Poltergeist, originally called Carrion, was a Swiss power thrash metal band which played from 1987 to 1993. Poltergeist made a total of two full-length albums and three demos under Century Media Records

Century Media Records

Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...

. They also made a single and a full-length album under Haunted House Records.

Name Change

Originally called Carrion, this band was not named Poltergeist until the studio recording of Poltergeist's first demo in 1987. Carrion made a total of 2 demos, (Demo '85, and Evil is There!) and 1 full length album, Evil is There!, under Sri Lanca Recording Studios, which only signed off one band in their history, Carrion, in 1986 before the name of the band changed for unknown purposes. The most notable difference between Carrion and Poltergeist is the lyrics changing from occult, antichrist, demonic, etc. in Carrion to power metal influenced fictional lyrics and romance in Poltergeist.

Style

Poltergeist's style began as a mix between power metal

Power metal

Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...

 and thrash metal

Thrash metal

Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

 in their debut album Depression, but focused on just thrash metal in their second album Behind My Mask. Their third and final album, Nothing Lasts Forever

Nothing Lasts Forever

Nothing Lasts Forever may refer to:*Nothing Lasts Forever , a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp from which the movie Die Hard was adapted*Nothing Lasts Forever , a 1984 film...

, was about the same, just with more vocal chords and less blast beats.

Last Known Line Up

• André Grieder - Vocals
• V.O. Pulver - Guitars (Vocals in Carrion, only original member)
• Marek Felis - Bass
• Peter Haas - Drums

Former Members (Members that left before the break-up)

Guitar:

• V.C. Schäfer (Carrion only)

Bass:

• Graf (Played up to Poltergeist's Depression album)
• Thomas Steiner
  Thomas Steiner
  Thomas Steiner , is an Austrian experimental film director of short films, and painter.He was born in 1956 in Wels, Austria. He studied at the College of Design in Linz and at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna. 1979 he war one of the founders of the Stadtwerkstatt , Linz. In 1986 he established...
  
   (Carrion only)

Drums:

• Rolf "Jazzi" Heer (Played up to Poltergeist's Depression album)
• Alex (Only played on Poltergeist's Behind the Mask album)
• Walter Schäfer (Carrion only)

Discography

Evil is There! (Carrion) - (Demo, 1985)

Evil is There! (Carrion) - (Full-Length, 1986)

1st Demo - (Demo, 1987)

Writing on the Wall - (Demo, 1988)

Depression - (Full-Length, 1989)

Behind My Mask - (Full-Length, 1991)

Promo-Demo '91 - (Demo, 1991)

Tell Me / Nothing Lasts Forever - (Single, 1992)

Nothing Lasts Forever - (Full-Length, 1993)

Post Break-Up

After Poltergeist's break-up in 1993, singer André Grieder recorded vocals on the Cracked Brain

Cracked Brain

Cracked Brain is the fourth full-length studio album by Destruction. It is the only album of their official discography not to feature Schmier on vocals...

album for thrash metal band Destruction

Destruction

Destruction may refer to:* Destruction Bay, Yukon, Canada* Destruction , a German thrash metal band* Destruction , one of the Endless in Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman...

. V.O. Pulver and Marek Felis went on to form the heavy metal band Gurd in 1994, widely known as "the band that came out of the ashes of Poltergeist". Drummer Peter Haas went on to play in the bands Mekong Delta

Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...

, Babylon Sad, Calhoun Conquer, Krokus

Krokus (band)

Krokus is a hard rock/heavy metal band from Switzerland. They enjoyed moderate success in North America during the 1980s.Krokus was founded in Solothurn in 1974 by bassist Chris von Rohr and guitarist Tommy Kiefer...

, Clockwork

Clockwork

A clockwork is the inner workings of either a mechanical clock or a device that operates in a similar fashion. Specifically, the term refers to a mechanical device utilizing a complex series of gears....

, Ain't Dead Yet, and Coroner

Coroner

A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...

. Former drummer Rolf Heer played for Braindead

Braindead

Braindead may refer to:*Brain death, medical condition defined as a complete and irreversible cessation of brain activity*Braindead , horror and zombie comedy directed by Peter Jackson...

, and Messiah

Messiah

A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...

. All other former members played for Poltergeist (some only played for Carrion) for a short amount of time, and never played in another band.