XIV Dark Centuries
| XIV Dark Centuries | |
|---|---|
 XIV Dark Centuries 2009 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Pagan Metal , Viking Metal |
| founding | 1994 |
| Website | http://www.xivdarkcenturies.de/ |
| Current occupation | |
| Michel | |
| Tobalt | |
guitar |
Uwe |
| Marley | |
| Manu | |
| Tobi | |
| former members | |
Drums |
Rüd (until 2017) |
XIV Dark Centuries ( English for 14 dark centuries ) is a German pagan metal band from Zella-Mehlis in Thuringia .
Band history
In 1994 some of the current members met for the first time. In 1998 the band had formed after a few line-up changes and in the same year released their first demo recording For Your God . The band saw themselves more as a live band at that time and therefore performed more often, u. a. with the German bands Menhir and Die Apokalyptischen Reiter .
In 2000 there was a change of line-up on the guitar . Since then, the new guitarist Tobalt has taken on most of the composing work. Due to increased live performances and the greater complexity of the songs, the band was reinforced by another guitarist at the beginning of 2002. In 2002 the CD Dark Centuries was released, which mainly contained older, unreleased titles.
The new compositions since the debut of the two guitarists were then published in spring 2003 on the album Den Ahnen zum Grusse . Since then, the band has called their style "Pagan Thuringian Metal". This description emphasizes the three strongest influences and characteristics of their music - paganism, their homeland Thuringia and metal .
In the summer of 2003 the band signed a contract with the Austrian record company CCP-Records. In 2005 the EP Jul . It contains more folkloric and acoustic pieces and the clear singing was used more often without renouncing the other stylistic devices of Pagan Metal. The winter solstice and the July period are sung about and honored on the CD .
In 2006 the album Skithingi was released , which has now been distributed by the German label Perverted Taste . Without exception, new titles were included that musically come from the creative period of Jul and the following year. According to the band, the songs should be more varied, but more catchy than the older material. In terms of the lyrics, the album follows a concept that is about the fall of the Thuringian kingdom.
The guitarist and composer Tobalt left the band in 2007. In 2008 the new guitarist Tyr's son was brought into the band for him. This was followed by appearances at the Summer Breeze Open Air and several times at the Ragnarök Festival.
In 2011 the new CD Gizit Dar Faida , which translates as “ Time of Vengeance ”, was released by Unity Productions. The line-up changed some new compositional accents. In November 2011, the band played their first Nightliner tour to introduce the new album. There were u. a. the new label colleagues from Odroerir as well as Suidakra and Waylander from Ireland.
In 2015 guitarist Uwe left the band after 12 years for personal reasons. His successor was the guitarist Richy.
Since 2017 the two guitarists Tobalt and Uwe have returned to the band. Almost at the same time, the drummer Rüd left the band and is now taking care of merchandise and promotion. Manu now takes his place.
So far, all of the band's releases have been recorded and produced in the Klangbunker recording studio. A new CD is in the works and should be released in late 2018 or early 2019. Gigs are planned for 2019 at the Ragnarök Festival , the Wave-Gotik-Treffen and the Wolfszeit Festival , among others .
Weltanschauung and criticism
The name XIV Dark Centuries reflects the band's view that the 14 centuries that have passed since the Christianization of Thuringia are "dark" ones. The band worships nature and Germanic gods , which, in addition to the history of their ancestors, their lives and works, are the main themes of their lyrics.
On the part of the anti-fascist website "links-lang.de", the band was said to have approached the right-wing extremist scene in 2004 , but it is also emphasized that the band itself cannot be attested to having any right-wing extremist attitudes. Some band members play or played with bands whose members ( Odroerir ) or who themselves ( Surturs Lohe ) were under contract with Christhunt Productions , a label that also released right-wing extremist bands. The band members of XIV Dark Centuries themselves emphasized in interviews that they have nothing to do with conventional politics and that they strictly reject racism .
Discography
- 1999: For Your God (Demo)
- 2002: Dark Centuries (Demo)
- 2003: ... greetings to the ancestors ...
- 2004: Dark Ages (re-release)
- 2005: Jul (MCD)
- 2006: Skithingi
- 2011: Gizit Dar Faida
- 2020: Waldvolk (not yet published)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paganism and the sun wheel . March 12, 2004
- ↑ see member area at http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/XIV_Dark_Centuries/13615