“Still Love You” is the second track off Die Happy’s new album VI, and it’s also the band’s second single for that album. The single, which is released today, contains 4 songs including a 2 different versions of “Still Love You”, the non-album song “Kill Me” and a live version of “Standing Strong”. There are also 2 music videos, one for “Still Love You” and the other for the band’s previous single “Peaches”.

You can either listen to samples of the 4 songs or buy the single for 5.99 Euros from AlphaMusic.de, one of our favorite German music sites.

Die Happy - Still Love You maxi single tracklist
01. Still Love You (New album version)
02. Kill Me
03. Standing Strong (Live and unplugged)
04. Still Love You
05. Still Love You (Video)
06. Peaches (Video)

Tokio Hotel is already a controversial band among many Germaniacs simply because of their sheer popularity, boy band branding scheme, and perhaps even their bizarre fashion styles. But that doesn’t discount the fact that they are indeed a German band, so they are worth mentioning here… if for nothing else than to help make our coverage a little more well-rounded.

If you’re not already familiar with Tokio Hotel, this is the 4 piece pop-rock band that has been making headlines all across Germany and Europe, and has even performed a few successful concerts here in the United States already. Now their current album Scream is ready to be released in the USA as well. It will be on the shelves on Tuesday, May the 6th.

Not to be confused with their debut album Schrei (which means “Scream”), this new album has songs selected from Tokio Hotel’s first 2 albums which were both sung in German, and simply translates them into English to make them appeal to a wider audience. This decision is certainly not without debate, however. There’s actually an online petition with thousands of signatures from their fans asking Tokio Hotel to stop singing in English. And while that might be a nice way to preserve some cultural value in the music, it’s not likely to happen. Their label (Universal) is no doubt more interested in reaping the rewards of their new star band, especially in an environment where it is becoming harder and harder to profit from them.

So what does that leave us with? A bunch of teenagers from Germany trying as hard as possible to Americanize themselves so they can sing in front of thousands of screaming girls. Not quite my cup of tea. Hmmm… You can hear them here if you must.

Tokio Hotel - Scream (US edition) tracklisting
01. Scream
02. Ready, Set, Go!
03. Monsoon
04. Love is Dead
05. Don’t Jump
06. Live Every Second (U.S. Exclusive)
07. On the Edge
08. Sacred
09. Break Away
10. Rescue Me
11. Final Day
12. Forgotten Children
13. By Your Side
14. 1000 Oceans (Bonus Song)
15. Durch den Monsun (Bonus Song - German Version from “Schrei” Studio CD)

Originally founded in 1993, Die Happy is a pop-rock band from Ulm that has come to be popular across Germany. Adding to the success of their own music, the band’s singer Marta Jandová is well known for her guest performances with the likes of In Extremo, Apocalyptica, and even on Oomph’s song “Träumst Du” which won the 2007 Bundesvision song contest. Most recently, Die Happy has been working on material for a new album.

They just released that album yesterday, April the 18th. It’s called VI and, you guessed it, it’s their 6th album. Well, not exactly. See, that’s the weird thing about this… VI is actually Die Happy’s 9th album, but I guess they don’t care enough about their first 3 self-released albums to even include them as part of their discography. It’s a real shame that they are completely disregarding all that hard work from their past that got them to where they are today. But anyway, yeah, it’s called VI and it’s in stores now.

Listen to the whole album
On a more positive note, you can listen to all 13 songs from the standard version of VI on Die Happy’s MySpace page. If you want to buy the album, you might also consider the limited edition digipack option that comes with a bonus DVD of live and unplugged videos.

Where to buy it
If you’re fortunate enough to be in Europe, you can take advantage of the huge end-of-winter sale that EMP.de is currently having. VI isn’t discounted because it’s new, but be sure to shop around for lots of other awesome releases including some older Die Happy albums that are really cheap right now. For anyone in North America, it looks like the best solution is to order it from Amazon.de.

Die Happy - “Peaches” music video
Here’s the music video for VI’s first single “Peaches” which was released a few weeks ago on March 28th.

Die Happy - VI tracklisting
01. Around The World
02. Still Love You
03. Don’t You
04. Peaches
05. Easy Come Easy Go
06. Sweet Sensation
07. You’ll Never Know
08. Hysteria
09. New York - Tokyo
10. Wannabe
11. Genuine Venus
12. Coming Home
13. The End
14. Frozen Tears (hidden bonus track)

Bonus DVD (on limited edition only)
01. Intro
02. Hello
03. Violent Dreams
04. Breathing
05. Perfect
06. Everyday’s A Weekend
07. Supersonic Speed
08. Slow Day
09. Wanna Be Your Girl
10. The Ordinary Song
11. Still Standing Strong
12. On My Way

There’s still some time before any major releases in March, so I’m actually going to tell you about a few of the other interesting February releases that I missed…

Down Below - Sand In Meiner Hand MCD and Sinfony 23 re-release
Down Below is a relatively new gothic pop-rock band that started out in 2003. After gaining some popularity with their first 2 albums, they entered the 2008 Bundesvision Song Contest with their new single “Sand In Meiner Hand”. It was the band’s first German-language song, everything else they have done so far has been in English. When the contest was held on February 14th, Down Below only came in 3rd place (Subway To Sally won), but nevertheless the new single was released the next day on the 15th. Their latest album, 2007’s Sinfony 23, was also re-released on the same day with “Sand In Meiner Hand” and a few extra remixes added as bonus tracks. You can find the new single either on DownBelow.de or the band’s MySpace page, along with several other songs from Sinfony 23.

