[POST UPDATED]

After a four-year break, Megaherz established their status as one of the best German metal bands out there again with a renewed band lineup and the great comeback album Heuchler last year. Currently touring extensively in Germany, the band is now going to release a brand new best-of disc titled Totgesagte leben länger. This is the band’s second best-of, the first being the early collection Querschnitt which contained material from Megaherz’s first three albums, so this new one concentrates more on the later albums. According to the singer Lex himself on the Megaherz forums, they had to leave out all the material released on Megaherz’s fifth album titled 5 fronted by Mathias Elsholz (currently of Die!), because that album was released on a different label and they just couldn’t get the license for them. Too bad. In any case, Totgesagte leben länger seems to be quite a good introduction to the band for new fans and a probable collector’s piece for others, because in addition to the main bulk of the collection, there’s going to be at least two bonus tracks in the form of remixes by Heimataerde and Staubkind. The album also comes with a code for free online downloads.

According to Megaherz’s newsletter and official site, the collection will be released on March 13th. However, several online stores that already have the album up for preorders call it Kaltes Grab: Best of (and even have a preliminary cover with that title) and say it’s supposed to be released on March 6th, but this is likely a mix-up courtesy of a premature announcement by either the record label ZYX or the band itself. You can preorder the album at least on Amazon.de and EMP.de. The Heimataerde remix of Heuchler is already listenable on Megaherz’s MySpace.

Below is the real tracklisting, as provided by Lex on the band’s forums.

Megaherz - Totgesagte leben länger
1. 5. März
2. Miststück
3. Blender
4. Heuchler
5. An deinem Grab
6. Zu den Sternen
7. Ebenbild
8. Menschmaschine
9. Falsche Götter
10. Morgenrot
11. Glas und Tränen
12. Windkind
13. Mann von Welt
14. Schlag zurück
15. Heuchler (RMIX by Steinkind)
16. Heuchler (RMIX by Heimataerde)

Free downloads

17. Heute schon gelebt?
18. Beiss mich
19. Herzblut
20. Schizophren
21. Perfekte Droge
22. Das Tier (Orchester Version)

This week’s Radio Goethe podcast has a special focus on Megaherz’s new album Heuchler. The second half of the broadcast has 6 songs from the album for you to listen to, and the first half is filled with other German metal and hard rock bands to maintain the same sound for the entire hour.

If you like the hard side of German music, you definitely need to listen to this podcast. Start listening anytime in the next week by clicking “Listen to the latest show” at the top of the Radio Goethe website or by subscribing to it on iTunes.

Be sure not to miss the audio tour of the German city of Cologne with the members of Geist, the first band on the podcast. This is a separate MP3 file, as it is part of the Radio Goethe Magazine show, which you can download here. The guys have very good English and are pretty entertaining, plus their music isn’t bad, either. Check it out on the main RG podcast and their MySpace page if you want more.

This week’s Radio Goethe podcast
Geist: Leider
Tonkraft: Diener und Herrscher
KMFDM: WWII (live)
Rammstein: Amerika (live)
Inchtabokatables: Die Taube (live)
Crematory: Left the ground
Megaherz: Heuchler
Megaherz: Fauler Zauber
Megaherz: L’Aventure
Megaherz: Alles nur Lüge
Megaherz: Das Tier
Megaherz: Schau in mein Herz

Eisbrecher updated their website yesterday with news that their upcoming album Sünde is now completely recorded and that it is now being mastered. But the biggest news is that the band’s bassist Martin Motnik has left the band to move to Los Angeles. They tried making the long distance relationship work out, but it just wasn’t possible.

Who will be replacing him? It’s none other than Olli Pohl! Olli was formerly the bass player for Alexx and Noel’s old band Megaherz, and also helped fill in for a few Eisbrecher concerts in the earlier days of the band, but now he has become a full fledged member. Eisbrecher will be playing their first concerts with their new bassist later this month on the 19th and 20th at the Rockharz and Amphi Festivals.

