When Kuntz was in school, drummer Andreas Lill heard Kuntz singing in his punk band, Rock Zock. Kuntz did not like the kind of music that Rock Zock was playing, and Lill asked him to sing for his band, which was called Exodus at the time. When the question of a new name came up, they were inspired by a car maker they saw (Vanden Plas), and they thought that it would be an interesting band name.[1]