Gerrit Thomas and the rest of Funker Vogt will be coming to the United States in April for their Warzone Tour. The 13 scheduled dates will take the electro-industrial act to every corner of the country, but there’s a lot of space in between the cities so you may still have to travel a few hours to get to see them depending on where you live. If you pay attention to this style of music, you know it will be worth it, though.

Funker Vogt has been around for nearly 15 years and has produced many great albums, gaining them quite a following around the world, even to the point where their CDs have been sold in some mall chain stores like FYE and Hot Topic. If they have somehow managed to slip under your radar, you should really give them a listen. Here’s one of their more popular songs, “Gunman”:

You can also listen to more Funker Vogt on their Myspace page, and find their albums (including their forthcoming, first ever 2-disc live album Warzone K17) for sale in the Metropolis Mailorder site at very good prices.

Funker Vogt’s Warzone Tour Dates
(dates updated again, as of Feb 27)

April 2 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
April 3 - Los Angeles, CA - Das Bunker
April 8 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
April 9 - Salt Lake City, UT - Club Vegas
April 10 - Denver, CO - Tracks
April 11 - Scottsdale, AZ - Zombie Ball @ The Venue
April 12 - Detroit, MI - TBA
April 13 - Pittsburgh, PA - Pegasus
April 14 - Northampton, MA - The Haven
April 15 - Richmond, VA - Fallout
April 16 - Allentown, PA - The Sterling Hotel
April 17 - New York, NY - Stimulate (event name, venue TBA)
April 18 - West Palm, FL - Respectable Street
April 20 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
April 23 - Austin, TX - Elysium
April 24 - Dallas, TX - The Lizard Lounge

Blutengel’s new album Schwarzes Eis

Chris Pohl’s main project Blutengel has announced that a new album titled Schwarzes Eis will be released on Friday the 13th in February. The album, which was preceded by the single Dancing in the Light in November will be a grand package indeed, as even the normal version will have another CD along with the main album. The second disc is called Behind the Mirror and it’ll boast eight completely new instrumental tracks. The limited edition of the album, however, is where the real action is. Schwarzes Eis? Check. Behind the Mirror? Check. Fancy box? Check. Grandiose 40-page booklet? Check. A third CD with not just bonus tracks but an actual, second new album? Che… Wait, what? Yeah, the third disc is a whole album of its own, Redemption, and it’ll have 10 tracks that didn’t fit on Schwarzes Eis. One of the songs is a new version of Winter of my Life which was released earlier this year as a download and very limited 7 inch vinyl. So all in all, you’ll be getting a total of three discs full of brand-new Blutengel goodness. What’s not to like?

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find the album anywhere for preorders, but in the meantime you can listen to a part of the song Dreh dich nicht um on Blutengel’s MySpace (which has actually been updated).

L’Âme Immortelle’s live DVD+CD emerges from the shadows

The Austrian L’Âme Immortelle’s new live DVD and CD package Jenseits der Schatten was released December 15th. The DVD side has the whole concert filmed during the band’s Namenlos tour, and it contains 21 songs from all around the band’s production, whereas the CD has 16 tracks picked from the set (you can see the track list for both after the break). Interestingly, the concert was filmed completely in black and white, making for a rather unique look. The DVD also contains some extras, for example more live material filmed in Vienna and behind the scenes goofiness.

The DVD+CD was initially only released as a limited edition six-panel digipack, and it’s available at most of your usual stores: Amazon.de for 21,95 €, Infrarot.de for 18,99 €, EMP.de for 21,99 € or for you in the US, Isotank for $24.99. Please note that the CD or DVD aren’t available separately! Just though I’d need to clear that up, since my original post was a bit ambiguous on the matter.

You can watch the trailer for the DVD here, or listen to two songs from the CD on L’Âme Immortelle’s MySpace.

