Download the new Donots single for free

It’s becoming increasingly popular among bands to give away some of their music for free in exchange for a list of your friends’ email addresses. By doing this, a band amplifies the reach of their music so more people get to listen to it and it also helps them get in contact with more potential fans, so it seems like a win-win situation. We discovered Daloco’s incredible blues-rock album Mama Ist Entzückt this way and it proved to be pretty popular among readers. Now you can get the new Donots single “Stop The Clocks” this way, too. Will it prove to be just as popular?

Just head over to their e-card, type in some of your friends’ emails, and listen away. Sure, this is just a single, not an entire album, but by filling in the Donots e-card, you’ll also be entered to win tickets to one of 2 festivals the band will be playing at later in the year, a meet-and-greet with the band, and a voucher for the Donots Shop worth 100 Euros. Good luck, and as usual, let us know what you think in the comments.

Scooter ousts Madonna from the top of the UK album chart

The latest Scooter album Jumping All Over The World, which was originally released in Germany and several other countries in 2007, was just released on May 5th in the UK. It was the act’s first album release in the UK since 2003’s The Stadium Techno Experience, but they probably would have released more there if they had known how popular they would be with the Brits. Jumping All Over The World soared to the #1 spot on the UK album chart, surpassing even the “queen of pop” Madonna and her album Hard Candy. You can read the complete BBC article here. Thanks to Nadja for the tip.

Tour calendar finally created

I finally made a tour calendar for German bands that are coming to North America. It includes all bands that have already toured here so far in 2008 (including Ellen Allien which I just found out about, a few days too late) and plenty more that have yet to arrive. Check it out now, and check back often for updates. I hope you’ll find this helpful.

Destroid on tour in the US

Destroid is a project created by Daniel Myer of Haujobb, along with Sebastian Ullman, in 2004. Their latest album Loudspeaker was released in October of 2007, before which they supported [:SITD:] in a tour acrossed Europe. Now, they are flying over the Atlantic for a tour of the United States.

The venue locations seem somewhat evenly spread out acrossed the country, so if you’re within a reasonable distance from any of them, I recommend going. If you’re on the West Coast, you may also have the opportunity to attend one of Daniel Myer’s DJ sets which are scheduled towards the end of the tour. Of course, if you’re not familiar with Myer or Destroid, check out their music on MySpace.

Destroid 2008 U.S. Tourdates
May 22 - Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory
May 23 - Austin, TX - Elysium
May 25 - Columbus, OH - Hi-5
May 28 - New York, NY - Sapony
May 29 - Washington, DC - Liv
May 30 - West Palm Beach, FL - Respectable Street
May 31 - Orlando, FL - AKA Lounge
June 03 - San Francisco, CA - Fat City
June 05 - Portland, OR - Mt. Tabor Legacy
June 06 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
June 07 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon - Daniel Myer DJ set only
June 08 - Portland, OR - The Fez Ballroom - Daniel Myer DJ set only
June 09 - Denver, CO - Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
June 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory - Daniel Myer DJ set only
June 14 - Phonix, AZ - Sadisco

King’s Tonic will do a quick tour, too

King’s Tonic might be a new name to some of you. I know they were to me when I first heard them on Radio Goethe last week. They’re a punk rock band who just released their second album Fuck Your Neighbour earlier this year and they’re doing a really short 5-show tour in the Southwestern United States at the end of May. Unless you’re near LA or Vegas, there’s not much of a chance you’ll be able to see them perform, but you should definitely visit their MySpace page and give them a listen.

King’s Tonic U.S. Mini-Tour
May 23 - Los Angeles, CA - Doll Hut
May 24 - Anaheim, CA - Ceros
May 28 - Los Angeles, CA - Di Piazzas
May 30 - Los Angeles, CA - Fullerton Back Alley
June 06 - Las Vegas, NV - Double Down Saloon

Also… Festival Kinetik starts tomorrow

Just a reminder, the Festival Kinetik in Montreal starts tomorrow and goes on until Saturday. If you’re lucky enough to be going, enjoy the performances by the 5 German industrial and noise bands that will be there: Feindflug, Funker Vogt, Kiew, Noisuf-X, and Xotox.

Extra, Vol. 1 announced

Early in April, we found out that KMFDM would be releasing a 3-part series of compilations called Extra, which would feature lots of the non-album material from the band’s extensive back-catalog. Then they announced the tracklisting for the first volume on May 1st, but gave no mention of when it would actually be released. I figured it couldn’t be too much longer before a date was given, and then I would post it here. But here we are now halfway through the month and we still don’t have a date, so I’ve given up on waiting around for them to give us more details.

So, if you haven’t seen it already, here’s the tracklisting for KMFDM’s Extra Vol. 1 compilation. The release date will just have to be posted later. Nevermind, Metropolis says it will be out on June 3rd. Why couldn’t KMFDM write that on their site?

