Qntal is coming to America to play 3 concerts, their only U.S. shows in 2007. Sorry to anyone on the West coast, but the concerts are limited to New York City and Philadelphia. The first two are on October 12th and 13th where Qntal will be a featured band at FaerieCon in Philadelphia. The medieval and fantasy themes of FaerieCon should be perfect for a band like Qntal. If you like Qntal’s music but could do without all of the fantasy nonsense, then you will prefer the New York City concert on October 15th. This is a more traditional concert which will be held during Nectromantic at the Knitting Factory which goes from 11 PM until 3. Tickets are $20 and you have to be at least 18 to get in.

The news about Subway To Sally’s new album Bastard has been spreading across German music online community like wildfire for the past 2 months, but a lot of people are reporting the wrong release date. Contrary to what you may have seen on various other websites or forums, the release date is not October 26th or 28th. The real release date for Bastard is October 19th! It’s the first thing you see on SubwayToSally.com. I certainly prefer this earlier-than-expected date over a delayed release, so this is good news.

Now that the release date is straightened out, let’s move on to what we can expect from the music. Subway To Sally’s singer Eric Fish usually isn’t too involved with the creation of the actual songs, but he has taken on a much bigger role this time around so the sound may be a bit different than what the band has released in the past. I’ve read that it should sound a bit more like their album Herzblut, but I don’t know for sure.

You can listen to a few older STS songs on their MySpace page. There are also MP3 sampels you can download from the band’s previous 2 albums Nord Nord Ost and Engelskrieger, located conventiently on the discography page of their website. I’m eagerly awaiting some samples from Bastard.

Subway To Sally - Bastard tracklist:
01. Meine Seele Brennt
02. Puppenspieler
03. Auf Kiel
04. Umbra
05. Voodoo
06. Wehe Stunde
07. Die Trommel
08. Unentdecktes Land
09. Hohelied
10. Canticum Satanae
11. Tanz auf dem Vulkan
12. Fatum
13. In der Stille

Dancing Ferret Records has been a godsend to German musicians and their fans in America. They have released numerous talented bands like Eisbrecher, Subway To Sally, De/Vision, Qntal and Joachim Witt in the U.S. And they just keep going, more and faster. The Ferret’s latest venture into border-crossing is a re-release… actually 2 of them. Qntal’s first 2 albums were never officially released in America, but finally after more than 10 years, they will reach American shores.

The Qntal albums, called I and II, will be released on October 9th. They both feature Qntal’s beautiful combination of medieval tunes and instruments with some more modern influences, as well as a mixture of languages. You can find MP3 samples for both albums on Dancing Ferret’s mailorder site, Isotank.com (I here and II here). Go ahead and order them if you like the music, too, now that they won’t cost you a fortune to import.

Qntal - I tracklist
01. Un Vers De Dreyt Nien
02. Ad Mortem Festinamus
03. Anc Non Lo Vi
04. Por Mau Tens
05. Floris E Blanchaflor
06. Unter der Linden
07. Rossinhol
08. Non Sofre Santa Maria
09. Doussa Res
10. Jherusalem
11. Sanctus
12. Black Death

Qntal - II tracklist
01. Introitus
02. Palestinalied
03. Frühling
04. Hymni Nocturnales
05. Vos Attestor
06. Herbst
07. Abaelard
08. Virgo Splendens
09. Trobar Clus
10. Sine Nomine
11. Ab Vox d’Angel
12. Epilog

Estampie is releasing a retrospective of their best work from the past 20 years, simply called Best of Estampie 1986-2006. The CD was released today by the Dancing Ferret sub-label Noir Records and features 18 tracks of fantastic medieval music. Estampie’s style is closer to true medieval music than their sister band Qntal, but is equally as stunning. You can listen to samples from every song on the CD on Isotank.com.

The Best of Estampie tracklist
01. Disse mi
02. Chanterai por mon corage
03. Imperator rex Graecorum
04. Quantos me creveren
05. Palästinalied
06. Bluomenrot
07. Gol (Live-Aufnahme)
08. Estampie V
09. Voi ch´amate
10. Al jorn
11. A voi gente
12. Qui sunt hi - O antiqui sancti - Aer enim volat
13. O Fortuna
14. Fin amor
15. Reis glorios
16. Numquid Dari
17. Heu heu heu
18. Summerwunne

Schelmish released a new single yesterday in anticipation of their forthcoming album “Wir Werden Sehen” which will be out on October 19th. The maxi single for “Moor” also features the song “Der Narr” from the album, plus 2 non-album tracks that are exclusive to this release. You can actually listen to the full version of “Der Narr” on Schelmish’s MySpace page right now. The music is pretty much your typical medieval rock, perfect for fans of In Extremo, Saltatio Mortis, or Subway To Sally.

I will have some more information about the upcoming album when the release date is a little closer.

Moor single tracklist
01. Das Moor
02. Der Narr
03. Mehr Schein Als Sein
04. Didge On Speed

While Qntal is certainly no new band to me, I just recently discovered their current album Silver Swan. It was released just over a year ago and I think it’s fantastic. The band’s merger of classical, electronic, and medieval music make for some beautiful sounds. The album is available in 2 versions: a standard CD version, and a limited edition with a bonus disc including several remixes, a bonus track called “Rot”, and an exclusive art gallery by the fantasy illustrator Brian Froud.

You can hear one of Qntal’s older songs, “Ecce Gratum”, on the current Radio Goethe podcast, or check out their Myspace page for a few from Silver Swan. You can also watch their unique video for “Von den Elben” via their website.

Silver Swan was released in the US by Noir Records, a branch of Dancing Ferret. You can order the album (and listen to additional samples) through their site Isotank.com here, or find the limited edition with a bonus disc here.

