Panzer was first formed in the Spring of 2009. The band first jammed on covers whilst searching for a steady bassist and solidifying their goals. After a few months Billy McCartney was added to the band and the band spent the next several months writing and rehearsing original material in addition to a shrinking list of cover tunes. The band began recording a self-produced demo of four original tracks in late February 2010, which was finished in late March. After a brief hiatus over the summer, the band has since been writing more material, and playing gigs. There are plans to re-record the demo in December 2010 and possibly record a full-length in Spring 2011.

When Baltimore based alt-metal act Dog Fashion Disco came to an end, it wasn’t the end of frontman Todd Smith, guitarist Jasan Stepp and drummer John Ensminger’s musical output.

During the near decade the group spent in Dog Fashion Disco, Smith and his merry band of misfits would amass a loyal underground following of fans (dubbed the “mushroom cult”) through countless tours with the likes of Slayer, Mindless Self Indulgence, Nothingface and Lacuna Coil. Although Dog Fashion Disco never achieved commercial success, their musical legacy gained the respect of musical contemporaries like Serj Tankian of System of a Down (who made a guest appearance on Anarchists of Good Taste),Mushroomhead and American Head Charge, while the group’s music lives on through the internet and continues to create new members of the “mushroom cult” long after the band’s demise.

While Smith and company may have become sick of living the vagabond lifestyle that a touring metal band requires, the thought of giving up music entirely never even crossed their minds. Within mere months of their former outfits demise the group had created a new group, Polkadot Cadaver to unleash their schizophrenic musical madness.

“Jasan and I decided to start a studio band and Polkadot Cadaver started as shells of songs on Jasan’s computer.

The roots of Arkona are to be searched for in the beginning of 2002, when the members of local pagan community “Vyatichi” – Maria “Scream” Arhipova and Alexander “Warlock” Korolyov decided to form a band, according to their ideology and musical tastes. Initially, the band was called “Hyperborea”, it consisted of: Maria “Scream” Arhipova (vocal), Eugene Knyazev (guitar), Eugene Borzov (bass-guitar), Ilya Bogatyryov (guitar), Alexander “Warlock” Korolyov (drums), Olga Loginova (keyboard). In February 2002 the band was renamed into “Arkona”. The musical materials of the band were pagan/folk metal based and the lyrics had an idea of ancient national beliefs and history of Slavonic Russia.