Galloping Coroners album release

The Hungarian band Vágtázó Halottkémek (Galloping Coroners, or VHK) were active from 1975 to 2001 before reforming in 2009, and play an idiosyncratic brand of magical folk music. The band were founded before the punk movement, and by chance found themselves in their early years in the German wave of progressive rock – krautrock – which happily absorbed influences from folk music, world music and myth, and the best-known groups (Amon Düül, Popol Vuh, Ash Ra Tempel) of the genre also influenced the group. The band will present their latest album at the House of Music on 14 February.

Their music was born from the eternal creative power of the universe and the elemental ancient source of ancient folk music. Thanks to their extraordinary energy and folk music inclinations, VHK are often described as an etno-punk band. They are known as the Galloping Coroners in English, Rasende Leichenbeschauer in German, or by the acronym VHK. Attila Grandpierre formed VHK in Budapest with a group of friends in 1975. The founding members were Attila Grandpierre (vocals), Sándor Czakó (guitar), László Ipacs (drums), Tamás Pócs (bass guitar) and György Molnár (solo guitar). From the very start, they played instinctive music with an utterly offbeat and primal musical approach. With the help of electric guitars, the members of the band were able to transmit their exceptional experiences of the world that burned within them. The group was officially banned until 1986, yet they still managed to play shows that were so extraordinary that many concert organisers were still willing to risk putting on their productions. For most people who attended the group's concerts, it was an incredible event that went beyond all expectations. This feeling was particularly strong for anyone who was attending a Halottkémek concert for the first time. The band played "the magical folk music of the future", often pigeonholed as etno-punk, shaman-punk or psychedelic hardcore. The group's members have seen various changes, yet VHK is still regularly voted in the top three of MANCS's Best Concert Band of the Year award. VHK also became one of the most famous cult bands in Germany. They have written classic hits such as Hunok csatája (Battle of the Huns), Aláírhatatlan történelem (My Unsigned Story), and Pótolhatatlan halhatatlanság and (Irreplaceable Immortality). Their records have appeared on radio playlists from San Francisco to Tallinn, and also topped the MAHASZ chart in Hungary. Many consider VHK to be the "best shaman punk band of all time". Their popularity remains undimmed and they are also a cult band here in Hungary, too.