Documentary about Einstürzende Neubauten planned
The Berlin-based film maker Uli Schueppel is planning a documentary about Einstürzende Neubauten’s first concert which took place on December 21st, 1989 in what was then East Berlin. This should be really interesting to see when it’s completed, but for now Uli is in search of anyone who attended that concert and who can provide some additional information for his documentary. Anyone who can help should contact him at info@schueppel-films.de.

Diary Of Dreams has a clothing collection
I don’t know how old this news is, but it caught me by surprise as I was browsing Infrarot.de. Apparently Diary Of Dreams has launched a clothing line in association with the gothic clothing company Aderlass. They have several different styles of jackets, trench coats, pants and skirts available. You can see them all on Infrarot.de here, but I have to warn you, they are pretty expensive. The prices range from €89.90 to €239.90.

Lacrimosa begins work on new album
Lacrimosa, the Swiss gothic metal band headed up by Tilo Wolff, has begun working on their next album. This will be the band’s 10th studio album since they formed in 1990, and their first major release since their 2007 live album Lichtjahre. If you’re in Europe, be sure to catch one of their upcoming concerts or the Blackfield Festival in Gelsenkirchen where they will be headlining.

Every once in a while, there is a certain non-German band that’s just too good not to mention, so I always try to find some obscure reason that makes them eligible for this blog. Luckily for me, that’s not too hard to do in the case of Apocalyptica. They are from Finland, but they do have links to several German bands like Rammstein, The Farmer Boys, Die Happy and Guano Apes, all of whom have provided guest vocals at one time or another to Apocalyptica. So now that we have established that much, let’s get on with the whole purpose of this post.

News about the tour
Apocalyptica will be touring the United States and Canada very soon. Their tour begins next Friday, April 11th, and continues on until mid-May for a grand total of 30 concerts. This is a really big tour for a foreign band and they are visiting lots of regions that most bands don’t go to, so let’s help make it worth it for them. Go to one of their concerts, you won’t be disappointed!

Ticket info
Tickets for most of the venues are for sale here on Ticketmaster.com. Also, please note that Ticketmaster lists a few of the venues as being in different towns than the official tour list which is listed below. The venues are all the same, but the actual city it’s in may be a neighboring town to the major city in the list below, so just do a little homework ahead of time to find out exactly where you’re going.

Worlds Collide will be released in North America
One last thing. Apocalyptica’s current album Worlds Collide, which was originally released in Europe on September 14th, will be released in the United States and Canada on Tuesday, April 15th. Chances are, you can probably buy it at their concerts as well. Check out my original post about Worlds Collide for all the info and tracklisting.

Apocalyptica’s 2008 North American Tour dates:
April 12 - House of Blues - San Diego, CA
April 13 - The Boardwalk - Orangevale, CA
April 14 - Roxy - Los Angeles, CA
April 16 - Slim’s - San Francisco, CA
April 17 - Roseland - Portland, OR
April 18 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
April 19 - Commodore - Vancouver, BC
April 21 - In the Venue - Salt Lake City, UT
April 22 - Gothic Theatre - Denver, CO
April 23 - Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
April 24 - Pop’s - St. Louis, IL
April 26 - Fine Line - Minneapolis, MN
April 27 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL
April 28 - House of Blues - Cleveland, OH
April 29 - Crofoot - Detroit, MI
April 30 - Phoenix Theater - Toronto, ON
May 1 - Metropolis - Montreal, QC
May 2 - Paradise Club - Boston, MA
May 4 - Trocadero Theatre - Philadelphia, PA
May 5 - Fillmore / Irving Plaza - New York, NY
May 7 - Club - Washington, DC
May 8 - Amos - Charlotte, NC
May 9 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
May 10 - Parish at House of Blues - New Orleans, LA
May 11 - Warehouse Live - Houston, TX
May 12 - House of Blues - Dallas, TX
May 14 - Sunshine Theatre - Albuquerque, NM
May 15 - Marquee - Phoenix, AZ
May 16 - Pima County Fairgrounds (KFMA Radio Day) - Tucson, AZ
May 19 - House of Blues - Las Vegas, NV

The gothic band Lacrimas Profundere recently announced on their MySpace page that they will release their next album Songs For The Last View sometime in May. That announcement was made a little over a week ago on March 19th, but I’m seeing signs of the album being released later than they said. More specifically, EMP.de (which is the only site that has the album available to pre-order already, as far as I can tell) has the release date listed as June 27th. Just judging from EMP’s past, I’d say the release date they have listed is psobably more accurate.