KMFDM - Extra, Volume 1 tracklist

Disc One
01. Sieg-Sieg (Z Records Version)
02. Don’t Blow Your Top (Adrian Sherwood Mix)
03. Disgust (12″ Mix)
04. Oh Look II
05. Rip The System
06. More & Faster (12″ Mix)
07. Naff Off
08. Virus (12″ Mix)
09. M+F 244 (High & Geil Mix)
10. Godlike (12″ Mix)
11. Friede (12″ Mix)
12. Naive (My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult Remix)
13. Naive (TKK Remix Edit)

Disc Two
01. Split (12″ Mix)
02. Piggybank (Shock Mix)
03. Go To Hell (Fearing & Burning Mix)
04. Vogue (12″ Mix)
05. Sex On The Flag (12″ Mix)
06. Split (Apart Version)
07. Split (Mirrorball Mix)
08. Money (Radio Mix)
09. Bargeld (Radio Mix)
10. Money (Cover Charge Mix)
11. Bargeld (Rubber Club Dub)
12. Money (Metal Mix)
13. Bargeld (Jezebeelzebutfunk Mix)
14. Money (Death Before Taxes Mix)

The June edition of 24/7

KMFDM has also recently announced that June’s edition of their 24/7 single series will be “Virus (12″ Mix)” with the B-side “More & Faster (High & Geil Mix)”. Head on over to the KMFDM Store on June 1st to order this limited edition single. All the past months’ singles have been selling out in just a few days, so you don’t want to be late.

In January, Neuroticfish announced they would split up after the Wave Gotik Treffen festival this year. If you’ve been following the European festivals, you know WGT was just held this past weekend which means the band is officially no longer together. Despite this, though, they still have yet to issue their final farewell. It’s in the form of a best-of compilation called A Greater Good and it will be released this Friday, May 16th.

A Greater Good has a total of 16 songs. The majority of them highlight the band’s career over the past 10 years, but they have also included 2 completely new songs and a remix of “M.F.A.P.L.” at the beginning of the tracklist. Neuroticfish fans will no doubt know most of the songs on the CD, but those who don’t can listen to the band either on their MySpace page or on the music player at the bottom of their official site.

You can find the American version of A Greater Good at Isotank.com for just $13.99 because Neuroticfish is released here on Dancing Ferret. In Europe, Infrarot.de and AlphaMusic.de seem to be tied for the best list price, 15.99 Euros.

Neuroticfish - A Greater Good compilation tracklist
01. Can’t stop a riot (new song)
02. A greater good (new song)
03. M.F.A.P.L. 2008 (new remix)
04. Prostitute
05. Skin
06. The bomb
07. Velocity
08. Need
09. Close
10. I don’t need the city
11. It’s not me
12. Care
13. Suffocating right
14. Wake me up
15. Black again
16. Waste

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

De/Vision holds a remix contest for their 20th anniversary

One of the most famous synthpop acts from Germany, De/Vision has certainly performed their fair share of music for their fans over the past 2 decades. Now, to celebrate the their 20th anniversary, they are reversing the roles by holding a remix contest. Anyone with a little bit of musical talent is invited to create a remix for their song “Life Is Suffering” which is from their current album Noob. De/Vision is holding the contest in cooperation with DigitalMusician.net and they are offering several prizes including music equipment like a Roland synthesizer, a digital recorder, an effects pedal, and 5 pro memberships to DigitalMusician.net. Visit this site to sign up for the contest and get access to the original song files. All entires must be made by May 31st. Good luck!

New Oomph! album this summer

On GermanMetal.com, Joki reports that Oomph! are ready to release a new album this summer. No official release date or tracklisting has been announced yet, but it shouldn’t be too long until we hear something more. The band will also play some festivals during the summer, followed by a full length tour in November and December.

Guitarist change for 4Lyn

It was announced about a week ago that 4Lyn’s guitarist and songwriter René would be leaving the band. Sometimes when a band member leaves, it’s a sign of trouble. That’s not the case here, thankfully. René’s departure was friendly and the band respects his decision to move on. The new fourth member of the band will be Dennis, who has a big job ahead of him. 4Lyn has dozens of concerts scheduled across Germany during the next few months in support of their current album Hello. You can check the dates and the band’s music on their MySpace page.

Visit the “GERMANIACdotcom Labs” page

You may have noticed the new link in the side menu inviting you to visit the “GERMANIACdotcom Labs” page. If not, go check it out. That’s where we will keep you up to date with the progress of all our projects that are currently in development and post any new ideas we think might be a good addition to the site. Naturally, you are also invited to post your opinion in a comment there or offer a new idea that might benefit the site. As you may be aware, our current big project is the forthcoming Germaniac Shop which should be opening in a few weeks.

