On April 30th, Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows (or just Sopor Aeternus) released its eleventh album titled Sanatorium Altrosa (Musical Therapy for Spiritual Dysfunction). Sopor Aeternus is a German oddity of a darkwave, folk and gothic project comprised of just one person, the mysterious Anna-Varney Cantodea. Not much is known about Anna-Varney, “not much” meaning not a bloody thing including his/her actual gender, real name or age.

The new album Sanatorium Altrosa comes in two different setups, a deluxe hardcover book edition and an even more deluxe boxed set. Both of them are limited to just 999 copies, so the CD is highly difficult to get anywhere. Actually, the only place I managed to find it at is Isotank where you can get the book edition for $59.99. The record is already completely sold out in other retailers I checked, so good luck getting your hands on this one.

To get a taster for Sopor Aeternus’s interesting mix of folkish and gothic aesthetics and musical elements, check out their MySpace site.

Track Listing for Sanatorium Altrosa:
01. Consider this: the true Meaning of Love (instr.)
02. Architecture II
03. Shave, if you love me (remix)
04. La Mort d’Arthur (instr.)
05. Consider this (orig. version)
06. The Conqueror Worm II (instr.)
07. In der Palästra (instr.)
08. Collision
09. Les Fleurs du Mal (instr.)
10. Bitter Sweet (instr.)
11. Consider this: the true Meaning of Love

This week’s Radio Goethe podcast takes us into the realm of old medieval sounds. Whether it’s pagan folk or medieval metal, there are plenty of modern day bands that are strongly influenced by the music of past centuries. They use old instruments that you just don’t find these days, often hand-made, and some musicians even go as far as to sing in old languages or dialects and take their lyrics from ancient texts. This is a really fascinating genre of music which doesn’t usually get much attention outside of central Europe, but it’s great to listen to and broaden your horizons. Check it out now on RadioGoethe.org or iTunes.

This week’s Radio Goethe podcast
Tanzwut: Eisenmann
In Extremo: Raue See
Subway to Sally: Auf Kiel
Volkstrott: Zu schön
Corvus Corax: Dulcissima
Saltatio Mortis: Prometheus
Coppelius: 1916
Castus: Sommerkanon
Faun: Satyros (live)
Haggard: Herr Mannelig
Schelmish: Chaos
Qntal: Sleeping
Helium Vola: Fama tuba

In Extremo has been one of the favorite medieval metal bands among German music fans since they started using guitars on their 1998 album Weckt Die Toten. I was one of those earlier fans and have been listening to them for a long time now. I even remember telling my driving instructor about In Extremo when I was first learning how to drive, that’s how much I loved them. They’re just a terrific band. And even though their last few offerings haven’t quite matched my personal favorites from years gone by, I am certainly glad to help spread the news about their newest album, Sängerkrieg.

To kick off their latest body of work, In Extremo will be releasing the single “Frei Zu Sein” on the 25th of April. The album itself will arrive 2 weeks later on May 9th. Sängerkrieg comes in 2 formats, each with 14 songs. The limited edition will have a bonus DVD on top of that, which includes some live footage, a “making of Sängerkrieg” mini-documentary, and other behind-the-scenes material.

Unfortunately, I haven’t heard any samples from Sängerkrieg yet, but I’m pretty confident it will be pretty much like previous In Extremo albums. If you’re a fan, you can pre-order the album from any number of retailers including Amazon.de which has both the regular version and the limited edition, as well as the “Frei Zu Sein” single. If you’re in America and not in a hurry, your best bet is probably to wait and see if a site like Isotank that has other In Extremo albums will import it soon.

In Extremo - Sängerkrieg tracklisting:
01. 7 Köche
02. Sängerkrieg
03. Neues Glück
04. En Esta Noche
05. Mein Sehnen
06. Flaschenpost
07. Requiem
08. Frei zu sein
09. Zauberspruch
10. In diesem Licht
11. Tanz mit mir
12. An End Has A Start
13. Mein liebster Feind
14. Auf’s Leben

Thanks to everybody who contacted me about this album, it looks like it will be pretty popular!

Schandmaul is a six-piece medieval rock band from the Munich area that was formed in the late ’90s. They have release 5 increasingly successful albums to date, and will be releasing their 6th album Anderswelt this Friday on April 4th. Anderswelt, which translates into “Parallel Universe” according to the band, has 14 new songs and comes in 2 varieties. There is a regular version that comes in a digipack and a limited edition which just has an extra video feature, as far as I can tell.

