[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)

Breaking news from the Nilaihah Records newsletter sent out just minutes ago: Unheilig is crossing the Atlantic to play their first, and so far only, American concert! They will be playing at the March edition of Dracula’s Ball in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They will be supported by The Azoic, an American electro-industrial/EBM band also on Nilaihah Records.

The concert will take place on March 21st at the Shampoo club, which is on the corner of 7th and Willow in Philadelphia, and begins at 9 PM. Tickets are $15.50 and are on sale now at Isotank.com.

Now that Oomph!’s new single track Sandmann was unveiled in the form of a video a week ago, retailers have started getting the information on the single release itself. It’ll be released soon on February 20th, and as usual and predicted, there are two versions: the basic 2-track single with the title track and remix by [:SITD:], and a limited digipack edition with more than a little extra on the side. There’s the song Auf Kurs which was already featured on Monster, but also the B-side Du lügst which I believe was previously only available on iTunes’s version of the album. And there’s also three music videos packed on the disc, so that’s pretty cool.

By the way, it’s nice to have a digipack again, since the last three Oomph! releases were all jewelcases. Digipack just looks so much better it’s not even funny, it seems a lot of fans (including yours truly) were really disappointed to see that even the premium edition of the Labyrinth single was in your basic plastic cover. Oh well, now it looks like GUN Records learned their lesson - we pay for the package as well.

Oomph! - Sandmann basic tracklist
1. Sandmann
2. Sandmann ([:SITD:] remix)

Available from Amazon.de, EMP.de, jpc.de

Oomph! - Sandmann limited digipack tracklist
1. Sandmann
2. Sandmann ([:SITD:] remix)
3. Auf Kurs
4. Du lügst
5. Sandmann video
6. Auf Kurs video
7. Labyrinth video

Available from Amazon.de, EMP.de, jpc.de

Eisbrecher’s latest album Sünde, which has already been out in Europe for several months now, was not released in North America like their previous 2 albums were. That’s because Dancing Ferret, the label that previously distributed them across the continent, shut down late last year and left them without representation overseas. Fortunately, Eisbrecher has now been picked up by Metropolis Records, which is arguably the biggest electro and industrial label on this side of the Atlantic, and is a favorite for bringing great European bands to the States.

The North American version of Sünde will be released on March 10th. The tracklisting will remain the same as the (limited edition of the) European version, but the album will have completely new artwork as seen in the image above. You can already pre-order the album on the Metropolis mailorder site for just $12.98.

Maybe Eisbrecher has a better chance of touring North America now that they are being distributed and promoted here again, and by a much more prominent label. Let’s hope so!

Eisbrecher - Sünde (North American version)
01. Kann Denn Liebe Sünde Sein?
02. Alkohol
03. Komm Süsser Tod
04. Heilig
05. Verdammt Sind
06. Die Durch Die Hölle Gehen
07. Herzdieb
08. 1000 Flammen
09. This Is Deutsch
10. Zu Sterben
11. Mehr Licht
12. Kuss
13. This Is Deutsch (SITD-Remix)
14. Blut Und Tränen
15. Alkohol (Rotersand-Remix)
16. Kann Denn Liebe Sünde Sein? (SITD-Remix)

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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2008’s new band number 100 here on Germaniac couldn’t possibly be anything else than what a lot of people most often associate with German music - industrial metal. And damn good industrial metal at that.

Seelenzorn really has realized how important it is to offer free tasters of its music during the four years it’s been active. Last November the band released their third free web-only EP titled Keine Angst, which contains a total of five fantastically dark, stomping industrial metal songs. Three are brand-new tracks and one is a Russian version of the title song featuring the singer Draw from the Russian gothic industrial band Otto Dix, whereas the final track is an acoustic version of the song Frei which was featured on Seelenzorn’s very first album, Töte alles. You can listen to and download each song here, the band’s also included the front and back covers there if you’re inclined to put the EP on a CD. You can also check out the music video for Keine Angst.

I’m afraid the previous two web-EPs /lebenszeichen and Schwarz und Schwer aren’t available anymore, although I guess (and hope) you can find the same songs on Seelenzorn’s albums Töte alles and Gnadenloser Zorn, which are both available on Amazon.de for 13,99 €. Amazon also has samples of every song on both albums, so if Keine Angst wasn’t enough, there’s your chance to hear some of their older material. The media section of Seelenzorn’s site also has some tracks for you to listen to, including another acoustic version of a song and remixes.

