Herzwerk II re-released today

Some Megaherz fans will tell you that Herzwerk II is the band’s best album. It is fantastic, no doubt, and is the last album recorded with their original singer Alexx Wesselsky. Herzwerk II was originally released in 2002 on the new (at the time) BMG sublabel Firestarter, but they later shut down business, leaving Megaherz in need of yet another new label. One question that was never really asked was who got the rights for Herzwerk II after the demise of Firestarter. Now, it is apparent that Megaherz’s first (and also current) label ZYX got them. How can we tell? ZYX organized a re-release of Herzwerk II and it has just arrived in stores today!

Megaherz has yet to say anything about this, but luckily for German music fans, we are all over any news about Megaherz like flies on… well, you know. If you’re anything like us, you will notice right away that the re-release contains the bonus track “Es Brennt” which was originally only available on the limited edition digipack version of Herzwerk II. That’s good news if you weren’t able to get one of the digipacks when the album first came out, or if you are a newer fan. Want even better news? The re-release is actually cheaper than the original in most stores that still have it for sale. For the best prices, visit Amazon.com in North America or AlphaMusic.de in Europe.

Megaherz - Herzwerk II re-release tracklist:
01. Herzblut
02. Glas und Tränen
03. I.M. Rumpelstilzchen
04. 5. März
05. F.F.F. (Flesh for Fantasy)
06. Hand auf’s Herz
07. Zu den Sternen
08. Licht II (Instrumental)
09. Heute schon gelebt?
10. An deinem Grab
11. Perfekte Droge
12. Spiel nicht…
13. Gold
14. Es brennt

“Mann Von Welt” single also out today

Don’t forget that Megaherz’s new single “Mann Von Welt” is also being released today. Yes, the band announced that it would be out last week on June 20th, but all the shops say June 27th and since they have the ultimate control about when a CD is put on the shelf, we will go with their date. You can find both the basic version and the limited fan edition on EMP.de.

An introduction to Resonator

Resonator is a duo from Münster, Germany, who makes some of the most unique and creative music you can find. Kai typically writes music for theater and works on film soundtracks, while Anja is a formally trained musician who plays the accordion for the Resonator project. Ambient electronic music mixed with accordions is certainly not a common combination of sounds, but I can assure you it’s something very special when you hear it.

Enter the Red Room Diner

Red Room Diner is Resonator’s first full length album, originally released in 2003. It starts out with the mysterious sounding intro “Avis De Securite”. Coming in at under a minute in length, the song doesn’t really give you much of a clue about what you’re in for. This could be the introduction for anything, it’s very abstract. What’s to come? It might surprise you…

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Wrongkong (I love that name) is a new indie-electro-pop collaboration between musicians from Nuremburg, Germany and Calgary, Canada. Their style is very interesting and makes use of some non-traditional song structures, creating an overall sound similar to some electroclash musicians (Peaches comes to mind, for example). Cyrena’s vocals feel right at home with the quick rhythms and upbeat electronics. I’m really liking it. Go listen to some of Wongkong’s 6 full-length songs on their MySpace page. Check out the video below, too. What do you think?

If you like their music, you’ll be happy to know that their roots on both sides of the Atlantic have also allowed them to get record deals for both Europe and the USA. In the EU, Wrongkong’s self-titled album was just released this past Friday, May 16th, on Modern Soul. There, you can find it on Amazon.de for 15.97 Euros. In the USA, the album is out on Minty Fresh but is only available as a digital download. You can get it on iTunes or from the Minty Fresh website. Enjoy!

Wrongkong - Wrongkong tracklisting
01. In this moment
02. Ooh good
03. Real boy
04. Sweat
05. We sleep together
06. Wide open
07. Catch up
08. Clearly too nice
09. The science of your pleasant dreams
10. Quality retriver
11. Lighthouse
12. Better
13. Hiding

Wrongkong’s “Better” music video

Audiomat is a brand new band from the city of Göttingen in the center of Germany. Still fresh and unsigned, they aim right at the center of the post-NDH electro-metal sound that a lot of bands like Treibhaus and BOSCH are playing these days, and they hit the target perfectly.

Listen to the song “Hass Mich” from Audiomat’s demo and you’ll hear exactly what I mean. This is the kind of music that should have been produced right after the original Neue Deutsche Härte bands either faded away or shifted directions, but instead many bands at that point favored a more pure form of metal. Now a second wave of NDH bands like Audiomat have revived the seamless blend of synths with electric guitars.

“Süchtig” is another excellent example of Audiomat’s heavy, fluid style. Mart’s deep vocals (whose sprech-gesang style could be compared with Alexx Wesselsky’s) are perfectly in tune with riffs from the band’s dual guitarists Alex and Martin. Mart also mixes in the electronic elements for a lighter feeling that keeps the song moving along at a good pace.

All summed up, Audiomat is one new band you definitely have to hear. Stop by the band’s MySpace page and listen to the 4 full-length songs available there. I recommend it.

