by John Bush Founded by Sevren Ni-Arb and Regan Eracs, the German industrial band X Marks the Pedwalk expanded upon the Euro-synth pop of the 80s with harsher electronic rhythms and alternative themes. Ni-Arb had played keyboards with several 80s synth bands, but founded the group Scarecrow with Eracs in 1987. The duo released the Black Door EP, but in 1989 changed their name to X Marks the Pedwalk — taken from a short story by Fritz Leiber — for the release of the Arbitrary Execution single on the prolific Zoth Ommog label. Two more singles followed in the next year (Danger and Disease Control) before the pair released their debut album, Freaks, in 1991. They released several EPs during 1991-1992, after which Eracs left the band; Ni-Arb then recruited his brother, Raive Yarx, as a replacement. The brothers first release, Human Desolation, appeared in 1993. One year later, X Marks the Pedwalk gained a contract with the American industrial label Cleopatra; 1994s The Killing Had Begun was the first LP released under the contract. An album of mixes and B-sides, titled Air Back Trax for its Zoth Ommog issue, was renamed Abbatoir for its Cleopatra release late in 1994. Another compilation album, the American-only Four Fit, appeared in 1995, as did the groups fourth proper album, Meshwork. Ni-Arb also works on several side projects, including Ringtailed Snorter, A-Head, Blind Vision, and U-Tek.