Michael Locher (born 7 January 1969), also known as Vorphalack or simply Vorph, is a Swiss musician who provides vocals and is a guitarist for the industrial/

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

band

Samael Samael ( he, סַמָּאֵל, ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom/Poison of God"; ar, سمسمائيل, ''Samsama'il'' or ar, سمائل, label=none, ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic ...

Biography

Locher was born in Sion. He co-founded Samael in 1987 with his brother Alexandre (also known as "Xytras" or "Xy") on drums. Locher's musical influences include

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich. They are known for their strong influence on the development of extreme metalBukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal''. Barnes & Noble Publishing, 2003. p.43 and avant-gard ...

, Slayer,

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...

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 ...

, Bathory and early Possessed. He particularly points to Bathory as a source of inspiration for vocals: His guitar is a customized ESP Viper with

Ernie Ball Ernie Ball (born Roland Sherwood Ball; August 30, 1930 – September 9, 2004) was an American entrepreneur and musician who developed guitar-related products. Ball began as a club and local television musician and entrepreneur, building an int ...

guitar string A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments such as the guitar, harp, piano (piano wire), and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material that a musical instrument holds under te ...

s, Boss GT pro,

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a s ...

Dual Rectifier. During Samael's black metal period, Vorph (then called Vorphalack) played a Jackson King V guitar too. During the Passage era Vorph played a black Jackson Kelly. Vorph stated in an interview with Dutch webzine ''Lords of Metal'' that he does not eat junk food and that he is a vegetarian.

References

External links

Swiss heavy metal musicians Living people 1969 births People from Sion, Switzerland {{switzerland-musician-stub