Sturmgeist
Sturmgeist is a Norwegian band founded in the autumn of 2002 as a solo project by Cornelius von Jackhelln (Solefald). Meant to be a Thrash/Black outfit, Sturmgeist took a slightly electronic/industrial turn while recording the Meister Mephisto debut album (Season of Mist, 2005) in Sound Suite Studio, France. Meister Mephisto's direct expression and martial attitude went down well with the listeners and critics who got what they expected: grim hardcore Metal without detours or surprises. Producer Terje Refsnes once characterised Sturmgeist's music thus: Pop songs in Metal disguise. In February 2005, Sturmgeist played before cheerful crowds in Paris and London, turning the gig into a party by serving Jägermeister on stage.
After the tour, von Jackhelln recruited guitarist John E. Jacobsen as a full member of Sturmgeist. Much of Sturmgeist's second opus Über was written during von Jackhelln's stay in Rome, and completed during a devilishly hot week in Florence, Tuscany. A certain Roman influence is present in verses like these:
"Black banner marble arch
A massive army up to march
Skulls to crush land to raid
Brothers attack victors invade"
Sturmgeist's lyrics are aggressive yet playful, taking Metal's traditional pathos to new heights, sometimes to an ironic effect.
Über was recorded at Børge Finstad's TopRoom Studio from October 2005 to January 2006, and produced by von Jackhelln. Drummer AntiChristian (Christian Svendsen, member of Tsjuder, Grimfist and The Cumshots) lay down a hard-hitting and steady foundation for the new songs on Über, enhanced by von Jackhelln and Jacobsen's downtuned twin guitar attack. Songs like Blood-Axe and Grimanic Guerillas display the essence of Sturmgeist, with their compact structure and in-your-face message, while Über provides two real surprises: The Unknown Soldier is Sturmgeist's first ballad ever, marked by Jacobsen's melodic songwriting sensibility and countertenor Olav Benestvedt angelic voice. Falco's song Rock Me Amadeus should need no further introduction, as it perfectly captures the Baroque decadence of the mid-80s:
"Es war um 1780
Und es war in Wien
No plastic money anymore
Die Banken gegen ihn"
With their first cover song, Sturmgeist also celebrate the 250th birthday of the Rocking Amadeus, Mozart himself.
After the release of Meister Mephisto, Terrorizer critic James Hinchley called Sturmgeist's imagery a unique kind of jackboot chic. Über's artwork is inspired by the etchings of Albrecht Dürer and the aesthetics of the German Kaiserzeit. The slightly modified Union Jack that adorns the front cover of Über prolongs Sturmgeist's hungry and irreverent exploration of Germanic culture. (The said flag might not only indicate a German-dominated Britain, but also inversely, and more probably, a British-dominated Germany - or simply Sturmgeist's stage banner!).
After the success gig at the Underworld in Camden, von Jackhelln authored the song London as a morbid but humorous homage to the London audience:
"Eternal City Northern Line
I purge the filth I herd the swine
Hang the robbers from my Tower
That's what they get for hating Power
Life's lost Death's won
People die but party on
I am London King of Cum
Drink my sperm you filthy bum"
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There was also a kind-of-symphonic-metal band from Trier, Germany called Sturmgeist (they had to change their name into Herbstgeist). They have released there Demo in April 2007.
Also, the song "Sturmgeist89" was made against Finnish Jokela School-massacre in 2007. Sturmgeist89 was Pekka Eric Auvinen's username in internet (including his YouTube channel.) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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