Interestingly, EMP.de is also showing 3 different versions of Songs For The Last View including a standard CD version, and CD+DVD version in a digipack, and a CD+DVD digipack version that also comes with a T-shirt. I haven’t seen a tracklisting for the album yet, nor have I heard any samples of the music, but I will be sure to post these in the future when I see them.

ASP just released a new compilation called Horror Vacui yesterday. It’s a best-of album and includes 33 songs spanning the band’s entire history on 2 discs. Some are just copies of the original songs, but most are either remastered or totally rerecorded. You’ll also find several remixes, live versions, and even a few previously unreleased tracks as you listen. I’ve been listening to ASP for years, and I think they did a great job with this selection.

If you like electronic influenced gothic rock but you don’t know ASP’s music, this would surely be a good place to start. You’ll probably want to go for the regular version of Horror Vacui which just has the 2 CDs and all the music. But if you’re already a big fan of ASP and a collector, maybe you would prefer the limited edition which comes with a 40 page booklet. There’s also a bonus DVD with photo galleries, a short film, and an original frame from the 35mm film reel.

More info about ASP and Horror Vacui
Be sure to check out the ASP interview on DeutschMusikLand.com that Joki performed with the members of ASP before their concert in Köln back in November. It is incredibly informative and reveals a lot about the band’s history as well as Horror Vacui.

Don’t forget to read all about some of ASP’s other recent releases, too.

ASP - Horror Vacui tracklist

Disc 1:
01. How far would you go? (single version)
02. Hunger (re-recorded)
03. Coming Home
04. Schwarzer Schmetterling (re-mastered)
05. Ich will brennen (re-recorded)
06. Dancing (re-recorded)
07. Weltunter (re-recorded)
08. Demon Love (re-recorded)
09. De Profundis
10. Sing Child (re-mastered)
11. Panik (Horror Vacui mix)
12. Die kleine Ballade vom Schwarzen Schmetterling (re-mastered)
13. Raserei
14. Stille der Nacht (re-recorded)
15. Once in a Lifetime (re-mastered)
16. Die Ruhe vor dem Sturm (re-mastered)

Disc 2:
01. Ich bin ein wahrer Satan (single version)
02. Me (video edit 2.0)
03. Schwarzes Blut (club version)
04. Kokon (Horror Vacui mix)
05. Biotopia
06. Werben (re-recorded)
07. Ballade von der Erweckung (re-mastered)
08. Sanctus Benedictus (End of Virginity-version)
09. Krabat (club version)
10. Lykantropie (re-recorded)
11. Finger Weg! Finger!
12. Schwarz (re-recorded)
13. Tiefenrausch-LIVE (previously unreleased)
14. Und wir tanzten - Ungeschickte Liebesbriefe (re-mastered)
15. Nie Mehr (Horror Vacui mix)
16. Duett - Minnelied der Incubi
17. So viel tiefer (previously unreleased)

Horror Vacui video trailer

Source: youtube.com/watch?v=5Sv2Cq8ZGDM

You may have noticed that it has been nearly five years since Wolfsheim’s most recent album, Casting Shadows, released in 2003. During that time, Wolfsheim’s founder Markus Reinhardt has been trying to move the band ahead with new work, but the band’s singer Peter Heppner has since announced his ambitions for an extensive solo career. In late 2005, he signed a multi-album contract with Warner Music for his own music. Upon hearing this, Markus considered it a breach of contract and a disregard for the basic interests of Wolfsheim because Peter’s new plans did not allow the production of a new Wolfsheim album until 2010. He filed a lawsuit against Peter at the Regional Court of Hamburg to have him excluded from the Wolfsheim partnership so that the band could continue without him. The court tried to negotiate a more peaceful arrangement, but it was just not possible. Their final decision for the lawsuit will be announced sometime this Spring.

