OSTROGOTH - Ecstasy and Danger - Belgian Heavy Metal 12" Vinyl LP Album

Alfie Falckenbach, was a Belgian music producer and entrepreneur who helped wire the European heavy metal underground into something that could actually be heard outside its own rehearsal room. In 1982 he founded Mausoleum Records, the Belgian label that became a major launchpad for hard rock and metal across Europe, and he later built the wider Music Avenue universe, including Blues Boulevard for the blues side of his musical brain. I think of him as a rare breed: the businessman who still understood the sweat, the riffs, and the messy human part of making records, which is probably why he also performed as the frontman of Blues Karloff (vocals, 2014-2016). He died on March 1, 2016 after a long illness.

Leo "Rockstone" Felsenstein, was a Belgian heavy metal behind-the-scenes lifer: co-founding Mausoleum Records in the early 1980s and then helping steer its sound as an A&R guy and producer when Belgian metal was trying to kick down Europe’s door. When I see his name, it’s usually attached to that first Mausoleum surge, working with bands in a very specific window: Killer (producer on early releases in the early 1980s), Crossfire (producer on "See You in Hell" in 1984), and executive/production credits tied to other Mausoleum-era acts like Faithful Breath and Dark Wizard (again, early-to-mid 1980s). Worth saying out loud because the internet loves a mess: he’s not the same person as the drummer nicknamed “Fat Leo” from Killer/Mothers of Track. As far as I can verify, his “performed with bands” footprint is mainly the studio-and-label side rather than being a credited band member on stage.

Stonne Holmgren, was co-founder of the Belgian record company Mausoleum Records, and that alone tells me he was more about building the machine than standing in the spotlight. In my head, he belongs to that early-1980s moment when small, stubborn labels could turn local noise into something that traveled across borders and ended up in collectors’ hands decades later. When it comes to “performed with bands,” I mostly run into his name on the label side rather than in band line-ups; if he had a performing chapter, it’s not a widely documented one compared to his Mausoleum role.

Fritz Valcke, was a Belgian producer and sound engineer who owned Kritz Studio in Kuurne, Belgium, a 24-track recording studio active from 1976 to 1991. I think of him as one of those “invisible hands” behind the curtain: not the guy taking the mic, but the guy making sure the mic actually captures something worth keeping. In heavy metal collector-land, his fingerprints show up clearly with Ostrogoth in the early 1980s: he is credited as producer (with the band) on the 1983 EP "Full Moon's Eyes", recorded at Kritz Studios in Kuurne. As for “performed with bands,” I don’t see him documented as a band member; his real performing stretch was the long run in the control room, engineering and producing sessions rather than stepping onstage.

Alfie Falckenbach, was a Belgian music producer and entrepreneur who helped wire the European heavy metal underground into something that could actually be heard outside its own rehearsal room. In 1982 he founded Mausoleum Records, the Belgian label that became a major launchpad for hard rock and metal across Europe, and he later built the wider Music Avenue universe, including Blues Boulevard for the blues side of his musical brain. I think of him as a rare breed: the businessman who still understood the sweat, the riffs, and the messy human part of making records, which is probably why he also performed as the frontman of Blues Karloff (vocals, 2014-2016). He died on March 1, 2016 after a long illness.

Leo "Rockstone" Felsenstein, was a Belgian heavy metal behind-the-scenes lifer: co-founding Mausoleum Records in the early 1980s and then helping steer its sound as an A&R guy and producer when Belgian metal was trying to kick down Europe’s door. When I see his name, it’s usually attached to that first Mausoleum surge, working with bands in a very specific window: Killer (producer on early releases in the early 1980s), Crossfire (producer on "See You in Hell" in 1984), and executive/production credits tied to other Mausoleum-era acts like Faithful Breath and Dark Wizard (again, early-to-mid 1980s). Worth saying out loud because the internet loves a mess: he’s not the same person as the drummer nicknamed “Fat Leo” from Killer/Mothers of Track. As far as I can verify, his “performed with bands” footprint is mainly the studio-and-label side rather than being a credited band member on stage.

Stonne Holmgren, was co-founder of the Belgian record company Mausoleum Records, and that alone tells me he was more about building the machine than standing in the spotlight. In my head, he belongs to that early-1980s moment when small, stubborn labels could turn local noise into something that traveled across borders and ended up in collectors’ hands decades later. When it comes to “performed with bands,” I mostly run into his name on the label side rather than in band line-ups; if he had a performing chapter, it’s not a widely documented one compared to his Mausoleum role.

Eric Philippe, is a Belgian illustrator and graphic designer based in Liege, known for airbrush-driven cover art and graphic work that shows up all over the rock and metal ecosystem. I associate him most with that classic Mausoleum-era visual punch: he’s credited for cover illustration/artwork on releases connected to bands like Crossfire, Killer, Ostrogoth, and Dark Wizard, and his style nails that sweet spot between fantasy menace and clean, readable design. When it comes to “performed with bands,” I don’t see him documented as a band member; his performing happens on paper and paint, where he basically builds the stage before the first riff even lands.