Rough Silk

Formed in 1989 and originally comprising Jan Barnett (vocals/guitar), Herbert Hartmann (vocals/drums), Ferdy Doernberg (vocals/keyboards/guitar), Hilmer Staacke (d. 25 May 2006; guitar) and Ralf Schwertner (bass), Hannover, Germany-based rock band Rough Silk represented part of the new wave of European rock music. With an easily detectable bent towards American AOR stylings, in the vein of bands such as Rainbow, Bon Jovi and REO Speedwagon, Rough Silk struggled to throw off accusations of imitation. However, they have proved competent at their craft, most notably on two early 90s albums recorded at Dieter Dierks’ German studio. The second of these, Walls Of Never, was the better, with songs such as ‘Toxical Roses’ and ‘One More For The Ride’ demonstrating the band’s ability to tackle contrasting material without losing momentum. Hartmann, Doernberg and Schwertner remained at the helm into the new millennium on a series of albums for the Massacre and SPV labels. Other members have included Thomas Ludolphy (vocals), Andreas Laszewski (guitar), Curt Doernberg (drums) and Nils Wunderlich (vocals/guitar).
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