It is always very unfortunate when such talented musicians who worked so well together in the past suddenly cannot resolve their differences without a court battle. Every musician’s career develops and changes over time, and all good things must come to an end eventually. Sometimes, you just have to quit what you’re doing and move on to a different project, but Peter Heppner seems not to understand this. His desire to stay with Wolfsheim during all of this was just unreasonable, he cannot expect his bandmate Markus to wait several more years before he makes some time for Wolfsheim again. Peter should have just accepted that his time with Wolfsheim was over and left peacefully when he signed such a major deal for his solo work. Markus may not have been happy about it, but at least Peter would have been more polite and considerate of someone he has worked closely with for so many years. That’s the way I see it.

There is a full press release (PDF file) that was released yesterday on Wolfsheim’s website that explains the entire situation in detail. I’ll keep you updated about the final court decision and the future of both bands in the coming months.

ASP has announced their next release, Nie Mehr, a single that was taken from their current album Requiembryo. But unlike a traditional single (or any release for that matter), Nie Mehr will not be physically distributed to music stores and online retailers. Instead, the single will be sold exclusively at ASP concerts and in their own webshop, that’s it. I imagine this would mean that there is no official release date. The closest thing to a release date would be the first day of their upcoming tour which is November 2nd in Leipzig.

Anyone lucky enough to attend an ASP show over in Europe will certainly appreciate the effort the band went to in creating this new single. It’s actually much more than a single, it’s more like a maxi of album-ic proportions. Not only is there a reworked version of “Nie Mehr” with a new ending and several other remixes of the song, but you will also find 2 live recordings and four brand new songs, for a grand total of 10 tracks. A 10-song maxi? Really, that’s just insane, but these über singles are becoming more and more popular it seems.

Check out some of ASP’s music on their MySpace page if you haven’t heard them already. One last note: If you actually want to buy Nie Mehr, you will have to go to the German-language side of ASP’s website because the English side says the shop is closed until June 28th… even though it’s already October now. I hope they open the English shop soon.

The exact tracklist has not been announced yet.

Untoten has become fascinated by the 1634 Loudun possessions, an event in France where many nuns were said to have been possessed by the devil. This was the band’s inspiration for their new album, Die Nonnen Von Loudun, which they have interpreted in 2 different versions. Hysteria is the “rock” version of the album (although I’m having trouble calling the samples I’ve heard rock), while the second version called Das Geheime Tagebuch Einer Nonne has a more classical, baroque style. Both versions of Die Nonnen Von Loudun will be released on November 2nd, but it looks like the Untoten shop will be releasing it a few weeks early on October 14th. As an extra bonus, the first 1,000 copies will be autographed by the band.

So far, Untoten has make 2 samples available on a MySpace page exclusively for Die Nonnen Von Loudun. There is a third song from Untoten’s 2006 best-of album that you can listen to, too. And if you want, you can check out a couple of their older songs on the band page.

I’ll get the tracklist for you as soon as I can. Here it is!

Die Nonnen von Loudun - Hysteria tracklist:
01. Von einer sittsamen Magd
02. König aller Sünden
03. Flammen der Liebe
04. Das Kabinett
05. Die Beichte
06. Die blutende Nonne
07. Die Mutter
08. Die Ruhe vor dem Sturm
09. Abigail
10. Tanz mit dem Teufel
11. Das Werk des Teufels (Der Mord)
12. Weiber
13. Braut des Himmels
14. In Nomine
15. Als Maria stand …
16. Schon steht der ganze Ort…
17. Die Asche der Rose I (instrumental)
18. Die Asche der Rose II
19. Der Pakt des Grandier
20. Die Beschwörung
21. Sur le Noel
22. Hysteria
23. Loudun (Abspann)

Die Nonnen von Loudun - Tagebuch einer Nonne tracklist:
01. Braut des Himmel
02. Als Maria…
03. Weckruf
04. Die Beschwörung
05. Sur le Noel
06. Werk des Teufels
07. Von einer, die den Teufel verschluckt
08. Zwischenspiel
09. Die kleine Nachtmusik
10. Nachtgedanken
11. Ach, schaut sie euch…
12. Blutende Nonne
13. Auf den Fluren…
14. Valentine
15. Hysteria
16. Die Entkleidung
17. Die Beichte
18. Prozess
19. In Nomine
20. Talisman
21. Ich öffne Dir!
22. Die Betschwestern
23. Der Pakt 2
24. Asche der Rose II
25. Fuge I
26. Höllenfahrt!