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Originally founded as Sven West in 1997, the gothic electro and EBM outfit Cephalgy quickly gained fame in Germany’s electronic music scene. So much, in fact, that when they were performing live at Chemnitz, the city’s resident industrial EBM heavyweight Accessory’s people were so impressed with the band that they quickly got them into contact with Out of Line Records. In 2004, Cephalgy released their first album Engel sterben nie on Out of Line, and from there on they’ve gone on to release one EP and two more albums. Despite the super tight working pace, they’ve also had the time to make quite an amount of remixes for some of the most prominent artists in the genre, like Blutengel, Das Ich and Hocico.

The third album by Cephalgy from Dresden saw light of the day two months ago on October 10th. Initially released as a limited 2CD edition, Herzschlag is packed to the brim with cold, massive electronic beats and plenty of commanding vocals. The second disc features even more new songs and also some remixes including one by Accessory. Personally, I don’t really know if what I should think of this band, because to me they sound just a wee bit too generic and it doesn’t seem like they’re trying to do anything at all new, but hey, if you’re looking for some quality electro to add to your collection, you should definitely give them a try. I’m not saying they’re bad per se, but maybe you’ll get some more mileage out of them than me.

Cephalgy’s MySpace has a total of six full-length songs from their latest up for listening. You can get Herzschlag at most stores, for example Amazon.de for 15,95 €, EMP.de for 15,99 €, or for you people in the States, Isotank for $20.99.

Cephalgy - Herzschlag tracklist
CD1
1 Erlöse mich
2 Dunkelseele
3 Hass mich
4 Königin
5 Du
6 Electroholic
7 Müde
8 Tiefer
9 Schutzengel
10 I`ll survive
11 Lebe
12 Tränen zu Staub
13 Herzschlag

CD2:
1 Schwarze Göttin
2 Unsterblich
3 Hilfeschrei
4 Rache
5 Tiefer (Battlescream remix)
6 Erlöse mich (Accessory remix)
7 Königin (Shizophobia remix)
8 Hass mich (Deadtronic remix)

The latest piece of news on Wumpscut’s official website updates us on the progress of the upcoming album Fuckit - it’s finished, and it’ll be available for hearing on Wumpscut’s website on Christmas Eve, 24th December! What exactly this means is as of yet unknown, as the English update only mentions the album being “online” then, whereas the German version says the album “wird zu kriegen sein”, which is pretty much “will be available” in English. Maybe you’ll actually be able to download the full album for free? Who knows? Just under two weeks until the 24th, so you’ll have to hold your horses until then.

Rudy “Merch Factory” Ratzinger is also announcing a new line of :W: merchandise for Fuckit and Wumpscut. Alongside previously announced rings and belts you’ll have the chance to really fuckit (oh my god, I’m sorry! But I’m sure horrible puns are exactly what Rudy’s been aiming for) with Fuckit-themed condoms. In addition to those, on 24th will also be revealed more fantastically unexpected fan swag. Whatever could that be? It’s not like Wumpscut’s had any sort of dearth of creativity for its merchandise, there’s been just about everything from mousepads to fridge magnets, and from energy drinks to metal shields… And now there’s supposed to be something even more extraordinary. You could say Ratzinger goes sometimes - no, make it all the time - a bit overboard with the insane amounts of merchandise, but hey, at least it’s all consistently really, really good and of high quality. And who said you have to buy absolutely everything?

First conceived in 2006, AD:keY is the side project of the keyboardist from Armageddon Dildos, who calls himself Agro, and his musical partner Andrea. The band may be new, but the sound is pure old school EBM. Take the synths and beats of DAF and the vocal style and slight spaciness of Welle Erdball, put them in a blender for a few seconds, and you’ve just successfully completed the recipe to make AD:keY. It tastes, or rather sounds, delicious. This is definitely one you’ll want to listen to.

Thema Nummer Eins is AD:keY’s debut album and was just released yesterday, December 5th, according to Infrarot.de, which seems to be the only Europe-based shop I can find the album in. (You’ll find some other news sources listing a November 25th release date, though.) Despite the lack of broad distribution, however, Isotank has managed to get the album for American fans.

