Epitaph was the beginning of everything. Epitaph, a 70's German progressive rock band which, during the years 1971 to 1982, had a total of 11 albums, toured worldwide, including 3 US tours. After the band split up in 1982, Cliff Jackson, lead singer, guitarist and producer, and Bernd Kolbe, lead singer and bass guitarist kept in touch and continued with their songwriting. The band came back to life in1986 and included Mario Schramme (guitar), Volker Sassenberg (keyboards) and Freddy Dietrich (drums). The band was very productive so they got in touch with Frank Bornemann, the owner of Horus Sound Studio in Hannover. They recorded an incredible 7 track live demo in just 3 days! A different musical direction. The band felt that the name no longer fitted, so they changed it to Kingdom.