Artist

Michael Schenker Group

London, United Kingdom · Formed 1979

Michael Schenker Group is a music group from London, United Kingdom, active since 1979. Their discography on Gatefold includes 24 records.

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Albums tracked

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1979

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Biography

Michael Schenker walked out on UFO because he couldn't stand the booze, the fights, or the pressure. He took his signature black-and-white Gibson Flying V, plugged it into a modified Marshall JMP head, and set out to build a band where nobody could tell him what to do. The debut self-titled record in 1980 was a clinic in hard rock guitar. Simon Phillips played drums like a freight train, Mo Foster kept the bass locked down, and producer Roger Glover polished the edges just enough to get it on the radio without stripping the gears. Then the egos got in the way. Schenker was a genius but a total nightmare to work with, leading to a revolving door of singers, rhythm sections, and producers that made the band's catalog look like a bus station timetable. He hired Cozy Powell, fired Gary Barden, hired Graham Bonnet, and fired Bonnet after one legendary, drunken warm-up gig where Bonnet exposed himself on stage. The music suffered when they chased the slick American radio sound in the mid-80s. But when Schenker was on, his fluid, neoclassical leads made every other player of his generation look like they were wearing boxing gloves.

Bio from The Clerk

The Arc of Michael Schenker Group

The pivots — what forced Michael Schenker Group to reinvent.

The Session Giant Blueprint
Schenker locked himself in the studio for the 1980 debut with a handpicked crew of heavy-duty session veterans who could actually execute his complex arrangements. Producer Roger Glover balanced Schenker's raw, high-gain Flying V tone with the surgical precision of drummer Simon Phillips and keyboardist Don Airey. The result was a masterclass in metal dynamics. You hear the payoff on "Armed and Ready," where the rhythm track stays rigid and lean, giving Schenker the space to lay down those perfectly articulated, singing lead lines.
The Cozy Powell Heavyweight Era
For the follow-up album MSG in 1981, Schenker brought in legendary powerhouse drummer Cozy Powell to replace the session guys with a permanent, arena-ready lineup. Producer Ron Nevison came in to capture a bigger, more aggressive live sound, but the studio tension between Powell and Schenker was constant. The rhythm section became a massive, thudding wall that pushed Schenker to play faster and with more venom. It gave tracks like "Attack of the Mad Axeman" a menacing, physical weight that the debut lacked.
The Graham Bonnet Collision
In 1982, Schenker fired singer Gary Barden and hired former Rainbow frontman Graham Bonnet for the Assault Attack sessions. They took the band to the Château d'Hérouville studio in France with producer Martin Birch to capture a darker, more progressive heavy metal sound. Bonnet's throat-shredding vocal delivery forced Schenker to write tighter, punchier riffs to match the intensity. The partnership collapsed almost immediately after the record was finished, but the title track remains the heaviest, most cohesive thing the band ever recorded.

Influences

Leslie West — Schenker has repeatedly cited Mountain's frontman as his primary guitar hero. You hear this influence in the massive, singing vibrato and the heavy, saturated guitar tone on "Into the Arena." He took West's pentatonic blues-rock phrasing and sped it up to neoclassical tempos.
Jeff Beck — Schenker pointed to Beck's fluid, vocal-like guitar style as the blueprint for his own instrumental work. The melodic phrasing on "Bijou Pleasurette" directly mirrors the expressive, microtonal bends Beck used on his mid-70s fusion records. It is the sound of a guitar trying to mimic a human voice.
Rory Gallagher — Schenker saw Gallagher live during his early years in Germany and was transfixed by the Irishman's relentless, high-energy attack. That frantic, digging-in-with-the-pick intensity is all over the main riff of "Ready to Rock." It is the same blue-collar, no-bullshit drive that Gallagher brought to his live shows.
The Shadows — Before he discovered heavy distortion, a young Schenker learned to play by studying Hank Marvin's clean, melodic instrumental leads. You can trace the clean, structured theme of "Courvoisier Concier" directly back to Marvin's precise, echo-laden surf-rock melodies. It taught Schenker that a guitar solo needs to be a song within a song.
Deep Purple — Schenker spent his teenage years chasing Richie Blackmore's neoclassical scale runs and aggressive rock delivery. He even hired Purple's bassist Roger Glover to produce his debut album to capture that same organ-and-guitar interplay. The classical minor-key structures on "Lost Horizons" are pure Blackmore worship, built on a foundation of heavy British blues.