Artillery was formed in June 1982 in Taastrup, a suburb to Copenhagen, by drummer Carsten Nielsen and guitarist Jørgen Sandau. After trying out several musicians, the line up finally became: guitarists Jørgen Sandau and Michael Stützer, bassist Morten Stützer, drummer Carsten Nielsen and lead singer Per Onink. Per Onink left soon after, and was replaced by singer Carsten Lohmann.