February 29th was KMFDM’s 24th anniversary, and to celebrate, the band has announced 24/7, a series of 24 singles on 7″ vinyl records. One remastered single from the band’s extensive catalog will be released on the first day of every month for the next 2 years, ending in February 2010 with a brand new single. Each month’s release will be strictly limited to 250 units each and they will surely sell fast. The first single, “Kickin’ Ass” which was made available in the KMFDM Store on March 1st has already sold out.

The singles are being released in order, so the next one for April should be “Don’t Blow Your Top”. If you’re a big fan of KMFDM, be sure to head over to their store on April 1st so you can get it before it’s sold out. And if you missed the release of “Kickin’ Ass” you can now hear it on KMFDM’s MySpace page.

We have been experiencing a major influx of German bands touring over here in North America in recent months. So far in 2008, we have seen The Jeans Team, De/Vision, and And One all successfully complete their tours, but the fun has just begun! 4 more German bands have recently confirmed that they will also be touring America. They are: Seabound, Doro, Accessory, and Destroid. In addition to these confirmed bands, Unheilig fans also know that there have been rumors of an American tour later in the year for that band. And as an extra boost to all of this excitement, the Finnish cello rock band Apocalyptica (which has a lot of connections with German bands) will also be going on an extensive 30-concert tour across the continent. 2008 has just gotten a lot better!

I will certainly post the full tourdates for all of the bands listed above in the coming weeks, but the next band to arrive is Seabound so I need to tell you about them first…

Seabound is the next German band to tour America
Seabound is a synthpop duo which has produced 4 studio albums to date. With a rapidly expanding fanbase worldwide thanks to the support of Metropolis Records, they are now preparing to embark on their first tour overseas. The “Alliance Tour 2008″ will take Seabound across the United States for 14 concerts. Shortly after the tour concludes, the band will release their first live album Come Forward - Live In Berlin on April 8th. The electro group Iris will be opening for Seabound throughout the entire tour, except the Connecticut show because that’s a larger festival with lots of bands.

You can listen to some of Seabound’s music on their MySpace page. Seabound.de also has lots of info about the band, from photos and lyrics to album reviews and additional MP3 samples. Take some time to check this band out, and head to one of their concerts if you like their music. I’ve heard they put on really great shows.

Seabound “Alliance Tour 2008″ dates:
Click the link on the venue for ticket info

Mar 12 - Shampoo - Philadelphia, PA
Mar 13 - Rock and Roll Hotel - Washington D.C.
Mar 14 - Blacksun Festival - New Haven, CT
Mar 15 - The Madison - New York City, NY
Mar 16 - Water Street - Rochester, NY
Mar 18 - Pegasus - Pittsburgh, PA
Mar 19 - Luna - Detroit, MI
Mar 20 - Darkroom - Chicago, IL
Mar 22 - Elysium - Austin, TX
Mar 24 - Club Dada - Dallas, TX
Mar 26 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
Mar 27 - Mt. Tabor - Portland, OR
Mar 29 - DNA Lounge - San Francisco, CA
Mar 30 - Safari Sam’s - Los Angeles, CA

Yes, German metal fans should really be looking forward to this Friday. Not only does the 29th of February mark the release of Atrocity’s new album Werk 80 II, but this is also the day when the band will re-release many of their older albums again.

First, some info about the re-releases
Among the Atrocity albums to see life for the second time is the original Werk 80 which features lots of metal covers of songs from the ’80s, just like the new Werk 80 II. Also getting re-released are Willenskraft, Blut, Die Liebe (feat. Das Ich), Calling The Rain (feat. Yasmin), and Hallucinations/The Hunt. Several of these albums have extra bonus tracks that were not available on the original versions. For example, the Werk 80 re-release includes the 3 bonus tracks that were previously only on the limited festival edition of the album, plus 2 other remixes from related singles. Take a look at the end of this post for the full tracklisting of all the albums.

Some of these re-releases really go back to the time when Atrocity was a proper death metal band. I just had to start listening to Willenskraft as I type this post, and I am now remembering how much I love it. “Scorching Breath” is just an awesome track, the guitar riffs are insane. If this doesn’t get you moving, you’ve got to be comatose. I wish I could find someplace that has samples from this and the other albums for you to listen to, but I haven’t found any.

Where to find the 6 re-releases
You can find the 6 re-releases online in several different shops. Both AlphaMusic.de and EMP.de have them for 9.99 Euros each, except for Hallucinations/The Hunt which is slightly more because it has 2 CDs.