Eisheilig is releasing their new album Auf dem Weg in Deine Welt tomorrow, the 28th of September. As I remember, Eisheilig have always had a kind of downtrodden, gothic sound, and it sounds like their new album is no different. Well, actually, it kind of is, in a way. I’ve actually noticed a lot of sounds that you might hear from some kind of indie rock band throughout the album. It isn’t indie by any stretch of the imagination, the depressing, monotone vocals keep your emotions low, but the light does try to shine through in some places. “Kein Land in Sicht” is a good example of what I’m talking about. The drum beats and happy-sounding guitars start you off thinking everything is going to be great, but then the song progresses and the lyrics kick in and you realize it was just a false alarm. After all, the title of the song translates into “no land in sight”. That’s usually not something to be happy about.

Of course, there’s always a time for being depressed. Auf dem Weg in Deine Welt is just the kind of album I have to be in a certain mood for. It is a good album and is very well produced. I also know a lot of people who really love Eisheilig and listen to them quite often, so I can’t say you will necessarily agree with me or not. The only way to find out is to give them a listen and see how you react. Listen to a few new songs on Eisheilig’s MySpace site and let me know if you agree or not.

Eisheilig - Auf dem Weg in Deine Welt tracklist
01. Wir leben
02. Dein Stern
03. Auf dem Weg in deine Welt
04. Steht auf!
05. Die dunkelste Stunde
06. Ich halte dich
07. Gold
08. Kein Land in Sicht
09. Wird alles gut
10. Geh durchs Feuer

It seems like doing covers is a pretty popular trend right now. We’ve got some metal coversongs coming in a few months and some pop versions a bit sooner, and now Songs of Lemuria is joining the mix with some covers of their own. Their new album Deep will be released on September 28th with covers of everyone from Nirvana to Subway To Sally to Einstürzende Neubauten, all in their usual mixture of gothic and classical styles. I guess it’s natural that Nik Page’s band Blind Passengers is covered on the new album as well, considering he and Michaela Laubach together provide some beautiful vocals for Songs of Lemuria.

Deep has 14 songs plus a data track which has a bunch of pictures and wallpapers for your computer. Once again, AlphaMusic.de comes to the rescue with some samples of the new album, while the Songs of Lemuria MySpace page lags behind the times with some older songs. They’re worth listening to, though, if you want to get a nice idea of what the band sounds like.

Songs of Lemuria - Deep tracklist
01. Deep
02. Meer
03. Footprints On The Moon
04. Dein Kuss
05. Kommunion
06. Dein Duft
07. Hunting High And Low
08. Seemannslied
09. Waterdrops
10. Stella Maris
11. All Apologies
12. Irony
13. Walk On
14. End Oh The Night
15. Data-track

There’s been so much news lately that I haven’t really had any time to tell you about 4 more releases that are hitting stores today. Normally I would go over them individually and in more detail, but I’m in a bit of a time crunch right now because later tonight I will be seeing Ulrich Schnauss live in New York City (more U.S. tourdates here) so I’m lumping them all together into one post and doing a quick overview for today. I’ll probably post about them in more detail at some time in the future.

• Diary of Dreams - The Plague
  Diary of Dreams has a new album coming up next month, and this single gives you a nice preview. Two versions of “The Plague” plus additional songs “Allocution” and “Traumtänzer”.
• Götterdämmerung - Of Whores and Culture
  This is kind of a gothic/new wave band from the Netherlands, and their new album (with quite an interesting title) features 10 new songs. Check out some of their music here.
• Coppelius - Time-Zeit
  Coppelius is an interesting band combining rock music with cellos, clarinets, the double bass, and other more traditional instruments. They also seem to have an old-fashioned sense of style. Check their MySpace page for some music. Thanks to Maija for pointing this one out.
• Laibach - Nova Akropola (re-release)
  And finally, I thought I would point out that one of Laibach’s older albums, Nova Akropola, is being re-released today. I know, they’re Slovenian, not German technically. But they have strong links to Germany, often use the German language, and are adored by most German music fans I know, so they’re approved.

There you have it. The terribly abridged, perhaps even rushed version of today’s releases. I’m sorry I don’t have more time to get into the details, but I’ll provide you with everything you need to know over the next few days. See you tomorrow.