Faithful Breath was one of Germany's oldest rock/metal bands, formed back in the late 60's by the duo of Heinz Mikus and Horst Stabenow. It wasn't until 1974 that they released their first album, the now-coveted Fading Beauty, an ambitious project that owes much to progressive rock and apparently bears little resemblance to their later metallic years. By the early 80's they began to pick up steam, adopting a Viking image (first seen on their humorous Rock Lions album cover) and a more hard rock stance. 1984's Gold 'n' Glory is their most well-known album, featuring a solid Accept-styled Germanic anthemic metal sound. They continued on until 1987, at which time they decided a change was necessary, becoming Risk. As Risk they continued for several years, finally calling it quits in the mid-nineties.