Lars Ratz

Lars Ratz — German bassist and composer, born in 1967 and died in 2021 — was the founder of Metalium and the author of the most systematically constructed body of work in German power metal. The idea was unusual from the start: each record would be a numbered chapter of a single narrative. There were eight, from Millennium Metal — Chapter One (1999) to Grounded — Chapter Eight (2009), forming a continuous arc rather than a succession of independent albums. Few bands have sustained a concept like that for a whole decade. Ratz came from Velvet Viper and put Metalium together by gathering musicians with solid track records — among them American drummer Mike Terrana and Savatage guitarist Chris Caffery. Besides playing bass he was the principal composer and the one steering the project's direction. After the band ended, Ratz went on working in the music business until his death in 2021. Metalium returned to activity in 2023 with a renewed line-up, keeping the repertoire he built — the work continues to be performed by musicians who inherited it.