Mark Cross
Encyclopedia
Mark Cross is a hard rock
and heavy metal
drummer
. He was born to an English
father and German
mother, raised in Germany and later moved to Greece. Cross has played in many bands in his career and is based in London, England, England
Mark grew up in 3 countries and speaks fluent English, German, Greek and some French.
Over the past 25 years he has been working as a professional Musician with known bands and artists, who gave him great reputation in the international music industry as a musician and drummer.
Bands in his roster such as legendary German Power metallers Helloween and Metalium, Deep Purple’s frontman Ian Gillan, gold sellers Kingdom Come, British classic rockers SARACEN, Greek Metallers Firewind, melodic Rock outfit Outloud, Whitesnake’s and Thin Lizzy’s Bass player Marco Mendoza and NWOBHM pioneers Tank and working with known Producers such as Chris Tsangaredes, Charly Bauerfeind, Frederik Nordstrom, Kip Winger and Tommy Hansen have left a great mark in his career.
In 2002, Cross was forced to leave his position in Helloween
when he was diagnosed with mononucleosis
, a severe virus that affected his immune system and ability to play, but has since fully recovered. In the end he recorded only two tracks with Helloween, both of which eventually featured on their Rabbit Don't Come Easy
album in 2003.
After recovering nearly one year later in 2005 he featured as a session and touring musician for At Vance
and also appeared on the British rock band Saracen's latest album, Vox in Excelso and Winter's Bane
's comeback album, Redivivus
.
With Firewind
he released Allegiance
in July 2006, and toured with them extensively throughout the world in 2006 and 2007 playing more than 150 shows. With their album The Premonition
released in April 2008, he and Firewind started their world tour in Europe in April - May followed by thirty concerts in North America with Swedish metallers Arch Enemy. For the summer they announced various festivals and their headline tour in Europe starting on 15 September in the UK. On 13 January 2010 Cross announced that he and Firewind had split. While Cross was not pictured in any of the album artwork or the line up for Firewind's latest album Days of Defiance
, he was credited in the liner notes for performing all drums on the album.
In 2009 Cross and his former band mate Bob Katsionis from Firewind launched and released a new band and album Outloud "We'll rock you to hell..." by Frontiers Records and gained superb press feedback.
On July 27th this year Outloud's second album «Love Catastrophe» was released by AOR Heaven across Europe which once more gained tremendous reviews from the world press. In June they opened a show for Twisted Sister in Athens, Greece and will play 4 more shows in Greece in November/December this year!
More dates are planned to be launched in February 2012 in other Europian countries.
Also in October 2010 Cross announced UK band Tainted Nation with main song writer Pete Newdeck on vocals (drummer of Eden's Curse, ex Killerrs, Grim Reaper), Ian Nash on Guitar (Steve Grimmet band) and Pontus Egberg on Bass (The Poodles).
TN have currently finished mixing their debut album, but no label or release date details have been announced yet. They will tour the UK in October and December 2011.
In the meantime Mark is also busy on the road with NWOBHM veterans Tank and will soon be in the studio recording with them a new album! Featuring original members Mick Tucker and Cliff Evans on guitar, Doogie White
on vocals and Chris Dale on Bass.
Cross has been known to use Paiste
cymbals, Tama Drums, Vic Firth
drumsticks, Evans
drumheads and cymbal
s in the shape of Iron Cross
es made by [Factory Metal Percussion].
In his free time Mark gives private and online drum lessons and workshops all over the world.
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
. He was born to an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
father and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
mother, raised in Germany and later moved to Greece. Cross has played in many bands in his career and is based in London, England, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Mark grew up in 3 countries and speaks fluent English, German, Greek and some French.
Over the past 25 years he has been working as a professional Musician with known bands and artists, who gave him great reputation in the international music industry as a musician and drummer.
Bands in his roster such as legendary German Power metallers Helloween and Metalium, Deep Purple’s frontman Ian Gillan, gold sellers Kingdom Come, British classic rockers SARACEN, Greek Metallers Firewind, melodic Rock outfit Outloud, Whitesnake’s and Thin Lizzy’s Bass player Marco Mendoza and NWOBHM pioneers Tank and working with known Producers such as Chris Tsangaredes, Charly Bauerfeind, Frederik Nordstrom, Kip Winger and Tommy Hansen have left a great mark in his career.
In 2002, Cross was forced to leave his position in Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
when he was diagnosed with mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis is an infectious, widespread viral...
, a severe virus that affected his immune system and ability to play, but has since fully recovered. In the end he recorded only two tracks with Helloween, both of which eventually featured on their Rabbit Don't Come Easy
Rabbit Don't Come Easy
Rabbit Don't Come Easy is the tenth album by the German power metal/heavy metal band Helloween. It is something of a return to the roots for the band. Rabbit Don't Come Easy combines many old classic Helloween elements with newer sounds and a modern production.No drummer is listed in the band...
album in 2003.
After recovering nearly one year later in 2005 he featured as a session and touring musician for At Vance
At Vance
At Vance is a German power metal/Neo-classical metal band. They were formed by vocalist Oliver Hartmann and guitarist Olaf Lenk in 1998.-Biography:...
and also appeared on the British rock band Saracen's latest album, Vox in Excelso and Winter's Bane
Winter's Bane
Winters Bane are a heavy/power metal band, formed in 1990.They have gone through extensive line-up changes throughout their history with only guitarist and sometime-vocalist Lou St...
's comeback album, Redivivus
Redivivus
Redivivus is Winters Bane third album, released on April 11th 2006 by DCA Recordings.-Track listing:#"Seal the Light" - 4:53#"Spark to Flame" - 5:29#"The World" - 4:19#"Dead Faith" - 4:24#"Catching the Sun" - 4:50#"Remember to Forget" - 4:17...
