German darkwave

Deine Lakaien

One of the very first darkwave projects in Germany was Deine Lakaien (first album 1986). The music of Ernst Horne (also Helium Vola , Ernst Horn , Qntal until 1999) and, in particular, the deep vocals of Alexander Velyanov (also Run run Vanguard and Veljanov ) amazed the audience on the First album. In further development, Deine Lakaien came to a soft sound similar to the ethereal style, creating such masterpieces of this genre as Dark Star , Forest Enter-Exit , Kasmodiah . A wide resonance was caused by the performance of the group with a symphony orchestra. ^[one]

Ghosting

In 1988, Sasha Tayfe founded the Ghosting project, which at that time was exotic with its electronic darkwave. At the beginning of 1992, the pianist left the group without waiting for the recording of their debut album, and therefore one of the first vivid examples of darkwave and piano was played on the Einsamkeit album by Lacrimosa . In 1993, the studio Danse Macabre (under the direction of Bruno Kramm from Das Ich ) recorded the debut album Romantic Death , and Sasha Tayfe fell out with all the musicians. The release of Songs From Fairyland coincided with a scandal surrounding Sasha Tayefe's addiction to cocaine. The song Bombed The World from the album Lips Like Red becomes a darkwave hit. After recording L'etat C'est Moi , Sasha Tayefe was sent to a drug treatment clinic, and the group was revived only in 2000. Album Der Magische Puls is an interesting step forward, according to time, but the musical language Ghosting is felt . Disguised in Black is Ghosting’s latest darkwave epic album that has influenced an entire generation of musicians. ^[2]

Law of the dawn

In 1989, the Law of the dawn project was founded by 15-year-old Marcus S. and 17-year-old Andrei Thomas E. Both albums - Stories about shadows and lights and Dämmerung der kalten Schatten consist of the characteristic sound of that time at the junction of darkwave and electronica.

Endraum and Sea of ​​Tranquility

In 1989, the Endraum project, conceptual albums from the music of dreams, composed by Roman Rutten, was founded . Initially recording with Das Ich's Bruno Kramm while attempting to collaborate on Endraum music, Roman Rutten founded his own label Weisser Herbst , which gave birth to the Sea of ​​Tranquility NDT project, releasing their only album, Landed . Endraum's albums, starting with Zeitenlicht and ending with Traumstaub, became the perfect combination of darkwave, ethereal and neoclassical .

Project Pitchfork

In 1989, Peter Spilles founded Project Pitchfork - until 1992, one of the most popular projects on the verge of darkwave / ebm. With increasing popularity, the spontaneous, murky darkwave sound gave way to honed club electronics, but on the first two albums, the group managed to influence many future projects, like Terminal Choice . Also, the duet of Peter Spilles and Der Graf from Unheilig cannot be attributed to darkwave, while all four albums of Peter ’s first side project with the participation of Patricia Nigiani are Aurora Sutra (at first just Aurora ) - The Land of Harm and Appletrees , The Dimension Gate , Passing Over in Silence Towards Nuit and I and I Shall Descend are a combination of darkwave and ethereal . At the same time, the two subsequent side projects of Peter Spilles - Imatem (together with Falk Lenn ) and Santa hates you - are pure electronics, far from darkwave .

Charitona and Bacio di Tosca

In 1992, singer Dörte Fleming founded the neoclassical Charitona project. As part of the article about darkwave, we do not consider neoclassical projects like Stoa , Chandeen , Love is colder than death , Anchorage , Ophelia's dream , Chamber , but Charitona was just a neoclassical darkwave, not a neoclassic. The music was inspired by Anne Rice 's books, which is already noticeable from the demo of Der wilde Garten . The debut album Fürst der Finsternis presents all areas of Charitona's work - from darkwave in the opening song Wolfskiller to ethereal neoclassic in the closing masterpiece of the album Fürst der Finsternis. After a long silence in 2007, the debut disc of another Derthe Fleming project, Bacio di Tosca, was released . The disc was called Der Tod und das Mädchen , inspiring analogies with both Schubert’s song and Roman Polanski’s film . All the same neoclassic sounds in the disc in combination with a dark darkwave, except that they have become more distinct than the piano part. On the album Und wenn das Herz auch bricht that followed in 2008, a greater bias in electronics is noticeable, so since then Dörte Fleming's work can hardly be considered the most classic example of Gothic neoclassicism.

