Badrock Blues Band is Making a Scene

March 28, 2026

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Making a Scene Presents an Interview with the Badrock Blues Band

Shadows, the debut album from The Badrock Blues Band, is a record built on perseverance—three decades of hard-earned chemistry, a sudden global shutdown, and the heartbreaking loss of a bandmate who helped define their sound.

Formed in 1992 by Gerald “Mercy” Schuldenzucker (guitar, vocals), Siegfried Horvath (bass, vocals), and Franz Kollmann (guitar), Badrock spent more than 30 years shaping their own take on the meeting point between blues and rock. Over countless shows across Europe, they steadily refined a style that pulls from nearly every corner of the blues spectrum while staying connected to the roots of rock ’n’ roll. Their reputation grew the old-school way—through relentless live performance, loyal audiences, and a sound that kept getting sharper with time.

For years, the idea of making an album lingered in the background. Then the pandemic arrived and changed everything. “When the lockdowns happened, we suddenly found ourselves without gigs after decades on stage,” says Horvath. “It was as if someone had pressed reset.” With touring put on hold, the band turned inward and poured their energy into writing. What began as a way to stay connected to the music became something bigger. Song by song, they realized they finally had enough strong material to make a full record—and that the moment they’d delayed for so long had finally arrived.

Recording began in July 2024, and the band moved quickly, capturing the basic tracks for all 12 songs in under a week. But just as momentum was building, their world was shaken again by the sudden passing of Gerald “Mercy” Schuldenzucker. “Losing Mercy was a gut punch like no other,” Horvath recalls. “He was the blues anchor of the band—a walking encyclopedia of the genre whose presence could not be replaced.”

The band paused the project in grief, unsure of what came next. But they also knew what Mercy would have wanted: the music to live. Several months later, they returned to the recordings with a clear purpose. They were determined to finish the album without rewriting its heart. They didn’t want to reshape the songs into something different. They wanted them to sound the way Mercy had heard them.

In June 2025, The Badrock Blues Band completed Shadows. When they listened to the finished album together for the first time, it felt like more than a release—it felt like a shared memory brought back to life. The spirit that has defined the band since the beginning is still there: the joy of playing, the deep love of blues and rock, and the chemistry built over decades on stage.

Shadows carries a moving story and real emotion behind every note. It is a tribute to the music that shaped them, to the years that forged them, and to the friend they will always remember.