History & Biography Dan Kurtz and Curt Daugherty founded Oklahoma, USA-based power metal band Oliver Magnum in October 1983. Dan, Curt and Monte had jammed together even before then as they were school-mates. An instrumental session and concert followed before the band recruited singer Mark Mueller. The line-up recorded a successful demo tape called 01986, named for the year it was recorded in, but Mark and heavy metal had a falling out in 1988 and so singer James Randel was in. The band appeared on Metal Massacre IX compilation and had opened for Metal Church in 1986. The perennial failure and rip-off New Renaissance chased and eventually signed the band and issued the debut album. The album sold no better than the group’s independent release and the contract was over. This, despite the band touring heavily around the USA. Randel left and was replaced by Jimmy King in 1989. This man did not last and Mueller was back as the band recorded a new demo called Drive By in 1992. The band was heard on split releases with Foul Play, called Necessary Evil, and other, called Wrath Of Deathrash, before officially hanging it up - having showcased at SxSW and toured with Animosity in the prior years - in 1997. Curt Daugherty died in 2022.
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