX haben sich für das Jahr 1994 hohe Ziele gesteckt, die es zu erreichen gilt, und dabei war der Auftritt im Modernes beim Rockförderpreis nur eine nette Überraschung. Von Beginn an übernahmen Dietmar, Heiko, Markus und Raphael selbständig sämtliche Arbeitsbereiche, die neben der Musik an- fallen: Booking, Promotion, Produktion der Demos, etc. Bei den Texten, die von Heiko geschrieben werden, gibt es keine strengen Regeln hinsichtlich der Themen. Politisches, etwa die Bombardierung Bagdads, ist genauso interessant für ihn, wie ganz alltägliche Geschichten. Der Beginn von CrashXXXX war - wie bei so vielen anderen Gruppen - der Split einer anderen Band. Zwei vom Schicksal gebeutelte Gitarristen hatten die Nase voll von Schlagzeugern und Bassisten und ersetzten diese durch Sequenzer und Drumcomputer. Nach langen Diskussionen über den Bandnamen war die Gruppe mit dem Namen Crash for Excess geboren. Da· trotz des massiven Einsatzes von Computern Dietmar Pöppke am Schlagzeug sitzt, macht sicherlich den Charme der Musik aus, obwohl die musikalische Härte und Intensität von CrashXXXX und die Beschreibung charmant auf den ersten Blick nicht unbedingt zusammen passen wollen. Metal-Gitarren treffen auf Techno-Rhythmen, oder Dancefloor-Elemente werden von hardcoremäßigem Gesang begleitet. Was die Hippies in den Sechzigern als Ideologie vor sich hertrugen, wird hier manifestiert: Anything goes! Die Arbeit der Gruppe ist in zwei Teile gegliedert: Zum einen entstehen Titel auf dem 'klassischen' Weg im Übungsraum und zum anderen bei Heiko und Markus auf dem Computer. "Die Idee für einen neuen Titel kann ebenso ein guter Gitarrenriff sein, wie auch eine Rhythmusschleife aus dem Computer, die dann gemeinsam im Übungsraum bearbeitet wird", erklärt Raphael. Bei ihrer Arbeit sind Crash for Excess vier Musiker ohne Launen oder Ideolo- gien, aber nicht ohne Temperament; und weil sie wissen, daß die - schon jetzt - von ihnen vorgelegte Professionalität im Musikgeschäft unerläßlich ist, werden sie sich behaupten."