.
With Firewind
Firewind
Firewind is a Greek power metal band. Formed in 1998, the group is currently signed to Century Media Records and was originally a small project created by guitarist, Gus G. to showcase his demo, Nocturnal Symphony in 1998. Firewind later became a full band over three years later when they recorded...
he released Allegiance
Allegiance (album)
-Band members:* Apollo Papathanasio – vocals* Gus G. – guitars* Babis Katsionis – keyboards* Petros Christodoylidis – bass* Mark Cross – drums, backing vocals on "Allegiance"-Guest musicians:* Tara Teresa – vocals on "Breaking the Silence"...
in July 2006, and toured with them extensively throughout the world in 2006 and 2007 playing more than 150 shows. With their album The Premonition
The Premonition (album)
The Premonition is the fifth full-length album by Firewind and their only album to feature the same line-up as its predecessor. Gus G. said "we basically kept the Allegiance 'winning team' together" much to the apparent surprise of fans....
released in April 2008, he and Firewind started their world tour in Europe in April - May followed by thirty concerts in North America with Swedish metallers Arch Enemy. For the summer they announced various festivals and their headline tour in Europe starting on 15 September in the UK. On 13 January 2010 Cross announced that he and Firewind had split. While Cross was not pictured in any of the album artwork or the line up for Firewind's latest album Days of Defiance
Days of Defiance
Days of Defiance is the sixth studio album by Greek heavy metal band Firewind. It was released on October 25, 2010 in Europe and October 26 in North America.- Track listing :# "The Ark Of Lies" - 4:45# "World On Fire" - 4:39# "Chariot" - 4:39...
, he was credited in the liner notes for performing all drums on the album.
In 2009 Cross and his former band mate Bob Katsionis from Firewind launched and released a new band and album Outloud "We'll rock you to hell..." by Frontiers Records and gained superb press feedback.
On July 27th this year Outloud's second album «Love Catastrophe» was released by AOR Heaven across Europe which once more gained tremendous reviews from the world press. In June they opened a show for Twisted Sister in Athens, Greece and will play 4 more shows in Greece in November/December this year!
More dates are planned to be launched in February 2012 in other Europian countries.
Also in October 2010 Cross announced UK band Tainted Nation with main song writer Pete Newdeck on vocals (drummer of Eden's Curse, ex Killerrs, Grim Reaper), Ian Nash on Guitar (Steve Grimmet band) and Pontus Egberg on Bass (The Poodles).
TN have currently finished mixing their debut album, but no label or release date details have been announced yet. They will tour the UK in October and December 2011.
In the meantime Mark is also busy on the road with NWOBHM veterans Tank and will soon be in the studio recording with them a new album! Featuring original members Mick Tucker and Cliff Evans on guitar, Doogie White
Doogie White
Doogie White , is a Scottish rock vocalist, who has sung for Midnight Blue, Rainbow, Cornerstone, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Praying Mantis and Rata Blanca...
on vocals and Chris Dale on Bass.
Cross has been known to use Paiste
Paiste
Paiste, a Swiss manufacturer and designer, is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. Paiste is an Estonian/Finnish word which means "shine"...
cymbals, Tama Drums, Vic Firth
Vic Firth
Vic Firth is an American musician and is the founder of Vic Firth Company , a percussion stick and mallet manufacturing company that he started in 1963. The company bills itself as the world's largest manufacturer of drum sticks and mallets...
drumsticks, Evans
Evans
Evans may refer to:people*Evans *for a particular person with the surname, see the List of people with surname Evans.place*Evans, California in the United States*Evans, Colorado in the United States*Evans, Georgia in the United States...
drumheads and cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s in the shape of Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
es made by [Factory Metal Percussion].
In his free time Mark gives private and online drum lessons and workshops all over the world.
Bands currently featuring Mark Cross
Bands to have featured Mark Cross
- Ian GillanIan GillanIan Gillan is an English rock music vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple. During his career Gillan also fronted his own band, had a year-long stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath, and sang the role of Jesus in the original recording of Andrew Lloyd...
- Nightfall
- MetaliumMetaliumMetalium was a power metal band from Hamburg, Germany. Their style of music was that of the traditional power metal sound which was pioneered in Hamburg by bands such as Helloween and Blind Guardian...
- HelloweenHelloweenHelloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
- The SupremacyThe SupremacyThe Supremacy is a melodic power metal supergroup formed in 2003 by Bill Hudson and Fernando Giovanetti. The band comprises members from the USA, UK, Brazil and Holland, and from bands such as Helloween, Firewind and Cellador...
- Kingdom ComeKingdom Come (band)Kingdom Come is a hard rock band fronted by Hamburg-born vocalist Lenny Wolf. The group's first album, Kingdom Come was that band's only international hit. It currently consists of an entirely German line-up.-History:...
- At VanceAt VanceAt Vance is a German power metal/Neo-classical metal band. They were formed by vocalist Oliver Hartmann and guitarist Olaf Lenk in 1998.-Biography:...
- Winter's BaneWinter's BaneWinters Bane are a heavy/power metal band, formed in 1990.They have gone through extensive line-up changes throughout their history with only guitarist and sometime-vocalist Lou St...
- Saracen
- FirewindFirewindFirewind is a Greek power metal band. Formed in 1998, the group is currently signed to Century Media Records and was originally a small project created by guitarist, Gus G. to showcase his demo, Nocturnal Symphony in 1998. Firewind later became a full band over three years later when they recorded...