Silver Swan
01. Monsieur’s Departure
02. Amis Raynaut
03. Levis
04. Von den Elben
05. Lingua Mendax
06. Falling Star
07. The Whyle
08. Winter
09. Altas Undaz
10. 292
11. Silver Swan

Bonus CD
01. Von Den Elben (single edit)
02. Levis (Half Light mix)
03. 292 (A Darker Shape mix)
04. Veni (Filthy Floor Mix)
05. Rot
06. Von Den Elben (Brian Froud music video)
07. Brian Froud multimedia gallery

It’s the last day of August, the 31st, and that means there are a whole bunch of incredible new albums being released in Germany today. As you’ve read over the past few weeks, hopefully you saw some you might like. Let’s just take a quick look back to remember what albums are out today…

• Joachim Witt - Auf Ewig-Meisterwerke
  Witt is wrapping up the Bayreuth Trilogy with his magnum opus, Auf Ewig. This album features all the greatest songs from his 25+ year music career, remade in a more modern sound. This is sure to be one of the highlights of the year.
• Emigrate - Emigrate
  After many years as a guitarist with Rammstein, Richard Kruspe found the need for a new outlet to release the songs he had stuck in his mind that didn’t match Rammstein’s direction. He formed the band Emigrate, recorded his songs, and now they’re out on CD. A definite must-have for Rammstein fans.
• mind.in.a.box - Crossroads
  mind.in.a.box is a successful Austrian electronic group and Crossroads is their new album. The European version is out today, but the CD will be released in America on September 25th on Metropolis Records.
• Schallfaktor - End of Love
  This latest EP from Schallfaktor includes several new songs plus a slew of remixes by other great harsh electro groups like Suicide Commando and Grendel. With 12 songs, it’s basically an entire album.
• Saltatio Mortis - Aus Der Asche
  Saltatio Mortis continues the trend of combining medieval instruments with modern day rock music. Fans have waited 3 years for this new album, but it has been well worth it. Check it out, if only for the awesome album cover.

Combining the old sounds of instruments from the Middle Ages like bagpipes and the lute with more modern rock elements has been a popular trend in Germany for many years. Bands like In Extremo and Subway To Sally are the bigs names in this eclectic genre, but there are many other bands worth listening to. Saltatio Mortis is just one of these incredibly creative bands.

Saltatio Mortis has been hard at work for a long time writing and recording songs for their new album Aus der Asche, which will finally be released on August 31st. The album has 13 new songs plus an extra, the song “Falsche Freunde” from a few years ago. This is the band’s first studio album release since 2004, but it has been worth the wait. The new music is as good as ever. But you don’t have to take my word for it, you can download samples (about 1 minute each) of every song on the album on this page and listen to them for yourself. Let me know what you think.

One of the most awesome things about this album, whether you like the music or not, is the album cover. I know it’s hard to see in the little picture here, but take a closer look. The bird on the cover is actually made from fire! Now that’s cool.

One last note… This Saturday, Saltatio Mortis will be playing the Wuppertal Festival which will kick off their tour which will go on until December. If you’re in Germany any time in the next few months, maybe you might want to check them out..

Aus der Asche
1. Prometheus
2. Spielmannsschwur
3. Uns gehört die Welt
4. Sieben Raben
5. Varulfen
6. Irgendwo in meinem Geiste
7. Koma
8. Wirf den ersten Stein
9. Tod und Teufel
10. Choix des Dames
11. Worte
12. Kelch des Lebens
13. Nichts bleibt mehr
14. Falsche Freunde (Bonus Song)

Corvus Corax is famous around the world for their enthralling medieval style music and fantastic on-stage performances. Last year, the band released a DVD of their memorable concert with an orchestra in Berlin as a collection of their best live songs. So it is only fitting that this year, Corvus Corax will be releasing a compilation with their best studio songs.

Kaltenberg Anno MMVII will be released on July 6th with 13 tracks. In addition to these, there will be 3 bonus features including a song called “Hymnus Cantica” which is the official hymn of the Kaltenberg Knights Tournament, “Is Nomine Vacans” which is their song from the roleplaying game Gothic 3, and 15 minutes of a Corvus Corax show in Mexico City.

You can listen to some music by Corvus Corax on their website, however it’s a pop-up so you’ll have to go there and manually click “Music” in the left-side menu and then “Samples” at the top.

Kaltenberg Anno MMVII tracklist
01. Bibit Aleum
02. Tuska
03. Venus vina musica
04. Skudrinka (”Matze”)
05. Nominalto
06. Ballade de mercy
07. Suam elle ires
08. Filii neidhardi
09. Cheiron
10. Titenka
11. In taberna
12. Platerspiel
13. Saltarello/Ductia/Trotto
14. “Hymnus Cantica” (bonus)
15. “Is nomine vacans” (bonus)
Video: Corvus Corax Live at Theatro de Ciudat, Mexico City (bonus)

I know I’m a bit late reporting on this, but I finally went into Hot Topic and picked up a copy of DJ Ferret’s Underground Mix, Vol. 2 which was released by Asleep By Dawn magazine late last year. This compilation features 2 discs: an audio CD and a DVD with music videos. Both feature 19 tracks and are dominated by a broad variety of industrial, goth, electronic, rock, and medieval bands. Only about half of these are German, but most of the other ones are worth listening to as well. And it can’t be easier to find, just walk into your local Hot Topic store and head toward their CD section.

This is an excellent compilation to own whether you are new to this kind of music or a veteran. The music is great and the diversity of styles is refreshing. Perhaps the only thing better than what’s on the compilation is its cost, just $6.99! Even if you only earn minimum wage, you will have enough to buy this CD in less time than it takes to play it. Now that’s a deal!

The CD and DVD tracklists are posted after the jump.
(more…)