Neue Deutsche Todeskunst
Encyclopedia
Neue Deutsche Todeskunst (Translated as "New German Death Art") is a musical genre that was developed in Germany
in the early 1990s.
, and Darkwave
styles with German philosophical texts and a highly theatrical stage show. The music was based on the Gothic Rock of bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sisters of Mercy
and Fields of the Nephilim
and the Darkwave sounds of bands like Joy Division
, The Cure
and Depeche Mode
. The words often paid deep homage to German philosophers like Andreas Gryphius
, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
, Friedrich Nietzsche
and Gottfried Benn
, as well as international poets such as Edgar Allan Poe
, Charles Baudelaire
, and Jean-Paul Sartre
. The concerts of these groups put a great emphasis on costumes, lights and pyrotechnics. The performances were designed to stimulate all the senses and convey an overall dark, brooding atmosphere. Lyrical themes include transience, evil, nihilism, surrealism, expressionism, existential philosophy, criticism of religion, violence, madness, isolation, depression, and especially death
. As part of this movement, a number of bands use Classical Latin
for their lyrics and album names.
The greatest Neue Deutsche Todeskunst successes include Gottes Tod by Das Ich
(1990), Verflucht by Relatives Menschsein
(1991), Der Ketzer by Lacrimosa
(1991), Das Ende by Goethes Erben
(1992) and Regentanz by Endraum (1992). Many NDT artists gravitated to the Danse Macabre
record label.
, Das Ich
and Goethes Erben
.
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Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the early 1990s.
History
In the late 1980s, a number of German musicians combined music in neo-classical, Gothic RockGothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
, and Darkwave
Darkwave
Dark Wave or darkwave is a music genre that began in the late 1970s, coinciding with the popularity of New Wave and post-punk. Building on those basic principles, dark wave added dark, introspective lyrics and an undertone of sorrow for some bands...
styles with German philosophical texts and a highly theatrical stage show. The music was based on the Gothic Rock of bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
and Fields of the Nephilim
Fields of the Nephilim
Fields of the Nephilim are an English gothic rock band formed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire in 1984. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Carl McCoy, saxophonist Gary Whisker, Tony Pettitt on bass, guitarist Paul Wright and drummer Alexander "Nod" Wright...
and the Darkwave sounds of bands like Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
and Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
. The words often paid deep homage to German philosophers like Andreas Gryphius
Andreas Gryphius
Andreas Gryphius was a German lyric poet and dramatist.Asteroid 496 Gryphia is named in his honour.-Life and career:...
, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
, Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
and Gottfried Benn
Gottfried Benn
Gottfried Benn was a German essayist, novelist, and expressionist poet. A doctor of medicine, he became an early admirer, and later a critic, of the National Socialist revolution...
, as well as international poets such as Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
, Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
, and Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
. The concerts of these groups put a great emphasis on costumes, lights and pyrotechnics. The performances were designed to stimulate all the senses and convey an overall dark, brooding atmosphere. Lyrical themes include transience, evil, nihilism, surrealism, expressionism, existential philosophy, criticism of religion, violence, madness, isolation, depression, and especially death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
. As part of this movement, a number of bands use Classical Latin
Classical Latin
Classical Latin in simplest terms is the socio-linguistic register of the Latin language regarded by the enfranchised and empowered populations of the late Roman republic and the Roman empire as good Latin. Most writers during this time made use of it...
for their lyrics and album names.
The greatest Neue Deutsche Todeskunst successes include Gottes Tod by Das Ich
Das Ich
Das Ich is a German electronic music group formed in 1989. The group, fronted by Stefan Ackermann and Bruno Kramm, were one of the prominent founders of and contributors to "Neue Deutsche Todeskunst" a musical movement in the early 1990s...
(1990), Verflucht by Relatives Menschsein
Relatives Menschsein
Relatives Menschsein is a German darkwave band formed in 1990 by the musicians Amadeus, Lissy Mödl and Jörg Wolfgram. They are one of the very first "Neue Deutsche Todeskunst" bands...
(1991), Der Ketzer by Lacrimosa
Lacrimosa
Lacrimosa is a duo led by German Tilo Wolff, the main composer, and Finnish Anne Nurmi, currently based in Switzerland, but originally from Germany...
(1991), Das Ende by Goethes Erben
Goethes Erben
Goethes Erben is a musical group from Germany started in 1989 by Oswald Henke and Peter Seipt.-History:The founding idea for Goethes Erben was to combine German spoken words with musical theater. They are one of the first Neue Deutsche Todeskunst bands....
(1992) and Regentanz by Endraum (1992). Many NDT artists gravitated to the Danse Macabre
Danse Macabre (record label)
Danse Macabre is a record label based in Wirsberg, Germany and founded by members of Das Ich. It gained popularity in the early 1990s, at the same time in which the German Dark Wave movement experienced a marked upswing.-Official Site:* * *...
record label.
Origin
The expression Neue Deutsche Todeskunst was first used in 1991 by Danse Macabre's label magazine MagazinOphon. It was picked up by Sven Freuen, a journalist for the Zillo magazine, who used it to classify bands like Relatives MenschseinRelatives Menschsein
Relatives Menschsein is a German darkwave band formed in 1990 by the musicians Amadeus, Lissy Mödl and Jörg Wolfgram. They are one of the very first "Neue Deutsche Todeskunst" bands...
, Das Ich
Das Ich
Das Ich is a German electronic music group formed in 1989. The group, fronted by Stefan Ackermann and Bruno Kramm, were one of the prominent founders of and contributors to "Neue Deutsche Todeskunst" a musical movement in the early 1990s...
and Goethes Erben
Goethes Erben
Goethes Erben is a musical group from Germany started in 1989 by Oswald Henke and Peter Seipt.-History:The founding idea for Goethes Erben was to combine German spoken words with musical theater. They are one of the first Neue Deutsche Todeskunst bands....
.
Significant Albums
- 1991 Das IchDas IchDas Ich is a German electronic music group formed in 1989. The group, fronted by Stefan Ackermann and Bruno Kramm, were one of the prominent founders of and contributors to "Neue Deutsche Todeskunst" a musical movement in the early 1990s...
– Die Propheten - 1991 LacrimosaLacrimosa (band)Lacrimosa is a duo led by German Tilo Wolff, the main composer, and Finnish Anne Nurmi, currently based in Switzerland, but originally from Germany...
– Angst - 1992 Goethes ErbenGoethes ErbenGoethes Erben is a musical group from Germany started in 1989 by Oswald Henke and Peter Seipt.-History:The founding idea for Goethes Erben was to combine German spoken words with musical theater. They are one of the first Neue Deutsche Todeskunst bands....
– Das Sterben ist ästhetisch bunt - 1992 Relatives MenschseinRelatives MenschseinRelatives Menschsein is a German darkwave band formed in 1990 by the musicians Amadeus, Lissy Mödl and Jörg Wolfgram. They are one of the very first "Neue Deutsche Todeskunst" bands...
– Gefallene Engel - 1992 Mental Inquisition – Hilarious
- 1994 Endraum – Morgenröte
- 1994 Misantrophe – Der Tod zerfraß die Kindlichkeit
- 1994 Christian Dörge – Lycia
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- 1996 Sanguis et Cinis – Schicksal
- 1996 Other Day – Sodium Amnital
- 1996 IlluminateIlluminate (band)Illuminate is a successful German Gothic music band from Karlsruhe formed in 1993 by Johannes Berthold.- History :They played M'era Luna in 2000, 2003 and 2010. Their song Dunkellicht was on the German Alternative Charts for 8 weeks in 2000, peaking at #4...
– Verfall - 1997 Law of the Dawn – Dämmerung der kalten Schatten
- 1998 Leib & Seele – Amada
- 1999 Sopor Aeternus – Dead Lovers’ Sarabande
- 2004 eXplizit einsam – Auf ewig
- 2005 Leichenblass – Allgemein Mensch
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