Herzwerk II re-released today

Some Megaherz fans will tell you that Herzwerk II is the band’s best album. It is fantastic, no doubt, and is the last album recorded with their original singer Alexx Wesselsky. Herzwerk II was originally released in 2002 on the new (at the time) BMG sublabel Firestarter, but they later shut down business, leaving Megaherz in need of yet another new label. One question that was never really asked was who got the rights for Herzwerk II after the demise of Firestarter. Now, it is apparent that Megaherz’s first (and also current) label ZYX got them. How can we tell? ZYX organized a re-release of Herzwerk II and it has just arrived in stores today!

Megaherz has yet to say anything about this, but luckily for German music fans, we are all over any news about Megaherz like flies on… well, you know. If you’re anything like us, you will notice right away that the re-release contains the bonus track “Es Brennt” which was originally only available on the limited edition digipack version of Herzwerk II. That’s good news if you weren’t able to get one of the digipacks when the album first came out, or if you are a newer fan. Want even better news? The re-release is actually cheaper than the original in most stores that still have it for sale. For the best prices, visit Amazon.com in North America or AlphaMusic.de in Europe.

Megaherz - Herzwerk II re-release tracklist:
01. Herzblut
02. Glas und Tränen
03. I.M. Rumpelstilzchen
04. 5. März
05. F.F.F. (Flesh for Fantasy)
06. Hand auf’s Herz
07. Zu den Sternen
08. Licht II (Instrumental)
09. Heute schon gelebt?
10. An deinem Grab
11. Perfekte Droge
12. Spiel nicht…
13. Gold
14. Es brennt

“Mann Von Welt” single also out today

Don’t forget that Megaherz’s new single “Mann Von Welt” is also being released today. Yes, the band announced that it would be out last week on June 20th, but all the shops say June 27th and since they have the ultimate control about when a CD is put on the shelf, we will go with their date. You can find both the basic version and the limited fan edition on EMP.de.

The combination of Greg going MIA and me slacking off because of the holidays is not a good thing for Germaniac. Here’s the catch-up news post for some of the most important stuff that’s been happening in these couple of weeks. I hope we’ll be able to resume normal operations as soon as possible! All the tracklistings and ordering information relevant to this post can be found behind the link at the end, because with them this already horribly lengthy post would be, simply put, INSANE.

Oomph!’s album #10 to be Monster

Oomph!, one of the pioneering bands of the industrial metal and NDH genres, will be releasing their tenth album in August according to Oomph!’s official site. The record, of which we got a little taster with the single Wach auf! which was released earlier this year, will be titled Monster. Not much else is known of the upcoming record, except for some tidbits revealed in a German interview. Amongst others, we’re going to get an “electro metal tango” piece and a blues song as well.

No doubt in celebration of their tenth album and as a sign of gratitude to their fans, Dero, Crap and Flux are also offering fans a unique chance to permanently cement themselves in the Oomph! legacy by running a contest for the cover design of the new album. Anyone can send in their visions of what the cover should be until June 27th, and the boys themselves will then choose the final design that will adorn the album. A number of the submissions can already be checked out here, and they range from quite horrible to insanely cool. I for one am eager to find out what the final product will look (and sound!) like!

Megaherz single soon

Before the hotly anticipated new album Heuchler, Megaherz will release the single Mann von Welt on June 20th. There will be two versions of the single: a basic one with Mann von Welt and Es Brennt, a bonus track from the sold out limited edition of Herzwerk II, and an EP-length limited fan edition version with three additional songs from older albums. As far as I can see, the fan edition is not very necessary unless you’re new to Megaherz and need to sample the older stuff, but the single is a great opportunity to hear Es Brennt, which is an excellent song you might very well have missed the first time around. You can hear a preview of Mann von Welt on Megaherz’s Myspace and official site.

Eisbrecher’s single detailed

The first single from Eisbrecher’s upcoming album Sünde will be titled “Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein?”, and it will be released on July 11th. This is, however, a Germany-only release, so completionists will have to pay an extra buck or two (or more like ten) if they want to get their hands on this release. No cover or tracklisting has been made public as of yet, but if the previous singles by Eisbrecher are of any indication, this one should too sport a couple of remixes and possibly a bonus song or other small feature alongside the main track itself.

