Frank Blackfire

Gosdzik was born in Essen. Inspired by attending an AC/DC concert, he began playing the guitar at the age of eleven. After first attempts with his self-founded band Midia, he joined Sodom in 1987, who were originating from Gelsenkirchen, and with whom he had previously shared a rehearsal room. Taking his lead from the pseudonyms of his new bandmates at Sodom, Tom Angelripper and Chris Witchhunter, Gosdzik called himself "Frank Blackfire". Due to his exceptional playing skills, he had a significant influence on the musical development and direction of Sodom, contributing to an EP and the album Persecution Mania (1987). In 1989, the album Agent Orange followed. In July 1989, Blackfire left Sodom due to personal differences and joined Essen's Kreator, another pioneer band of the German thrash scene. Three commercially successful studio albums under Blackfire's participation followed, Coma of Souls (1990), Renewal (1992), and the 1995 release Cause for Conflict, which again reached the German charts. In 1994, Blackfire worked with the Brazilian women's band Volkana on their album Mindtrips.