Now, an update about Werk 80 II
As you know, Werk 80 II is a followup to Atrocity’s first ’80s cover album, Werk 80. The standard album features 11 tracks, while the limited edition digipack has an extra bonus track. There is also a third version of the album that I just recently found out about, called the deluxe edition, in which you will actually get both Werk 80 albums (I and II) together in a special slipcase plus an alternate album cover. In case you were wondering, if you choose to get this deluxe double disc version, you will get the limited edition version of Werk 80 II with the bonus track, but only the standard version of the original Werk 80. This is a really great combination if you love metal and classic ’80s hits. I would definitely buy it if I didn’t already have the limited festival edition of the original Werk 80, which has 3 bonus tracks of its own.

Listen to Werk 80 II
Atrocity’s MySpace page provides a few medleys from Werk 80 II for your listening pleasure, plus some songs from their previous album Atlantis which is also really great.

Where to find Werk 80 II
EMP.de has Werk 80 II for the lowest price I’ve found online (13.99 Euros), but if you want to get the CD shipped to America you’ll have to go to the next site, AlphaMusic.de. Ironically, they actually have the limited edition for cheaper than the regular version, so you may as well pay less to get more, while you can.

All of the tracklists are going to make this a very long post, so I hid them below. (more…)

The latest news from Sascha and the gang is that their new remix album is going to be released soon. February 19th in North America and the 22nd in Europe, to be exact. Brimborium (thankfully that’s a bit easier to say than Tohuvabohu) plays for well over an hour and has remixes from some of the best names in industrial and industrial-metal. I am particularly interested in those by Die Krupps, Combichrist, Angelspit, and 16 Volt… all really great bands. There is also a remix from Hau Ruck and a new song created using samples from fan phone calls. I haven’t heard that one yet, but it should be interesting.

The official KMFDM Store has the album available to preorder, or you can head to your favorite store or website which should have it as well. I would suggest either Metropolis ($12.98) or Isotank ($13.49) if you’re in North America.

KMFDM - Brimborium remix album tracklist
01. Tohuvabohu (MS 20 Mix) by Combichrist
02. Looking For Strange (Super Strange Mix) by Die Krupps
03. Superpower (Buttfunk Mix) by Kapt’n K.
04. Headcase (Hallowe’en Mix) by Jules Hodgson
05. Tohuvabohu (Ex Nihilo Mix) by Angelspit
06. I Am What I Am (The One And Only Mix) by Steve White
07. Looking For Strange (All Strung Up Mix) by Velox Music
08. Saft Und Kraft (Saft Und Crack Mix) by DJ? Acucrack
09. Not In My Name (Check Yourself Mix) by 16 Volt
10. Headcase (Fix Mix) by Angelspit
11. Spit Or Swallow (Electric Stomp Mix) by Velox Music
12. You’re No Good (Zomb’d Out Mix) by Zombie Girl
13. What We Do For You

After some rumors about the band splitting up a few months ago, L’Ame Immortelle (new website under construction) is back with a new album called Namenlos. It will be released later this week on January 25th on Trisol. Once again, the band offers a mixture of sounds blending together quite nicely. Angry male vocals contrast with a softer female voice. Electronic influenced industrial is up against harder guitars in some songs. The closing track “Namenlos” even ventures into the realm of neofolk. There’s bound to be something here for everyone… Well, as long as you’re not looking for R&B…

Namenlos comes in 2 different versions. The standard version has 2 discs. The first is the album itself with 13 new songs, and the second has lots of bonus material, mostly covers of L’Ame Immortelle songs done by other musicians. The limited edition contains these same 2 discs but it comes in a fancy linen-covered box set. Inside each of these 2000 limited edition sets, you will also find an extensive 28-page booklet with artwork by Oliver Schlemmer and a unique original photograph taken during the production of the album.

L’Ame Immortelle’s MySpace page currently has 3 new songs from Namenlos on the playlist along with 3 older songs for you ti listen to. Our trusty mailorder friends at Isotank.com have both versions of the album, regular and limited editions, already up to preorder here in the States. If you’re in Europe, Infrarot.de has a special sale on Namenlos. It’s just 16.99 Euros, but only until January 31st.

L’Ame Immortelle - Namenlos tracklisting

CD 1:
01. Vergessen
02. 1000 Voices
03. Behind The Light
04. Bleib
05. Requiem
06. Lost
07. Blutrot
08. Reborn
09. Es tut mir leid
10. Niemals
11. Jenseits der Schatten
12. The Cleansing
13. Namenlos

CD 2:
01. Erneuerung
02. When the sun has ceased to shine
03. Love is lost (cover version by Anthoni Jones)
04. When the sun has ceased to shine (cover version by Spiritual Front)
05. Es tut mir leid (cover version by Steinkind)
06. Niemals (cover version by Sieben)
07. Requiem (cover version by Whispers in the Shadow)
08. Erinnerung (an essay by Thomas Sabottka)

The latest news from b.o.s.c.h. is that they are getting ready to launch a new music video. It’s for the song “Mehr” and it will be posted online on Halloween (which happens to be tomorrow, if you’ve been on another planet). They’ve had a mysterious teaser video online for a while now which looks pretty cool, so I can’t wait to see the full version. I have a feeling it’s going to be really awesome.