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter single

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, a well-respected German trash metal outfit will release a single titled Der Weg on 27th June. The single features two songs from the upcoming full-lenght release Licht, which doesn’t have a release date yet, and two bonus tracks. The physical CD version of the single published by Nuclear Blast is limited to only 1000 copies, as it was originally planned to only be available via iTunes. Die Apokalyptischen Reiter also released a live DVD earlier this year.

Unheilig’s Spiegelbild EP revealed

The tracklisting and cover design for Unheilig’s Spiegelbild EP have been finally revealed. True to the style of the EPs before, this release is limited to just 3333 pieces and has a total of three different versions of the title song, a new version of the earlier single An deiner Seite and also a trio of completely new Unheilig tracks. Spiegelbild will be released on 26th July.

Laibach’s Dead in Trbovlje in July

Laibach have pushed back the release of their new DVD, which was originally slated for release on 16th June, to 26th July. Titled Dead in Trbovlje, the DVD will feature a full live concert from their widely acclaimed Volk tour, four music videos and on top of that, six of the background screens/videos Laibach used in their Volk shows. There’s also a short commentary on the tour.

Thanks to Nadja for all the tips!

That’s it for now. I know there’s a ton I missed, but at least we have something to cover up the massive time gap we’ve been experiencing. Here’s hoping that Greg will be back in full force soon!

Check out the tracklistings for these items after the jump…
(more…)

Megaherz has just updated their website with the latest info about their highly anticipated 6th album. We can easily pick out the 3 most important pieces of info from the article. First up, the album’s name: Heuchler. Second, the release date: July 25th. Third, there’s a new song online: “Fauler Zauber”.

The band’s announcement also says that there will be a pre-listening of the entire album scheduled 1 week before the release date on their MySpace page. Mark your calendars and be sure to check it out on July 18th. There will also be a preview of Heuchler on May 23rd in the virtual world of Second Life at the Club Dark Refuge. Lex will be online there to chat and answer all fo yoru questions.

Finally, as you might expect, the Megaherz team is gearing up for promotions in the media. Look for them in the June editions of magazines like Orkus, Zillo and Sonic Seducer.

A new bit of info about Megaherz’s forthcoming 6th album: PowerMetal.de posted a very short article stating that the still untitled album will be released in July, stating Absolut Promotion as the source. It also lists a few song names, some of which were already known. They are “Der Mann von Welt”, “Heuchler”, “Fauler Zauber”, “Kaltes Grab”, “L’Aventure”, and of course “Ebenbild” which you can hear on Megaherz.de.

This anticipated release date seems to fit pretty well with the band’s announcement at the beginning of the month that they expect to be done in the studio by the end of June. The anticipation is building!

Accessory plans U.S. West Coast tour

I heard a few complaints when Accessory’s brief U.S. tour totally missed the West coast, but they have since announced plans to return to the other side of the States for a few more concerts. With just 7 dates, this is another really short tour, but combined with the other 7 they played previously, I guess it could be considered a decent showing. Accessory will be performing with Dust Is Noise for all dates, plus an additional guest Syndika Zero for the Portland, Oregon show. If you’re into electro-industrial, Accessory is a band you may very well be interested in hearing, and then seeing live on stage.

Accessory’s U.S. West Coast tour dates:
June 22 - San Francisco, California - Fat City
June 23 - Portland, Oregon - The Fez Ballroom
June 24 - Seattle, Washington - TBA
June 26 - Salt Lake City, Utah - Club Vegas
June 28 - Vegas, Nevada - Vector
June 30 - Tucson, Arizona - TBA
July 04 - Los Angeles, California - Das Bunker

B.O.S.C.H. to perform in a movie

One of the best new electro-metal bands from Germany, B.O.S.C.H. has been attracting attention from all kinds of people, movie producers included. The band has recently announced that they will be performing in a new movie directed by Joachim Mais called Katharsis. In the scene where B.O.S.C.H. will be performing, there will be lots of extras acting as the creatures of the underworld. This is where the band’s fans come into play: You are all invited to wear your best gothic and alternative clothing and take part in the filming of this big scene. If you want to participate, just check out the band’s post on MySpace for further details.