Die verbannten Kinder Evas

In 1993, Richard Protector Lederer founded Summoning and Die verbannten Kinder Evas , a completely diverse project. The most widely known were epic musical paintings about orcs in Middle-earth from the repertoire of the black metal band Summoning , but it was the darkwave project Die verbannten Kinder Evas that influenced all the neoclassical projects of the dark scene of the 1990s. On the albums Die verbannten Kinder Evas , Come Heavy Sleep , In Darkness Let Me Dwell , and Dusk And Void Became Alive , an original mix of neoclassical and ambient sounds . DVKE compositions are very long, which is typical for the entire work of the Protector as a whole. On the first three albums, the voice of Julia Lederer , the younger sister of Richard, is replaced by a professional vocalist only when recording the last disc. Unlike the completely gothic-neoclassical Ophelia's dream , which is often compared to DVKE , there are no darkwave elements, although the latter has too much neoclassicism for the classic NDT project.

Pazuzu

In the same 1993, Raymond Wells founded the Pazuzu project, an interesting combination of occult, fantasy and medieval themes with darkwave sound. On the first album And all was Silent ... the songs were composed by Summoning members - Richard Protector Lederer and Silenius. The second two albums Awaken the Dragon and The End Of Ages were composed and recorded by Raymond on their own. For darkwave as a style, the existence of Pazuzu is important precisely because of its position on the verge of genres.

Diary of Dreams

In 1994, the first disc of Diary of Dreams , a solo project by Adrian Heights , a member of the gothic rock band Garden of Delight, was released . Developing with each album, does it come to its first climax on Psychoma? characterized by a philosophical concept and eclecticism of styles. The second happened to Adrian on the Freak Perfume album, combining percussive hit, beautiful lyrics, electronic and neoclassical elements, as well as great reprisal. Adrian created a classic masterpiece at the junction of synthpop , synth gothic, darkwave, neoclassical and gothic metal. In addition, in the 1990s, on his label, he released two darkwave albums by Lady Besery's Garden . In subsequent years, Adrian released both darkwave projects like Diorama and electronics like Plastic , SITD , Painbastard .

Untoten

Also in 1994, the first demo of ZiZa appeared , which was soon renamed Untoten . Composer David A. Line and vocalist (as well as artist) Greta Xatlos created in 1996 the concept album Hab keine Angst Veluzifer , which tells about the fate of street children in Berlin at that time. Beginning with the Kiss of Death album, strange darkwave albums began to come out from the Untoten pen, the best of which was recognized as the Vampire Book . On these discs ( Kiss of Death , Nekropolis , Schwarze Messe , Vampire Book and Look of Blasphemie ) Untoten flirt with Satanic aesthetics. However, their electronic side project Soko Friedhof (founded after the completion of their Engelwerk project) went further in this direction, surrounded by the biggest scandal in the global dark scene - the Satanic murder in Witten ^[3] . In 2003 Untoten's finest hour came - the first part of the Grabsteinland trilogy ( Grabsteinland 1 album - Durch den Kristallwald ) was released. The disc was a combination of neoclassical darkwave in mystical colors and the darkest gothic metal since the time of the album Inferno ( Lacrimosa ). The story of the fictional magical Land of Tombstones , existing parallel to modern Berlin, shocked the entire then Gothic scene, which was expecting another cold dark wave from Untoten . The second part ( Grabsteinland 2 - Herrschaft der Vampire ) caused even greater success, the orchestra parts became even richer and richer, and the hit Raben came out as a separate single. In the final part of the trilogy ( Grabsteinland 3 - Herz der Finsternis ), gothic metal sounds at its full potential, becoming Untoten 's heaviest album. The following year, the double concept album Die Blutgräfin about Countess Elizabeth Bathory is released , marking the return of the group to darkwave, but not electronic, as before, but completely neoclassical. The Bloody Countess became the third Gothic opera after Elodia ( Lacrimosa ) and Tineoidea ( Samsas Traum ). In terms of concept, the album resembles Schlafende Hunde ( Janus ), Biesblut ( Stillste Stund ) and a.Ura und das Schnecken.Haus ( Samsas Traum ). Untoten are still faithful to the same direction.

