Vágtázó Halottkémek

Vágtázó Halottkémek ("Galloping Coroners"), -also known as VHK and Rasende Leichenbeschauer- was a Hungarian rock band active from 1975–2001, and briefly reformed in 2009 and 2013. The band established a unique "shaman punk" or "psychedelic hardcore” sound, and is regarded as one of the most important alternative bands of the 1980s from the Eastern European block. Permanent restrictions by Hungarian authorities made worldwide tours difficult for the band, but its ecstatic concerts garnered surprising success across Western Europe. Though relatively obscure and commercially limited outside of Eastern Europe, Maximumrocknroll described the band as "equal in spirit and grit to faves like Sonic Youth or Big Black but with an identity all its own”. VHK has been praised as a highly important band by Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra and Einstürzende Neubauten. The band played repetitive, wild, yet melodic music, combining tribal shamanic music with rock guitars and drumming to form a uniquely pulsating and obsessive sound. Songs regularly feature ritualistic improvisation, and live shows were often accompanied by ecstatic on-stage actions.

Galloping Coroners (VHK) was formed in Budapest in 1975 by Atilla Grandpierre (singer) and his friends independently from Western world's punk movement that started 1–2 years later. Initial lineup: Atilla Grandpierre (vocal), Sándor Czakó (guitar), László Ipacs (drums), Tamás Pócs (bass guitar), Molnár György (solo guitar). More of them were graduated professionals: The group's leader and main theoretician, Atilla Grandpierre is also astrophysicist, a candidate of physical sciences, employed by the Hungarian Mathematics Institute. Guitarist Sándor Czakó is nuclear physicist, later worked on safety system of Paks Nuclear Power Plant, László Ipacs is a physicists, and Lajos Soós teacher. 

In early 70's, Budapest youngsters were talking stories about a mysterious, eccentric teenage boy, Attila Grandpierre, who was doing scandalous actions with his friends e.g. creating home-made rockets etc. As a physicstudent Grandpierre gave private lessons to the 5 year younger high-school student, László Ipacs. Grandpierre and Ipacs's mates become friends, and formed a subcultural creative community mainly driven by Grandpierre's unconvenient visions of life and music. When Ipacs and his friend Sándor Czakó, the only educated musician, formed an amateur band, Grandpierre first just helped the band with musical ideas as an external consultant. Surprisingly they won army's countrywide amateur rock contest. By that time Grandpierre as a well-known personality of Budapest underground life was invited to be singer by several amateur bands. But he was only impressed enough by the Ipacs-Czakó formation, so he joined the band in 1975. The band started to use Vágtázó Halottkémek, name suggested by Grandpierre. As Grandpierre remembers, he wanted a name that express their musical and life philosophy regarding that "people should find their way to the basic, elemental natural power of the Universe and being charged with this power should live a more perfect and active life." He felt it must be a two word band name. First, 'Galloping' tag was to express the activity, energy. The second tag took longer to find out, finally they found that 'Coroners' express greatly their feeling that people on the Earth live on a very basic level, almost like 'living deads', and the band is like the Coroners who say the diagnosis of this state.

 

 

In 1975 the band recorded their first songs. They aroused their first public acclaim among Budapest teenagers when bandmates walked along Váci Street playing VHK on cassette recorder demonstratively. VHK gave the first concert at a high-school event in 1976. The concert was stopped after 20 minutes by event supervisor singing-teacher finding the band and the audience too excited and scandalous. Fans had to wait 2 years for next concert. In 1978 the concert again was stopped because the organizers were afraid about the allegedly 'violent consequences'. Next 6 concerts were also interrupted by the authorities. In Soviet-block, Goulash-communist Hungary Galloping Coroners' ecstatic music was extremely scandalous sound vs. state controlled music scene. Though VHK didn't play political songs, authorities were afraid of a band that seemed to have 'subversive effect on youths'. VHK soon became the No.1 banned rock band and had been officially banished within Hungary for 11 years. Members were harassed by the police, observed by the secret agent net and not allowed to release an LP and make concerts legally. So in the seventies VHK had only few concerts, still the band continuously found ways to play underground concerts at various scenes. Vágtázó Halottkémek was helped to the stage by the fans of other bands, or there were concert-organizers taking the risk to be kicked out because of allowing them play. They used fake names, played as guest musicians of other bands without revelealing themselves as VHK at the concert. Due to this concerts and fan-made cassette recordings VHK's fame spread rapidly among youth communities in Budapest. By the end of 70's VHK gained countrywide reputation among youths regarded as "the wildest band in Hungary". Experimental film director Gábor Bódy recognised VHK for his 1983 film “Dog's Night Song” featuring the band and lead howler Attila Grandpierre as an actor.

VHK had no LP and forbidden to concert within Hungary, but by the 80's the band's fame reached Western Europe, first Germany through personal channels. In Gábor Bódy movie "Nachtlied des Hundes" (1983) the West-Berlin artist, author and philosopher Wolfgang Müller from the cult-band Die Tödliche Doris discover the band and invited them to West-Berlin, where they were totally unknown. The band played 1984 in Berlin-Kreuzberg Frontkino, which was already a famous underground space. Now they started to build a growing fan-base in Germany. In 1981 the first VHK song was published on a German Ata Tak's 'Fix Planet' compilation LP. From 1984 VHK played regularly in Western-Europe, despite Hungarian authorities tried to obstruct administratively, not giving passport to VHK's members to get concerts in Western-Europe. In 1986 VHK was invited to Amsterdam, that was "Cultural Capital of Europe" in that year. Dutch Queen, Beatrix should have personally pressure Hungarian authorities to give passports and allow band's performance. In 1987 Austrian chancellor, Fred Sinowatz also had to make diplomatic steps toward the Hungarian Ministry of Culture to leave VHK play in Austria. In 1982 Kristen Dehlholm, avantgarde theatre director and VHK-related artists, founded VHK's Ritual Theatre, accompanying concerts with movement and sound theatre elements. Thanks to this 1988 VHK played in the "Mythen, Monstren and Mutationen" festival in Berlin. In 1988 Einstürzende Neubauten, Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra and Iggy Pop met VHK and all of them were impressed by VHK's obsessive performance. In the last years before the collapse of Hungarian communist soft regime, VHK played with Rollins Band in Hungary. Rollins Band invited VHK for a tour in England in 1989. In 1992 they released their 3'rd LP 'Hammering on the Gates of Nothingness' both in Europe and the US. LP's title song reached 2nd position on the top-list of a Belgian music radio station, and VHK were played in numerous US college radios.

First international manager of the band was Dietmar Lupfer. VHK released with him their first 3 records, 'Teach Death a Lesson' (1988), 'Jump Out the World-Instinct' (1990), 'Hammering on the Gates of Nothingness' (1992) at Sonic Boom Records for Europe, while this LP's were released by Alternative Tentacles in the US. Despite Jello Biafra's offer to manage the band in the US, the band decided to leave Alternative Tentacles and produce next LP in USA themselves, but VHK's self-promotion failed. Between 2001-2009 VHK didn't give concerts. From 2005 band leader Atilla Grandpierre continued VHK's musical concept in neotraditional Vágtázó Csodaszarvas ("Galloping Wonder Stag"), changing electronic instruments into traditional Hungarian acoustic folk instruments, developed a clear, modern still ancient style. In 2009 Grandpierre renewed VHK, releasing 'Forgószél!' ('Tornado!') LP, under "Galloping Life Power" band name. The "Coroners" tag was changed to "Life Power" to express more directly Grandpierre's fully positive life attitude, as he said. Later they started to use Galloping Coroners band name again and released 'Bite the Stars!' LP in 2012. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]