Radio Goethe delivers again with another new podcast this week. Arndt says it’s music to sit back and relax to, but there’s still a full range of music spread out over the hour-long program. You’ll hear some songs from the smoother side of the spectrum (like Wolfsheim’s synthpop) and then opposite harder end (like metal from Megaherz and End Of Green), and everything in between. It’s yet another example of the tried and true eclectic mix of German sounds that Radio Goethe has become known for.

Listen to the podcast streaming online, or you can download it on iTunes.

Radio Goethe podcast for this week
Megaherz: An Deinem Grab
End of Green: Cure my pain
Fury in the Slaughterhouse: Down there
Bananafishbones: Harm
Wolfsheim: And I…
Herbert Grönemeyer: Bleibt alles anders
Silbermond: Das Beste
Westernhagen: Lass uns leben
Einstürzende Neubauten: Die Wellen
Diary of Dreams: The valley
Inchtabokatables: Love song
Infamis: Leaving the cowboys hanging in the sky

Dornenreich’s new album In Luft Geritzt is another album that got its release date pushed back. It was originally supposed to hit stores last week, but it’s finally on sale just now. Well, yesterday if you want to get technical. (I know, I still have to move the date in the releases page.)

Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find any samples from In Luft Geritzt. Their MySpace page only has clips from some of Dornenreich’s older albums. Not very good on their part, but I guess it will have to do for now. You can still get a pretty decent idea of how their “ambient black metal” music sounds. It’s actually nothing like what most people would consider ambient, but I’m coming up blank trying to think of a better term for it. What does it sound like to you?

Of course, if you are already a fan of Dornenreich, then you probably know what to expect and might not have a problem buying the album without hearing a bit of it first. In that case, AlphaMusic.de has In Luft Geritzt for the really great price of just 11.99 Euros. EMP.de is also showing a 2 disc limited edition version of the album, but doesn’t have a tracklist of it. If you know what’s on the second disc, please let us know in the comments section.

Dornenreich - In Luft Geritzt tracklisting
01. Drang
02. Unruhe
03. Jagd
04. Freitanz
05. Sehnlauf
06. Flügel in Fels
07. Meer
08. Aufbruch
09. Dem Wind Geboren
10. Zauberzeichen

Endanger’s 4th studio album Revolt was supposed to be released today, but it looks like it has been delayed a week making the new release date May 16th. The album, which appears on Infacted Records, has 11 new songs including “Times Are Changing” which features Chandeen’s new singer Julia Beyer. (Check out Chandeen’s latest album here, if you don’t remember them.) There is also an additional remix of this song at the end of the album.

Head on over to Endanger’s MySpace page to hear a few of the songs from Revolt (in full length) and a pair of older ones. Then, if you like what you hear, you can order the album online at either Infrarot.de or AlphaMusic.de, both of which have it for 15.99 Euros. A bit closer to home for my American friends, Isotank.com has the album available to pre-order for $16.99.

If you’re the gambling type, you can try your chances and enter to win one of 5 copies of Revolt that the band is giving away on their website. Just visit Endanger.de to find out how to enter the drawing.

And finally on a related note, Nilaihah Records released an American version of Endanger’s last album Addicted To The Masses and Dancing Ferret released their album Motion from 2000, so we may possibly see an American version of Revolt emerging sometime in the future. I’m not sure yet, but I will investigate.

Endanger - Revolt tracklisting
01. Grüße nach Frankfurt
02. Mittendrin
03. We all fall down
04. In the West
05. Atemlos
06. Fool
07. Equal Ways
08. Purpose of the Creators
09. Revolt
10. Times are changing
11. Auf nimmer wiedersehen
12. Times are changing (Alphaluna Mix)

Just shy of one year after their last album Symbol, Greifenkeil is already back with a new album that was just released today, May 9th. It’s called Blood Mystery and features 12 new songs from this dark electro-industrial act.

The traditional album format of all songs being mostly the same length is pretty much ignored here. Several of tracks (called “intros” in the tracklisting, although they are probably more like interludes) are pretty short, between 1:30 and 2:30 in length. To make up for this, most of the songs in between are more than 8 minutes, while one (”Blood Motion”) is almost 11 minutes long. All summed up, the album comes out to be about an hour in length.

Check out Greifenkeil’s MySpace page for several samples from the new album. You can find it online at AlphaMusic.de for 13.99 EUR.

Greifenkeil - Blood Mystery tracklisting
01. Reveal (Intro)
02. Blood Mystery
03. The Flow (Intro)
04. Blood Motion
05. Impasse (Intro)
06. Vendetta
07. Unleash (Intro)
08. Blood War
09. Goddess Of Blood
10. Tears Of Blood
11. Mystery (Outro)
12. Blood Mystery (Video Edit)