To most non-German Germaniacs, Extrabreit probably sounds only marginally familiar because Oomph! has covered them twice (Der Präsident ist tot and Polizisten), but the band is actually also one of the most successful bands founded during the heyday of the Neue Deutsche Welle genre. NDW, a hybrid of punk and New Wave of sorts, swept Germany in the late 70s and early 80s, but was so popular that it practically killed itself by oversaturating the market. Most bands quit and some artists managed to make a comeback later, the definitely most notable comeback being Joachim Witt’s, who was able to put himself in the forefront of German music again with his massively revamped sound. Being also totally bad-ass most likely didn’t make the matters worse for Witt, either. Some of the NDW bands, however, have been able to enjoy continuous popularity through the years, and Extrabreit is one of those bands.

Extrabreit hasn’t been exactly eager to call itself an NDW band, and they do have more of a punk and rock sound to them than most bands of the genre. Maybe that’s exactly what has enabled them to stay active to this very day, releasing their thirteenth full-length album Neues von Hiob this May and a double-CD live album commemorating their 30 years of illustrious career just last October. The effectively named live record 30 Jahre is surely a great way to introduce yourself to Extrabreit’s music, as it contains a wide variety of old hits and also a lot of newer stuff. Personally I think it’s always great to see a veteran band like Extrabreit still be so enthusiastic about their music despite decades of playing. However, I do have to wonder if it’s really a must for all such anniversary compilations or the like to have really atrocious covers…

You can get an idea of Extrabreit’s music from their MySpace, or by downloading the free song Glück & Geld live 2008 taken from the new live album. You can buy both products at Merch United for quite a reasonable price, 10€ for 30 Jahre and 14,90€ for Neues von Hiob. It has to be said, though, that US residents really might want to find some other place to shop, as Merch United takes a massive 30€ for postage. Amazon.de has at least Neues von Hiob for 15,95€.

Click below for tracklisting.

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As you already know, Joachim Witt remade a bunch of his classic songs to commemorate the end of his Bayreuth Trilogy. They will be featured on his new masterpiece Auf Ewig, which will be released on August 31st. The first video for this album was for Witt’s incredible hit “Goldener Reiter”, and the newest video that has just been released is for the classic “Herbergsvater (Tri-Tra-Tullala)”. You can watch it on Witt’s MySpace page (as well as listen to clips from the new album).

“Herbergsvater” is a great song, of course, but I wasn’t overly impressed with the video. It’s a little too abstract for my tastes, and I think it uses the mirror effect way too much. It might have been cool for the first 2 videos that ever used that effect, but now it’s just really lame. What do you think?

Joachim Witt experienced his early success in the Neue Deutsche Welle (new German wave) school of music, but eventually reinvented himself for his 1998 album Bayreuth I. This was the start of what he considered the “Bayreuth trilogy” in which he adopted a harder sound but kept a soft touch. However, Bayreuth III was released last year so this phase of his musical career has now come to an end. To mark this point in history, Witt is releasing his final work of this style, a unique album called Auf Ewig - Meisterwerke.

Instead of a normal best-of album, Witt has taken the time to recreate the elements from all of his best songs over the years and release them together in what is basically a new album. The first single from this compilation was the remake of his famous song “Goldener Reiter” (see the video here), and it will be joined by 15 other classics on the full-length album. Two versions will be available, a regular CD version and a limited edition which includes a DVD containing several music videos and an interview. Auf Ewig - Meisterwerke will be released on August 31st in Europe. It’s not clear yet whether or not Witt’s US distributor, Dancing Ferret, will be releasing this CD in America.

According to an interview Witt did with Radio Goethe, he has decided it’s time for a change in his musical direction. Witt says he will be moving to London to work on some newer, more experimental music. Perhaps we should have known something like this was coming when he appeared in the Egobar collaboration “Ajax zum Beispiel” where he worked with other experimental musicians such as Blixa Bargeld.

Auf Ewig
01. Goldener Reiter
02. Ich Spreng-den Tag
03. Eisenherz
04. Jetzt und Ehedem
05. Hundert Leiber
06. Die Flut
07. Herbersvater (Tri-Tra-Trullala)
08. Und Ich Lauf
09. Wem Gehört das Sternenlicht?
10. Das Geht Tief
11. Unsere Welt
12. Supergestört und Superversaut (Oomph! remix)
13. Batallion D’Amour
14. Wo Versteckt Sich Gott?
15. Weh-Oh-Weh
16. Immer Noch