AD:keY - Thema Nummer Eins track listing:
01. Lass Mich Los
02. Körper Um Körper
03. Modern Angel
04. Hoch Die Hämmer
05. Elitär
06. Küss Mich
07. Pour Toi
08. Sex Ist Macht
09. Shout
10. Seelenstrip
11. Frostengel
12. Grüne Augen Lügen
13. Tanzflächenhooligan
14. Modern Angel (Konstruktionsfehler-Mix)
15. Pour Toi (Pfützenspringer-Mix)
16. Sex Ist Macht (Remix By Final Selection)

Back in February during And One’s US tour, Steve Naghavi said the band would return to the North America for a second tour in the Fall, but it’s already nearly Winter. Bodypop 1½ was supposed to have been released a half dozen times already, but it keeps getting delayed more and more. And One sure does like to get us all excited and then turn us away in despair when they don’t deliver, but we always come crawling back when there’s more news.

New single “Paddy Is My DJ”
And One is set to release a new single called “Paddy Is My DJ” on December 16th. It’s a limited edition single. Only 500 units will be produced, and it’s only being released on an appropriately orange-colored 7″ vinyl record. The all new song will be paired with a live favorite, And One’s cover of Project Pitchfork’s “Timekiller” which was recorded in Hamburg, as a B-side.

“Paddy Is My DJ” will not appear on Bodypop 1½, and it’s not likely there will be a CD version produced, so head on over to the Out Of Line webshop to pre-order your copy of the single today. The top hat on the cover and the orange color of the vinyl makes it cool enough to own even if you don’t have a turntable… but you should probably get one if you don’t.

What happened to Bodypop 1½?
According to the latest And One email newsletter, this new single is only an appetizer for what’s about to come. It says the release of Bodypop 1½ “may be right around the corner.” As much as I would love to believe that, I’ve heard it too many times already so I will just wait for further confirmation on that. Actually, it sounds like they’re not even sure, using the word “may”…

And One - “Paddy Is My DJ” tracklisting:
A: Paddy Is My DJ
B: Timekiller (Live in Hamburg)

Only half a year has passed since their last album, Demokratischer Sektor, and now the EBM and electronic act Patenbrigade: Wolff is ready to release a new EP titled Stalinallee on November 28th. Alongside a remix of the track Stalinallee from the album, the EP will feature five other new tracks (one being a hidden track), all of them done in Patenbrigade: Wolff’s familiar style of slightly tongue-in-cheek and deadly sleek electronics. The EP is available in a whole plethora of different editions ranging from a crazy bag packed with all kinds of swag to a bare-bones, three-track DJ promo version and anything in between. All the versions are available on Patenbrigade: Wolff’s own shop. Alternatively, you can get the basic version with all the tracks at most of your regular stores, for example Amazon.de or the Out of Line shop.

You can get a taster of Patenbrigade: Wolff’s music on their MySpace site, which has a load of full-length tracks for you to listen. Also, the P:W boys were kind enough to let everyone download the leading track Stalinallee (Jugendklubmix) for free!

Tracklisting for Stalinallee by Patenbrigade: Wolff
01 Stalinallee (Jugendklubmix)
02 Der Generalmajor fährt zur Arbeit
03 Feind hört mit! (B. Honeckers MfS Edit)
04 Datenfernübertragung
05 Signal
06 Untitled Track

Eisschock’s new EP is web-only (also awesome)

Eisschock, a one-woman EBM outfit released its debut titled Therapie two years ago. It was a solid album with some rough edges like the rather undeveloped sound, but it was really promising anyway and left me wanting more. Well, now there’s a chance to get some more: last month a new EP, Play the Game, was released - although only on the web. And boy, the five new tracks do sound pretty good. Almost everything sounds better than the last time: the sounds have more punch to them, there’s more meat to the compositions and the singer sings better than ever before. Better check it out if you can spare a measly couple of bucks for some quality EBM/electro (I’m sure you can).

You can listen to lengthy samples of all five tracks on Eisschock’s MySpace site, or catch a music video for the pretty fantastic title track of the EP here. Eisschock also released a free instrumental track titled Secret World in July, you can download it here. You can buy the EP at several web shops, for example Amazon.com for $0,89 a track, Junodownload.com for something like 1£ for each song or MP3.de for 1,29 € a piece.

