ASP (band)

ASP
General information
origin	Frankfurt am Main , Germany
Genre (s)	skirt
founding	1999
Website	www.aspswelten.de
Founding members
singing	Alexander "Asp" Frank Spreng
guitar	Matthias "Matze" Ambré (until 2011)
Current occupation
Singing, programming	Alexander "Asp" Frank Spreng (since 1999)
Guitar , keyboard , electric bass , mandolin	Lutz Demmler (since 2011)
Lead guitar	Sören Jordan (since 2011)
Electric bass	Andreas "Tossi" Gross (since 2000)
Drums	Stefan Günther (since 2012) (Live)
former members
Choir	Holger Hartgen (2000-2004)
Choir	Pit Hammann (2000-2001)
Choir	Marcus "Max" Testory (2001-2004)
Drums	Oliver "Himmi" Himmighoffen (2000–2012)

ASP (pronounced “like Ast, only with P”) is a rock band from Germany, which listeners and the press generally assign to the black scene due to their style, appearance and origin . She became known above all for the cycle about the Black Butterfly , around which the first five album releases revolved and which, according to singer Alexander Spreng , should be seen as a musical Gothic novel . The band makes this reference clear by using the seemingly literary terms Tales of ASP .

Alexander "Asp" Spreng at the Rockharz Open Air 2016

Guitarist Lutz Demmler at the Rockharz 2016

Band history

Foundation (1999)

Alexander "Asp" Spreng and Matthias "Matze" Ambré (former member of the Frankfurt band Gabi Mohnbrot ) founded the band in the summer of 1999 "in one of Hesse's nicer cider bars" after a long exchange of experiences and opinions and the breakup of the respective earlier bands. The band name is both nickname and nickname of the singer. Since the literary figure he created was to be a central component of the following publications, this decision was an obvious one. To distinguish between band and singer, the former is now written entirely in capital letters. At this time, Spreng also designed the band logo, which is still used today. The band's first homepage was designed by ex- Gabi-Mohnbrot member and later ASP bassist, Andreas "Tossi" Gross.

The first demo CD was created under quite improvised conditions in the apartment of the future ASP drummer Oliver "Himmi" Himmighoffen, who was also a former member of Gabi Mohnbrot . The music was received positively by the scene DJs and their listeners from the area, but record companies did not initially accept it. Live performances were initially not planned after both members had extensive band experience.

Record deal, first appearances and first album (2000)

Alexander Storm, head of the well-known record label Trisol , became aware of ASP through the audio samples on the band's website at the time, whereupon he offered a meeting and finally a record deal, which Spreng and Ambré signed a little later.

The decision to finally appear live was made after an inquiry from the online magazine The Gothicworld , which ASP wanted to win for a festival. For this purpose, Spreng and Ambré found it important to put together a live band, as they did not want to use tape recordings on stage. Oliver Himmighoffen as drummer and Andreas Gross as bassist could be won. Holger Hartgen and Spreng's former bandmate Pit Hammann formed the choir for the polyphonic vocals, which Spreng sang in the studio alone.

The first album Did you miss me? (The black butterfly I) was also produced in the basement studio Das Zwerk . The artwork was produced by Pit Hammann and Andreas Gross, the photos by Marc Weissenberger. The CD was finally released on November 3, 2000 at a release party including a concert in the Frankfurt club “Nightlife”.

Bigger appearances, tours, new albums and fan base (2001-2003)

At the initiative of Mozart , singer of Umbra et Imago , ASP performed for the first time in front of a larger audience at the Ostara Festival in 2001 . The first line-up change took place at this concert. From then on, Pit Hammann only wanted to concentrate on his work as an illustrator and author. Instead, the Viennese Marcus "Max" Testory, today head of the band Chamber , became the new background singer. At Whitsun 2001, the first appearance at the biggest scene festival, the Wave-Gotik-Treffen, followed . At the release party for the second album Duett (The Black Butterfly II) , which was released on October 26, 2001 at the insistence of the record company for a successor, in the Karlsruhe cultural ruins , it was decided to found the fan community Singchild.de , from which the former forum DieZreffen .net emerged . The band and other artists from the ASP environment were personally involved in the forum until it closed in September 2019.

The name The Gathering was originally that of a festival organized by Spreng in the Frankfurt Club Batschkapp . The bands Chamber, Janus , ASP himself and L'Âme Immortelle performed there, and ASP with Rig from Janus, Alexander Kaschte from Samsas Traum and Mozart from Umbra et Imago performed together. In the same year the “children's book for adults” was published for the song Die kleine Ballade vom Schwarzen Schmetterling , illustrated by Pit Hammann.

In 2002 ASP went on tour for the first time, this time as support for Umbra et Imago on their Nosferatour - Part II , which was supplemented in the second half by the band Tanzwut . Here, too, the bands stood together on stage for some songs. On June 28, 2002, the band's third release, the Gathering EP , featured cover versions, duets and remixes of ASP pieces.

In 2001 Pit presented Hammann Spreng, who also works as a comic book writer, to the illustrator Ingo "Monozelle" Römling . Römling took on the design of the artwork for the upcoming album Weltunter (The Black Butterfly III) , which was released on August 18, 2003. This time the CD was mixed in a professional recording studio. The singles Weltunter (Come to Me) and Stille der Nacht (A Christmas Tale) , which were also designed by Römling, were released. Römling took on the graphic implementation of Spreng's artwork concepts, including for the never-published comic Die Schattenbraut . The two artists were to form a team for several years from now on.

After another support tour in spring 2003 with L'Âme Immortelle and Unheilig as well as a few festival appearances in summer, the first headlining tour followed in autumn, which was initially planned as a tour with two headliner bands. After the departure of the second band, which is not mentioned in any source, Xandria was hired as the opening act. In July 2003, the first fan-organized ASPecue took place - a barbecue that was repeatedly attended by members of the ASP family (the band and other associated artists). Another fan meeting, this time with a concert, took place in Zapfendorf in the winter of the same year.

Sales insolvency and further successes (2004-2007)

In 2004, the distribution of the band EFA had to file for bankruptcy. As a result, no further CDs could initially be sold, as all copies available up to that point became part of the bankruptcy estate. In order to cushion financial problems, the record company Trisol forced the production of the best-of-CD Interim Works Compendium after only three albums against the will of the band. Also this year, ASP made its entire discography available for download on its own website for a short period of time, but this had to be discontinued shortly afterwards due to the unclear settlement with GEMA . In addition, the single I want to burn was released as part of a campaign to preserve the right to private copying . The single came with a statement from the band, a sticker and a blank CD, on which the buyers should burn their own best-of. In addition to the detailed demands, a corresponding petition was found on the associated website. ASP performed live for the first time abroad in 2004 (Belgium and Great Britain), played alongside various other festivals for the first time at the M'era Luna Festival and carried out another headlining tour with Porn as the opening act.

In 2005 ASP released the single Hunger , which was only sold on the accompanying tour. This took place in spring with the band Nuuk as support. After various appearances at various festivals, ASP released the album Aus der Tief , for which an external studio could be booked this time, which also allowed the recording of real drums for the first time. This was followed by the autumn tour of the same name together with Seelenzorn .

ASP and Chamber at Once in a Lifetime

Spreng and the former background singer Max Testory decided on an acoustic tour for the bands ASP and Chamber. On this concert tour called once in a lifetime , the two groups played songs from both bands in a mixed cast. Instead of a preliminary act, the author Thomas Sabottka created the preliminary program with a reading of his texts. For this purpose, an EP was released with Humility and a limited live CD box in 2007.

As a reaction to commercial allegations from the scene in the meantime, ASP released the single Werben in 2006 , which appeared alongside the normal CD in an elaborate vinyl version, which was accompanied by a satirizing advertising campaign. For this purpose, the character Emma and the Varieté Obscur were created, which were taken up again in later publications. One of these publications was the graphic novel Varieté Obscur , in which the detective Johann Salamander had his first appearance. The book was designed again by Ingo Römling, with whom Spreng also re-recorded the song of the same name and added it to the book on CD. The third release in 2006 was the single I'm a true Satan , which was released in four different versions. Each version was accompanied by part of a voucher with which one could pick up the single Isobel Goudie for free on the associated tour, which took place together with Dope Stars Inc. in October . Remaining copies of the bonus single were pulped after the tour. In addition, the various single versions already contained songs from the upcoming Krabat song cycle Zaubererbruder . In 2006, the ugly creative competition for singers, remixers and photographers, which began in 2004, was finally brought to an end. The music magazine Zillo , which had advertised the campaign and also advertised the prizes, had since bailed out, whereupon the competitor magazine Orkus took over the award. As a result, the band broke with the Zillo. The winners of the competition were published on the Ugly CD.

The cycle around the Black Butterfly, which should have ended after four albums, was continued in 2007 with the fifth album Requiembryo . Again Ingo Römling took over the design. Recording and pre-production took place in the studio of the former Grave Digger guitarist Uwe Lulis. The album was finally released on March 23, 2007 after a lot of preliminary information and insights on various websites such as the fan forum. This was followed by a two-part tour, in the first part with The Beauty of Gemina , in the second part with Elis as the opening act. After an online vote on the title, ASP also released the EP Nie Mehr! (Die Verschollenen Archives I) , which includes a cover version of the Konstantin Wecker song Sage Nein! contained. Also in the same year, Spreng and Römling began the joint comic strip project Seven Years with Garg , which was initially published as an online comic and then as a book in 2010.

ASP after the black butterfly (2008 to today)

In 2008 ASP produced his first own music video, a puppet cartoon for the song Me . This was released as a DVD in the limited edition of the best-of double CD Horror Vacui . This has now been put together by the band themselves and the previous, unpopular CD Interim Works Compendium has been taken off the market in consultation with the record company. At the same time the book Horror Vacui was published , which contained song texts and accompanying texts. The tour of the same name took place with Lahannya in spring 2008. The second CD release in 2008 was the double album Zaubererbruder - The Krabat song cycle in which ASP presented its own interpretation of the Krabat material . The album was the first ASP album to reach the top 20 of the German album charts. Another acoustic tour with four guest musicians took place in October 2008. The third double album this year was the live CD Akoasma , which was created on the Horror Vacui Tour. In the course of touring, ASP performed at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in 2009 . Due to the design of the custody card with a black sun , the band sent the organizer an open letter and then took a position against the use of the symbol and the lack of distancing by the organizer.

“As part of the 'Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2009', at which we were allowed to give a concert with our band ASP, a so-called 'custody card' was issued to the visitors. A symbol called the 'Black Sun' has been used in the graphic design of this map. [...] The band ASP does not want to be associated with politically questionable messages and their dissemination in any way or to accept them tacitly and hereby expressly distances itself from the politicization of the festival created by the above-mentioned symbol.

- ASP

Already end of July 2009 appeared with by magician brothers another live album of ASP added in autumn 2008 on the Unplugged tour of magician brothers, black butterflies and other Nachtgestalten . The album was first released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in addition to CD . In the fall of the same year, the single Who Else? / Im Märchenland was released . A whole album was actually planned, but its release was only postponed indefinitely, as the production of Von Zaubererbrüdern was much more complex than planned in advance and singer Spreng claims to suffer from symptoms of burnout syndrome and the band made it public to have to take a break to restructure the entire band activities and internal working methods. Hand in hand with this, the band published a proclamation at the turn of the year 2009/2010 in which they formulated a kind of code of conduct on how the band intends to position itself in times of the strongly changing music landscape. On 15 March 2011, the new album was a stranger officially announced. On March 16, the album was scheduled to be released on August 5.

In March 2011, ASP announced the departure of guitarist and producer Matthias Ambré. The official reasons for the separation are personal and professional differences.

In August 2011 the single Wechselbalg was released as a harbinger for the new album foreign (foreign cycle part 1) , which was released in digipack and also as a special vinyl version. As a homage to the band Ougenweide , the cover version BaldAnders is on the single. In addition, the CD version of the single contains a live recording of the song Dancing in acoustic garb from 1995 ( Dancing MCMXCV ).

The album itself was finally released on October 21, 2011 with a two-month delay in a digibook version, a 2-CD version limited to 7000 copies and a picture vinyl version limited to 499 copies. On the tour that followed, the band's new line-up included Lutz Demmler and Sören Jordan, two former Umbra-et-Imago musicians.

In 2012 the second single from the album Fremd , Eisige Demokratie will be released . In advance, the fans could decide whether Icy Reality , back to back or foreign body person, firstly as a single. The single is also available as a limited edition (limited to 5,999 copies), a DVD with a recording of the performance at the M'Era Luna Festival 2011 is included. A rerelease of the Humility EP will also be released on the same day. In spring 2012, the separation from longtime drummer Oliver "Himmi" Himmighoffen became known. The reason given was Oliver Himmighoffen's willingness to play for Matthias Ambré's new band Die Kammer . Oliver Himminghoffen will initially be replaced by Stefan Günther, who is a former bandmate of the current lead guitarist Sören Jordan, for the performances in the summer.

In 2013 the band performed at the Wacken Open Air . In addition, the second part of the Stranger Cycle , called Maskenhaft , was published that year .

In 2014 the band celebrated their 15th anniversary and went on an anniversary tour through Germany. She also released the best of album Per aspera ad aspera .

On October 16, 2015, the ninth studio album came out - Episode 1: Astoria , which plays around the Leipzig Hotel Astoria . On April 1, 2016 came the publication of Verfallen - Episode 2: Facades , which concludes the concept of the musical novella about Astoria. In the same year the previous EP GeistErfahrer (part 1.1 of the foreign cycle), sold out at this time, was re-released as a full-length album with 2 new songs. While the original limited edition of the EP contained the concert recording of the foreign tour as CD2, the CD2 limited edition of the long-playing album, on the other hand, contains new recordings of the songs Tiefenrausch and I am a true Satan as well as exclusive remixes for other songs. At the same time, ASP released their sixth regular concert album Auf Rauen Pfaden , which consists of 4 CDs and was recorded during the Best-Of / Rar & Pur Tour 2014/15.

On 27 October 2017, the eleventh regular studio album was released Deeply . This is the third part of the Stranger Cycle . The single 20,000 miles and Amber Sea Angel could be heard and bought beforehand. The tour started on the date of publication in Oberhausen. On November 29, 2019, the twelfth studio album Kosmonautilus was released as the fourth part of the Stranger Cycle . The associated tour started on January 16, 2020 in Saarbrücken.

style

Through the use of synthesizers and keyboards , ASP play rock music that is aesthetically and lyrically oriented towards the black scene and the music it receives . The band calls their own style "Gothic Novel Rock". The term “Gothic Novel” refers to the horror-like stories that serve as a concept for the group's publications and not to the Gothic Rock music style . However, there is no musical stylistic reference to this genre. Still, ASP is often referred to by reviewers as Gothic Rock .

In the beginning, ASP used stylistic devices that were close to the New German Hardship . The music was mainly characterized by the use of rhythm guitars. In particular, metal- heavy power chords in connection with partly technoid sounds and beats (use of a constant bass drum) formed the basis of numerous songs.

Some songs were said to be dominated by "club-suitable beats and a predominantly electronic garb". However, these pieces alternate with slower, partly orchestral songs. "For many songs [would] use electric guitars without them [...] coming too much into the foreground". On Metal.de the style of the group is described as "a primeval rock foundation, on which various electronic effects can be found". The music would be "arranged quite cleverly with exciting chord runs and borrowings from folk rock and more complex metal".

Since the Krabat song cycle , medieval folk echoes and elements of songwriting increasingly emerged which were "closely interwoven with the" ASP-typical rock sounds [...] ". Further influences from chanson and tango to drone doom and metal were named for the following works .

Discography

→ see discography and list of songs by ASP

Studio albums

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		DE	AT
2000	Did you miss me? Richter scale / Trisol Music Group	-	-	first part of the song cycle of the black butterfly
2001	: Duet Richterskala / Trisol Music Group	-	-	second part of the song cycle of the black butterfly
2003	Weltunter Richterskala / Trisol Music Group	-	-	third part of the song cycle of the black butterfly
2005	From the depths Trisol Music Group	DE50 (2 weeks) DE	-	fourth part of the song cycle of the black butterfly
2007	Requiembryo Trisol Music Group	DE38 (2 weeks) DE	-	fifth part of the song cycle of the black butterfly
2008	Magician Brother - The Krabat song cycle Trisol Music Group	DE13 (2 weeks) DE	-
2011	foreign Gothic Novel Rock Records / Trisol Music	DE9 (3 weeks) DE	AT47 (1 week) AT	first part of the stranger cycle
2013	Mask-like Gothic Novel Rock Records / Trisol Music	DE2 (4 weeks) DE	AT57 (1 week) AT	second part of the stranger cycle
2015	Expired - Episode 1: Astoria Gothic Novel Rock Records / Trisol Music	DE7 (3 weeks) DE	-
2016	Derelict - Episode 2: Facades Gothic Novel Rock Records / Trisol Music	DE17 (2 weeks) DE	-
	GeistErfahrer Gothic Novel Rock Records / Trisol Music	-	-	Part 1.1 of the Fremder cycle expanded re-release of the GeistErfahrer EP
2017	Deeply Gothic Novel Rock Records / Trisol Music	DE12 (2 weeks) DE	-	third part of the stranger cycle
2019	Kosmonautilus Gothic Novel Rock Records / Trisol Music	DE20 (1 week) DE	-	fourth part of the stranger cycle

Web links

Commons : ASP  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website
• ASP at Discogs (English)
• Interview with ASP in September 2009
• Interview with ASP in September 2010 ( Memento from November 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.sonic-seducer.de/index.php/News_2011/Neue_Homepage_von_ASP_Trillen_von_Gitarrist_und_Produzent_Matthias_Ambre.html ( Memento from September 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ ^{a b} http://www.aspswelten.de/live/107-besetzungwechsel-in-der-live-band
3. ↑ ^{a b} http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=1
4. ↑ Asp's worlds. Retrieved July 9, 2018 . 
5. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=2
6. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=3
7. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=4
8. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=5
9. ↑ [1] http://www.diezkunft.net/
10. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=6
11. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=7
12. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=8
13. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=9
14. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=10
15. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=11
16. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=12
17. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=13
18. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=14
19. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=15
20. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=16
21. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=17
22. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=18
23. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=19
24. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=20
25. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=21
26. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=22
27. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=23
28. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=24
29. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=28
30. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=29
31. ↑ http://thetalesofasp.com/de/history.html?ms=30
32. ^ ASP: ASP statement on the WGT 2009. In: the Tales of ASP. Archived from the original on February 20, 2010 ; accessed on March 28, 2015 . 
33. ↑ ^{a b} thetalesofasp.com: ASP Newsletter 13 (accessed June 1, 2010)
34. ↑ http://www.thetalesofasp.com/de/10er-proklamation.html
35. ↑ http://www.aspswelten.de/media/58-albumname-haben-nun-offiziell-fest
36. ↑ http://www.aspswelten.de/media/59-veroeffnahmungstermin-des-asp-albums-known-given
37. ↑ http://www.aspswelten.de/media/57-trennen-bei-asp
38. ↑ http://www.aspswelten.de/media/98-doppel-veroeffnahmung-zur-tour
39. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
40. ↑ Did you miss me? Alex Frodl, accessed March 31, 2016 . 
41. ↑ Frederik Pankalla: ASP: Horror Vacui. metal.de, accessed on March 31, 2016 . 
42. ^ Sabine Langner: ASP: Zauberbruder, The Krabat song cycle. Music reviews, accessed March 31, 2016 . 
43. ↑ UMP: ASP: Expired. Terrorverlag, accessed on March 31, 2016 . 
44. ↑ Chart sources: DE AT
45. ↑ aspswelten.de: Discography (accessed on October 21, 2019)