Listen to it, Get it…
As of now, Schandmaul’s MySpace page doesn’t have any music from Anderswelt, but you can still get a good idea of the band’s sound from the 4 clips from their previous album Mit Leib Und Seele. Luckily AlphaMusic.de saves the day, though, with brief samples from all 14 tracks. You can also buy the album there for 14.99 Euros (or the limited edition for 16.99). Lots of other online retailers have the album in both versions too, like EMP.de and Amazon.de. No luck finding it in the USA yet.

Schandmaul - Anderswelt tracklisting:
01. Frei
02. Krieger
03. Anderswelt
04. Königin
05. Zweite Seele
06. Die Braut
07. Missgeschick
08. Sirenen
09. Stunden des Lichts
10. Fiddlefolkpop
11. Augen auf!
12. Wolfsmensch
13. Drei Lieder
14. Prinzessin
(plus a bonus video feature on the limited edition)

Earlier in the decade before Subway To Sally signed on with Nuclear Blast, they released 2 albums called Herzblut (in 2001) and Engelskrieger (in 2003). These albums were a little more raw and folky than their more recent ones like Nord Nord Ost or Bastard, and some people I know actually prefer this slightly older sound. And now, Herzblut and Engelskrieger can be purchased together as a 2CD set. Nothing really remarkable… Universal probably just realized that they own the labels that released both of these albums (Island and Motor) so they decided to capitalize on Subway To Sally’s more recent success, but it may be of interest to the band’s hardcore fans or collectors.

You can find this combo on AlphaMusic.de for a pretty reasonable 13.99 Euros. They also have samples of every song from both albums there, if you are interested in getting in on this deal to start your STS collection.

Subway To Sally - Herzblut-Engleskrieger tracklisting

Disc 1 - Herzblut:
01. Die Schlacht
02. Veitstanz
03. Das Messer
04. Herrin des Feuers
05. Kleid aus Rosen
06. Wenn Engel hassen
07. Krötenliebe
08. Accingite Vos
09. So rot
10. Drei Engel
11. Kleid aus Rosen (unplugged)

Disc 2 - Engelskrieger:
01. Geist des Krieges
02. Falscher Heiland
03. Unsterblich
04. Kleine Schwester
05. Abendlied
06. Narben
07. 2000 Meilen unterm Meer
08. Knochenschiff
09. Wolfstraum
10. Verloren
11. Abendland

Qntal will soon be enchanting us with their beautiful blend of classical and electronic music again. Their sixth album entitled Translucida will be released on both sides of the Atlantic this week. In the United States, Dancing Ferret’s sub-label Noir Records will release Translucida on Tuesday, February 26th. The album will then be released in Germany on Friday the 29th. Both locations will see the usual 2-format release with a standard and a limited edition. The basic album comes with 12 songs, while the limited edition is in a digibook and contains a second disc with bonus material.

Listen to Translucida
I am currently listening to the 2 songs from Translucida that are on Qntal’s Myspace page and they are just stunning. Very beautiful and captivating. If you enjoy Qntal’s previous music, or other “modern-traditional” bands like Faun or Corvus Corax for example, you will love this new album. Qntal is really one of the most steadily-good bands in this genre and Translucida really continues this trend.

Where to find Translucida
In North America, get it directly from Dancing Ferret’s store, Isotank: regular for $13.99* - limited edition for $16.99
In Europe, get it from EMP.de: regular for Eur 14.99 - limited edition for Eur 16.99

* Please note: I don’t know why Isotank shows the regular version with the bonus disc, but no other retailer shows this. I think it’s a mistake on their site. If you want the bonus disc, make sure you buy the limited edition.

Qntal - VI-Translucida tracklisting

Disc 1:
01. Sleeping
02. Departir
03. Slahte Wille
04. Translucida
05. La Froidor
06. Glacies
07. Worlds Of Light
08. Obscure
09. Sumer
10. Amorous Desir
11. Ludus
12. Passacaglia

Disc 2 on limited edition only:
01. Ludus
02. Umaere
03. La Froidor
04. Slahte Wilde (Version Bleu)

“Auf Kiel” is the third song on Subway To Sally’s current album Bastard, and it’s also the band’s next single. It will hit stores later this week on February 1st. In addition to the main track, the single also features 1 song from Bastard and 1 previously unreleased song called “Stimmen”. AlphaMusic.de seems to have it for the lowest price, 5.49 Euros (it is 1.50 more expensive everywhere else I checked). You can also hear samples from the first and last tracks on the single there.

