Empyrium
| Empyrium | |
|---|---|
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 Empyrium in the Opera national du Rhin in Strasbourg (2017) |
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| General information | |
| origin | Hendungen , Germany |
| Genre (s) | earlier: Metal later: Neofolk , Neoklassik |
| founding | 1994, 2010 |
| resolution | 2002 |
| Website | www.empyrium.de |
| Founding members | |
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Markus Stock alias Ulf Theodor Schwadorf |
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| Andreas Bach (until 1999) | |
| Current occupation | |
| Markus Stock alias Ulf Theodor Schwadorf |
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Singing, wings
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Thomas Helm (since 1999) |
| former members | |
| Nadine Stock (formerly: Mölter) represented on all albums |
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| Susanne Salomon on the Weiland album |
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cello |
Julia Hecht on the Weiland album |
| Horst Faust on the Weiland album |
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Empyrium is a German band from Hendungen in Lower Franconia , which was active from 1994 to 2002 and has been active again since 2010 after a reunification. The leading figure behind Empyrium is Markus Stock, alias Ulf Theodor Schwadorf. The music was initially characterized by influences from various metal sub-genres, such as (melodic) Black Metal , but from the third album onwards all metal influences were largely discarded and the band concentrated on dark folk music . In terms of text, Empyrium processed a romantic- animistic image of nature ( nature mysticism ) as well as other topics from the field of romanticism . With the exception of the last, German-language album, the lyrics to the songs are partly in archaic English .
history
Foundation, beginnings and origin of the name
The idea of founding their own band arose when Markus Stock and Andreas Bach left the death metal band Impurity in late 1993 and early 1994 after Stock wanted to incorporate more elements of black metal into the band. His band mates thought to stick to Death Metal, only Bach supported the idea.
The name Empyrium was chosen in the summer of 1994 and was inspired by the title of the EP Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empyrium by the British doom metal band My Dying Bride . In the geocentric worldview , respectively in the cosmology of the Middle Ages, empyrean denotes the outermost, fiery sphere of heaven (hence the name "fire heaven"), the seat of God and angels.
In December 1994 the first demo cassette ... which fell from the sky like a bolt of lightning ... was recorded, which musically differed significantly from the raw black metal style of the songs the duo had previously written. Through this demo, Martin Koller from the then newly founded Prophecy Productions label became aware of Empyrium and offered the band a record deal, which they signed.
The first three albums
The band's debut album, A wintersunset… , was recorded in January 1996 and released on Prophecy Productions in June of the same year. Markus Stock was 17 years old at the time, and it was also the first album ever that Prophecy Productions released. This close connection between the label and Empyrium is particularly emphasized on the label's homepage: “The history of Empyrium is also the history of Prophecy Productions. Empyrium's debut 'A Wintersunset', our first release, saw the light of day in 1996 and was the reason for founding Prophecy Productions. "
A year later, in 1997, the album Songs of Moors and Misty Fields was released , again on the same label. In February 1999, the third studio and first all-acoustic album, Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays, was recorded in Klangschmiede Studio E , a studio that Stock opened in November 1998. On this album for the first time Thomas Helm took part, who contributed some vocal lines.
In the same year the official separation from Andreas Bach took place. One reason for this were differences between him and Markus Stock in the ideas of where Empyrium should develop. While Stock wanted to steer the band, which according to him was more of a project than a full-fledged band, even more in a more atmospheric direction, Bach intended to steer Empyrium in more catchy and rock-heavy tracks. To replace him, Thomas Helm became a full member.
When Andreas Bach was still a member, Markus Stock commented on the distribution of roles at Empyrium in an interview for Legacy magazine after Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays was recorded without Bach: “Empyrium is very clear Limits set. I don't want to run the band without him [Andreas Bach], but he knows very well that I am the main leader of the band and he also complies with that. ”On the other hand, Stock decided on the future project while the album was being recorded Thomas Helm to want to continue.
On Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays Stock appeared for the first time under his pseudonym "Ulf Theodor Schwadorf", because he wanted to separate the private person Markus Stock and his artistic facet. In another interview he said: “For me it is very important to separate artist and private person. Who cares what kind of person I am outside of Empyrium? In my opinion that doesn't matter, because it has nothing to do with my artistic expression. "
Weiland , dissolution and reunification
The fourth and last regular album was recorded at the turn of the year 2000 to 2001. The instrumentation was as with Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays designed for an acoustic album. In addition, some guest musicians played instruments such as the bassoon or the violin . In addition to Stock, Thomas Helm also composed some pieces on this album. Weiland , the name of the album, was released in 2002, but before that an EP called Drei Auszüge aus Weiland was released. After the publication of Weiland , Stock dissolved the Empyrium project. In an interview, he cites the following reasons for this: “I think after 8 years of Empyrium and the artistic processing of a topic, it is time to set out for new shores - I simply don't feel any artistic challenge in it, at the moment another An album dedicated to nature mysticism. "( Markus Stock : Interview for Legacy Magazine)
In 2006 a musical review of the history of Empyrium was published under the title A Retrospective… . In addition to various pieces from the individual albums, this CD also contains two unpublished songs as well as an English and German-language biography of Empyrium in the booklet .
In September 2010 the reunion of the band was announced. First, the song The Days Before the Fall appeared on the compilation Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings . In March 2011 Empyrium announced that they would give the first concert in the band's history with a performance at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig . Empyrium was supported by Allen B. Konstanz ( The Vision Bleak , Ewigheim ), Neige ( Alcest ), Fursy Teyssier ( Les Discrets ), Eviga ( Dornenreich ), Christoph Kutzer ( Remember Twilight ) and Aline Deinert ( Neun Welten , Die Kammer ) . With this line-up, further concerts followed in the Christ Church in Bochum (2012), the Passionskirche Berlin (2013) and the Centrul Cultural Reduta in Brașov (2013). In 2012 the play Dead Winter Ways was published, in 2013 the DVD / Blu-ray Into the Pantheon , which contains a recording of the WGT performance and a documentation.
Others
Nadine Stock (née Mölter) was involved in all of the studio albums; she was first Markus Stock's girlfriend and later became his wife. Nevertheless, she is only mentioned sporadically as a full member of the band (for example in the booklet of the album Songs of Moors and Misty Fields ), more often as a session musician (for example in the booklet of the albums A wintersunset ... and Weiland ).
In addition to Empyrium, Markus Stock played or plays in the bands Sun of the Sleepless, Noekk, The Vision Bleak and Nachtmahr. While Sun of the Sleepless is a solo project that is musically based on Black Metal, among other things, Stock is working again with Thomas Helm on Noekk and Nachtmahr. In The Vision Bleak, on the other hand, Tobias Schönemann alias Allen B. Konstanz, who is also a member of the band Ewigheim , also works alongside Stock . In most of these bands, Stock appears again under his pseudonym “Ulf Theodor Schwadorf”, with the exception of Noekk, where he bears the pseudonym “FF Yugoth”, while Thomas Helm calls himself “Funghus Baldachin”.
style
music
Originally founded as a black metal band, Empyrium developed in the direction of a more atmospheric, melodic style with the first album. So on A wintersunset… besides electric guitars and the screams typical of Black Metal , acoustic guitars and clear vocals can also be heard. While Songs of Moors and Misty Fields sounded similar, but technically more mature, the third album Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays saw a change in a purely acoustic direction. The acoustic album Kveldssanger by the Norwegian band Ulver played a key role in this decision . Stefan Belda, the author of the biography, quotes Markus Stock on the topic:
"'Without Kveldssanger there would certainly not have been an Empyrium acoustic album', Markus is sure today."
The last album Weiland was also an acoustically played album. Musically and lyrically, however, it was divided into three subject areas, heather , forest and water , which were accordingly orchestrated differently, depending on which theme stick connected to the respective instruments. In the third chapter of Weiland , water spirits , for example, piano sounds and occasional water noises are in the foreground.
