LATEST NEWS:
Richard Leviathan was a guest on the Aural Apocalypse radio show, Los Angeles.
Thanks to everyone who came to the concert at Club Severance, L.A.
Ostara return to their folk roots with "The Only Solace" due for limited edition CD/vinyl and online release later this year.
Live report from the MLB festival in Madrid by Simon Collins of Judas Kiss
Review of the MLB Festival
AVAILABLE NOW: the OSTARA and STRENGTH THROUGH JOY back catalogues on eMusic and iTunes
RICHARD LEVIATHAN has contributed an exclusive chapter to the book, Gothik 3 published by Schwartzkopf & Schwartzkopf
'Evocative titles, intellectually stimulating poetry, strong melodies, a feel for language, smooth clear voices and a polished professional sound characterise the work of Ostara, and point to a potential for commercial success beyond the narrow world of the neofolk/gothic-industrial genres that mostly concern us here'. (FluxEuropa)
'Ostara have been able to render historical topics like resistance movements in The Third Reich into acccessible, yet intelligent folk-pop songs' (Will Stone, Terrorizer Magazine)
The new album "The Only Solace" has been completed. Release date to follow
Ostara have contributed an exclusive track, 'If the Dead Could See' to the European edition of the score for the motion picture SAW II (Charlie Clouser)
"Richard Leviathan began his musical career working with Douglas P. of Death in June who produced the first two Strength Through Joy albums between 1995-6. Ostara was born in 2000 with Leviathan taking his music towards a more pop oriented direction that began with the album 'Secret Homeland' followed by 'Kingdom Gone' in 2002 whose first track 'Bavaria' has become something of a hit in the European Neofolk and Gothic scene. In 2003, Ostara released 'Ultima Thule', a more rock and metal oriented album that began to push the boundaries of their original Neofolk roots. In 2005, the album 'Immaculate Destruction' was released through prominent German Goth label, Trisol. The album features new bassist, Dave Renwick who has also played a key role in the realisation of the forthcoming album, 'The Only Solace' due to be completed in 2007.
"Ostaras roots date back to 1995 when the band was founded under the moniker Strength through Joy. From 1995 to 1999 the band played neo folk styled music, but then decided to change the name to Ostara, and along with the name the music style change quite a bit as well...an interesting sort of rock, metal-ish, darkwave styled music with some slight 80s influences. Richard wrote all the songs on Ultima Thule and his commanding vocals with a strong English accent lead the way, and his interesting if not somewhat ambiguous lyrics will make you think. " (Lunar Hypnosis)
