Finsterforst

Finsterforst is a German folk metal band from Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, whose lyrical themes deal with nature, German myths, and fantasy worlds. Formed in 2004, the group has released three full-length studio albums, one extended play and one compilation album.

Finsterforst
Background information
OriginSchwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
GenresFolk metal, pagan metal, black metal, progressive metal, symphonic metal
Years active2004-present
LabelsNapalm Records
Associated actsCryptic Forest
Websitefinsterforst.de
MembersJohannes Joseph
Oliver Berlin
Tobias Weinreich
Cornelius "Wombo" Heck
Sebastian "AlleyJazz" Scherrer
David Schuldis
Simon Schillinger
Peter Hamm (live)
Past membersMarco Schomas
Stephan Stahl (live)

Finsterforst means "dark forest" and it is a reference to "Schwarzwald" ("black forest"), a wooded mountain range in the band's home state.

Besides the usual line-up of instruments used in metal (electric guitars, bass, drums), the band's sound relies heavily on accordion melodies, with the occasional use of instruments, such as the tin whistle and the oboe. The band's genre is often dubbed pagan metal because of its use of harsh vocals.

Cryptic Forest is a German black-metal band from Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg that is related to Finsterforst. Several band members play in both bands.[1]

History

Formation and Wiege Der Finsternis (2004–2006)

The band was formed at the end of the year 2004 by Tobias Weinreich, Sebastian "AlleyJazz" Scherrer, Simon Schillinger and Marco Schomas. Because the line-up was not complete, the group decided to focus on songwriting.

Since the band felt it needed a real accordion-player, Johannes Joseph joined the line-up in the spring of 2005, followed by rhythm guitarist David Schuldis in October the same year.

In spite of missing a drummer, the band booked Iguana Studios in Buchheim, Baden-Württemberg, and, at the end of December 2005, three songs were recorded with the help of a drum machine. The songs were released as the Wiege der Finsternis EP in March 2006.

New drummer and Weltenkraft (2006–2008)

In October 2006, drummer Cornelius "Wombo" Heck joined the line-up, enabling the band to prepare for live shows.

In February and March 2007, the band re-entered Iguana Studios to record its début album, Weltenkraft, which was released in July through World Chaos Productions.

...zum Tode hin, new vocalist and Urwerk (2008–2011)

The band's second full-length album, ...zum Tode hin was recorded in July 2008 at Iguana Studios and was released through the German label Einheit Produktionen on 27 February 2009.

At the end of November 2009, the band announced the departure of Schomas, and that it was searching for a new singer, a position which was filled by Oliver Berlin in 2010.

In May 2010, the band released Urwerk, a two-disc re-release of its first EP (with a bonus track) and its début album.

Rastlos and record deal with Napalm Records (since 2012)

On 28 September 2012, it was confirmed that the band had signed a new record deal with the Austrian record label Napalm Records.[2] On 26 November 2012, the album Rastlos was released worldwide to positive reviews and it received various "album of the month" awards. For 2014, there's an announcement for a European Tour called "Trolls in the Forest bring Kaos over Europe", together with Trollfest and Cryptic Forest.[3]

Mach Dich Frei (since 2015)

In early 2015 Finsterforst released their new studio album Mach Dich Frei. Releasing on January 23 in Germany/Austria/Switzerland, January 30 in the rest of Europe and on February 10 in North America.[4]

Band members
Johannes Joseph and David Schuldis
  • Johannes Joseph – accordion, clean vocals, choir vocals (since 2005)
  • Oliver Berlin – vocals (since 2010)
  • Tobias Weinreich – bass guitar (since 2004)
  • Cornelius "Wombo" Heck – drums, choir vocals (since 2006)
  • Sebastian "AlleyJazz" Scherrer – keyboards (since 2004)
  • David Schuldis – rhythm guitars (since 2005)
  • Simon Schillinger – lead and rhythm guitars, acoustic guitars, choir vocals (since 2004)
  • Peter Hamm – live guitars (since 2008)

Former members
  • Marco Schomas – vocals, acoustic guitar (2004–2009)
  • Stephan Stahl – live rhythm guitars (2008)

