Thumb (band)

Thumb was a German alternative metal/nu metal band formed in November 1993 in Gütersloh. The group disbanded in 2005 to work on various side projects; Steffen has joined H-Blockx, Jens is in Taetowier Studio, Jan-Hendrik is in Hudson, Claus is in Alternative Allstars and Axel is in Waterdown.

Thumb
Origin	Gütersloh, Germany
Genres	Alternative metal, nu metal, crossover (music)
Years active	1993–2005
Labels	Spin Records a sub-label of EMI Electrola GmbH, Victory Records
Associated acts	Alternative Allstars, Claus Grabke, H-Blockx, Hudson, Waterdown
Website	www.thumbpage.de
Past members	Axel Pralat Jens Gössling Steffen Wilmking Jan-Hendrik Meyer Claus Grabke Axel Hilgenstöhler

History

The first home-made tapes were recorded and copied in 1994. Lupe was the last to join the band in October. Record companies began to show an interest and EMI signed a deal with the band in March 1995. Thumb's debut was released in September 1995. Thumb toured as support with Bad Religion, Dog Eat Dog, Henry Rollins and Foo Fighters in Germany over the next two years. In January 1997 the group began to write their second album "Exposure", released 5 May.

Thumb toured in America where they played in front of nearly 180,000 during the 1998 Vans Warped Tour alongside the Deftones, Bad Religion, NOFX and others at thirteen shows in three weeks.

Preparations for the third album slowly got underway at the start of 2000 but were abruptly interrupted when guitarist Axel Hilgenstöhler left the band halfway through the year, replaced by Axel Pralat. Everything written and recorded up to that point was axed.

Personnel

• Axel Pralat - Guitar (1994-2000)
• Jens Gössling - DJ (1994-2005)
• Steffen Wilmking - Drums (1994-2005)
• Jan-Hendrik Meyer - Bass (1994-2005)
• Claus Grabke - Vocals (1994-2005)
• Axel Hilgenstöhler - Guitar (2000-2005)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

• Thumb
  • Released: 1995 (Netherlands) on Spin Records [1]
  • Track Listing: All tracks are written by Thumb.

    No.	Title	Length
    1.	"Haunted"	4:12
    2.	"Victim of Your Lies"	3:33
    3.	"Red Alert"	4:14
    4.	"Fascism Sucks"	3:24
    5.	"No More Blood (Intro)"	1:31
    6.	"No More Blood"	3:55
    7.	"Fed Up"	3:15
    8.	"Skindeep"	3:25
    9.	"Deny"	4:00
    10.	"Consumer's Rap-Sody"	4:19
    11.	"It Ain't What You See"	4:09
    12.	"Boredom"	3:21
    13.	"(All the Way) Down"	4:16
    Total length:		47:34

• Thumb (Encore)
  • Released: 25 July 1996 (Germany) on Spin Records
  • Track Listing: All tracks are written by Thumb.

    No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
    1.	"Red Alert '96" (Previously Unreleased)		3:14
    2.	"Aside" (Previously Unreleased)	Lyrics: Claus Grabke, James Hetfield	3:14
    3.	"Haunted"		4:12
    4.	"Victim of Your Lies"		3:33
    5.	"Red Alert"		4:14
    6.	"Fascism Sucks"		3:24
    7.	"No More Blood (Intro)"		1:31
    8.	"No More Blood"		3:55
    9.	"Fed Up"		3:15
    10.	"Skindeep"		3:25
    11.	"Deny"		4:00
    12.	"Consumer's Rap-Sody"		4:19
    13.	"It Ain't What You See"		4:09
    14.	"Boredom"		3:21
    15.	"(All the Way) Down"		4:16
    16.	"I Don't Wanna Hear It" (Previously Unreleased)		2:06
    17.	"Victim Of Your Lies" (Live)		3:38
    18.	"It Ain't What You See" (Live)		3:59
    19.	"Skindeep" (Live)		3:34
    20.	"Fascism Sucks" (Live)		3:32
    21.	"Haunted" (Live)		4:41

• Exposure
  • Released: 1 April 1997 (Netherlands, UK, Germany) on Spin Records [2]
  • Released: 23 June 1998 (USA) on Victory Records [3]
  • Track Listing: All tracks are written by Thumb.

    No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
    1.	"Break Me"		3:11
    2.	"Sell Myself"		2:51
    3.	"Seize the Day"		2:48
    4.	"Values"		3:16
    5.	"Thank You for Hating Me"		3:11
    6.	"Remember"		4:31
    7.	"Dad"		3:30
    8.	"Reality"		3:18
    9.	"This Life"		3:15
    10.	"Exposure"		2:57
    11.	"Cavemen in Disguise" (includes hidden track "Aside" (5:59))	Lyrics: Claus Grabke, James Hetfield	10:48

• Maximum Exposure
  • Released: 28 November 1997 on Spin Records
  • Track Listing: All tracks are written by Thumb.

    No.	Title	Length
    1.	"Break Me"	3:11
    2.	"Sell Myself"	2:51
    3.	"Seize the Day"	2:48
    4.	"Values"	3:16
    5.	"Thank You for Hating Me"	3:11
    6.	"Remember"	4:31
    7.	"Dad"	3:30
    8.	"Reality"	3:18
    9.	"This Life"	3:15
    10.	"Exposure"	2:57
    11.	"Cavemen in Disguise"	4:02
    12.	"Die Welt Ist Eins" (Featuring Thomas D.)	4:12
    13.	"Sell Myself" (Live at 'Rock Am Ring')	3:01
    14.	"Values" (Live at 'Rockpalast' (Cologne))	3:33
    15.	"Cavemen In Disguise" (Live at 'Colosseum' (Munich) Support Rollins Tour '97)	4:40
    16.	"Dad" (Live at 'Colosseum' (Munich) Support Rollins Tour '97)	3:30
    17.	"Red Alert" (Live at 'Roskilde Festival '97')	3:36
    18.	"Exposure" (Live at 'Roskilde Festival '97')	3:20
    19.	"Thank You For Hating Me" (Live at 'Roskilde Festival '97')	4:20
    20.	"No More Blood" (Live at 'Roskilde Festival '97')	8:02

• 3 (Three)
  • Released: 2001 (USA) on Victory Records [4]
  • Released: 10 July 2001 (Germany) on EMI Electrola [5]
  • Track Listing: All tracks are written by Thumb.

    No.	Title	Length
    1.	"Upside & Down"	3:12
    2.	"Down Like Me"	2.37
    3.	"Stupid"	4:09
    4.	"Lie to You"	3:54
    5.	"Youth"	3:26
    6.	"Thumbtune"	0:57
    7.	"Break My Back"	3:15
    8.	"Fade Away"	3:38
    9.	"Migraine"	3:12
    10.	"Suck Me Dry"	3:35
    11.	"Shortly"	3:07
    12.	"More"	3:51
    13.	"Confidence"	3:13

Singles

• "Red Alert" (1995)
• "No More Blood" (1996)
• "Red Alert '96" (1996)
• "Aside" (1996)
• "Sell Myself" (1997)
• "Seize The Day" (1997)
• "Break Me" (1998)
• "Down Like Me" (2001)
• "Youth" (2001)

References

1. Thumb by Thumb, retrieved 20 August 2019
2. "Thumb (2) - Exposure". Discogs. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
3. "Thumb: Exposure CD - Victory Merch". www.victorymerch.com. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
4. "Thumb: Exposure CD - Victory Merch". www.victorymerch.com. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
5. 3 by Thumb, retrieved 20 August 2019

External links

• Official Website