Grabesmond

In 1995, Richard Protector Lederer founded another project - Grabesmond . Having recorded the demo In schwindendem Licht, the project freezes until Lucy appears in it, having revived him in a new composition. Both of her recorded discs - Mordenheim and Xenoglossie - are an example of the eclecticism of Gothic genres inherent in the later darkwave. Grabesmond is a combination of mediaeval and avant-garde, ambient and neoclassical, darkwave and folk.

Deathly Pale and Leichenblass

In 1995, Martin Ripe founded the Deathly Pale project, which became a rare completely English-language project, stylistically faithful to the Neue Deutsche Todeskunst. The albums Black white fascination , Ruined love and The end comes soon show that the series of concerts with Leichenwetter , Falk Lenn and In Mitra Medus Inri did not go unnoticed by Deathly Pale : they have both the gothic rock of the first and the darkwave of the second (prevailing) as well as the electronicity of the third. In 2005, Martin Ripe founded the German-language NDT project Leichenblass (by the way, the translation of Deathly Pale into German) and released the album Allgemein Mensch . The clown on the cover resembles the harlequin from the cover of Lacrimosa , and musically nothing can remind you of the window 2005: the sound is like the early Sopor Aeternus or Relatives Menschsein .

Das Buch und das Bild

In 1995, Alexander M. Korn founded the Das Buch und das Bild project. On Welle Sehnsucht and Wurum's mir bangt? the electronic darkwave sounds characteristic of the second half of the 1990s - not as radically gloomy as in the early 1990s and not as eclectic as in the 2000s. In 1998, Alexander M. Korn released the mini-disc of the side project Projekt Blauland , and in 2003 he returned to the 1994 Freideuter project. In 2006, he released the Kaltgrau album of the side project Adiaphora . All his projects are characterized by gloomy lyricism, but not as deadly as, for example, Doktor Finistra .

Weltenbrand

In 1995, the head of the Liechtenstein MOS label, Oliver Falk, founded the Weltenbrand project, which became one of the most famous in the neoclassical darkwave style. The first two albums, Das Rabenland and Das Nachtvolk, are more minimalistic electronic darkwave, albeit imitating neoclassical. On the album Der Untergang von Trisona with Liv Christine Espenaes-Krull ( Theater of Tragedy , Leaves' Eyes ) and Alexander Krull (Atrocity), more live instruments sounded in vocals. The sound of the albums In Gottes oder des Teufels Namen and The End Of The Wizard is the most complex and diverse, although the latest discs have little in common with NDT.

Dies Irae

In 1996, Frank Mainel founded Dies Irae , characterized by a gloomy neoclassical sound reminiscent of Leichenliebe . Both albums, Verse der Erinnerung and Nachauflage , are eloquent examples of the use of neoclassical instruments in mystical-religious music that grew out of the Neue Deutsche Todeskunst.

Dargaard

In 1997, the famous black metal musician Taren founded the neoclassical project Dargaard , covered with ritual and medieval themes. The sound of the trilogy Eternity Rites , In Nomine Aeternitatis and The Dissolution Of Eternity has a cold, detached character, neoclassical elements filled with electronics - an example of an excellent darkwave. The arrangements on Rise and fall became so close to classical music that the album is perceived more as Gothic neoclassical than darkwave, especially since Taren himself considers darkwave too vague. The term Apocalyptic Darkwave was invented to classify Taren's Dominion III side project.

Seelenfeuer and Falk Lenn

In 1998, Falk Lenn founded the Seelenfeuer project, which is actively touring and recording the now rare album Blüten und Staub . Darkwave, accused by critics of a complete copy of Goethes Erben . Then Falk Lenn founded the solo project Falk Lenn , which released the trilogy Wintergeist , Weinmond , Windherz . The sound became completely electronic, while dynamically the music did not lose its analogy with Goethes Erben .

Sinnflut

In the same 1998, Manuel Bartsch founded the most classic NDT project of the new era - Sinnflut . Wistful bell chimes, sad piano sounds, all on the albums Vergessene Melodien , Wortlosigkeit , Das Vermächtnis , Gefüge and Epik . This music was a decade late, now the project is almost unknown, but it is by no means weaker in the artistic merits of the same early Lacrimosa .

Stolzes Herz

In 1998, Oliver Schramm founded the project Stolzes Herz (not to be confused with the single of the group Lacrimosa ). Starting with Forgotten sons , Stolzes Herz is continuously developing as a versatile Gothic project, with both symphonic and guitar items in its arsenal, combining all this with typical Gothic aesthetics. On the albums Zurück in mir , Neues Leben , Narren und Engel , Traumzeit , acoustic things also appear. The overall mood is reminiscent of Mantus .

Inferi Amoris

In 1999, Nico Shirving founded Inferi Amoris , a semi-instrumental darkwave project. The album Präsagitio sounds romantic dark Gothic, reminiscent of the electronic version of Lacrimosa .

Doktor Finistra

In 1999, a 20-year-old man founded the Doktor Finistra project and hid himself behind this pseudonym. Both albums - Fluch in die Zukunft and Abbild der Blasphemie - are saturated with the aesthetics of death in the best traditions of Sopor Aeternus .

Asche des Lebens

In 2005, Fabian Fisher founded the dark wave project Asche des Lebens , comparable in fertility except to Engelsblut . His music combines references to an old darkwave like Sinnflut and heavy guitar parts like Soul in Sadness . Fabian's music was constantly growing in terms of recording quality, and a gradual tilt towards electronics was also felt. From darkwave with gothic metal on Wir's album - das verkannte Leiden , Fabian during the transformation of his work on Ins Schattenreich , Memoria , Grenzgänger , Pandämonium , Phantasmagorie , comes to a combination of darkwave and EBM on Equilibrium .

Das Ich

Also in 1989, the Das Ich project was founded, which became landmark for the darkwave. The albums Die Propheten and Satanische Verse laid the foundation for the darkwave style for bands like Relatives Menschsein or Misantrophe . The broad activities of the composer Bruno Kramma included not only the solo project Kramm , but also work with most darkwave bands of that time on the label Danse Macabre , located in a medieval castle. There, in addition to Das Ich , in different years many bands were recorded like Printed at Bismarck's Death , Relatives Menschsein , Sanguis et Cinis , Endraum , Christian Dörge , Soul in Sadness , Schneewittchen , Rozencrantz , Sinnflut .

Goethes Erben and Erblast

In 1989, Oswald Henke founded the first Gothic theater - Goethes Erben (also Erblast , fetisch: Mensch , participated in Artwork ). Inspired by Goethe 's work, he created a theatrical darkwave trilogy: Das Sterben ist ästhetisch Bunt , Der Traum an die Erinnerung , Tote Augen sehen Leben . In later works, Goethes Erben moved away from the gloomy NDT darkwave, reaching the climax of theatricality at its Berlin premiere of the gothic performance Kondition: Macht! . A duet with Peter Heppner from Wolfsheim on the song Glasgarten, which became a classic combination of darkwave and synthpop, also left a mark. ^[four]

Lacrimosa

In 1990, Tilo Wolff founded the most popular Gothic project of all time - Lacrimosa . The original idea - poems for noise accompaniment - was close to many NDT projects of that time. However, the celebrity Lacrimos brought another idea of Thilo - a combination of neo-classical music with the aesthetics of Neue Deutsche Todeskunst. Angst 's first album was one of the greatest masterpieces of German darkwave. The real classic of the genre was the song Seele in Not, which can only compete in popularity with the band Das Ich's Gottes Tod. The second album - Einsamkeit - was less appreciated by the listeners, while he created canons for the future darkwave with live instruments, which until then had not been encountered at all (we will hear such an abundance of piano passages from Angizia or Diary of Dreams ). Satura 's third album is a transition from darkwave to gothic metal. You can already hear the beginnings of a future guitar storm on the Inferno album, but this album can still be attributed to darkwave without any stretch. In addition, it was this album that gave rise to the future style of Sanguis et Cinis . Starting with the single Schakal , Lacrimosa opens the German version of gothic metal, and at first gothic felt more distinctly in it than most of the subsequent gothic metal groups right up to Untoten with the Grabsteinland trilogy. In 2004, with the appearance of the SnakeSkin project by Tilo Wolff , it appeared that this would be a return to the roots, to darkwave, but in fact, the audience was expecting a newfangled EBM style release. ^[five]

Misantrophe

In 1990, Daniel Scharf founded his main project, Misantrophe , and with the exception of the use of live percussion and live piano, it is a very typical example of NDT. The first album, Der Tod zerfrass die Kindlichkeit, has distinctive vocals and lyrics, and the second ( Der Schädel des Denkers ) has a symphony that brings Misantrophe closer to Endraum . The third, double album Als das Denken den Menschen erbrach is more experimental, and also includes unreleased demos from the Dismail cassette. In 1995, Daniel Scharf released the album of the solo project Avalist , and Misantrophe was revived in 2007, when the release of the new album Die Lügnerin was announced.

Relatives Menschsein

In 1990, the Relatives Menschsein project was founded, most similar to Goethes Erben , but devoid of such a vivid theatricality. In 1992, the first album was released - Gefallene Engel , which became the most classic example of the Neue Deutsche Todeskunst genre in its purest form: it has all the necessary elements, characteristic vocals, music, lyrics, the use of characteristic expressive means. There is no vivid neoclassicality of Misantrophe , theatricality of Goethes Erben , ethereality of Endraum , etc. The next album ( Die Ewigkeit ) also became a classic of the genre, only more mature. After lengthy concerts, the band broke up. In 2000, a collection of two albums and an unpublished one was released - Thanatos . Since 2001, the albums of the new project by Jörg Hütner (also Dreadful Shadows , EverEve , Dorsetshire and Kalte Farben ) Skorbut in the EBM style began to be released.

Explizit Einsam

In 1992, Andreas J. Ole founded the Explizit Einsam project, a classic darkwave built entirely on electronics, but far from EBM due to lack of dance and synthpop due to manic gloom. For Prolog , Im Paradies der verlorenen Tränen , Erben des Vergessens , Das Elixier and Kelch der Trauer, the sound is minimalistic, while in the later Auf Ewig and Reflexion: unendlich albums, the sound is richer, but even in the 2008 album Reflexion: unendlich soreness uncharacteristic for modern darkwave is felt, stylistically - right from the beginning of the 1990s. In 1999, Andreas J. Ole released the Forgotten Paradise album of his electronic side project Alpha Child , which is compared to the Erazor of Life album of the electronic side project Untoten called Paloma im Blute .

Sopor Aeternus

In the same 1989, the darkest darkwave project Sopor Aeternus was born. The most famous androgyne of the dark scene, Anna-Varney Cantodea , who, judging by her personality, had a decisive influence on Nina Yendri from Yendri , creates the most complex and perfect music in the Gothic space of the whole world. The mysterious Undead trilogy of demo cassettes Blut der schwarzen Rose is the classic anthem of loneliness, darkness and occult obsession. From 1989 to 1992, all three parts were recorded: Es reiten die Toten so schnell , Rufus on my lips , Till time and times are done ; of which the last two were lost (although there are verses of all the lost songs ^[6] . The classics of dark music were the albums Ich tote mich jedesmal aufs neue, doch bin ich unsterblich und erstehe wieder auf in einer Vision des Untergangs and Todeswunsch - Sous le Soleil de Saturne Anna-Varney is interested in medieval and folk themes on The Inexperienced Spiral Traveler's album, having a decisive influence on the Westwerk project in the future, until the re-re-recorded demo tape Es reiten die Toten so schnell in 2003, Anna-Varney is not one step moved away from the dark theme, on the last two albums we see the eclecticism of genres characteristic of post-NDT, in which combines the old dark neoclassical passages with newfangled electronics and dance rhythms.Anna -Varney also participated in the darkwave project ( White onyx elephants ) and the neoclassical project ( Nenia s'Alladhan , together with Constance Froling , recorded by Tobias Khan from Janus ). ^[7]

