Kerber

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Kerber
Origin	Niš, Serbia
Genre(s)	Hard Rock Heavy Metal Rock
Years active	1981 – present
Label(s)	ZKP RTLJ, PGP RTB, PGP RTS, Take It Or Leave It, Raglas Records
Website	www.kerber.co.yu

Kerber (Serbian Cyrillic: Кербер; trans. Cerberus) is a Serbian and former Yugoslav hard rock / heavy metal band formed in Niš in 1981. The band is considered one of the top acts of the former Yugoslav Hard 'n' Heavy scene.

1 Band history
2 Discography
3 References
4 See also

[edit] Band history

The band was formed in 1981 by Goran Šepa (vocals), Tomislav Nikolić (guitar), Branislav Božinović (keyboard), Zoran Stamenković (drums, also the band's songwriter) and Zoran Madić (bass guitar). In November 1981 Kerber had its first concert in Muzički klub in Niš. During 1982 the band had numerous concerts in Niš and worked on its material. Before Kerber's performance in Omladinski festival in Subotica Zoran Madić left band due to his army obligations. He was replaced by former Mama Rock member Zoran Žikić. With their song "Mezimac" Kerber won the first place in Omladinski festival. Several days later they were an opening band for Galija on their concert in Tašmajdan.

In July the same year they recorded their debut LP Nebo je malo za sve ("The sky is not big enough for all") with Nightwing's bass guitarist Gordon Rowley as a producer. In December 1983 they were an opening band on Uriah Heep concerts in Yugoslavia. At the about same time Nebo je malo za sve was released, bringing hits "Mezimac", "Nebo je malo za sve" and "Heroji od staniola". At the beginning of 1984 Zoran Stamenković got hepatitis and was temporarily replaced by Generacija 5 drummer Boban Đorđević. In March they performed at festival in Opatija but did not fit in with their hard rock sound. At the time Zoran Žikić had the most attractive scene performance. He played an axe-shaped guitar and performed fire breathing. On the 19th of May during the band's concert in Novi Sad he got second-degree burns while performing this act. He continued the concert despite doctor's advice, and continued the tour with bandages on his face. Band members forbid him to continue performing fire breathing. In June they were an opening band on Nightwing concerts in Yugoslavia. In October Stamenković returned to the band and in December they recorded their second album. The album was recorded in Saughall, and the producer was Rowley. During their staying in England Kerber performed in Liverpool and Chester. In April of 1985 Stamenković went to army and Đorđević replaced him once again.

Soon their second studio album Ratne igre ("War games") was released. It featured a live version of the song "Mezimac" titled "Get Me Out", which was recorded on Kerber concert in Liverpool. In May Kerber performed on Marakana on a concert which was a part of YU Rock Misija. On the 20th of September they performed in Zagreb for the first time. In October Đorđević was replaced by former Mama Co Co, YU grupa and Leb i Sol member Dragoljub Đuričić. In November Kerber was awarded with "Smeli cvet", an award that was given by League of Communist Youth of Serbia for contribution to rock music. In July 1986 Božinović was replaced by Milorad Džmerković, a former member of Slomljena Stakla and Peđa D'Boy band.

Band's third studio album Seobe ("Migrations") was recorded in 1986 with producer Kornelije Kovač. Seobe, considered to be Kerber's magnum opus, brought numerous hits: ballads "Kad ljubav izda" (which featured a qote from Pero Zubac's poem "Mostar rains") "Još samo ovu noć mi daj", power ballad "Bolje da sam druge ljubio, a haunting ballad "Seobe", "Hajde da se volimo" and "Čovek od meda", which featured Bora Đorđević on vocals. During the next year they held more than 200 concerts across Yugoslavia. On the 16th of May they held a concert on "Železničar" stadium in Niš with a number of guests. In 1988 they released album Ljudi i bogovi ("Humans and gods"), produced by Đorđe Petrović. Major hits were "Svet se brzo okreće", "Od srca daleko" and ballad "Na raskršću". In the summer of that same year Žikić left the band, and was replaced by former Bulevar, Suncokret and Idoli member Branko Isaković. On the 12th of December the band recorded their first live labum 121288.

At the end of 1990 the band released their fifth studio album Peta strana sveta ("The fifth side of the world"), which was produced by Saša Habić. For a retrospective evening of "Belgrade spring 91" they recorded a cover of Zdravko Čolić's song "April u Beogradu". After this event the band made a long break in their work, during which they recorded music for a play Blues smile. At the beginning of 1996 band released Zapis ("Inscription"). The album introduced new members: Saša Vasković (bass guitar), Josip Hartl (drums), Wacha Jones (acoustic guitar), and Goran Đorđević (percussion). In January of 1996 they held an unplugged concert in Studio M in Novi Sad. The recording of the concert was later released on the album Unplugged. The band released two compilation albums, Antologija 1982 - 1998 I ("Anthology 1982 - 1998 I") and Antologija 1982 - 1998 II ("Anthology 1982 - 1998 II"), with the detail overview of their work.

In 1998 the band celebrated 15 years of work with a concert held in Niš fortress. Pilot single "Sveti Nikola" was released, but the recording of the album was postponed. In 1999 Kerber performed as an opening band on Ronnie James Dio concert in Sofia.

During the 2000s the band performed rarely. In February 2006 the band reunited in its original lineup to perform in the building of Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad.