The Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Band)

The Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Apocalyptic Horsemen at the 2018 Hammaburg Festival
General information
Genre (s)	Melodic Death Metal , Heavy Metal , Folk Metal , Experimental Metal , Power Metal , Thrash Metal , Symphonic Metal , New German Hardness
founding	1995
Website	http://www.reitermania.de/
Founding members
Vocals , guitar	Daniel "Eumel" Täumel
Drums , vocals	"Skelleton"
Current occupation
Vocals, guitar	Daniel "Fuchs" Täumel
Bass , vocals	Volkmar "Volk-Man" Weber (since 1995)
Keyboard	Mark "Dr. Pest "Szakul (since 1995)
Drums	Georg "Sir G." Lenhardt (since 1999)
guitar	Adrian "Ady" Vogel (since 2009)
former members
Drums, vocals	"Skelleton" (1995 to 1999)
guitar	"Pitrone" (2002-2008)
guitar	"Lady Cat-Man" (2008-2009)

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter are a German band that was founded in 1995 near Weimar in Thuringia . The group has achieved great fame both in the German metal scene and in some Eastern European countries.

Band history

Singer Fuchs at the soundcheck at the Wacken Open Air 2006

Daniel "Fuchs" Täumel at the Rockharz 2015 in Ballenstedt .

In the summer of 1995 Daniel "Eumel" Täumel and "Skelleton" founded Die Apokalyptischen Reiter. A few weeks later, Mark “Dr. Pest ”Szakul and Volkmar“ Volk-Man ”Weber, who wrote under the name Sindri for the fanzine Cothurnus , added to the group. In 1996 the four members published the demo tape Firestorm and performed their first concerts in Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. Several labels expressed their interest and in 1997 the band signed a contract with Ars Metalli Records . In December 1997, the debut album Soft & Stronger was released , eight months later the four-song vinyl record Dschinghis Khan , limited to 1000 copies , which was sold out within a few days.

In 1999 Die Apokalyptischen Reiter released the second album Allegro Barbaro on Ars Metalli Records, but canceled the record contract shortly afterwards due to discrepancies. Due to the meanwhile great popularity in Germany and Eastern Europe, they quickly received a new contract with the Dutch label Hammerheart Records . At the same time, founding member Skelleton left the band. Volkmar “Volk-Man” Weber then took over the guttural singing of Skelletons, while Georg “Sir G.” Lenhardt was won as a new member for the drums.

In April of the same year they acquired the domain reitermania.de ( Reiter = short for the name of the band, μανία manía = the frenzy) for their online presence . The name was well received by the fans and the term "Reitermaniacs" was coined for the fans of the band.

In 2000 singer "Eumel" changed his nickname to "Fox" and Die Apokalyptischen Reiter received a larger budget for their third album. With producer Andy Classen they took in the Stage One Studio in stage finally All You Need Is Love on. The album was a commercial success and was named Disc of the Month in numerous magazines. Numerous appearances at festivals - including the Wacken Open Air - and a multi-week European tour with the US band Macabre followed.

The group spent most of 2001 on tour, after which 2002 brought some setbacks. Both Sir G. and Fuchs suffered from health problems. After all, Fuchs could no longer play guitar live. Therefore, the fifth member of the group, Pitrone, was hired as a guitarist. Another episodic member at that time was the guitarist Dirk "Herr Schmidt" Schmidt, who left the band in 2002. Also in 2002 Die Apokalyptischen Reiter switched to Nuclear Blast Records .

In March 2003, again with producer Andy Classen, the next album, Have a Nice Trip , was released, which could reach a place in the German LP charts. Another European tour with Testament and Death Angel , festival appearances at Wacken Open Air , Summer Breeze and With Full Force and a Christmas tour with Subway to Sally followed.

In February / March 2004 Die Apokalyptischen Reiter went on tour as a headliner for the first time . Then work on the next album began. Samurai was created with the help of producer Tue Madsen in Antfarm Studio in Denmark . For the presentation of the new album in the fall, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter organized numerous publication appearances across Germany.

The next headlining tour followed in 2005 with the Finnish band Turisas as the opening act . In summer 2005 Die Apokalyptischen Reiter performed again at several festivals.

After Friede sei mit Dir was released as EP and DVD in May 2006, the album Riders on the Storm was finally released on August 25, 2006 , which entered the German longplayer charts at number 31. In September, the riders performed together with Týr and Hämatom in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

A tour in spring 2007 with five other bands, including Finntroll , which was advertised under the title Earthshaker Roadshock Tour, failed due to problems with the organizer Metallysee. After eight appointments had already been completed, seven concerts had to be canceled. These were made up for in autumn 2007 as part of a tour. On February 1, 2008 the live DVD Tobsucht was released , which, among other things, featured the band's appearances at the Wacken Open Air 2007 and the Party.San Open Air 2007, a "Special Old School Show", in which only works up to and including All You Need is Love . The DVD premieres took place in five selected cinemas in Germany, where members of the band were present for autographs etc.

On March 18, 2008, the band announced the separation from guitarist Pitrone . Lady Cat-Man was found to replace her .

The album Licht was released on August 29, 2008 by Nuclear Blast. On June 27, 2008, the EP Der Weg was a foretaste of that. In March 2009 Lady Cat-Man was replaced by Ady, who previously supported the band as a guitar technician. In September 2009 the band played the Paganfest tour together with Alestorm , Ex Deo , Korpiklaani , Swashbuckle and Unleashed .

For spring 2011 the band announced the release of the new album Moral & Wahnsinn , which was released on February 25th, and a headlining tour, with Turisas and Akrea as support. At the end of the year their first Best-Of The Greatest Of The Best was released and a Christmas tour was announced, which had to be canceled soon afterwards and instead had to be replaced by a tour in spring 2012.

In April 2012 they started their The Greatest of the Best tour through Europe together with the Emil Bulls , Kontrust and Malrun as special guests. They performed at the SWR Barroselas Metalfest in Barroselas , Portugal, in May . At Christmas, the Eisheilige Nights tour followed in December together with Russkaja , Fejd and the headliner and organizer of the Subway to Sally tour .

2013 the riders played in January on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise ship and at the Wacken Festival from 01. – 03. August.

On May 30th, 2014 the double album Tief.Tiefer was released. In advance, on April 25, 2014, the video for one of the songs of the new album called Liberty Equality Fraternity was released.

For the band's twentieth birthday in 2015, the band's biography How the end of the world became part of my life was published. At the same time, the band announced that they wanted to take an indefinite break. With their own three-day festival DAS LETZTE ABENDMAHL in Jena at Christmas 2015, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter said goodbye to the stage until further notice.

In March 2017, the band announced on their website that they had started recording a new album. The tenth studio album by the group Der Rote Reiter was released on August 25, 2017. The album was released in four different versions, a normal CD, a clear vinyl , a red vinyl and a limited digibook , with CD and the Blu-Ray, The Last Supper - The 20 Years Anniversary Show. This was followed by the One-Rider-Rises-from-Heaven Tour from autumn 2017 .

Appearances at several festivals have been announced for summer 2018, including again the Wacken, Summer Breeze and Rock Harz festivals. Another Christmas tour is to take place in December under the name SCHREI! NACHTEN 2018 .

Music genre

At the beginning of their career, the band played mostly melodic death metal with only English , short and largely improvised lyrics. The singing was predominantly guttural , with many songs containing keyboard parts that were modeled on harpsichords and flutes . Already on Allegro Barbaro , the second album, clear vocals were used at times, there were some quieter sections. With All You Need Is Love , the band introduced the first German lyrics that were much more narrative than on the previous albums. In the piece Reitermania , in addition to German stanzas, there are also stanzas in English and refrains in Russian and Finnish . Finally, on Have a Nice Trip , the clear vocals as well as the German lyrics clearly predominate. The lyrics to Samurai and Riders on the Storm were mainly German. Guttural singing was rarely used. While the keyboard parts on the earlier albums mainly played short, concise and folk- inspired themes , the synthesizers on the later albums were used more often for flat string voices and short effects. Also piano parts are common.

The influences of Latin American and Spanish music are striking, which are evident in pieces such as Schenk mir Heut Nacht and Baila Conmígo , the latter even in Spanish . Motifs based on Arabic music also appear in pieces such as Sehnsucht , Fatima or Give up .

social commitment

For the marine conservation organization Sea Shepherd , Die Apokalyptischen Reiter recorded the single "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity". They also support other good causes such as the Blue Sea project or Rettet die Naturvölker eV

gallery

• Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, line-up at the Rockharz Open Air 2018
• 

  Singer Daniel "Fuchs" Täumel

• 

  Bass player Volkmar “Volk-Man” Weber

• 

  Keyboardist Mark “Dr. Plague “Szakul

• 

  Drummer Georg "Sir G." Lenhardt

• 

  Guitarist Adrian "Ady" Vogel

Discography

Albums

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		DE	AT	CH
1997	Soft & Stronger Ars Metalli	-	-	-	First published: December 1st, 1997 Republished: 2003
1999	Allegro Barbaro Ars Metalli	-	-	-	First published: March 29, 1999 Republished: 2003
2000	All You Need Is Love Hammerheart Records	-	-	-	First published: October 31, 2000
2003	Have a Nice Trip Nuclear Blast	DE95 (1 week) DE	-	-	First published: March 17, 2003
2004	Samurai Nuclear Blast	-	-	-	First published: November 11, 2004
2006	Riders on the Storm Nuclear Blast	DE31 (3 weeks) DE	AT74 (1 week) AT	-	First published: August 25, 2006
2008	Light Nuclear Blast	DE29 (4 weeks) DE	AT49 (2 weeks) AT	CH88 (1 week) CH	First published: August 29, 2008
2011	Morals & Madness Nuclear Blast	DE18 (4 weeks) DE	AT41 (1 week) AT	CH61 (1 week) CH	First published: February 25, 2011
2014	Deep, deep nuclear blast	DE22 (2 weeks) DE	-	CH72 (1 week) CH	First release: May 30th, 2014 double album
2017	Der Rote Reiter Nuclear Blast	DE10 (3 weeks) DE	AT29 (1 week) AT	-	First published: August 25, 2017

Other publications

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		DE	AT	CH
1996	Firestorm	-	-	-	demo
1998	Genghis Khan	-	-	-	EP
2006	Peace be with you	-	-	-	EP
	Peace be with you	-	-	-	Live DVD
2008	Madness (Reitermania Over Wacken & Party. San)	DE83 (1 week) DE	-	-	DVD and two live CDs
	The way	-	-	-	EP
2009	adrenaline	-	-	-	Live album of the Reiterfestspiele 2008 as an extra in the September 2009 Metal Hammer edition
2011	Dr. pest	-	-	-	MP3 download
	The Greatest of the Best	-	-	-	Best-Of album, EP
2014	Liberty, equality, fraternity	-	-	-	MP3 download , 2 track download single

Music videos

• 2004: eruption
• 2004: the sun is shining
• 2006: Peace be with you
• 2008: the way
• 2008: it gets worse
• 2008: After the ebb
• 2011: Dr. pest
• 2011: The Messenger (Live Video)
• 2011: We ride
• 2014: freedom equality fraternity
• 2014: What remains is me
• 2014: The time
• 2017: we're back
• 2017: The Red Rider
• 2017: up and down
• 2017: Freedom is a duty
• 2018: Heart on fire

literature

• Volkmar Weber : How the end of the world became part of my life - 20 years of Die Apokalyptischen Reiter. Schmenk, Nicole 2015, ISBN 978-3-943022-33-9 .

swell

1. ↑ Thomas Westphal: CothurnuS. Carnage Death Metal. Retrieved October 24, 2014 . 
2. ↑ Joe: The Horsemen of the Apocalypse. (No longer available online.) Ancient Spirit, November 2006, formerly the original ; Retrieved October 24, 2014 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
3. ^ Statements by bass player Volk-Man on choosing a name ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ Metallysee cancel EXCESS OF EVIL and EARTSHAKER ROADSHOCK tours completely ( memento of the original from June 1, 2013) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ New studio album ( Memento of the original from March 27, 2010 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. 
6. ↑ reitermania.de ( Memento of the original from November 28, 2011 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. 
7. ↑ reitermania.de ( Memento of the original from August 13, 2012 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. 
8. ↑ Eisheilige Nacht 2012. In: Festivalticker.de. Retrieved June 14, 2018 . 
9. ↑ reitermania.de ( Memento of the original from January 11, 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. 
10. ↑ reitermania.de
11. ↑ Volk-Man: We're back. In: Reitermania, official website. March 10, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017 . 
12. ↑ THE APOCALYPTICAL REITER - Der Rote Reiter Digibook. In: Nuclear Blast. March 10, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017 . 
13. ↑ THE APOCALYPTICAL REITER - Der Rote Reiter Digibook. In: Nuclear Blast. March 10, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017 . 
14. ↑ THE APOCALYPTICAL REITER - SHOWS 2018. In: Die Apokalyptischen Reiter. Retrieved June 14, 2018 . 
15. ^ A Tribute to Sea Shepherd-for the Ocean. October 31, 2014, accessed February 7, 2019 . 
16. ↑ DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER - auction ... May 15, 2014, accessed on February 7, 2019 . 

Web links

Commons : Die Apokalyptischen Reiter  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website
• The Apocalyptic Horsemen at Musik-Sammler.de
• The Apocalyptic Riders at laut.de
• The Apocalyptic Horsemen at Allmusic (English)
• The Apokalyptischen Reiter at Discogs (English)
• Chart sources: DE / AT / CH