Discography

EPs

#YØLØ track listing

No.TitleTranslationLength
1."Bottle Gods" 3:56
2."Auf die Zwölf"On the Twelve3:57
3."#YØLØ" 4:38
4."Hangover" 5:19
5."Wrecking Ball" (Miley Cyrus cover) 3:30
6."Beat It" (Michael Jackson cover) 4:37
7."Der durch die Scheibeboxxxer" 3:41
8."Flasche leer"Empty Bottle1:30
9."Das schlimmste ist, wenn das Bier alle ist"The Worst Thing Is, When the Beer Is Gone3:40
10."The Wild Rover" 5:35
Total length:40:23

Studio albums

Weltenkraft track listing

No.TitleTranslationLength
1."Des Waldes Macht"Power of the Forest5:30
2."Die Suche nach dem Licht"The Search for the Light6:21
3."Lauf der Welt"The Way of the World8:10
4."Traumwald"Dream Woods5:17
5."Spiegelscherben"Mirror Shards10:19
6."Von glorreichem Schmerz"Of Glorious Pain7:13
7."Rauschende Nächte"Rushing Night2:29
8."Weinende Ruinen"Weeping Ruins8:21
9."Weltenpilger"World Pilgrims9:42
10."Verlorene Seelen"Lost Souls13:31
Total length:76:53
  • ...zum Tode hin (2009)

...zum Tode hin track listing

No.TitleTranslationLength
1."Urquell"Fountainhead11:45
2."Das große Erwachen"The Great Awakening12:14
3."Seines Glückes Schmied"His Lucky Blacksmith11:24
4."Sturmes Ernte"Harvest of the Storm13:36
5."Untergang"Downfall21:37
Total length:70:36

Rastlos track listing

No.TitleTranslationLength
1."Nichts als Asche"Nothing but Ash13:19
2."Fremd"Foreign/Strange12:21
3."Am Scheideweg"At a Crossroad1:28
4."Stirbt zuletzt"Die at Last10:19
5."Ein Lichtschein"A Flare13:40
6."Rast"Rest1:59
7."Flammenrausch"Inebriation of Flames22:10
Total length:75:16
  • Mach Dich Frei (2015)

Mach Dich Frei track listing

No.TitleTranslationLength
1."Abfahrt"Departure0:58
2."Schicksals End'"Fate's End14:48
3."Zeit für Hass"Time for Hatred9:43
4."Im Auge des Sturms"In the Eye of the Storm1:38
5."Mach dich frei!"Set Yourself Free7:49
6."Mann gegen Mensch"Man vs. Mankind9:32
7."Reize zum..."Journey to the...5:32
8."Finsterforst"Dark Forest23:53
Total length:73:53

Compilation albums
  • Urwerk (2010)

Cryptic Forest

Cryptic Forest history (2003-2014)

In the beginning, in 2003, the band was only a one-man project by composer Simon Schillinger. A couple of songs came to life, but the project was later put "on ice" because Schillinger's writing focus was resting on his other band Finsterforst at the time.[6] Although Cryptic Forest was officially not active, from time to time he wrote some music unrelated to Finsterforst and shared it with a couple of his friends, who should later encourage him to found a band and to record a short EP. The EP called Dawn of the eclipse was released in 2011, which can be seen as the band's official founding. In August 2013, the debut album Ystyr was released on the German label Einheit Produktionen and a European Tour together with Trollfest and Finsterforst was announced for 2014.[3]

Cryptic Forest Discography

Concert Tours

Tours
Date Country/Region City Venue Guest
Zerfall China Tour 2019
14 November 2019  China Beijing Mao Live House Beijing Frozen Moon
15 November 2019 Nanjing Ola Art Space None
16 November 2019 Shanghai YYT Live House
17 November 2019 Hangzhou Mao Live House Hangzhou
18 November 2019 Suzhou Hill House
20 November 2019 Shenzhen B10 Live
21 November 2019 Guangzhou Tu Space
23 November 2019 xi'an Aperture Club
gollark: Capitalism doesn't yet operate on a single, globally shared atomic counter.
gollark: ↓ you, utterly
gollark: Denied.
gollark: I think that was limited by network I/O, so don't.
gollark: Expect fewer random crashes, probably.

See also

References
  1. "Interview with Cryptic Forest on metalsoundscapes.com"
  2. Staff (28 September 2012). "Finsterforst signs with Napalm Records". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  3. "Finsterforst to tour with Trollfest and Cryptic Forest"
  4. "Mach Dich Frei" with Finsterforst
  5. https://finsterforst.bandcamp.com/album/y-l
  6. "Interview with Simon Schillinger on Metal-temple.com"
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