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Rock kingdom
Band Felsenreich
Band Felsenreich
General information
origin Chemnitz , Germany
Genre (s) Dark rock
founding 1998
Website www.felsenreich.de
Founding members
Mathias son
Renato Wesely
Carsten Schaller
Denis Hartzsch
Current occupation
Singing, keyboard, trumpet
 Mathias son
singing
 Romy Unger
Vocals, acoustic guitar
 Renato Wesely
guitar
 Carsten Schaller
former members
Drums
 Jörg Meier (2004-2005)
Drums
 Holm Strasbourg (2002-2003)
bass
 Veit Hartzdorf (2001-2003)
guitar
 Sören Bräuer (1999-2005)
Keyboard, vocals
 Denis Hartzsch (1998-2005)
singing
 Ines Rudolph (2004-2005)
Drums
 Markus Will (Lorenz) (2003-2004)
Live members
bass
 Matthias Hertel
bass
 Kevin Weber
Felsenreich at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2014

Felsenreich is a dark rock band from Chemnitz . The band was founded in 1998 by Mathias Sohn, Renato Wesely, Carsten Schaller and Denis Hartzsch.

history

Mathias Sohn (previously with the band “Trysticia”) met Renato Wesely and Denis Hartzsch (both previously with the studio project “Graves In Moonlight”) at a concert. The three founded Felsenreich in 1998 with the guitarist Carsten Schaller. According to the band, the name should define its own musical realm and, as hard as a rock, embody a certain constant in a changeable time.

Schaller soon left the band and Sören Bräuer took over after the release of his first EP.

Two studio albums followed in the next few years. While the first, entitled At the End of Time, was produced in the Wuppertal Musicpark studios, Bräuer was solely responsible for the production of the second album. Essentially, compositions by Sohn and texts by Wesely were used on both publications. The band presented both albums at numerous club and open-air concerts, including the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in 2002 and 2004.

With the release of the album Depth some notable successes were achieved. So the band reached first place on the charts of the French scene magazine Orpheus . Depth in Greece was also ranked first in Avopolis magazine . In the French alternative charts they found themselves at position 14 and in the local download MCR charts at position 19. Individual titles have also been released on various samplers. Another EP with Christmas music was also released.

Musical differences led Hartzsch and Bräuer to leave the band in 2005. In the same year the singer Romy Unger joined the band. From then on, performances from musicals were also part of the repertoire. Together with her one stepped u. a. at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2007, 2010 and 2014 as well as at the Woodstage Summer Open Air in Glauchau 2007.

The guitarist Kay Dommaschk, the drummer Markus Will (Lorenz) and the bassist Matthias Hertel (both of the latter also with the Chemnitz Nu Progressive Metal band "InAge") were involved in the work of a new album. Schaller returned in 2009 and henceforth also participates in the Felsenreich acoustic project.

In 2008 a new release appeared with the album Innschuld . This resulted in a collaboration with Bruno Kramm ( Das Ich ) and his label Danse Macabre .

Again on the Danse Macabre label, the latest album Tanz auf dem Bilderberg was released in November 2012 . Then the guitars take a back seat in favor of a partially danceable alignment of the songs. In terms of content, a wide range of different topics were dealt with, ranging from criticism of consumerism or of mankind working on its own downfall.

In June 2017 the new production "Flowers" was released. The band can be heard for the first time in its acoustic version on an album. The recording was made in the Highline recording studio in Munich under the direction of Franz Erl (Escape Withe Romeo), who also played the drums. With the turn towards romantic, dark folk, another musical facet has now been added. The title-giving piece "Flowers", which acts as a kind of superstructure, is about hope, waiting and parting. Events that are continually thematized in the songs and find their parable in the juxtaposition of blossoming and decay.

style

Although Felsenreich's musical style has an affinity for the dark rock scene, it cannot be clearly cataloged. So count z. B. Influences from the musical area as well as the repertoire such as the use of trumpets. Hymn ballads, power rock or the inclusion of electronic elements comprise the spectrum of the band.

In the songs, which are presented partly in German, partly in English and often with alternating vocals, events in the world are reflected with a critically distant perspective. On the other hand, the band also thematizes the human emotional world in all shades. The boundaries between reality and fiction are blurred. Like in the song Use the Fire , in which there is an encounter with the alter ego.

Discography

EPs

  • 1999: The Death Is Behind You (Sohnate)
  • 2005: Winterzauber (Empire of Rocks)
  • 2011: Felsenreich Akustik (Sohnate)

Albums

  • 2001: At the end of time (Black Rain / Triton / Expander Rec.)
  • 2004: Depth (Black Rain / Nova Media / Empire of Rocks)
  • 2007: Innocence "Virtual Edition-only Download" (Sohnate / Euronen)
  • 2008: Innocence ( Danse Macabre / AL! VE)
  • 2012: Dance on the Bilderberg (Danse Macabre)
  • 2017: Flowers (BSC Music / Rough Trade)

Others

A special edition of the album Am Ende der Zeit with a bonus track was released in 2003 for Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states . In addition, Felsenreich are represented on a number of samplers such as B. the "Zillo" sampler and the Schwarzes Leipzig Compilation 2 .

Live videos appeared on the Gothic Visions III -DVD or the Sonic Seducer -DVD Cold Hands Seduction Vol. 94 .

The video clip Brainloop was released on the Gothic Visions V DVD.

Web links

Commons : Felsenreich  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files