Reactivated late 1980s Portland, Oregon-based thrash metal/hardcore band WEHRMACHT has announced the addition of vocalist Eric Helzer to the group's ranks. Eric joins WEHRMACHT as the replacement for the band's original singer, who exited the group earlier this year due to creative differences and to focus on his DJ career.

After a couple months of rehearsals, WEHRMACHT played its first show with Eric at the Revelations Of Death festival on July 13 in Portland with GHOUL, WITCHAVEN, SPEEDWOLF and others. The response was overwhelming and extremely positive.

According to a press release, WEHRMACHT is "stronger than ever and feels re-energized."

New music is being written and recorded, with a projected release date of either the fall 2012 or early 2013.

In between writing new songs, the band is also rehearsing for upcoming shows.

In the mid-'80s when most west coast metal bands in America were copying either METALLICA or MÖTLEY CRÜE, WEHRMACHT had a different approach which set them apart! By 1986 the band's self-distributed demo cassette and an appearance on the "Speed Metal Hell" compilation series had gained the group considerable acclaim in the metal underground. Music publications such as England's Metal Forces and the Netherlands' Aardschok were among many to praise WEHRMACHT's original sound.

In 1987, New Renaissance Records released WEHRMACHT's debut album entitled "Shark Attack". Although "Shark Attack" was well received by the metal underground, until 1999, it was never available in America on compact disc.

After "Shark Attack", the band set out to record their second album. That album, "Biermacht", was released in spring of 1988 on CD, LP, and cassette. Despite substantial pre-orders for "Biermacht", many record shops and distributors returned the products to the record company after discovering a song entitled "Suck My Dick" was listed on the album's cover. Many distributors also complained about the cover artwork.