Zeromancer
| Zeromancer | |
|---|---|
 Zeromancer at Nocturnal Culture Night 2018 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Synth rock |
| founding | 1999 |
| Website | www.zeromancer.com |
| Founding members | |
| Alex Møkleust | |
Vocals, bass
|
Kim Ljung |
| Chris Schleyer (until 2003) | |
| Noralf Ronthi | |
| Erik Ljunggren (until 2003) | |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Alex Møkleust |
Vocals, bass |
Kim Ljung |
guitar |
Per-Olav Wiik (since 2019) |
Drums |
Noralf Ronthi |
Keyboard |
Lorry Kristiansen (since 2003) |
Zeromancer is a Norwegian synth-rock - band resulting from the Norwegian band Seigmen emerged. It was founded on October 24, 1999 in Los Angeles and until 2003 comprised the former Seigmen members Kim Ljung, Alex Møkleust and Noralf Ronthi, the unofficial Seigmen member Erik Ljunggren and the American Chris Schleyer.
Band history
After Seigmen became more and more successful in Norway from 1989 to 1999, guitarist Sverre Økshoff decided to quit. The band members had been together since the age of 16 and decided at the time that the exit of a member would mean the automatic end of seigmen . After the farewell tour in 1999, the band split up. Ljung and Ljunggren moved to Los Angeles ; Møkleust and Ronthi followed. Since everyone wanted to keep making music, they founded Zeromancer in October of the same year . The aim was to make authentic and personal music that should sound completely different from Seigmen . Only the already very electronic Seigmen piece of the Opelwerk has been reworked. A ten-track demo was recorded, initially with Sverre Økshoff; towards the end of the recordings the new guitarist Chris Schleyer joined the band.
In 2000, after the successful single Clone Your Lover, the debut album of the same name was released . The relevant music press praised the album and the band; Sonic Seducer gave the newcomers a cover story. Zeromancer toured with Covenant , Apoptygma Berzerk , The 69 Eyes and Project Pitchfork , among others .
In 2001, Zeromancer released their second album Eurotrash , which was highly acclaimed both inside and outside the black scene , and the successful single Doctor Online . Musically harder and with a more powerful sound, the band went on their first headlining tour this year and also performed at the most important scene festivals .
In 2002, the successful Eurotrash European tour was followed by the even more successful US tour with Bile , My Life With the Thrill Kill Cult and Pigface , as well as concerts in Germany with Delaware .
In 2003, the quieter and more catchy album ZZYZX was released , led by the single Famous Last Words , which Kim Ljung wrote in memory of a deceased friend. After another tour, the band took a short break, during which Ljung started his solo project Ljungblut . Chris Schleyer left the band at the end of the year and Dan "Electro" Heide took his place. In the same year, the former Seigmen roadie Lorry Kristiansen took over the keyboard and production activities from Erik Ljunggren.
In 2004 the band's US label released a DVD entitled Eurotrash .
In 2005, Zeromancer performed at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig . For the sake of the fans, Seigmen was reactivated for one last tour and an elaborate double DVD was produced.
In 2006 the band played an eight-day non-stop tour of Germany, on which they presented the two new songs Doppelganger I Love You and Imaginary Friends .
In mid-April 2007, Zeromancer released the limited promo single Doppelganger I Love You exclusively in Norway, as well as the single I'm Yours to Lose .
On February 13, 2009, after the label change from Cleopatra Records to Trisol, the fourth studio album, Sinners International , was released, which the band produced entirely on its own. The European tour began in March with Essence of Mind and Scream Silence . One of the last single from Sinners International, It Sounds Like Love (But It Looks Like Sex) , was released in late October.
The fifth studio album The Death of Romance was published 26 February 2010, the same year were Zeromancer opening act on the Great Freedom tour of Unholy and played in November a headlining tour in Germany.
In September 2018, the band announced the departure of their long-time guitarist Dan Heide on their website. He was later replaced by Per-Olav Wiik.
Contents of the songs
Kim Ljung was already known at Seigmen for writing mystical, profound and sometimes very intricate songs. Although the music style and lyrics of Zeromancer are now much more open and direct, you don't always understand immediately what the content is about. Ljung doesn't even reveal some content to his bandmates; However, 90% of his lyrics are tellingly about failed relationships and negative emotions.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 NO
|
|||
| 2000 | Clone your lover | - |
NO7 (2 weeks) NO |
|
| 2001 | Eurotrash |
DE86 (1 week) DE |
NO21 (1 week) NO |
|
| 2003 | ZZYZX | - |
NO18 (1 week) NO |
|
| 2009 | Sinners International | - |
NO23 (1 week) NO |
|
| 2010 | The Death of Romance | - |
NO34 (1 week) NO |
|
| 2013 | Bye-bye borderline | - | NO-NO | |
Singles and EPs
- 2000: Clone Your Lover ( Promo - MCD )
- 2001: Doctor Online (MCD)
- 2001: Need You Like a Drug (Promo-MCD)
- 2003: Famous Last Words (MCD)
- 2007: Doppelganger I Love You (Promo-MCD)
- 2007: I'm Yours to Lose (Promo-MCD)
- 2009: It Sounds Like Love (But It Looks Like Sex) ( EP )
Music videos
- 2000: Clone Your Lover
- 2001: Doctor Online
- 2003: Erotic Saints (only on the official website)
- 2007: Doppelganger I Love You
- 2011/2012: Industrypeople
Side projects
- Ljungblut (Kim Ljung)
- Megaton (Noralf Ronthi)
- Bermuda Triangle (featuring Alex Møkleust)
- Red 7 (Lorry Kristiansen)