Subway To Sally will also represent the German federal state of Brandenburg in the Bundesvision Song Contest 2008 with “Auf Kiel” when they compete against 15 other musicians from across Germany on February 14th.

Subway To Sally - “Auf Kiel” tracklist
01. Auf Kiel
02. Stimmen
03. Umbra

UPDATE
Subway To Sally’s “Auf Kiel” won first place in the 2008 Bundesvision Song Contest with 147 points, narrowly beating out the German rapper Clueso by just 1 point.

This post originally started out as a reminder, but then I realized there is something here that is much more important…

I wanted you to remember two new albums that are being released today. The first is Bastard by Subway To Sally, and the second is Alles Wieder Offen by Einstürzende Neubauten. While the styles of these two albums are very different, both bands have become favorites within their respective genres. Fans of medieval-inspired German metal really love STS and anyone into a bit more experimentation is sure to know EN.

Which one do I personally recommend? EN’s Alles Wieder Offen, for sure. Contrary to what you may be thinking, it’s not completely because I like their music better (although I do). Both albums are great and I’m sure they will attract a lot of attention during the next few weeks, but Einstürzende Neubauten really knows how to make their fans happy and gain their loyalty more than any other band I know of. First of all, they have a blog where they have been talking directly to their fans, keeping them up to date about the progress of the album every step of the way. Second, they make it very easy for new and would-be fans to hear their music (both new and old). Next, they also understand how the internet is changing the way music is spread, and have embraced online tools (other than MySpace) like Facebook and iLike instead of using some grandiose yet insincere, traditional marketing strategy. Finally, they know how to build and maintain a paid supporter network by respecting their fans and actually making it worthwhile to join, unlike most bands’ poor version of a fanclub.

How does Subway To Sally compare? (more…)

The new Schelmish album Wir Werden Sehen was kind of informally announced here a month ago when “I told you about their single “Moor” but I thought you might like to know a little more about the album. Wir Werden Sehen typifies Schelmish’s folk-rock style which seems to be growing in popularity in Germany lately. If you like the sound of bagpipes and other more traditional instruments combined with your rock music, like fans of In Extremo or Saltatio Mortis do, you will almost definitely like Wir Werden Sehen. The medieval instruments lay out the melodies while the guitar riffs come in to stir things up a bit. It’s a combination that’s very pleasing to the ears.

Wir Werden Sehen will be released this Friday, October 19th, in Germany. Unfortunately, there’s no U.S. release, but you can buy a copy from Isotank who has imported them for us. They are kind of expensive, but you would be paying just as much if you imported it yourself from a German online shop. It’s a shame good music has to cost so much just because we are far away.

Abella.de has samples for every song on the album that you can download or stream with Real Player. But if you hate Real Player as much as I do, Schelmish’s MySpace page currently has 4 full length songs from the new album that you can listen to, instead. (Is MySpace really any better than Real Player? They are both pretty bad if you ask me, but that’s a discussion for another time…)

Schelmish - Wir Werden Sehen tracklist:
01. Intro (The Holeyologists Prayer)
02. Gefangener Der Zeit
03. Ehrlich
04. Blitz
05. So Allein
06. Der Narr
07. Hunter
08. Stern
09. Kreuzzug Gegen Die Verlogenheit
10. Blessed Be
11. Das Moor
12. Andersland
13. Herr Niemand
14. Wir Werden Sehen
15. Rainbow
16. Outro

Heimataerde has risen to become a favorite band for many German music fans, due in part to their genre-crossing sound. The fusion of strong EBM beats with traditional medieval sounds on their previous albums certainly appeals to me, too. Recently, I found out that they will be putting out a new album called Leben Geben Leben Nehmen. The release date is approaching fast, next week on October 13th.

Stop by Heimataerde’s MySpace page to listen to a medley of samples from the new album, plus another from Kadavergehorsam which came out last year. there are also some additional short samples on MusicNonStop but they don’t help all that much. Unfortunately, they are all pretty short and of low quality, so I’m not sure where I stand on this one yet. I need to heard more.

Good news if you like it, though. It’s only $9.99 at Isotank.com!

Leben Geben Leben Nehmen tracklist:
01. Introduction
02. Heimataerde
03. Brueder (Vocem Meam Version)
04. Volle Deckung
05. Vater
06. Nun Komm Der Heiden Heiland
07. Der Eid (Introductio II)
08. Arca_Memoriae
09. Sie Zerrt An Mir
10. 10.000 Messerschnitte
11. Der Verfall
12. In Alle Ewigkeit