With the current releases for the album The Turn of the Tides, Empyrium accentuate their neoclassical influences more strongly , so folkloric influences are almost completely dispensed with, as is the use of flutes entirely.
Texts
Lyrically, Empyrium mainly processes impressions from the environment in the areas of natural mysticism, world of legends and fairy tales , melancholy and romanticism , especially that from Great Britain with representatives such as Mary Shelley or Lord Byron . Other important influences, not only for the texts, include the pictures by the Norwegian painter Theodor Kittelsen , the Black Moor in the Rhön region and Norwegian and German folklore , especially those from the area around Stock's home region.
The lyrical implementation of these influences and topics is different. For example, on the first album, A wintersunset ... the lyrics were not printed because Markus Stock was not satisfied with them, so little can be said about these lyrics. An exception is the song Autumn Gray Views , the content of which tries to create a melancholy connection with the mood of autumn.
The lyrics to the song The Franconian Woods in Winter's Silence were later published in the booklet of the best-of album. This song tries to capture the natural mood of winter. Markus Stock described this title in the biography as the one that most strongly indicated the future of Empyrium. In the text it says:
- Empyrium : A Retrospective… , Title No. 1: The Franconian Woods in Winter's Silence (2006) ; Prophecy Productions, 2006
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- Free translation
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The factor of human feelings, but especially melancholy, is dealt with in the song Mourners , for example , which tries to connect the mood of nature with human feelings. So it says something like:
“Meagre trees in the shrouds, as olde as the stones… Mourners of abandon'd love, forever their woes shall grow silent.”
“[Free translation] Lean trees in shrouds, old as stones…. Mourners of forsaken love, their complaints should / will be silent for ever "
Romanticism, on the other hand, with motifs such as longing , love or even melancholy, can be found in the song Ode to Melancholy , for example . The title of the song itself was based on the poem Ode on Melancholy by John Keats . An example from the lyrics of the song:
“O lust and rueful thought be mine, My soul enhanced, desires… Melancholy. My heart is thine! "
"[Free translation] Oh pleasure and repentant thought be mine, my soul exalted, longed for ... melancholy. My heart is yours!"
But the world of legends and stories is also present. The song The Shepherd and the Maiden Ghost tells a little story of a shepherd who hears the song of the spirit of a maiden and follows it. Another example is the song Heimwärts from the album Weiland , which, according to Stock, is based on a true fact from the 19th century.
The language of the lyrics is consistently English on the first three albums, while Weiland was written in German. The English of the texts is sometimes archaic. For example, it has personal endings in the inflection of the verb that were common in Middle and Early New English , for example didst thou , where it is now called did you . Furthermore, the old personal pronouns thou , thee , thine are sometimes used. An example of such a text can be found in The Shepherd and the Maiden Ghost mentioned above :
- Empyrium : A Retrospective… , Title No. 7: The Shepherd and the Maiden Ghost ; Prophecy Productions, 2006
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- Free translation
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reception
The works of Empyrium were generally well received by the specialist press and accordingly rated positively. However, Empyrium could not record any chart placements in national charts. The range of reviews ranges from praise to enthusiasm, while negative criticism is rare, but still there. For example, Andreas Holz from the online magazine vampster wrote in a review of Songs of Moors & Misty Fields :
“It is an intoxication that this work triggers, and that over and over again - also or precisely because this music is so simple: Imposing synthesizer carpets, heavy electric guitar riffs, the sometimes gentle, sometimes quick-tempered vocals, the wonderful flute and piano sounds ... all of this mixes into a mélange of pure melancholy, a great concert of emotions that cannot leave anyone indifferent who loves music. Markus, Andreas and Nadine have created a work that has become timeless [...] this melancholy, this romanticism, this pure honest naturalness that has always made this work and will always make it so. "
In this album review, the reviewer personally rates and describes the album very positively. In contrast, Pedro Azevedo from Chronicles of Chaos writes much more negatively about the CD Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays . Even if the criticism is not completely negative, some subjective criticisms are mentioned:
"[...] I expected something more consistent overall and also better as far as the second half of the album is concerned. [...] Still, the first half, though not entirely as brilliant as I expected, is nevertheless very good and the second isn't anything terrible at all, just average; It's just that, coming from Empyrium, I feel that _WaNtWGP_ could have been better. "
A large number of reviews refer to the style or atmosphere that Empyrium tries to convey, with the attributes of "soft, dreamy folk melodies" and "emotional, melancholic metal" (especially in relation to songs of Moors & Misty Fields ), to “versatility, emotionality and depth”. Occasionally there are also comments that describe the works of Empyrium as pointing the way within this genre or as unique. In contrast, Empyrium is referred to in some reviews as an “insider tip” or “one of the musical insider tips [belonging]”. Rock-Hard magazine gives an example of the importance of Empyrium . It sees in a review of A Retrospective… Empyrium's acoustic album Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays on par with Ulvers Kveldssanger in terms of importance :
"[...] and 'Where At Night The Wood Grouse Plays', together with 'Kveldssanger' by Ulver, is still a reference work [...]"
Furthermore, there are comparisons of Empyrium with Ulver, whose acoustic album Kveldssanger had influenced Empyrium. In a review of Weiland , which is thematically divided into three chapters , Chronicles of Chaos relates to the structure of Ulvers Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr i 5 Capitler , which, according to its title, is divided into five chapters. In the review of Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays , the same magazine states that the reviewed album Empyriums is not far from Kveldssanger . It supports the comparison, or the connection to Ulver, that according to the biography quoted by Markus Stock there, the first component of Stock's pseudonym, Ulf - in addition to the Nordic meaning for wolf ( Norwegian ulv ) - is also an allusion to Ulver.
Discography
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- 1995: ... that fell from the sky like lightning ... ( demo )
- 1996: A Wintersunset ... ( Re-Release 2016 as a music cassette , limited to 100 pieces)
- 1997: Songs of Moors & Misty Fields (Re-Release 2016 as a music cassette , limited to 100 pieces)
- 1999: Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays
- 2002: Three excerpts from Weiland ( EP )
- 2002: Weiland
- 2006: A Retrospective ... ( Best-of )
- 2013: Into the Pantheon (Live-CD / -DVD / -BluRay)
- 2013: Dead Winter Nights (limited 12 " vinyl single)
- 2014: The Turn of the Tides
- 2014: 1994 - 2014 (box limited to 500 copies that compiles 9 regular releases on vinyl)
- 2015: The Mill (limited 12 "vinyl single)
successes
More than ten years after their first release, the first three Empyrium albums A Wintersunset… , Songs of Moors and Misty Fields and Where At Night The Wood Grouse Plays were sold in spring 2011 by the independent label association Impala with silver awards for over 20,000 each Units excellent.
Web links
- Official website
- Empyrium at Prophecy Productions
- Empyrium at Allmusic (English)
- Empyrium at Discogs (English)
- Empyrium at Musik-Sammler.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Malahki Thorn: Reviews: Tenhi - Vare
- ↑ Martin Kreischer: From the dark forest ...
- ↑ a b Björn Thorsten Jaschinski: Late helmet obligation . In: Pagan Fire - The Legacy Chronicles I (special issue), Devil.Inc, Saarbrücken 2007, p. 12f
- ↑ a b c Michael We .: Empyrium: Into The Pantheon. Comprehensive, excellent insight. Nonpop, September 7, 2013, accessed September 9, 2013 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Biography of Empyrium, written by Stefan Belda. In: Empyrium: A Retrospective… ; Prophecy Productions, 2006; oS
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↑ Compare also the Latin word empy̆rĕŭs ( ancient Greek ὲμπὐριον ), which means something like "fiery" or "the highest [heaven]".
Source: Sleumer, Albert: Church Latin Dictionary . Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim 1996, p. 302 - ↑ a b Denise Juchem: The man behind the label . volksfreund.de; Retrieved September 8, 2008
- ↑ empyrium - the official website - Weiland . ( Memento of June 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved June 5, 2011
- ↑ Empyrium (Germany) prophecyproductions.de; Retrieved September 8, 2008
- ↑ Björn Thorsten Jaschinski: Empyrium. Many Moons Ago… ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: Legacy , No. 2; Retrieved April 14, 2007
- ↑ a b Marcel Tilger: Empyrium . The swan song of nature mysticism? ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). In: Legacy , No. 18. A version without an introduction ( Memento of April 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) could be found on the Empyrium website; Retrieved June 5, 2011
- ↑ Empyrium are back! Prophecy Productions; Retrieved September 15, 2010
- ↑ Bieberfurz: Empyrium are back - first sample available . ( Memento from September 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) black-news.de; Retrieved September 15, 2010
- ↑ Gypsy boy: Empyrium with the first live performance in the band's history . dark-news.de; Retrieved March 28, 2011
- ^ Sun Of The Sleepless / Sots (Germany) . prophecyproductions.de; Retrieved April 24, 2007
- ↑ a b Noekk (Germany) . prophecyproductions.de; Retrieved September 8, 2008
- ^ Nachtmahr (Germany) . prophecyproductions.de; Retrieved April 24, 2007
- ^ The Vision Bleak (Germany) . prophecyproductions.de; Retrieved April 24, 2007
- ↑ In: Empyrium: A Retrospective… Prophecy Productions, 2006; oS
- ↑ Empyrium: A wintersunset… , Title No. 5: Autumn Gray Views ; Prophecy Productions, 1996
- ↑ Based on the song The Franconian Woods in Winter's Silence from the album A wintersunset ...
- ↑ a b c Empyrium: A Retrospective… , Title No. 7: The Shepherd and the Maiden Ghost ; Prophecy Productions, 2006 - originally appeared on Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays album
- ↑ Klaus Faiß: From Old English to Modern English . In: Gert Booij et al. (Ed.): Morphologie - Morphology - An international handbook on inflection and word formation . 2nd half band. Walter de Gruyter Verlag, Berlin / New York 2004, p. 1673
- ↑ Kai Wendel: Empyrium. A winter sunset . In: Rock Hard , No. 111; Retrieved June 5, 2011
- ↑ Till: CD review: Empyrium - Songs of Moors and misty Fields . metalspheres.de; Retrieved April 14, 2007
- ↑ Tak: Empyrium: Where at Night the wood grouse plays vampster.com; Retrieved April 14, 2007
- ↑ Andreas Holz: Empyrium: Songs Of Moors & Misty Fields . vampster.com; Retrieved April 12, 2007
- ↑ Pedro Azevedo: Empyrium - Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays: Review . (English) accessed on April 12, 2007
- ↑ a b Caroline Traitler: Empyrium / A Retrospective Review . powermetal.de; Retrieved April 12, 2007
- ↑ Volker: CD Review: Empyrium - A Retrospective… metalspheres.de; Retrieved April 12, 2007
- ↑ a b Steffen: CD Review: Empyrium - Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields . ( Memento of the original from October 30, 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. metal1.info; Retrieved April 12, 2007
- ↑ a b Empyrium. A Retrospective… In: Rock Hard , No. 236; Retrieved June 5, 2011
- ↑ Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: Empyrium. Where At Night The Wood Grouse Plays . In: Rock Hard , No. 147; Retrieved June 5, 2011
- ↑ Pedro Azevedo: Empyrium - Weiland: Review . chroniclesofchaos.com (English) accessed on April 12, 2007
- ↑ Pedro Azevedo: Empyrium - Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays: Review . (English) accessed on April 14, 2007
- ↑ Chart discography Germany
- ↑ Impala announces Europe's best selling independent artists - 100 new silver, gold and platinum awards for ... on impalamusic.org (English)