Audiomat’s demo:
01. Hass Mich
02. Spiel Mit Mir
03. Süchtig
04. Herzschlag
05. Göttin

For the past half hour or so, I’ve been listening to a new album called Mama Ist Entzückt by the German blues-rock musician Daloco. Normally, this kind of music isn’t something I would be listening to, but something about the band intrigued me so I decided to listen to some of the music on their MySpace page. Then I noticed that the whole album is available to download as MP3s for free if you just share it with a few of your friends by email. So I did.

I’m glad I did because the musicianship is excellent. Regardless of your personal taste in music, there’s no denying it. Daloco and his fellow musician Bina are both very talented and you can just tell they are totally invested in their music. This is something I can really appreciate, it’s fantastic. So go and give the album a listen. You have nothing to lose.

Daloco - Mama Ist Entzückt tracklisting
01. Euch glaubt doch keiner mehr
02. Teufel in dir
03. Mama ist entzückt
04. Sag den Frauen (dass wir gehen)
05. Zeit für Frieden
06. Es wär einmal
07. Hotelzimmerfenster
08. High noon
09. Sowas wie ne Band
10. Danke, dass sie mich nicht erschossen haben

We have been following Schock’s return and the progress of their new album Halt Still for a while now. The past few years have been troublesome for the band and I knew more than a few people who thought they had simply split up in the 5 years since their last album Glamour was released, so we’re all very glad the band is back and moving towards the release of a third album.

Now, that new album has just become a little bit more real in the mind’s of Schock’s fans. They just announced the release date for Halt Still: June 6th. That’s barely over a month away, so it’s time to get excited! To help build your enthusiasm, go check out the 2 new songs from the album on the band’s MySpace page. Listen to their older ones too, if you’re not already a fan of Schock. They are fantastic!

The band’s site doesn’t have the tracklisting yet, but I found it on an online review of the album (which gave it 10 out of 10 points, by the way). It also tells us the total playtime is 47 minutes and 43 seconds, not bad for 13 tracks. I’m not crazy about the cover art, but I am definitely looking forward to this album and I hope you are too.

One last thing before the tracklisting, you can watch a “Making of Halt Still” video on our April 22nd Newsbites post.

Schock - Halt Still tracklisting
01. Kein Atemzug
02. Oh Yeah
03. Halt Still
04. Wie Ein Tier
05. Nichts Verlieren
06. Lolita
07. Hilf Mir
08. Am Ozean
09. Niemand
10. Frei
11. Es Tut Weh
12. Innerlich Tot
13. Am Ende

The rockers of Dementi are the latest German band to embrace the Creative Commons license and offer their music as free downloads online. Both of the band’s albums, their 2003 debut Zweigefühl and 2005’s Für Heute Reichts, are now available to anyone as long as you don’t use them for any commercial purposes. So go ahead and download Dementi’s music, just visit the download page of their website where you will receive the songs bundled together in a zip file. If you like the music, please don’t forget to support the band for their work by making a donation at the bottom of the same page.

I recommend their second album Für Heute Reichts. It’s the harder one of their two albums and also mixes in some nice electronic elements, it’s really great. I would compare it to Treibhaus, maybe Eisenherz or Megaherz… Check it out.

Don’t forget, Dementi is also working on a new album which is supposed to be released sometime later this year. Not much about it has been announced and I don’t know if they plan to release it for free the same way, but I’ll be sure to bring you the details later on when more information has been announced.

Patenbrigade Wolff is one of the bands I’ve discovered by listening to Radio Goethe, and they could become one of my newest favorite bands. I love everything I’ve heard so far and I’m really looking forward to their new album Demokratischer Sektor which is being released next week on Friday, April 18th. The electronics are precise and refined, very much in the style of EBM, but Patenbrigade Wolff is a bit more electronic and approaches synthpop at times. Their club mixes in particular are bouncier and less stompey than your typical EBM, but you still get that driving beat that pushes it beyond mere synthpop. No matter what you want to call it, it’s worth listening to and I am even putting it in my recommendations category.

If you haven’t taken the opportunity to hear Patenbrigade Wolff on some of the recent Radio Goethe podcasts, you can hear several of their new songs on their MySpace page. There, they have 2 standard album songs including the title track “Demokratischer Sektor” plus 4 great club mixes to listen to. You can also listen to samples from every song on the album on the band’s website by clicking Music in the menu and selecting the Demokratischer Sektor album.

The album is filled to the brim with music, containing 20 tracks with a playtime of almost 75 minutes. There are 3 versions to choose from, starting with the standard version in a jewel case. Next, there is a limited edition (to 555 copies) that comes in a metal box with a round window in the front to display the CD. And finally, the “Premium East Collectors Edition” is limited to just 111 copies and includes the metal box version, a limited T-shirt and other goodies all inside a special box. You can find all 3 versions in the Patenbrigade Wolff webshop which conveniently accepts PayPal payments. They also have the Maurerradio and Turmdrehkran singles, both of which made it into the top 10 of the Deutsche Alternative Charts when they were released last year.

