Desaster formed in 1988. The band had line-up issues before Infernal, the only remaining member of the original line-up, found musicians to continue Desaster in 1990. Okkulto and Odin joined the band in 1992. After the two demos,
The Fog of Avalon and
Lost in the Ages (which
Alexander von Meilenwald of
Nagelfar and
The Ruins of Beverast considers to be one of the five most important recordings for the German scene), Merciless Records released a split-7" with Ungod in 1995, the band's vinyl-debut. In 1996 the first album
A Touch of Medieval Darkness was released. The line-up for their following release, the 1997
Stormbringer mini-album, included new drummer Tormentor. his colleague Götz Kühnemund would later call them "Germany's leading black thrashers". During the recording sessions of the second album, Desaster also recorded the song "Proselytism Real" for the
Sodom tribute CD
Homage to the Gods, which was released as a bonus CD of the
Code Red album's limited edition. The band celebrated their 10th anniversary in late 1999 with the
Ten Years of Total Desaster double LP. In 2000, they released a split 10-inch with the Dutch band Pentacle via Iron Pegasus Records and their third full-length album
Tyrants of the Netherworld, which featured Beliar from Mayhemic Truth as a guest musician. In summer 2001, Desaster contributed the song "Darkness and Evil" with
Sabbat vocalist Gezol on guest-vocals for a Brazilian Sabbat tribute LP. After the band had played several festival-shows (e.g., Fuck the Commerce and
Wacken Open Air), vocalist Okkulto decided to leave the band; he was replaced by Sataniac, the former vocalist of the German black/thrash band Divine Genocide. The
Souls of Infernity 7-inch (2001) was Okkulto's last release with Desaster.
Divine Blasphemies, featuring the Divine Genocide cover song "Necrolord" and
Kreator vocalist
Mille Petrozza as a guest vocalist on "Nighthawk", was released in 2002. A show in São Paulo, Brazil, in front of 900 spectators was considered "a special highlight of 2003" by the band; a recording of the show was released as a double LP/CD and DVD on the Brazilian label Mutilation Records. The band moved to
Metal Blade Records who released their fifth album
Angelwhore in 2005, which was also released on vinyl via Iron Pegasus Records. After performances in Germany, England, Finland, Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland and other countries, a mini-tour through Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Austria and Slovenia and the South American Tour through Brazil, Peru and Colombia, the band released a 12-inch vinyl single called
Infernal Voices with one new song, the re-recorded "Fields of triumph" and a cover version of
Unleashed's "Before the creation of time". In May 2007, Desaster entered the Harrows Studio, Holland (
Asphyx, Pentacle,
Occult, Soulburn etc.) to record the sixth studio album ''Satan's Soldiers Syndicate''. It features guest appearances by Proscriptor (
Absu),
A.A. Nemtheanga (
Primordial) and Ashmedi (
Melechesh). == Musical style ==