Artillery, a Danish thrash band that formed in 1982, remains underrated and underappreciated when it comes to other bands from that era.
With riff after blazing riff, Artillery’s early sound fit right in alongside thrash pioneers like Metallica and Megadeth. Artillery released three unrelenting albums — “Fear of Tomorrow” in 1985, “Terror Squad” in 1987 and “By Inheritance” in 1990 — before breaking up in 1991. They reformed in 1998 and disbanded again in 2000. A four-disc box set in 2007 coincided with the band’s return in 2007 and they’ve been back ever since.
Among various lineup changes and tragedies — founding guitarist Morten Stützer died in 2019 and drummer Josua Madsen was killed in 2023 when he was hit by a bus — Artillery has persevered. Dating back to 1983, guitarist Michael Stützer has been in all three incarnations of the band, which is currently playing across North America on a 40th anniversary tour. That tour includes a stop on April 8 at Preserving Underground in New Kensington.
In an email interview, Stützer discussed the group’s legacy, the “Big Four” of thrash metal and the band’s bucket list:
How do you view Artillery’s legacy in the broader context of heavy metal?
I think the fact that we started playing this style all the way back in 1982 makes us a bit legendary, because at that time there was not so many bands playing thrash metal, and we are still playing this music.
Are you content/comfortable with your place in the industry?
Basically yes, we are in it because we love to play.
Some people consider Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax the “Big Four” of thrash metal? Do you think that’s accurate? If not, who do you think belongs in that conversation?
I think it should have been big 5 including Exodus.
Have you ever got to play with Metallica? That seems like it would be a perfect musical match.
We shared rehearsal with them back in the ’80s when they recorded “Ride the Lightning” and “Master of Puppets” in our and Mercyful Fate’s rehearsal room. But we never played with, but still hope to get a chance to play with them.
Is there anything on your musical bucket list you haven’t done yet?
Yes, being on tour with some of my favorite bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Metallica. And we still want to play places like Iceland, Greenland, Bulgaria and South Korea where we never had been. We have played in over 70 countries so that’s important for us to go to places we never had before.
Do you have any new music in the pipeline?
Yes, we just started to work on new songs, and we have one new song “Ghost in The Machine” with us on this tour to USA and Canada.
Mike Palm is a TribLive digital producer who also writes music reviews and features. A Westmoreland County native, he joined the Trib in 2001, where he spent years on the sports copy desk, including serving as night sports editor. He has been with the multimedia staff since 2013. He can be reached at mpalm@triblive.com.
If you go
Who: Artillery, Vapor, Potential Threat
When: 7 p.m. April 8
Where: Preserving Underground, New Kensington
Tickets: Starting at $18, ticketspice.com