Crystal Viper is a Polish heavy metal band founded in 2003 by singer and guitarist

Marta Gabriel Marta Gabriel is a musician from Poland. She had a long career in the band Crystal Viper, and recorded a solo album and an album with Moon Chamber. Music career Marta Gabriel began her career doing vocals for the band 448. She started the band ...

History

Crystal Viper was formed in the city of

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

, Poland, by singer and guitarist

(who was using the stage name "Leather Wych" at the time) and her husband Bart Gabriel, manager and producer. Their first recorded song was " Wild Child", a cover of W.A.S.P., made for the tribute album "A Tribute To W.A.S.P.". In 2005 they recorded "Chaos Rising" of

Cirith Ungol In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world, fictional continent of Middle-earth, Mordor (; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is a dark realm. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and to the south of Mir ...

for another tribute album, "One Foot In Fire - A Tribute To Cirith Ungol". The song had the collaboration of a pair of members of the British band

Elixir An elixir is a sweet liquid used for medical purposes, to be taken orally and intended to cure one's illness. When used as a dosage form, pharmaceutical preparation, an elixir contains at least one active ingredient designed to be taken orall ...

. The first stable line-up from 2007 was Leather Wych on vocals, Lukasz "Andy Wave" Halczuch on the guitar, Tomek "Golem" Danczak on the drums, and Tommy Targosz on the bass. They recorded more songs for tribute albums,

Manilla Road Manilla Road was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Wichita, Kansas, founded by Mark "The Shark" Shelton (vocals, guitar) and Scott "Scooter" Park (bass). Beginning in 1977, the early years of Manilla Road were spent playing m ...

's "Flaming Metal Systems" for the album "A Tribute To Manilla Road",

Angel Witch Angel Witch are a British heavy metal band which formed in London in 1976, recognised as one of the pioneering groups of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM). Originally established as Lucifer by guitarist and vocalist Kevin Heybour ...

's "Atlantis" for "Unbroken Metal Tribute to Angelwitch", and

Warlock A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives '' warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver". The term came to apply special ...

's "Mr. Gold" for "A Tribute to Warlock". They also played at the festivals Masters Of Rock, Noc Plna Hvezd, and Basinfire Fest in the Czech Republic. After this, they signed a deal with the German label Karthago Records. Their debut concept album ''The Curse Of Crystal Viper'' was released in early 2007, and followed by ''The Last Axeman'' compilation in 2008. Their second studio album ''Metal Nation'' was released in 2009. The album would be the first to feature the new bassist Tomasz Woryna, and was co-produced by the

King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...

guitarist

Andy LaRocque Andy LaRocque (born Anders Allhage, 29 November 1962) is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of the heavy metal band King Diamond since 1985. Biography LaRocque started out in the mid 1980s in the Gothen ...

. Between 2006 and 2009, Crystal Viper was a four piece band in the studio and a five piece band on stage, featuring different musicians at the position of the live rhythm guitarist, until Gabriel took over the duties of a rhythm guitarist as well. Since then, Crystal Viper played as a four-piece act both in the studio and on stage. Crystal Viper Metal Frenzy 2024 31

In 2009, Crystal Viper signed a multiple record deal with AFM Records. They recorded their third studio album ''Legends'' for release in 2010. The album featured lyrics based on old Polish legends and stories. In 2012, it was followed by ''Crimen Excepta'', a concept effort about

witches Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

and the

Holy Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic judicial procedure where the ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various medieval and reformation-era state-organized tribunals ...

. Due to occupational obligations, Woryna was forced to take a lesser part in the band's activity, and most of the bass parts on ''Crimen Excepta'' were recorded by Gabriel. The band did not cease touring, so Michal Badocha stepped in as the new bass player. After several live shows around Europe in 2013, Crystal Viper returned to the studio to record the fifth studio album, ''Possession''. The album has collaborations of Harry Conklin from

Jag Panzer Jag Panzer is an American power metal band from Colorado Springs, Colorado, formed in 1981. History Jag Panzer came together in late 1981, being inspired by the onslaught of the new wave of British heavy metal. The original lineup consisted ...

, Sataniac from Desaster, and some chorus were made by fans of the band. Soon after its premiere, due to health issues relating to the band's front woman and founder Gabriel, the band suspended all activities. It was unclear for a time if the band would continue. In late 2016, the band announced their return. The comeback album ''Queen of the Witches'' was released after a four-year silence, in February 2017. Like all the previous albums, it was produced by Bart Gabriel (known for his collaboration with acts such as

Pagan Altar Pagan Altar is an English heavy metal and doom metal band. It was formed by Terry Jones and his son Alan in 1978 in the borough of Brockley in London and was part of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM). History Pagan Altar's only ...

