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  Translated & edited from their official site: Anfall was founded when some punk-loving childhood friends from Hannover got together on New Year's Eve of 1989 to just have some fun. Frustrated, however, by the "Frickelcore" (???) and Grunge style that had pervaded the underground German music scene, they decided that original hard punk rock with German lyrics was just what the thirsty musical landscape needed and their practice room, from session to session, was filled with more enthusiastic attendees each time. Under the helpful hand of Jay Lansford (Simpletones, Stepmothers, Channel 3 and now Gigantor), friend of band founder Rudey, the band took on a more serious aspect. Various demos were recorded, one of which ended up in the hands of German punk legends, Hass. In fact, Hass was so enthused by Anfall's sound that they offered the band the chance to release a 7" single on the Hass-Production Label. This was viewed as a great opportunity but there was one problem - their bass player, Fietje, had to quit due to severe hearing loss (or a mild breakdown, if the incomplete English version from their site is more correct). This was one week before they were to start recording and the studio had been booked. So Rudey asked his old, and previously mentioned, friend, Jay, if he could fill in on bass and it was bliss. He hammered the songs out with perfection on the first takes. The single was finished in the winter of 1993 and was released a short time later. The first production of 1000 was on green vinyl and sold out in 8 weeks, and the second press on black vinyl is extremely hard to find now. Cult-like parties ensued with the band picking up Marco as their full-time bass player since Jay was just too busy with other bands to tour the club scene with them. Anfall songs were included on various samplers and finally in Feb. 1995, the long awaited full length debut, "Die Wahrheit ist anders", was released. The reactions, from small punkzines to established rock/metal and indie magazines were excellent. Playing as the support band for Hass, Anfall found themselves playing packed sold-out clubs - quite a difference from the 50-some audiences they were used to. It was now clear that work needed to begin on the next album. In the middle of 1996, their second album, "Menschen sind Scheisse" came out and was lauded as even better than it's predecessor. Countless concerts followed and the band was represented on all the big punk compilations. In the beginning of 1997, the band entered the studio to work on a limited edition 4-song split-CD but there was again a problem - for health reasons and based on his doctor's orders, their drummer Maik had to leave the band and shortly after this their bassist, Marco, decided he'd had enough of the punk rock music life. Did they give up? No way! And like a knight in shining armor, Jay Lansford once again came to the rescue, this time as their permanent bass player and fellow ex-Channel 3 member, Tilo, joined the band as drummer. After a short pause, the band made their first appearances with the new line-up at the Partisanen Festivals, amongst others. They also finally brought this new configuration into the studio where they recorded a cover version of the Ramones' song, "The Crusher", for the Ramones tribute album, "Blitzkrieg Over You". This version of the song is, by the way, the entrance music for the Liverpool wrestler (and Anfall fan) Robbie Brookside who is aided at times on ringside by guitarrist, Rudy. This helped alot towards the band getting noticed in the daily presses. With the new line-up also came a time of revamping the Anfall sound and the second half of 1999 was dedicated to this. While everything had previously been written solely by Rudey, it was now paired with the experienced influence of Jay. The new album was recorded in the legendary Stage One Studios with Andy Classen (Richthofen, Rykers, Brightside, Pete Wells/Rose Tattoo). The new album was called "Feuer, Eis, Energie" and appeared on the Dortmund label Century Media. It was released on both CD and vinyl but the CD had the bonus of a video of the title song. In September of 2003 their fourth long play album, "Zurück Nach Nirgendwo", came out & a tour began in October. It also includes some English tracks provided by Jay creating a self-described "American- British Punk rock mixture in the style of the 80's". Check it out! A new line-up is now in force by the way & the new picture reflects it :)
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