.. width="425" height="350" ..STEFAN HERTRICH'S NEW ETHNIC METAL BAND SPI-RITUAL!
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Darkseed FAQ
BIO
The Gothic Metal genre is too often painted into a corner, with everyone stereotyping it with the idea of female singers and creepy looking guys wearing top hats crafting music suitable only for taking a nice long nap to. Yet, despite how many once great Gothic bands have gone alternative, one band has never been afraid to take the risk of making Gothic Metal interesting - and that band is Darkseed.
Though they began as a small band playing covers of various songs popular for the late 80's and early 90's period, Darkseed have since evolved and grown to become one of, if not the singlegreatest Gothic Metal outfit to have ever existed.
Moving from a style of Death/Doom Metal on their first demos, "Sharing the Grave" (1992) and "Darksome Thoughts" (1993), Darkseed began to include more Gothic elements into their music with the release of their debut mCD, "Romantic Tales", in 1994, including violins, female singers, clean vocals, and a variety of other interesting elements, to make for a unique album. Two years later, the band would shed their typical Gothic Doom style and recreate themselves as a more upbeat, hard Rock band, yet all the while, still keeping the Romantic themes, lyrics and instrumentation which made their music so unique, and the result would come in the form of a Gothic masterpiece known as "Midnight Solemnly Dance". Relying more on the power of his clean voice than Death growls, vocalist Stefan Hertrich was able to make a powerful album, full of hooks, excellent guitar leads, classical elements, and overall fantastic songs.
Continuing on in a similar, yet slightly more straightforward style, the band's 1997 effort, "Spellcraft", provided for an overall heavier experience than it's predecessors. The band managed to increase their playing speed almost tenfold, demonstrating a quickness not yet seen on a Darkseed release, and proving that Gothic Metal didn't have to be just a bunch of senseless whining. Less classical elements found their way into the music, relying more on a straightout rocking sound, giving an excellent experience for many headbangers. Although, this album would see the use of one Gothic stereotype once more - the female vocals. The sound of a woman's voice filled "Spellcraft" more than any other Darkseed album before it, adding for a great contrast to the male lead vocals, and for excellent tempo changes within songs - "You Will Come" being an excellent example of this.
Not content with staying the same, Darkseed somehow managed to evolve and transcend their previous style once again, creating a dark, heartfelt release of an entirely different style than before; this vision would take shape in the face of 1999's "Give Me Light". In general, the songs slowed down, taking on a darker atmosphere with heavier, catchier songs, and paving the way for the band's future sound. Finally, the band released an album which seemed almost too perfect to exist in the Gothic Metal world; this album was one of epic proportions, exploring sadness and anger, among other emotions, in a variety of poetic and romantic ways. Whether it's the heavy opener "Forever Darkness" or the beautifully dark tune "Autumn", "Diving Into Darkness" (2000) created dark atmospheres with emotional, powerful lyrics and music.
Some would say all good things must come to an end, and this may be true, though certainly not of Darkseed. Three years passed before new music from the Darkseed camp, and then finally, "Astral Adventures" was released. Though it lacked the heaviness and passion of previous releases, and many would say the band stumbled, just as many would say that this is the band's best album, making for gorgeously dark atmospheres, and excellent music to listen to on a rainy day whilst staring out at the world through your window. Still boasting excellent hooks, "Astral Adventures" didn't receive as much attention as a Darkseed fan may have hoped. However, it did open the window for something much more promising.
Founding member and mainman Stefan Hertrich departed the band, being temporarily replaced by Christoph Puhr-Westerheide (Mislead) for several concerts. Some had lost hope in Darkseed at this point, while others were excited to see what this new line up would bring. However, no new material would be written by that line up, as a bit over a year later, Stefan Hertrich would make his return to Darkseed, looking completely refreshed and reborn. Almost immediately going to work, the band recruited a few new members to fill out the line up, and began to work on their latest full length, "Ultimate Darkness". While many bands grow softer of the years, Darkseed's "Ultimate Darkness" proves to be one of the heaviest albums in all of Darkseed's career. Summoning back elements from all around Darkseed's long career, the new album manages to create catchy, heavy songs of a wide array of styles, never getting boring, and each song having elements to make any seasoned Darkseed fan smirk in remembrance of earlier times.
After some pretty successful concerts in various areas around Europe, the band is already planning for their next full length album. It's almost impossible to tell to tell what direction Darkseed will take on this latest album, but one thing is for sure - it's something you will not want to miss.
(Bio by: Don)
Discography:
1992 - Sharing the Grave
1993 - Darksome Thoughts
1994 - Romantic Tales
1996 - Midnight Solemnly Dance
1997 - Spellcraft
1998 - Romantic Tales (Re-Issue)
1999 - Give Me Light
2000 - Diving Into Darkness
2003 - Astral Adventures
2005 - Ultimate Darkness
Line-up:
Stefan Hertrich: Vocals, Electronics
Thomas Herrmann: Guitars
Tom Gilcher: Guitars
Martin Motnik: Bass
Armin D..rfler: Keyboards
Maurizio Guolo: Drums
E-Mail the Band ([email protected])
Official Darkseed Webpage
Darkseed eBay Shop
ADDITIONAL INFO
Side Projects:
Betray My Secrets
Ethnic / Death Metal
Betray My Secrets @ Metal-Archives.com
Shiva In Exile
Ethnic / Ambient
Shiva In Exile @ Metal-Archives.com
Shiva In Exile Official Page
Sculpture
Heavy Metal
Sculpture @ Metal-Archives.com
