Bonfire

Bonfire is a veteran German melodic hard rock/heavy metal group with a massive catalog and a devoted international fan base. With an assured, stadium-ready sound that falls somewhere between <a href="spotify:artist:27T030eWyCQRmDyuvr1kxY">Scorpions</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3UbyYnvNIT5DFXU4WgiGpP">Whitesnake</a>, Bonfire exploded with their 1986 debut album, Don't Touch That Light, and 1987 follow-up Fire Works, both considered genre classics. The band ceased operations in the early '90s but returned in the 2000s with renewed vigor and a seemingly endless appetite for performing. Since then, they have released a string of well-regarded studio efforts like Strike Ten (2001), The Räuber (2008), Fistful of Fire (2020), and Higher Ground (2025).

Formed in the city of Ingolstadt in 1980 under the name <a href="spotify:artist:71NjmNhaY0NR1voMVc3nrJ">Cacumen</a>, the group's personnel changed over time, with the only permanent member being founder Hans Ziller. The band, who have drawn comparisons to like-minded decibel-pushers like <a href="spotify:artist:27T030eWyCQRmDyuvr1kxY">Scorpions</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3JDIAtVrJdQ7GFOX26LYpv">Accept</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3UbyYnvNIT5DFXU4WgiGpP">Whitesnake</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:71vVmHeNgCVSa5SVmfvscU">Saxon</a>, released their breakthrough debut long-player, Don't Touch That Light, in 1986. Bonfire issued three more full-length albums -- Fire Works (1987), which spent 30 weeks on the German Albums chart, Point Blank (1989), and Knock Out (1991) -- before closing up shop for a short period of time in light of the peaking grunge and alt-rock scene.

The band returned in 1996 with the aptly named Feels Like Comin' Home, followed closely by Rebel Soul (1998) and Fuel to the Flames (1999). The turn of the century saw Bonfire continuing their newfound prolificacy, issuing a string of LPs and concert albums, with highlights arriving via 2001's Strike Ten, 2003's Free, 2006's Double X (which celebrated their 20th anniversary), and their ambitious 2008 rock opera The Räuber.

In 2015, the group released Glorious, their 15th LP, and in 2016 they celebrated their 30th anniversary with their first double album, Pearls, which featured newly recorded versions of some of their best-loved songs. The <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22AFM+Records%22">AFM Records</a>-issued Byte the Bullet, an album of all-new originals, appeared in 2017, with Temple of Lies and Fistful of Fire arriving in 2018 and 2020, respectively. Bonfire tweaked their signature sound on 2025's hard-hitting Higher Ground, adopting a heavier, more modern rock-leaning style that retained just enough classic rock swagger to appeal to longtime fans. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi