Rockharz - Line-up info
Amorphis
Being in the game for more than 20 years successful melancholic dark rock/metal masters AMORPHIS still manage to surprise, to delight and to step up to their status. With their tenth studio album »The Beginning Of Times« these Finns prove once more that there is no other band if it comes to amazing, natural sounding melodies, deep emotions and a bit of unique sonic darkness - powerfully performed with some more really heavy parts this time around.
Cripper
German Thrash Metal scene is hard to imagine without Hanoverian whizz kids CRIPPER. Playing a proper mixture of both classic old-school and modern influences, spiced up with some Swedish Death-Metal ingredients, Cripper stands for individual groove-oriented Thrash Metal with ass-kicking moshparts and technical refinement. Since 2005, the quintet around cow-elk Britta Görtz burns a swath of destruction through the European metal landscape, making marks as being a rousing live band, thrilling with dashing songs and sweaty shows.
Eisregen
Eisregen are a German metal phenomenon: in September 2010 the morbid quartet from Thüringen celebrated their 15th birthday and made themselves their best present – the meanwhile 8th studio album „Schlangensonne“ (sun of the snake). The no. 1 badge of their sound are eversince the vocal and verbal benfits of band leader M. Roth who gives the songs their own soul and again pulls out all the stops: “Zauberelefant” is their statement about the feeder-scene, undead soldiers meet their fate every day in “Auf Ewig Ostfront”, “Blute Aus” covers the bad habit of “cutting”, “N8Verzehr” is a very modern version of the German fairytale Hänsel & Gretel, “Tod Senkt sich herab” reflects the bomb raid on Dresden and “Kai aus der Kiste” is simply undescribable – Eisregen in their purest form – madness in perfection!
end of green
Don’t build your houses near the shore. Chances are end of green will wash the damn things away. With HIGH HOPES IN LOW PLACES, their seventh record, these South German melancho- lics return in an impressive and profoundly fierce way. With HIGH HOPES IN LOW PLACES end of green paint the good life black, just to tear it down afterwards. Dream castles and palaces, too. This dark bulldozer is painfully real. But then again: there seems to be a little light in all of that darkness.
Guns Of Moropolis
Lock in your horses - the Guns Of Moropolis set their spurs on fire! Launched in a dusky western bar in Swabia in 2009, they pledged their soul to the devil after a double round of whiskey. The devil not only gave them the most beautiful girls, but also the recipe for the perfect sound. Rockabilly was yesterday - today rules Metalbilly.
So keep your eyes and ears open. When you hear it banging and it smells like excess, the Guns Of Moropolis can´t be far.
Hackneyed
Hackneyed are four guys and a girl who addicted their lives to Death Metal in 2006. With switching from Nuclear Blast to Lifeforce Records and a new (their 3rd) album under the belts Hackneyed are ready to take the next steps to success by storm. 2011 now started for Hackneyed with jam sessions and pre-recordings for the new album and currently the band is in the studio to record their third effort.
Haggard
Expressive multi-faceted music, excellent songwriting between complexity and sensitive melodic arches and harmonious arrangements have always been among Haggard’s strengths and have reached truly fantastic new levels on “Tales Of Ithiria”. The orchestra round mastermind Asis Nasseri has always set new standards in orchestral metal music, and has proven technical virtuosity in all their past works such as "Awakening The Centuries" or "Eppur Si Muove". At the ROCKHARZ 2011, Haggard will play a Best-Of-Show.
Hammerfall
Nobody had expected this - the least guitarist Oscar Dronjak, a metalhead to the bone, admirer of such heavy metal-protagonists as Judas Priest, Accept & Co.: That the band HammerFall, founded by him and Jesper Strömblad in 1993, could celebrate its breakthruough that fast, in addition initiate the worldwide renaissance of traditional heavy metal, and is by now honored as the band, who not only saves the genre over to the new millenium with innovative compositions but also has become the figurehead of true heavy metal.
Hypocrisy
Let’s not wonder how HYPOCRISY mastermind Peter Tägtgren finds the time to be a legendary producer (in his ABYSS STUDIOS) and write songs for both his bands PAIN and HYPOCRISY. Let’s just rejoice in Mr. Tägtgren`s new album “A Taste Of Extreme Divinity”! “A Taste Of Extreme Divinity” is probably the most mature creation HYPOCRISY have released so far. Combining pure Death Metal stylings and grinding slow tunes with catchy melodies we all learned to love from ‘Roswell 47’. This album mirrors the whole evolution of HYPOCRISY.