Tracklisting for Play the Game by Eisschock
1. Hass mich
2. Play the Game
3. Pictures of the Past
4. Platitudes
5. Far Far Away

Unheilig to re-release Puppenspiel and An deiner Seite

Yeah, we know that Unheilig’s newest album Puppenspiel, released early this year, was a massive success and probably also one of the very best releases this year, but is it really necessary to rub it in our faces? Now that the album has been more or less completely sold out, they’re going to release it again on November 28th, but this time in a total of three different versions. In addition to another pressing of the very basic CD with all the tracks, booklets and what have you, there’s going to be a stripped-down, so-called PUR version where you’ll get the album in a minimalistic cardboard sleeve. Finally you’ll be able to get a new “Limited Deluxe Edition” with the 14 main tracks and a bonus DVD. So, sorry, it seems that if you missed the two extra songs (Glaub an mich, Spielzeugmann) on the original digipak limited edition, you still won’t get your hands on them…

Also, Unheilig’s single An deiner Seite was pretty much sold out, and so even more rubbing-in-face is available. An deiner Seite will be re-released November 14th in two configurations: a normal single with the original radio mix and a whole new radio mix produced by the producer Oliver Pinelli and re-recorded specifically for the single, and a premium single with a new orchestral mix of the song and a video feature thingy. Yeah, one orchestral version was already included on the Spiegelbild EP, but this is a new one. At least EMP.de already has both editions of the single.

Tracklisting for An deiner Seite by Unheilig
1. An deiner Seite (Pinelli Radio Mix)
2. An deiner Seite (Original Radio Mix)

Tracklisting for An deiner Seite premium edition by Unheilig
1. An Deiner Seite (Pinelli Orchester Mix)
2. Videospezial (Impressionen, Making Of, Live, Video)

Agonoize releases music For the Sick and Disturbed in October

The EBM outfit Agonoize will release a brand-new EP on October 31st. Titled For the Sick and Disturbed, it will feature five new songs and a couple of remixes. Unfortunately, although sources tell there will at least be a club track called “Schafensterpuppenarsch”, no tracklisting has been made public yet. However, you can certainly click on the picture to the right to take a better look at the either crazy cool / stupidly horrible coverart on the right. If you aren’t familiar with Agonoize yet, you can catch samples of older material, including a track from their previous album Sieben, on their MySpace site.

Ratzinger’s at it again: upcoming Wumpscut album to be titled FUCKIT

“I guess we’ll be seeing if Rudy is able to keep up the quality next April, if he’s going to continue at the same pace as before“, said I last March in my review of Wumpscut’s 2008 album Schädling. And indeed, that’s exactly what will happen, because one of the most prolific artists in the electronic scene, Rudy Ratzinger, has just revealed that his next Wumpscut album will be titled FUCKIT and, as has been the case for the last few years, it will see the light of day sometime April or March. You’ll likely have your typical wide assortment of different versions to choose from, including a crazy box packed with various collectible items, a limited first edition, a DJ CD and a whole plethora of other, wacky options. Whether Mr. R will be able to improve on the extremely solid Schädling will be solved next spring!

I for one am excited and interested, but what do you think? Do you think Rudy should spend more time preparing each album? Or does the fact that he never tours really enable him to release albums at such a fast pace? Also, the title of the new album is quite a departure from the typical themes Wumpscut has touched upon, what do you think it might mean for the style of the music this time? Take it to the comments!

Fans of EBM and electronic music in North America rejoice - the German [:SITD:] has confirmed a bevy of tour dates for the New Continent! [:SITD:] and the American/Austrian Aesthetic Perfection will support the Californian industrial electronic outfit Imperative Reaction on its Minus All tour in autumn and early winter. The tour seems to be quite an extensive one and it’s implied that not all dates have yet been announced, so you’ll have plenty of chances to catch some of the most crushing electronic beats on the planet.

Check out [:SITD:]’s MySpace site for a taster of what you can expect, six full tracks are there for your listening pleasure. Samples of the other support group Aesthetic Perfection here, and the main attraction Imperative Reaction here.

Click below for a complete list of the tour dates, or here for the official announcement on [:SITD:]’s site

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