Bonfire (originally Cacumen) is a German hard rock/heavy metal band, founded by Hans Ziller in Ingolstadt, Upper Bavaria in 1972.

When the band started searching for a replacement singer, Claus Lessmann, a fellow student of Hans', was hired.

Lessmann previously had performed in the bands Ginger and Sunset and was known for his harmonic vocals and he fit in perfectly with Cacumen.

They departed because they could not commit to the group full-time and were replaced with Joerg Deisinger on bass, previously from Rascal and Dynasty, while Dominik Hülshorst from Darxon became the new drummer.

Finally, the company requested a name change, as they found Cacumen was too hard for the average customer to pronounce and not a very marketable name.

Although Tommy Wagner filled the drum kit for a TV spot, the band needed a new full-time drummer, which appeared in December 1987, when Edgar Patrik from Sinner, Samson and Tyran Pace joined.

[2] In July 1988, during the Fireworks Tour, Maier had to leave due to his rheumatism becoming too much of a crippling factor to play guitar and be on stage.

Taking his spot in August was Angel Schleifer, formerly of Doc Savage, Red Alert, Sinner, Mad Max, Pretty Maids and Helter Skelter.

It was then that Hans Ziller had problems with the record company and the band's management due in part to his family commitments at the time.

The record company's policy did not allow him to do so, leaving Ziller the task to find a replacement singer for his new band, EZ Livin'.

After many attempts to break through in the North American scene and what he thought was a disappointing fourth album, Lessmann left the band on 25 September 1992.

One vocalist that had the group's attention was Michael Bormann, who was singing for Letter X and had his own side-group called Jaded Heart.

[2] The band felt that the end was in sight and released a live album featuring concert recordings from the Point Blank Tour with Lessmann on vocals.

In 1995, Lessmann/Ziller evolved to become a group called Ex, which in May featured Joerg Deisinger on bass and Dominik Hülshorst on drums, almost a reunion of the 1986 Bonfire line-up.

In 1997 they hired Chris Lausmann on guitar and keyboards, who had played with Affair and Frontline; Uwe Köhler on bass, formally from Black Tears, Paradise Leaf, Big Apple, Lipstikk, Blitzkrieg and British Steel; and finally Jurgen Wiehler on drums, who had played with Backdoor Affair, Heaven Sent, Chain Reaction, Loud & Proud, EZ Livin', Parish Garden, Wet Paint and 88 Crash.

In 2004, after successfully gaining the rights to their pre-Bonfire material, the band released a five-part CD series called The Early Days.

This was followed by the long anticipated return to the North American stage as the band performed at the Rocklahoma Festival on 12 July in Pryor, Oklahoma, US.

In 2010, on 25 March, Bonfire signed to a major label again, this time with Universal Music, with hopes that they would be handled and promoted much better than BMG did in the 1980s.

According to an e-mail that was sent out to fans by Willi Wrede, a falling out had occurred between long time singer Claus Lessmann and founder member Ziller that resulted in "an ending" to the band.

The web site known as melodicrock.com[3] had already published the news two days prior that this had happened with addition information that former Accept and Bangalore Choir vocalist David Reece would be taking on the vocal duties and recording a new album with the group.

Lessmann and Chris Limburg no longer had the desire to continue and Uwe Köhler had also decided to leave the group and pursue a new course in music with another band.

The new second guitarist of Bonfire is Frank Pané, member of the German metal band Solemnity and ex-member of Red to Grey, and Valley's Eve.

Alexx Stahl of Purple Rising and Roxxcalibur agreed to be a temporary singer to fulfill the band's commitments until Bormann's arrival.

Michael Bormann, when he joined Bonfire in 1993, maintained his membership in Jaded Heart and also was involved with a recording by the J.R. Blackmore Group.

During his VERY brief time with Bonfire in 2016, Michael was still associated with Zeno, The Trophy, Redrum, Idea, Powerworld, Grindhouse and Silent Force as well as remaining a soloist.

Frank Pane joined Bonfire but maintained his membership in Purpendicular and AXEperience along with his own solo effort.