Seelenzorn - Keine Angst free web-EP tracklist
1. Keine Angst
2. Sexzess
3. Obsession
4. Keine Angst feat. Draw
5. Frei Akustik Version

Limbogott are quickly becoming industrial-shock-metal extraordinaires, but their first 2 albums were sung entirely in English, a language not native to this German group. It looks like things are changing, though… at least for “Haus der Lüge”, the song they teamed up with Chris Pohl of Blutengel to record. But “Haus der Lüge” is not just the band’s first song recorded in German. It is also the first single from their forthcoming third album Spit or Swallow. And now you can download it as an MP3 file for free!

Head over to e-junkie.com to download “Haus der Lüge”, Limbogott’s Christmas present to their fans. (Be sure to hurry, because it’s only available for free until December 31st.) The song is likely to be an indication about how Limbogott’s sound is progressing, but will the German lyrics make it over to the rest of the songs on Spit or Swallow? We’ll just have to wait and find out in the time leading up to it’s February 13th release date.

Thanks to Mikki for the tip

KMFDM’s next album, Blitz
Sascha Konietzko and crew have just announced the name and release date of the next KMFDM album. It will be called Blitz and will arrive on March 24, 2009, during the band’s 25th year in existence. The only other details that have emerged so far are that it will have 11 songs, and that it will be released on KMFDM Records in association with Metropolis Records, just like their other recent releases. Check back here or KMFDM.net for updates in the coming months.

Skold vs. KMFDM
KMFDM also announced another project less than a week ago, but this time it will be a collaboration between Kapt’n K and former band member Tim Skold. Together, these 2 comrades have recorded 22 tracks that play for over 70 minutes, all of which will be released on an album, hopefully soon. Until then, you will just have to play the samples on the Skold vs. KMFDM website over and over again.

The Oomph! trio has certainly had a year full of work. After releasing their fantastically successful 10th album Monster, the Wach auf! and Labyrinth singles and an incredible four music videos (Wach auf!, Beim ersten Mal tut’s immer Weh, Labyrinth and Auf Kurs, in case you can’t keep up with them anymore) and touring extensively in Germany, the boys still don’t seem to be able to take a day off even though the holidays are closing in like a freight train. The latest update on Oomph!’s German website tells us that Dero, Flux and Crap are already shooting another music video, and it’s not even for a track recorded during the Monster sessions, but a completely new one. The new piece will be released as a single in the near future, and, knowing Oomph!, we’ll get at least a remix or two and very probably also B-sides alongside the main track (there’s no word of these in the update). Stay tuned for more info, you can bet we’ll be on it as soon as we get something.

I’d say these are some damn good times for Oomph! fans. Of course, not everyone likes the band’s current style, but even if you don’t like it, you can’t help but admire how much work the guys are putting into their band. And that, my friends, is playing directly into the fans’ hands as far as I can see it. Yeah, you could say a lot about GUN Records‘ release policy (seriously, how many different editions has Monster actually been released in?), but then again, Oomph! has stated that they don’t really have that much to do with those decisions, it’s the record label’s call. At the end of the day, I personally can’t help but giggle with delight at how awesome an Oomph! year this one has been and will be.

EDIT: Also, in a new interview (thanks, Oomph-Supernova.com’s forums!) Dero tells Oomph! will release another best-of album at some point. The compilation Delikatessen came out just last year, but there’s a catch to the new one: it’ll feature only English songs, with some of Oomph!’s German tracks translated into the new language and even a couple of all-new ones recorded just for the compilation. I don’t generally dig compilations, but ones with something more than just a bunch of tracks thrown into them are always worth a look, so this album might actually end up in my collection. Dero also says they’ll make “a couple more” videos for Monster, so the just-announced new video definitely won’t be their last. Read the full German interview here, most of it is personal opinions on stuff like Christmas, but you can find the bit about Oomph!’s future at the very bottom.

EDIT2: The English update DOES explicitly talk about a new single, and I also originally translated the German update too quickly so I misunderstood something - check out the corrected post.

Die’s new frontman, Mathias “Jablonski” Elsholz, recorded a video for the band’s Youtube channel a few days ago. In the video, he admits that the wait for new music has been a long one, but he asks fans to be patient because the new album is coming soon. The band is currently looking for a record label since they are no longer signed with BBE, but the album will be released as soon as they find one.

Matze also tells us that Die! has recorded a whopping 17 new songs for the album, one of which is already available to hear on the band’s MySpace page. Just click on the song “Lüg Mich An” and have a listen. You’ll get a pretty good idea of what’s to come for the rest of the album from that song and the other demos there.

Mathias Elsholz’s December 1st video (English version)

Thanks to Wared for the tip!