Swamp Terrorists

by John Bush   Swamp Terrorists are a Swiss industrial group formed in the late 80s by scene veterans STR (programmer) and Ane H (vocals). The bands roots go back as far as 1980, when STR began working as Band Berne Crematoire. He formed a synth-pop group named Nacht-Raum in 1983, but was using industrial guitars by the 1986 formation of Strangler of the Swamp. While playing a show with the local band Tierstein, he met vocalist Ane H., and the two quickly gelled. The original lineup of Swamp Terrorists included the two plus guitarist Francis H. After the release of one EP (He Is Guilty), Francis left, leaving Ane H. and STR to record their debut album, Grim-Stroke-Disease, for Machinery/Noise in 1990; Grow-Speed Injection followed one year later. By the time third album Combat Shock was released in 1994 (on Re-Constriction), Swamp Terrorists had gained three new members for live shows: guitarist Spring, bassist Anrej A. and drummer Piet Hertig.   The newfound stability proved illusory; STR unexpectedly left the group just after the release of 1995s Killer, and began working with a new band named Hellsau. The other four members of Swamp Terrorists remained, releasing the stopgap live Five in Japan and an album of remixes named Wreck.