, Hexx and Sacred Steel). The cover artwork was done by German artist Andreas Marschall, who is known for artworks he made for big-name metal acts such as Running Wild,

Blind Guardian Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres. Nine musicians have been part of the band ...

and

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current line-up consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mille Petrozza, Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen Reil, Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli- ...

. ''Queen of the Witches'' is also the first Crystal Viper album recorded with the new bass player, Blaze J. Grygiel. The band invited several special guests to partake in the recordings. This included recording two cover songs for the CD and the LP version of the album respectively.

Manowar Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythology (particularly Norse mythology and Greco-Roman mythology), as well as n ...

co-founding guitarist

Ross the Boss Ross Friedman (born January 3, 1954), also known as Ross the Boss, is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of both the Punk rock, punk band the Dictators and the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Manowar (band), Manowar. Hist ...

guested on "Do Or Die", while

Mantas Mantas is a Lithuanian given name. People with the name include: * Mantas Adomėnas (born 1972), philosopher * Mantas Armalis (born 1992), professional ice hockey goaltender * Mantas Dilys (born 1984), triple jumper * Mantas Fridrikas (born 1988) ...

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

played a guitar solo on "Flames And Blood". On the power ballad "We Will Make It Last Forever", Marta Gabriel shares vocal duties with Steve Bettney, vocalist of the

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (often abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that began in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis coined the term for an arti ...

cult act Saracen. The album was promoted with two video clips, and a European tour in March–April 2017, during which the band visited Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Poland. On 4 June 2018, rhythm guitarist Eric Juris joined the band. On 16 November 2021, drummer Ced departed the band due to personal problems. He was replaced by Kuba Galwas on 20 June 2022. On 13 March 2024, the band announced their ninth album, ''The Silver Key'', which was released on 28 June. The lyrics talk about

Lovecraftian horror Lovecraftian horror, also called cosmic horror or eldritch horror, is a subgenre of horror, fantasy fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is na ...

, like in the previous album ''The Cult'', and had the working title of ''The Cult II''. It was promoted with ''The Silver Key Tour 2024'', alongside Savage Master. Andy suffered a hand injury in March 2025, forcing the band to cancel some concerts. For the arranged concerts with Riot V, Marta switched to rhythm guitar, and Blaze returned to the band to handle bass duties. The band also recorded tracks for a live album at Poland, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Italy, France, Belgium and Czech Republic for the upcoming live album, ''The Live Quest'', which is to be released on 27 June 2025. The first single of the live album is "The Cult", recorded live at the Keep It True Festival 2024. Although they recorded live songs at ''Defenders Of The Magic Circle'', the band considers ''The Live Quest'' the first proper live album, as it is a full album and not just an EP. It was released as the 10th album, to signal the end of an era.

Members

Current

– vocals , bass , guitars * Andy Wave – guitars * Kuba Galwas – drums * Giuseppe "Tiyris" Taormina – guitars

Former

* Tomasz "Golem" Dańczak – drums * Vicky Vick – rhythm guitar * Tomasz Targosz – bass * Tomasz Woryna – bass * Michal Badocha – bass * Błażej "Blaze" Grygiel – bass * Eric Juris – guitars * Cederick "Ced" Forsberg – drums

Timeline

Discography

Albums

* ''The Curse of Crystal Viper'' (2007) *''Metal Nation'' (2009) * ''Legends'' (2010) * ''Crimen Excepta'' (2012) * ''Possession'' (2013) * ''Queen of the Witches'' (2017) * ''Tales of Fire and Ice'' (2019) * ''The Cult'' (2021) * ''The Silver Key'' (2024)

EPs

* ''At the Edge of Time'' (2018) * ''The Last Axeman'' (2022)

Compilation

* ''The Last Axeman'' (2008) * ''Sleeping Swords'' (2009)

Live albums

* ''Defenders of the Magic Circle: Live in Germany'' (2010) * ''The Live Quest'' (2025)

Singles

* "The Wolf and the Witch" (2009) * "Stronghold" (2009) * "Witch's Mark" (2012) * "Fight Evil with Evil" (2013) * "The Witch Is Back" (2016) * "Still Alive" (2019) * "Bright Lights" (2019) * "The Cult" (2020)

Demos

* ''Rehearsal Tape'' (2003) * ''Live Demo'' (2004) * ''Strike One'' (2005) * ''The Soundhouse Tape'' (2005)

References

External links

Official site

Spirit of Metal webzine
* {{Authority control Polish power metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2003 Musicians from Katowice Polish heavy metal musical groups Polish musical quartets Female-fronted musical groups