Patenbrigade Wolff - Demokratischer Sektor tracklisting:
01. Maurerradio (Extended Version)
02. Sendersuche 1
03. Stalinallee
04. Sendersuche 2
05. Demokratischer Sektor (Blutfuss Club Mix)
06. Schusswechsel
07. Die rote Fahne fällt
08. Ostberliner Bauarbeiter (Rohbau Remix by KiEw)
09. Demokratischer Sektor (PvD Club Mix)
10. Turmdrehkran (Extended Version)
11. Maurerradio (Old School Retro Club Mix)
12. Mit jedem Sender Informationen
13. Turmdrehkran (Remix by Absurd Minds)
14. Turmdrehkran (PvD Club Mix)
15. Ostberliner Bauarbeiter (Club Mix)
16. Gefahrstoffe feat. Sara Noxx (Hocinoizeflug Club Mix)
17. Krantransport feat. Sara Noxx
18. Schadenshöhe unbekannt
19. Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler
20. Maurerradio (Remix by Leserotique)

Every once in a while, there is a certain non-German band that’s just too good not to mention, so I always try to find some obscure reason that makes them eligible for this blog. Luckily for me, that’s not too hard to do in the case of Apocalyptica. They are from Finland, but they do have links to several German bands like Rammstein, The Farmer Boys, Die Happy and Guano Apes, all of whom have provided guest vocals at one time or another to Apocalyptica. So now that we have established that much, let’s get on with the whole purpose of this post.

News about the tour
Apocalyptica will be touring the United States and Canada very soon. Their tour begins next Friday, April 11th, and continues on until mid-May for a grand total of 30 concerts. This is a really big tour for a foreign band and they are visiting lots of regions that most bands don’t go to, so let’s help make it worth it for them. Go to one of their concerts, you won’t be disappointed!

Ticket info
Tickets for most of the venues are for sale here on Ticketmaster.com. Also, please note that Ticketmaster lists a few of the venues as being in different towns than the official tour list which is listed below. The venues are all the same, but the actual city it’s in may be a neighboring town to the major city in the list below, so just do a little homework ahead of time to find out exactly where you’re going.

Worlds Collide will be released in North America
One last thing. Apocalyptica’s current album Worlds Collide, which was originally released in Europe on September 14th, will be released in the United States and Canada on Tuesday, April 15th. Chances are, you can probably buy it at their concerts as well. Check out my original post about Worlds Collide for all the info and tracklisting.

Apocalyptica’s 2008 North American Tour dates:
April 12 - House of Blues - San Diego, CA
April 13 - The Boardwalk - Orangevale, CA
April 14 - Roxy - Los Angeles, CA
April 16 - Slim’s - San Francisco, CA
April 17 - Roseland - Portland, OR
April 18 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
April 19 - Commodore - Vancouver, BC
April 21 - In the Venue - Salt Lake City, UT
April 22 - Gothic Theatre - Denver, CO
April 23 - Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
April 24 - Pop’s - St. Louis, IL
April 26 - Fine Line - Minneapolis, MN
April 27 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL
April 28 - House of Blues - Cleveland, OH
April 29 - Crofoot - Detroit, MI
April 30 - Phoenix Theater - Toronto, ON
May 1 - Metropolis - Montreal, QC
May 2 - Paradise Club - Boston, MA
May 4 - Trocadero Theatre - Philadelphia, PA
May 5 - Fillmore / Irving Plaza - New York, NY
May 7 - Club - Washington, DC
May 8 - Amos - Charlotte, NC
May 9 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
May 10 - Parish at House of Blues - New Orleans, LA
May 11 - Warehouse Live - Houston, TX
May 12 - House of Blues - Dallas, TX
May 14 - Sunshine Theatre - Albuquerque, NM
May 15 - Marquee - Phoenix, AZ
May 16 - Pima County Fairgrounds (KFMA Radio Day) - Tucson, AZ
May 19 - House of Blues - Las Vegas, NV

Sub Dub Micromachine (or more easily abbreviated as SDMM) is a metal band from Berlin that was getting a lot of attention online a few years ago, especially from our friends at DeutschMusikLand.com who not only have a band bio, but also an interview and a review of their first album Rabautz! They were supposed to be working on a followup called Pump Up The Blast, but it was never released as far as I can tell. Fortunately, it looks like the band has regrouped from whatever problems delayed that album and are now approaching the release of their next album Auferstanden.

This new album, which I have been told will be released on April 12th, sounds heavier (and significantly more awesome) than I remember Rabautz sounding. If I had to make comparisons, I would say Auferstanden is somewhere between Rob Zombie and the Korn I was listening to in 6th grade when they were still young. And despite the fact that there’s a certain detuned depth to both the guitars and the vocal style that takes me back about 10 years, the music is definitely not a copy of either of those bands. I would say it’s probably better. If there’s any bit of you that longs for the mid-90s before mainstream music started going completely downhill, you need to give this album a listen. Sub Dub Micromachine has 6 great full-length songs streaming on their MySpace page including “Road To Nowhere”, the song they turned into this badass video:

Amazon.de has Auferstanden listed as a hybrid SACD, but they don’t have a price or tracklisting yet. Neither does any other website I have found, including the band’s own site. So, in the absence of any extra information, I’ll give you another video. This one is for the song “Fly.” Just follow the link to watch it.
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