Here’s the “Mehr” teaser, for your viewing pleasure:

Teaser b.o.s.c.h. - mEhR

When you’re done watching the video, be sure to check out Das Modul. That’s a neat little flash program where you can mix different instruments from the b.o.s.c.h. song “Zeit” to create your own remix.

What do you get when you put Oomph!’s best of compilation Delikatessen and their live DVD Rohstoff in opposite corners of the ring together? Delikatessen vs. Rohstoff, of course! This new special release from Oomph! places the band’s live recordings in battle against the studio versions of (mostly) the same songs. It will be released on November 9th.

It really didn’t take a lot of work to put this release together. It’s basically just a combination of 2 existing discs stuffed into some new packaging. Personally, I think it’s kind of unnecessary, considering Rohstoff also has regular music videos so anyone can compare the studio songs to their live counterparts with that DVD alone. Having said that, this is surely a must-have for rabid Oomph! collectors. And I will admit that this is probably a pretty good introduction to someone who is just discovering this band’s great music, too.

With 19 tracks on the CD and 48 on the DVD, the Delikatessen vs. Rohstoff tracklisting is mighty long. So I hid it just on the other side of this link:
(more…)

The Berlin-based techno-metal band k.d.a. have been making a lot of progress recording new songs for their forthcoming album Dubetestzudemfalschengott. Apparently, they liked the new music so much that they couldn’t hold back the goods until the album was actually released. The band decided to upload 4 of their new songs to their MySpace page so we can all have a nice preview of what’s to come. After just one listen through them all, they’ve already left a strong impression on me. The music is simply fantastic!

I strongly urge you to take a moment and go have a listen. k.d.a.’s 4 new songs take catchy industrial-flavored techno beats and pair them with simple guitar riffs and distorted vocals for a sound that really isn’t quite like anything else I can easily think of. I would say their song structures could be compared to those of Ministry because they are pretty minimal and can be a bit long and repetitive at times, but they are definitely not as heavy as Ministry is (or rather, was). The electronic elements are very strong through these new k.d.a. songs.

My personal favorite so far is “Overdose” but the behemoth-named “Wolltihraufdaslebennachdemtodewarten?” comes in as a close second. What’s your favorite?

Rammstein fans the world over were very excited when Richard Kruspe finally released his solo project album Emigrate, and rightfully so. But just like Rammstein has been known for, Emigrate’s album wasn’t actually released and distributed in the United States when it came out in Europe on August 31st. So far, if we wanted to get the album here, we have had to either import the CD from overseas or buy it from a retailer who did that for us.

Fortunately, Richard hasn’t totally forgotten about us over here. Emigrate will finally be released in the USA on January 28th, 2008. While that’s still a few months away, I am certainly glad it hasn’t taken as long as some other Rammstein releases took to get here. (*cough* Völkerball *cough*) Actually, I don’t even know if the news is official yet. It’s not on their website, nor has an email newsletter hasn’t been sent out yet. Richard (or someone) just sent out a simple MySpace bulletin with a brief 1-line statement. But hey, it’s news, and it’s good news, so now you know.

It has been a few months since Megaherz announced their new singer Lex and the rest of their new lineup, and there has been a lot of speculation and debate about how the band will sound with their new members. Now we don’t have to guess anymore. A demo version of a new song called “Ebenbild” has been uploaded to Megaherz.de! (Just click on your language and look at the bottom of the page for the player.) It’s great to finally hear what they have been up to, and to hear exactly what Lex sounds like as the new Megaherz frontman.

Lex has a great voice and it fits the band well. He doesn’t sound quite as dynamic as Alexx or Mathias were, but this is also just a demo so I’m sure the vocals on the final version of the song will be fantastic. The music itself is definitely in line with that of their current album 5, heavier than in their past and moving towards straight out hard rock. The guitars definitely take the spotlight in “Ebenbild” while the electronic elements that remain have been pushed back into the shadowy corners. The overall sound is confidently Megaherz. I can’t wait to hear more!

The news page of Megaherz.de also announces that the album is planned for a Spring 2008 release. Come talk about the new Megaherz song and album with us.