Andy Classen

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Andy Classen is a German musician, sound engineer and record producer.

He began his career in 1980 as a guitarist for the German thrash metal band Holy Moses, fronted by his later wife Sabina Classen. In 1989 the band bought a house in the village of Borgentreich-Bühne in the vicinity of Warburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1990 they founded a record label named 'West Virginia Records' and opened the Stage-One-Studio in their new house (so named because "Bühne" is German for "stage")

Andy Classen became producer and engineer in Stage-One-Studio. Among his first productions were the albums 'When War begins...' by the German thrashcore band Warpath and 'Mc Gillroy the Housefly' by the German psychedelic death metal band Incubator, both of which were critically acclaimed, and the latter still has a cult following in the death metal underground. He also became influential in the German hardcore punk scene, being the producer for bands like Ryker's and Brightside.

He remained lead guitarist in Holy Moses till 1994. Aesthetic differences that had arisen during the production of the Holy Moses album 'No matter what's the cause' (1994) with Dan Lilker on Bass and Meff from the Ryker's on Drums lead to Andy Classen leaving the band. Ultimately he and Sabina divorced, and West Virginia Records was dissolved.

Holy Moses was inactive till 2001 when it was revived by Sabina Classen, with Andy Classen acting as occasional songwriter and producer. In 2005 Holy Moses recorded the album 'Strength, Power, Will, Passion'.

During the nineties Andy Classen established himself as one of the premier producers for Hardcore, Thrashmetal and Deathmetal music in Europe. His sound aesthetics usually are described as aggressive and powerful yet transparent. Among others he produced records for the bands Dew-Scented, Tankard, Disbelief, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, President Evil (all Germany), Asphyx (Netherlands), Belphegor (Austria), Legion of the Damned (Netherlands), The Old Dead Tree (France), Graveworm (Italy) and Deafness by Noise (Croatia).

From the year 2000 on his work has found increasing recognition in the international scene, with bands like Rotting Christ from Greece, Criminal from Chile/Great Britain, Dark Embrace from Spain and Krisiun from Brazil recording with him.

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