Sanguis et Cinis

In the same 1989, Sanguis et Cinis was founded - along with Malice Mizer the most diverse gothic group in the world. Existing until 1994 as a solo project by Eve Evangel , with the demos of Requiem 1791 and Sanguis et Cinis, they were considered clones of the then Lacrimosa . Even more famous came to Sanguis et Cinis after the release of the masterpiece darkwave album Schicksal , which contains elements of the fateful and metal sound characteristic of them in the future Lacrimosa . The songs were written not only by Eva Evangel , but also by those involved in the project by Richard Protector Lederner (also Summoning , Die verbannten Kinder Eva's and Ice Ages ) and Ashley Dayur (also Whispers in the shadow , guitarist L'ame Immortelle ), although for Neue Deutsche Todeskunst is characterized by an enhanced creative role as a project leader, which will happen to Sanguis et Cinis in the future. We can hear the last echoes of the darkwave at the Unfreiwillig Abstrakt minion, after which the group goes to the direction of death-rock , for all their further career they have not come close to the level of the Schicksal album, despite the collaboration with Bruno Kramm from Das Ich on Amnesia and Atrocity's Alexander Krull on Th1rte3n . In 2008, the group ceased to exist, Ewe Evangel founded the new project Lolita Komplex . ^[eight]

Christian Dörge and Syria

In 1993, Oswald Henke ( Goethes Erben , Erblast , fetisch: Mensch ), Tilo Wolff ( Lacrimosa , SnakeSkin ), Eric Burton ( Catastrophe Ballet ) and Bruno Kramm ( Das Ich , Kramm ) gathered together to bring the verses of the German poet Christian Christian Dörge . And so his solo project Christian Dörge appeared , marked by the release on the label of Tilo Wolff Hall of Sermon recorded at the studio of Bruno Kramm Danse Macabre of the debut of Lycia (not to be confused with the American gothic band). Half of the music on the album belonged to Tilo Wolff , the second half belonged to Oswald Henke , which is why the sound resembles both of their main projects. In 1995, Christian Dörge independently recorded the second Antiphon disc, which was destined to become one of the main longed-for rarities of German Gothic (however, not the same as Amada's disc of the mysterious dark-wine project Leib und Seele ) - a rare disc took first places in all tops of Gothic discs, including at the then RSE . The disc is a mysterious sound landscapes from different styles, filled with beautiful melodies. Also on disk is a re-hit of a hit with Lycia - the song Mystische Rosenmadonna, written by Tilo Wolff . Following the release of Antiphon's album, Dörge founded the Syria project, which to this day creates strange dark wave music reminiscent of Angelo Badalamenti .

Illuminate

In 1993, the first Poesie demo of the new dark scene star, Illuminate, was released . Founded by Johannes Bertold, the project used a decadent performance on stage and a lyrical fusion of darkwave, ethereal and neoclassical in music. The trilogy Verfall , Erinnerungen , Erwachen was full of poetic atmosphere and hit melodies, and Tilo Wolff himself was noted on the debut disc (as a producer of the song Love never dies!). With the album Letzter Blick zurück , decorated with the hit Nur für dich, Illuminate is in the midst of a crisis, keyboardist Marcus Nauli , concurrently the founder of the Irrlicht project, is leaving the group. Johannes Bertold recorded the Ein neuer Tag album with Bruno Kramm from Das Ich , which coincided with the joint singing of the song Gottes Tod at the Wave Gotik Treffen festival that year. After the release of the Kaltes Licht album in 2002-2003, Berthold created the solo neoclassical project Johannes Berthold with the Narrenturm CD, as well as two retrospective collections of Illuminate under the names 10x10, in which for the first time it comes close to gothic metal. The band's final departure to gothic metal took place on the Zwei Seelen album. Also since 2004, Johannes Bertold has released three albums of the Sound for Nights dark wave project on his label: Bilder , Falsches Feuer , Zwischen Welten .

Other Day

In 1995, the Other Day project was founded. On the first releases of Sodium Amnital , Farbentod , Erato Azur - Des Auge Klang , it was felt that the roots of this project were Misantrophe , only live drums were not used here, and the vocals were closer to Johannes Bertold from Illuminate . On subsequent albums, the music has added dynamism, which is typical of recent darkwave trends. Despite this, Other Day remains the characteristic representative of the Neue Deutsche Todeskunst in the new millennium.

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