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter - Tobsucht-Reitermania over Wacken & Party.San
Die Apokalyptischen Reiter released a live album on the 1st of February. As the full name suggests, Tobsucht sports footage from the band’s performances at the Wacken Open Air festival and the Party.San festival and is available in 3 versions. There is an audio version with 2 CDs containing 90 minutes of live music, there is a DVD version with 180 minutes of concert footage, and there is a combined version with both of the CDs and the DVD plus a special booklet and packaging. Die Apokalyptischen Reiter have 2 songs from this live album on their MySpace page. Check it out if you’re into some crazy thrash metal.

Technically, I should have posted this yesterday, but I got a bit carried away with other things. In any event, there are 3 new releases that just came out yesterday (Friday, January 25th) that I think are worth mentioning…

1 - Sara Noxx and Project Pitchfork - Earth Song
First of all, Project Pitchfork has teamed up with the singer Sara Noxx for a special single called Earth Song. Both acts are already well known in the German electronic scene, so the two of them working together should only make fans more excited. Sounds good so far. As you may have guessed from the title, “Earth Song” is a message about the environment and states the musicians’ position about what is (or what is not) being done to help it. A strong message behind the song, another plus. From the looks of things, Earth Song should be really great. But unfortunately, I think they have over-promised and under-delivered with this one. Of course this is my own personal opinion, but I just don’t think the music cuts it. For a song that is so meaningful, it should really leave an impact. That just doesn’t happen though. The music is boring, it didn’t even get me to move my head or tap my foot, and you can’t hear the lyrics which are supposed to have such significance. I’m sorry to say it, but I am terribly disappointed.

Head over to Sara Noxx’s MySpace page to have a 2-minute listen. Maybe you can convince me that it’s better than I think.

Sara Noxx and Project Pitchfork - Earth Song single tracklisting
1. Earth Song - Radio Edit
2. Earth Song - Original Version
3. Earth Song - Joachim Witt’s London Mix
4. Earth Song - Tanzwut’s Teufel Remix
5. Earth Song - Cat Rapes Dog’s All Hail Ishtar Mix
6. Earth Song - Subway to Sally’s Ready to Kill Mix

2 - 4lyn - Hello
It is now a few months after 4lyn’s single “Hello (For You I’m Dying)” introduced us to some of the music, and now their new full length album Hello has been released. This album is nothing like the band’s previous hardcore metal-influenced music. Instead, Hello is pretty much your typical modern day “alternative” rock aimed at teenage boys who wear their pants too tight. They have gone totally soft and I don’t like it at all. But who am I to judge? I’m not part of their audience. If you are, you would probably like listening to their new music.

4lyn - Hello tracklisting
01. The grind
02. Shadow valley
03. Hello (for you I’m dying)
04. World’s gone crazy
05. Too munch of everything
06. Nostalgia
07. Lovemaker/Soulshaker
08. The jumpoff
09. This heart
10. Cowboys

3 - Hämatom - Wut
I saved the best for last. Hämatom is a relatively new metal band hailing from the heart of Germany. After releasing their debut album Nein! in 2005, they are back for a second round. Their new album Wut is packed to the brim with thrashingly heavy guitar riffs and intensely pounding drums, all backed by good old German lyrics. It’s nothing revolutionary, but if you are a true fan of German metal, you have to hear this album. Go to Hämatom’s MySpace page and appease your inner headbanger with the 6 full length songs they have available, all from their new album Wut. You can also listen to some more MP3 samples from all the songs (and buy it for a pretty good price) on AlphaMusic.de.

Hämatom - Wut tracklist
01. Los Gehts
02. Leck Mich!
03. Fremd
04. Das Schwarze Schaf
05. Schmerz
06. Ihr Kotzt Mich An
07. Mit Dem Kopf Durch Die Wand
08. Freier Fall
09. Bow
10. Homo Sapiens
11. Solange Ich Noch Kann
12. Vorspiel
13. Sechs
14. Willkommen Im Nichts

It’s Friday, September 28th, and if this date sounds familiar it’s because there are a lot of new German music releases out today. There’s a little bit of everything for you… industrial, metal, gothic, rock, and pop. Here’s a quick overview of these 8 new releases just to refresh your memory. Click on the bold title to read the full article and get the tracklist for that album or single.

• Eisheilig - Auf Dem Weg In Deine Welt album

Eisheilig’s new album features plenty of dark, gothic rock sounds that have gained them quite a following in recent years. Ten new tracks will keep you company when you’re feeling down.

• Emigrate - New York City single

“New York City” is the first single from Emigrate, Rammstein guitarist Richard Kruspe’s side project. The single has 3 album songs plus a remix of “New York City” by Alec Empire and the “My World” music video which is based on the new movie Resident Evil: Extinction.

• Juli - Ein Neuer Tag live album and DVD

Juli has become one of the most popular pop rock bands in Germany over the past few years. Ein Neuer Tag is their new live album, not to be confused with their studio album of the same name. The Ein Neuer Tag DVD set features footage from several entire concerts.

• Kash and Nik Page - Kommunion single

Much more than just an ordinary single, “Kommunion” offers 6 remixes of the title song where Kash collaborated with Nik Page, plus 6 more remixes of previous Kash songs. A total of 12 remixes makes this more of an über-single.

• Krieger - Krieger album

Krieger is a brand new German rock band who looks very promising. Their sound is nice and heavy and they are under the same management company as Rammstein. This is definitely one to pick up.

• Nena - Cover Me album

One of Germany’s most famous pop musicians is doing coversongs of a wide range of bands from around the world. Nena’s new album Cover Me offers up 2 discs filled to the brim with her remakes of classic songs.

• Painbastard - Borderline album

Painbastard’s new album Borderline is sure to please fans of industrial-dance music. These 14 new tracks are the band’s main attraction, following the preview songs we heard back in July on Nyctophobia.

• Songs of Lemuria - Deep album

Songs of Lemuria covers bands from Nirvana to Einstürzende Neubauten on their new album, Deep. Their use of gothic-influenced classical music and the beautiful vocals by Michaela Laubach and Nik Page make the sound pretty deep, too.

Not bad for one day, eh?

The German pop-rock band Juli has a new live album being released tomorrow. Strangely, they gave it the exact same name as one of their studio albums, Ein Neuer Tag, just to confuse their fans. Well, I guess real fans of Juli would probably be able to tell the difference pretty easily, but it was a bit confusing at first to a casual observer such as myself. In any case, Ein Neuer Tag Live features 17 songs on the CD version. The DVD version actually has 2 entire concerts on seperate DVDs: one from a concert in Münster, and another from München (aka Munich for us English-speaking folks). There’s also a limited edition of the DVD containing 4 discs. The first 2 are the same as the regular edition, and the other 2 just have more of the same songs played in different venues.

Juli - Ein Neuer Tag Live CD tracklist
01. Dieses Leben
02. Du Nimmst Mir Die Sicht
03. Bist Du Das
04. Warum
05. Sterne
06. Geile Zeit
07. Am Besten Sein
08. November
09. Zerrissen
10. Wenn Du Mich Lässt
11. Ein Neuer Tag
12. Das Gute Gefühl
13. Wir Beide
14. Regen Und Meer
15. Wer Von Euch
16. Perfekte Welle
17. Ein Gruß

The tracklists for the 4 DVDs are posted after the jump.
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Oomph! was one of the first pioneers of the Neue Deutsche Härte style of music when they began mixing industrial music with guitars way back in the early 90s. Well, the band has released an astonishing 10 albums since then, with the latter few seeing much success in Europe, but they have never released a DVD until now. Oomph!’s very first DVD will be called Rohstoff and will contain a breathtaking amount of material. First, there is a 23-song set recorded live in Berlin from the GlaubeLiebeTod tour. Next, there are 15 music videos that have been recorded over the years for Oomph!’s many singles. And finally, there are a number of video “making-of” documentaries and an interview with the band.

Rohstoff is out on July 13th. This will definitely be a great addition to Oomph!’s discography.

Rohstoff tracklist

Concert (Columbiahalle, May 23, 2006)
01. Fragment
02. Träumst Du?
03. Unsere Rettung
04. Keine Luft Mehr
05. Du Willst Es Doch Auch
06. Fieber
07. Wenn Du Weinst
08. Die Schlinge
09. Supernova
10. Sex Hat Keine Macht
11. Mitten Ins Herz
12. Das Letzte Streichholz
13. Dein Feuer
14. Das Weiße Licht
15. Mein Schatz
16. Dein Weg
17. Gekreuzigt
18. Niemand
19. Augen Auf!
20. Brennende Liebe
21. Gott Ist Ein Popstar
22. Menschsein
23. Burn Your Eyes

Music Videos
Träumst Du
The Power Of Love
Gekreuzigt 2006
Die Schlinge
Das Letzte Streichholz
Gott Ist Ein Popstar
God Is A Popstar
Sex Hat Keine Macht
Brennende Liebe
Augen Auf!
Niemand
Supernova
Fieber
Das Weiße Licht
Gekreuzigt

Extra
Making Of “Träumst Du”
Making Of “Gekreuzigt 2006″ & “The Power of Love”
Making Of “Die Schlinge”
Making Of “Das Letzte Streichholz”
Making Of “Gott Ist Ein Popstar” & “God is a Popstar”
Making Of “Sex Hat Keine Macht”
Making Of “Brennende Liebe”
Making Of “Augen Auf!”
Making Of “Supernova”
Interview with the band