History & Biography Most bands do not live one life let alone two. Risk was Faithful Breath before adopting the new monicker in 1986. The roots of the band went all the way to the late 1960s when the band played rock, progressive rock, heavy rock and, as Risk, eventually power and thrash metal. Risk, based in Witten by Dortmund, had disposed of Faithful Breath’s Viking image.
Singer Heimi Mikus was formerly of Faithful Breath and The Magic Power. Guitarist Thilo Hermann, bassist Peter Dell and drummer Jürgen Düsterloh were formerly of Faithful Breath. Risk disbanded in 1993. Risk did well in Germany and, to a lesser extent, in Europe, but the final two records were not as popular.
Risk escaped the clutches of Noise Records and signed with Steamhammer/SPV in June 1988 on the strength of a demo. The group was decent enough to change its name given its change of style. The band members wanted to join the speed and thrash revolution and so picked a new monicker. The band’s line-up would remain consistent during its existence with the exception of guitarist Thilo Hermann leaving (he had already departed once in 1987 to join Holy Moses before reversing his decision in 1989) in 1990 and being replaced by Christian Sumser. Roman joined after the initial demo and following several concerts in The Netherlands during which the band test drove its new songs and style.
The Daily Horror News (or The Daily Horror News... From The Lost Side Of The World) was trying to make a serious point, but its cartoonish cover artwork may have fooled many. It was recorded at Horus Studio during July and August 1988. It appeared immediately in September 1988. Risk had hired caricaturist Sebastian Krüger, who had already worked for the likes of Tankard and Destruction, as its cover artist. The album was well-received nevertheless and followed by Hell's Animals. The group appeared at the Heavy Metal Festival in 1988. The band also opened for Sabbat and Rage for roughly 30 days. The debut and sophomore sold well. The Ratman EP of October 1989 featured the same Rat as on Hell’s Animals, but in prominence. The EP contained a track that was the second full-length’s bonus song. There was a joke song called Germans that was probably inspired by Living Death’s Eisbein (Mit Sauerkraut) from two years earlier. The animal ensemble cast was back to adorn the cover of Dirty Surfaces. The title was stylized as Dirty SURFaces as the animals were surfing. Despite the record’s success Hermann left again, this time in order to form his own act. The group toured Europe as headliners with Raven. The Reborn followed its predecessor by two years and addressed the situation with humanity and featured Ravana the Hindu king of demons. The affair featured a sitar. Touring was with Gamma Ray. Turpitude again looked different, sounded different and was the end. It arrived at the end of 1993. Peter Dell had already departed. Roman Keymer left citing Tinnitus. SPV did not renew the band’s contract either.
That was it for Mikus, but German metal musicians have been performing the musical shuffle since the 1980s and so other members of Risk were also in Rage (the band and Rage had played together), Grave Digger, Holy Moses (Thilo Hermann left to Holy Moses in 1988 and returned), Glenmore (Thilo Hermann as of 1996) and Running Wild (Risk and Running Wild had shared a stage in Prague, Czechoslovakia). Jürgen Düsterloh died in 2014. Hermann reappeared on songs by Argentina-based Feanor thirty years later.
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