Pokolgép

Pokolgép is a Hungarian heavy metal band formed in the early 1980s (around 1982). They were among the first heavy metal bands in Hungary along with Moby Dick. The name "Pokolgép" literally means Infernal Machine, but is the Hungarian word for a home-made bomb. Pokolgép played alongside Motörhead in 1984 and Metallica in 1988.

==History== ===The early years=== The founding members of Pokolgép were Gábor Kukovecz, Endre Paksi and Tibor Varga in the late 1970s. Kukovecz took guitar lessons from Prognózis guitarist/singer István Vörös who suggested that the name of the metal band be "Kommandó", which sounded less offensive. They used this name for some months before changing it back to Pokolgép. At the beginning of their music career, they were going through a rough patch because of their poverty and the government's negative attitude towards the band. They had been playing semi-illegal concerts on the outskirts of Budapest and as a result, they found unexpected success. They had had several drummers and guitarists until they found László Nagyfi for playing the second guitar and András Gyenizse for drums. In 1985, Paksi left the band due to personal conflicts (he couldn't agree with Kukovecz on the leading of the band) and went on to form Ossian. He was replaced by György Pazdera on the bass guitar. Some months later, Gyenizse emigrated to the US, so Pazdera invited his old friend László Tarcza to join them. In 1983 the band was the runner-up in Ki mit tud? (a state-organised talent-searching festival), so they were allowed to record a song ("Kegyetlen asszony") which was released on a split 7-inch single. They also recorded two songs in the Hungarian Radio in 1984 ("Cirkusz és rács" and "A bűn"). In 1985 they recorded and released their first single with two songs ("A Sátán" and "A maszk").