A series of lineup shifts dominated the late-'80s/early-'90s incarnation of the group, and despite a constant flow of new material and releases, Karat's popularity began to wane. Dreilich suffered a stroke while on-stage in 1998, but recovered just in time for the band's 25th anniversary show in Berlin. The show was released on CD and DVD and the favorable reviews and general well-wishing from the public energized the band enough to head back into the studio to record some new material. The resulting Licht und Schatten arrived in 2003. Both triumphant and bittersweet, it was to be Dreilich's final bow, as he was diagnosed early in the year with lymphatic cancer and died later that December. At his request, Karat continued on with his 35-year-old son Claudius Dreilich taking over lead vocal duties, but had to change their name to K...! due to a trademark suit filed by the elder Dreilich's widow. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi