Unheilig recorded a show in Berlin during their recent Puppenspieler Tour, with the promise of an upcoming DVD release. Vorhang auf! is set to be released in October as a double-CD and DVD set, with a strictly limited (1500 copies) Deluxe Edition which will also include a photo book and an extra DVD of the 2006 Goldene Zeiten tour. The book will include fan photos, so if you have photos from an Unheilig signing session or concert, you can submit them to unheilig@orkus.de (with a statement giving permission for publication) until August 24th.

A full tracklisting and exact publication date for the DVD has not yet been announced, but when it comes out, it should be available through the usual places: emso.de, emp.de and amazon.de, and of course isotank.com. No word yet on when or if the DVD will be released in the US, but the Deluxe Edition is certainly going to be Germany-only, and it will definitely sell out quickly. If you really want it, my advice would be to order it from EMSO as soon as it is available for pre-order.

On a related note, Unheilig also recently announced that a full two weeks before its actual publication date, the limited edition EP Spiegelbild has already sold out. A very few copies may still be available for pre-order through EMSO, but those probably won’t last through this weekend’s M’era Luna festival.

The old saying “time flies” is certainly true. It seems like Unheilig’s current album Puppenspieler was just released last week, but it has already been 3 long months since it came out on February 22nd. During that time, the band performed a very successful tour (until Der Graf’s vocals gave up and some concerts had to be cancelled, but thankfully he is doing much better now) with the bands goJA Moon Rockah and F.A.Q. as their opening acts. Now, these 3 bands have been brought together once more, but this time it’s not on stage, it’s on a round piece of plastic.

Just yesterday, May 20th, the split album Schattenspiel was released. The tracklisting, which is packed with unreleased and live versions of songs from all 3 bands, is set up just like it was in the concerts with the 2 opening bands first and then Unheilig being the main event at the end. The idea, of course, is for the lesser-known openers to get some extra exposure and gain some new fans. And it’s a good idea, too, especially because both goJA moon Rockah and F.A.Q. are very talented bands and definitely worth a listen. Be sure to visit both of the bands’ MySpace pages and listen to some of their music: goJA’s is here and F.A.Q.’s is here.

Once you’ve determined that you like all 3 bands and you want to snatch this album up (because it’s limited to just 3,333 units and is sure to sell out fast), head on over to Emso.de if you’re in Europe or Isotank.com if you call North America home. I know there are a lot of Unheilig fans here, you’ll really like this.

Schattenspiel split CD tracklisting

goJA moon Rockah section
01. Attackah Massakah
02. Rockah
03. Schwarz

F.A.Q. section
04. Ten bells
05. Leather Apron

Unheilig section
06. Schutzengel (live)
07. Kalt (exclusive)
08. Sage Ja (live)
09. Brief an Dich (exclusive)
10. Freiheit (live)
11. Leblos (exclusive)
12. Mein Stern (live)
13. Dornröschen (exclusive)

First new Corvus Corax song online

Corvus Corax is still working on their next album Cantus Buranus II which is scheduled for release on August 1st, but they have already uploaded a new song on their MySpace page. It’s called “O Varium Fortune” and despite the fact that it’s only a 3-minute rough mix of the song, it’s still well worth a listen. It’s very nice, definitely Corvus Corax. I’m eagerly awaiting this album.

Seabound offers an exclusive MP3 download

During Seabound’s U.S. Alliance Tour, they performed the song “Watching Over You” as an encore with Iris’s singer Reagan Jones in certain cities. This duet was so well received by the crowds that the band decided to record it. Now it’s available as an exclusive MP3 download for fans of both bands to enjoy (or relive the experience, if you were there) over and over again. This particular recording was made at the March 29th concert in San Francisco. To download “Watching Over You” live, just head on over to Seabound.de or simply click here.

Udo Dirkschneider celebrates 20 years: Special concerts, DVD, South American tour

Udo Dirkschneider first met fame as the singer for Accept, but for the past 20 years he has been at the head of his own band U.D.O. To celebrate, the band has planned 2 special concerts in Germany, one of which will have an extra-long 3 hour set that will also include several Accept songs. This concert will also be filmed and turned into a DVD in the future for all U.D.O. fans who couldn’t get tickets for the sold out show.

U.D.O. is also booking concerts for South America and Mexico during the first half of June. For details, visit the tourdates page of U.D.O.’s website.

Schock’s “Making of Halt Still” video

As I reported a while ago, Schock is hard at work on their next album, Halt Still. But it looks like they are making a lot of progress on the album because they recently released a “making of Halt Still” video on their MySpace page. It’s in German, but even if you can’t understand any of it, there’s still plenty of music to listen to between segments of the members speaking and making random noises.

Seabound’s US tour just finished up about a week ago, so we’re ready for the next bit of news from them. This Tuesday, April 8th, the band will be releasing their first live album called Come Forward-Live In Berlin. And for once, the United States will get a German release first. The German/European release of this album isn’t happening until April 25th because Seabound’s former European label, Dependent Records, shut down last year so it looks like the album is being released worldwide through Metropolis Records now.

Come Forward-Live In Berlin has 12 songs which makes it one of the shortest live album I’ve ever seen, but no doubt it’s worthwhile for any fan of the band. In North America, you can pre-order the album for just $12.98 direct from the Metropolis mailorder site. It’s the least expensive place I’ve found, plus you’ll get the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting the musicians and their independent label more directly. The least expensive place to pre-order it in Europe seems to be AlphaMusic.de which also provides some short samples of the tracks.

Seabound - Come Forward-Live In Berlin tracklisting:
01. Scorch The Ground
02. Exorcize
03. Poisonous Friend
04. Avalost
05. Contact
06. Domination
07. Castaway
08. The Promise
09. Hooked
10. Watching Over You
11. Torn
12. Breathe