The band was founded by Gudi (lead guitar), Taz (bass), Sergio (former guitar), and Berni (former drums) in 2006 in Regensdorf-Watt, a town on the outskirts of Zurich, Switzerland. These early days were a time of stylistic experimentation. Since the band couldn’t really decide on a genre for their music, they simply agreed not to make a big deal out of it. Instead, they just played whatever made them happy at the time, which was a wild mix of black metal, pop-punk, and alternative rock.
In autumn 2007, a fight broke out between Taz and a certain Mik at a local concert. In a rather curious turn of events, this led to Mik auditioning as a vocalist and shortly thereafter joining Expellow, despite having no previous band experience.
The band started to focus more seriously on writing songs and developing their sound, while gaining plenty of live experience. Losing their rehearsal space in the wake of several line-up changes in 2008 didn’t stop them either – they simply practised in Gudi’s old childhood room at his parents’ house or even acoustically by the shores oft he lake. Around 2010, the band was finally able to plug in their instruments again in a new rehearsal room, which they shared with Gudi’s side project “Across Your Enemy” (ex-Delirium). This newfound energy led to their first album, “The Silent Days Are Over”, recorded entirely DIY and still reflecting the original blend of genres like black metal, (pop-)punk, and alternative rock – including Mik’s first attempts at guttural vocals.
Between 2011 and 2014, the band was able to move into a new rehearsal space, which they could renovate to suit their needs. Gudi, who had just completed his training as a certified audio engineer, came up with the idea of integrating a fully equipped studio into this new space. And so their new home base took shape over the course of about two years. In this freshly built studio, Expellow recorded their second album, “Modern Age Credo”, which was released in 2015. This record marked a clear departure from the sound of their debut. From then on, hardcore and metalcore became the foundation, while Expellow’s signature stylistic twists were used more subtly as smaller interspersions. With this rougher, more “old-school” and distinctive sound, the band struck a chord with listeners – perhaps precisely because their new direction couldn’t simply be filed under the widely popular metalcore genre of the time.
That same year, Sergio informed the band that his priorities had shifted and, in good spirits, he decided to step down as guitarist. After an intense audition process and a neck-and-neck race between candidates, Nici was ultimately chosen to step into Sergio’s shoes.
These many years of experience began to pay off. Relentless rehearsing led to more refined songwriting and an increasing number of live shows. The band earned its place on the stages of clubs and festivals across Switzerland. In 2018, they released their third album, “We Held The Line”, and the video for “Game Insane” went viral on HCWW – bringing even more international attention to the five friends from Zurich. Expellow had successfully put themselves on the map of the scene both locally and internationally.
In 2019, despite their growing success, Mik made the unconventional decision to enlist in the army for a year. The plan was to record a new album in 2020 and of course play all the shows. But life had other plans and 2020 happened. Due to the pandemic, Mik was not allowed to leave the army base and the rest of the band faced major challenges even meeting up. As the live music industry ground to a halt, Expellow – like so many others – fell into crisis. Fortunately, conditions improved alongside the global situation and the band weathered the storm, not unscathed, but intact. In the years following the lockdowns, Expellow took on the challenge of reestablishing themselves in a post-pandemic world.
Fortunately, the energy, drive, and joy returned. New songs were written, the band became more organised and they gradually returned to the stage. In 2023, songwriting for their long-planned new album was completed and recording sessions began. Until then, everything had always been 100% DIY, but this time, they decided to record the vocals off-site for the first time, namely at Mammoth Audio Engineering Studios in Zurich. The new album, “Signals On Swells”, was released in October 2024 and celebrated with a fully sold-out release show in Zurich.
In 2025, Expellow won the Wacken Metal Battle Switzerland and went on to represent their country at the legendary Wacken Open Air. There, they prevailed against more than 12,000 bands worldwide – becoming the first Swiss band ever to win the international title.
Expellow have left the difficult, crisis-ridden, post-pandemic years behind them with renewed vigour. Not only are the friendships within the band stronger than ever, but so are their musical skills. What makes the journey even more meaningful is their steadily growing fanbase, who had long awaited Expellow’s return. “Signals On Swells” leans more into political themes and less into diary-style introspection, offering an unmistakable blend of genres that ranges from pop-punk to black metal, hardcore, melodic death metal – and, of course, metalcore. Expellow both return to their roots and take their musical identity to the next level.
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