Die! has 2 new demos online

You may remember that ex-Megaherz singer Mathias Elsholz was confirmed to be the new singer of Die! back in August of last year. Well, it looks like the band has been hard at work with their new frontman because they now have 2 new demos available on their MySpace page. Both “Alles In Eine Topf” and “Teufelswerk” have Mathias’s signature broad vocal range, and I am predicting even more fans will be debating the musical similarities between Die! and Megaherz as well. They’re not nearly as refined as Megaherz’s high-quality demos, but you can definitely get a feeling for what the finished songs may sound like. Be sure to give them a listen.

Anyone who is a fan of Megaherz has been anxiously awaiting news about their next album which will feature their new singer Lex. Finally, after some delay, the band has made an official 3-part announcement on the .de version of their site.

First of all, the biggest news is that Megaherz has sealed the deal on a new record contract with… guess who… their original label ZYX! I’m sure they are very happy to be back on a solid record label after their last 2 albums were released on newly established labels (Firestarter and S.A.D.) that closed down shortly after the albums got released. And ZYX does a really fantastic job with promotions as well. I’ve seen the press kits they have done for some of their other artists and they are very nicely done. All said, I think it’s a good move for both the band and their fans.

The second part of Megaherz’s announcement today is about getting into the studio. Obviously, the band has written songs and recorded demos already since we can hear the demo for “Ebenbild” on Megaherz.de, but they will now head into the studio for the next few months to professionally record all the tracks for the new album. They expect to be done in the studio by the end of June, so that means the new album should be released sometime in the Fall, or perhaps even the very end of summer if everything moves quickly.

Finally, there are some new photos of the band in their gallery as well. These include some new pics from a rehearsal, a drum recording session, and of course a bunch of live photos from their one-off concert in Ingolstadt.

All of this news will be posted on the American Megaherz site, Megaherz.com, soon. Stay tuned to either band website or right here on Germaniac for continued news on the sixth Megaherz album!

The new Radio Goethe podcast has a bunch of great songs this week. Most of them are guitar-based, ranging from electronic rock to punk rock. The first couple songs are totally new to me and I am really enjoying them. Unfortunately, I can’t find their websites because the names are so generic. Any help?

A look at Alexx Wesselsky
Arndt also included 2 songs with Alexx Wesselsky on this podcast. “Königin der Nacht” is a fantastic song he guest-sang on for the band IFF, and then of course Eisbrecher is the band he created after leaving Megaherz. That’s a nice look at Alexx’s more recent musical projects, but recently on the Megaherz.com Forum, we have also been talking about the very first bands Alexx was involved with: Bad Hoven, Xanda, and Used Underwear. Feel free to join in the discussion there as we investigate this great singer’s early years.

Heiko Maile composes movie soundtrack
Camouflage member Heiko Maile recently composed the music for the German movie Die Welle. The soundtrack was just released on EMI this past Friday.

Listen to Radio Goethe
The Radio Goethe podcast can be found each week on RadioGoethe.org or on Apple iTunes. Or, if you’re lucky, you can find the Radio Goethe broadcast on a radio station near you. Check out the Radio Goethe website for details.

This week’s Radio Goethe podcast playlist:
Uptide: Deny
Sun: Swallow without chewing
Eric Fish: Turn the page
Sportfreunde Stiller: Pogo in Togo
Silbermond: Meer sein
IFF feat. Alexx: Königin der Nacht
Eisbrecher: Vergissmeinnicht
Rammstein: Amerika
Sputnik: Hallo
Stendal Blast: Nur ein Tag
Camouflage: We are lovers
Catastrophe Ballet: Consequently
Shiny Gnomes: In Nadreena’s Garden