Stefan Hertrich is the lead vocalist and composer for the band Shiva in Exile. The band is quoted as a "new age/oriental/gothic project" started in 2003 by the former PC game soundtrack composer from Munich, Germany. In 2003 Ethnic, the debut album was released by Canadian label Trostlos Records. In 2004, the album won the Just Plain Folks Music Award in the category "Best New Age/World Album 2004".

Darkseed

Hertrich first started his music career as the lead vocalist of the band Darkseed. Darkseed is a German

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...

 gothic metal

Gothic metal

Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...

 band, formed in 1992. Darkseed, beginning as a death metal

Death metal

Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

band, took a more unconventional song writing method that aimed more towards the gothic experimental route.

Shiva in Exile

Hertrich has stated bands name imparts a spiritual view about the world. He has stated that its meaning intends the world lacks a spiritual point-of-view or morale and that "Shiva" or "Spirituality" is in Exile. However; he has also stated that the name "is a bit too negative" and has noticed more people integrating spiritual aspects into their life.