Motorjesus
There could hardly be a better symbol of Mönchengladbach rock act Motorjesus’ ambitions than the cover of their latest album, Wheels Of Purgatory, due out on 10 December 2010 on Drakkar/Sony: the Son of God with a fag in the corner of his mouth, riding a black Pontiac V8, bolting straight from hell on his way to new adventures. “We preach rock’n’roll,” vocalist Chris ‘Howling’ Birx explains, delivering this solemn statement with wink, just like the album’s inspired artwork isn’t to be taken entirely seriously.
Orden Ogan
After long, bleak years , in which legends such as Running Wild, Helloween, Gamma Ray and Blind Guardian have been holding the German flag of Melodic Power Metal, a new force has arisen to follow in the original hero´s footsteps in the shape of Orden Ogan. The traditional roots in the bands´s sound are, of course, contemporary modern, effortlessly avoiding cliche and is able to remain fresh and original. Symphonic keyboards melt into grinding guitar riffs and bombastic choir and orchestral arrangements creating an impressive wall of sound. Chance is the way forward and it drives Orden Ogan to perfect and to perfection.
Pro-Pain
Aggressive, meticulous, passionate, righteous - all distinguishing traits that have come to symbolize the fundamentals of metal/hardcore pioneers PROPAIN.Since their crushing 1992 NAIRD nominated debut album "Foul Taste Of Freedom", PRO-PAIN have become a staple in the diets of heavy music listeners around the globe. Their successful and enviable career has perpetually prospered throughout its course, and yet they still manage to find room to improve, and more importantly, impress.
Silverlane
It happened around one and a half years ago: drummer Simon Michael caused a stir when he released MY INNER DEMON, the official debut by his band, Silverlane – immediately earning unanimously positive reviews. After all, this was something that nobody would have expected from the percussionist who had made a name for himself as the skinsman of medieval rock act, Subway To Sally: namely that he’d be capable of delivering an offering rich in partly progressively oriented but always melodic epic heavy metal in the tradition of Avantasia, Kamelot, Stratovarius and Gamma Ray.
Now there’s his second coup, ABOVE THE OTHERS. And again, innovation is the name of the game. The driving opening anthem, marked by symphonic keyboard arrangements, and the subsequent, slightly more rocky, double bass-dominated ‘1789’ superficially offer efficient neck muscle training for headbangers, yet reveal on closer inspection musical intricacies which will have connoisseurs click their tongues.
Sons Of Seasons
Two years after the intricate debut “Gods Of Vermin” it is time for the second release of the creators of Dark Symphonic Metal, Sons Of Seasons. With “Magnisphyricon” the band takes a rigorous step forward, sharpening their profile regarding songwriting and production, but keeping their direction into their very own musical field.
The Atmosfear
Brutality, emotions and a huge playing ability await the visitors of shows of The Atmosfear. The five guys know how to combine their hard-as-bone-metal, that carried them through the whole republic in the last years, with quiet, melodic passages and groovy, rhythmic parts to a very electrifying piece of music.
The attendant is carried away or just follows the performance fascinated agape. Especially to be mentioned is the unbelievable voice-acrobatics of the singer in perfect harmony with the instrumentalists.
The New Black
THE NEW BLACK play rock. Real rock, really heavy, with all the good things that belong to it: Hooklines, solos and riffs galore.
With other words: This is real music, neither limited by trends nor dusty and old. In exchange well played, damn well composed, catchy and heavy. The quality is no coincidence: All musicians have been rocking for a long time in different bands as Sinner, Runamok, Abandoned or MCF, only to name a few. In short: These guys know what they do.
Tyr
Profession of the Christian Faith or Decapitation: This was the choice given by Sigmundur to his Faroese Viking compatriot Tróndur í Gøtu. And so it was that in 999 A.D., the Christianization of the small “Faeroe Islands” began, casting a veil of oblivion over the ancient Scandinavian gods and only leaving the relics of forgotten heathenry buried deep within the Christian ritual. Or so it was believed... Exactly 999 years later, a small group fondly remembering the archaic gods and rites came together to form the Faroese Viking metal band, TÝR. The one-armed God of War —the bravest of all— became the eponym of the Nordic quartet.
U.D.O.
Longevity, integrity and constancy - these are the hallmarks of "Mr. German Metal" Udo Dirkschneider and his band U.D.O. Already since 1987, the group of the two former members of Accept, Udo Dirkschneider (vocals) and Stefan Kaufmann (guitar) convince with pure Heavy Metal first class. After U.D.O.’s 2009 album "Dominator" was a true triumph, fans and critics are waiting strained for the sequel which is called "Rev-Raptor".
Vogelfrey
Vogelfrey - pact of outlaws!
Hidden behind this name is a clever and independent mix of medieval, folklore, rock and metal, in short named Folk Metal.
With their open-hearted variety the medieval-rockers could fascinate even attendants that had not at all been into this genre so far. As one of the songs states: "As at this, our table, there is a place for everyone! With violin-sounds and gibberish the time of waiting will soon be over!"
Being in the game for more than 20 years successful melancholic dark rock/metal masters AMORPHIS still manage to surprise, to delight and to step up to their status. With their tenth studio album »The Beginning Of Times« these Finns prove once more that there is no other band if it comes to amazing, natural sounding melodies, deep emotions and a bit of unique sonic darkness - powerfully performed with some more really heavy parts this time around.
Cripper
German Thrash Metal scene is hard to imagine without Hanoverian whizz kids CRIPPER. Playing a proper mixture of both classic old-school and modern influences, spiced up with some Swedish Death-Metal ingredients, Cripper stands for individual groove-oriented Thrash Metal with ass-kicking moshparts and technical refinement. Since 2005, the quintet around cow-elk Britta Görtz burns a swath of destruction through the European metal landscape, making marks as being a rousing live band, thrilling with dashing songs and sweaty shows.
Eisregen
Eisregen are a German metal phenomenon: in September 2010 the morbid quartet from Thüringen celebrated their 15th birthday and made themselves their best present – the meanwhile 8th studio album „Schlangensonne“ (sun of the snake). The no. 1 badge of their sound are eversince the vocal and verbal benfits of band leader M. Roth who gives the songs their own soul and again pulls out all the stops: “Zauberelefant” is their statement about the feeder-scene, undead soldiers meet their fate every day in “Auf Ewig Ostfront”, “Blute Aus” covers the bad habit of “cutting”, “N8Verzehr” is a very modern version of the German fairytale Hänsel & Gretel, “Tod Senkt sich herab” reflects the bomb raid on Dresden and “Kai aus der Kiste” is simply undescribable – Eisregen in their purest form – madness in perfection!
end of green
Don’t build your houses near the shore. Chances are end of green will wash the damn things away. With HIGH HOPES IN LOW PLACES, their seventh record, these South German melancho- lics return in an impressive and profoundly fierce way. With HIGH HOPES IN LOW PLACES end of green paint the good life black, just to tear it down afterwards. Dream castles and palaces, too. This dark bulldozer is painfully real. But then again: there seems to be a little light in all of that darkness.
Guns Of Moropolis
Lock in your horses - the Guns Of Moropolis set their spurs on fire! Launched in a dusky western bar in Swabia in 2009, they pledged their soul to the devil after a double round of whiskey. The devil not only gave them the most beautiful girls, but also the recipe for the perfect sound. Rockabilly was yesterday - today rules Metalbilly.
So keep your eyes and ears open. When you hear it banging and it smells like excess, the Guns Of Moropolis can´t be far.
Hackneyed
Hackneyed are four guys and a girl who addicted their lives to Death Metal in 2006. With switching from Nuclear Blast to Lifeforce Records and a new (their 3rd) album under the belts Hackneyed are ready to take the next steps to success by storm. 2011 now started for Hackneyed with jam sessions and pre-recordings for the new album and currently the band is in the studio to record their third effort.
Haggard
Expressive multi-faceted music, excellent songwriting between complexity and sensitive melodic arches and harmonious arrangements have always been among Haggard’s strengths and have reached truly fantastic new levels on “Tales Of Ithiria”. The orchestra round mastermind Asis Nasseri has always set new standards in orchestral metal music, and has proven technical virtuosity in all their past works such as "Awakening The Centuries" or "Eppur Si Muove". At the ROCKHARZ 2011, Haggard will play a Best-Of-Show.
Hammerfall
Nobody had expected this - the least guitarist Oscar Dronjak, a metalhead to the bone, admirer of such heavy metal-protagonists as Judas Priest, Accept & Co.: That the band HammerFall, founded by him and Jesper Strömblad in 1993, could celebrate its breakthruough that fast, in addition initiate the worldwide renaissance of traditional heavy metal, and is by now honored as the band, who not only saves the genre over to the new millenium with innovative compositions but also has become the figurehead of true heavy metal.
Hypocrisy
Let’s not wonder how HYPOCRISY mastermind Peter Tägtgren finds the time to be a legendary producer (in his ABYSS STUDIOS) and write songs for both his bands PAIN and HYPOCRISY. Let’s just rejoice in Mr. Tägtgren`s new album “A Taste Of Extreme Divinity”! “A Taste Of Extreme Divinity” is probably the most mature creation HYPOCRISY have released so far. Combining pure Death Metal stylings and grinding slow tunes with catchy melodies we all learned to love from ‘Roswell 47’. This album mirrors the whole evolution of HYPOCRISY.
Motorjesus
There could hardly be a better symbol of Mönchengladbach rock act Motorjesus’ ambitions than the cover of their latest album, Wheels Of Purgatory, due out on 10 December 2010 on Drakkar/Sony: the Son of God with a fag in the corner of his mouth, riding a black Pontiac V8, bolting straight from hell on his way to new adventures. “We preach rock’n’roll,” vocalist Chris ‘Howling’ Birx explains, delivering this solemn statement with wink, just like the album’s inspired artwork isn’t to be taken entirely seriously.
Orden Ogan
After long, bleak years , in which legends such as Running Wild, Helloween, Gamma Ray and Blind Guardian have been holding the German flag of Melodic Power Metal, a new force has arisen to follow in the original hero´s footsteps in the shape of Orden Ogan. The traditional roots in the bands´s sound are, of course, contemporary modern, effortlessly avoiding cliche and is able to remain fresh and original. Symphonic keyboards melt into grinding guitar riffs and bombastic choir and orchestral arrangements creating an impressive wall of sound. Chance is the way forward and it drives Orden Ogan to perfect and to perfection.
Pro-Pain
Aggressive, meticulous, passionate, righteous - all distinguishing traits that have come to symbolize the fundamentals of metal/hardcore pioneers PROPAIN.Since their crushing 1992 NAIRD nominated debut album "Foul Taste Of Freedom", PRO-PAIN have become a staple in the diets of heavy music listeners around the globe. Their successful and enviable career has perpetually prospered throughout its course, and yet they still manage to find room to improve, and more importantly, impress.
Silverlane
It happened around one and a half years ago: drummer Simon Michael caused a stir when he released MY INNER DEMON, the official debut by his band, Silverlane – immediately earning unanimously positive reviews. After all, this was something that nobody would have expected from the percussionist who had made a name for himself as the skinsman of medieval rock act, Subway To Sally: namely that he’d be capable of delivering an offering rich in partly progressively oriented but always melodic epic heavy metal in the tradition of Avantasia, Kamelot, Stratovarius and Gamma Ray.
Now there’s his second coup, ABOVE THE OTHERS. And again, innovation is the name of the game. The driving opening anthem, marked by symphonic keyboard arrangements, and the subsequent, slightly more rocky, double bass-dominated ‘1789’ superficially offer efficient neck muscle training for headbangers, yet reveal on closer inspection musical intricacies which will have connoisseurs click their tongues.
Sons Of Seasons
Two years after the intricate debut “Gods Of Vermin” it is time for the second release of the creators of Dark Symphonic Metal, Sons Of Seasons. With “Magnisphyricon” the band takes a rigorous step forward, sharpening their profile regarding songwriting and production, but keeping their direction into their very own musical field.
The Atmosfear
Brutality, emotions and a huge playing ability await the visitors of shows of The Atmosfear. The five guys know how to combine their hard-as-bone-metal, that carried them through the whole republic in the last years, with quiet, melodic passages and groovy, rhythmic parts to a very electrifying piece of music.
The attendant is carried away or just follows the performance fascinated agape. Especially to be mentioned is the unbelievable voice-acrobatics of the singer in perfect harmony with the instrumentalists.
The New Black
THE NEW BLACK play rock. Real rock, really heavy, with all the good things that belong to it: Hooklines, solos and riffs galore.
With other words: This is real music, neither limited by trends nor dusty and old. In exchange well played, damn well composed, catchy and heavy. The quality is no coincidence: All musicians have been rocking for a long time in different bands as Sinner, Runamok, Abandoned or MCF, only to name a few. In short: These guys know what they do.
Tyr
Profession of the Christian Faith or Decapitation: This was the choice given by Sigmundur to his Faroese Viking compatriot Tróndur í Gøtu. And so it was that in 999 A.D., the Christianization of the small “Faeroe Islands” began, casting a veil of oblivion over the ancient Scandinavian gods and only leaving the relics of forgotten heathenry buried deep within the Christian ritual. Or so it was believed... Exactly 999 years later, a small group fondly remembering the archaic gods and rites came together to form the Faroese Viking metal band, TÝR. The one-armed God of War —the bravest of all— became the eponym of the Nordic quartet.
U.D.O.
Longevity, integrity and constancy - these are the hallmarks of "Mr. German Metal" Udo Dirkschneider and his band U.D.O. Already since 1987, the group of the two former members of Accept, Udo Dirkschneider (vocals) and Stefan Kaufmann (guitar) convince with pure Heavy Metal first class. After U.D.O.’s 2009 album "Dominator" was a true triumph, fans and critics are waiting strained for the sequel which is called "Rev-Raptor".
Vogelfrey
Vogelfrey - pact of outlaws!
Hidden behind this name is a clever and independent mix of medieval, folklore, rock and metal, in short named Folk Metal.
With their open-hearted variety the medieval-rockers could fascinate even attendants that had not at all been into this genre so far. As one of the songs states: "As at this, our table, there is a place for everyone! With violin-sounds and gibberish the time of waiting will soon be over!"