| Neue Deutsche Todeskunst | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1980s, Germany |
| Typical instruments | |
| Other topics | |
Neue Deutsche Todeskunst (NDT,lit. "New German Death Art") is a musical genre that developed in Germany in the late 1980s. It is credited with establishing the German language in thedark wave movement, although there were already such German bands asXmal Deutschland,Geisterfahrer [de], andMalaria!.[1]
In the late 1980s, a number of German musicians combined music inneo-classical,gothic rock, anddarkwave styles with German philosophical texts and a highly theatrical stage show.[2][3] The music was based onpost-punk,cold wave, and gothic rock of bands such asJoy Division,The Cure, andSiouxsie and the Banshees, and the synthesizer-basednew wave sound of bands likeDepeche Mode. The words often paid deep homage to German philosophers likeAndreas Gryphius,Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,Friedrich Nietzsche andGottfried Benn, as well as international poets such asGeorg Trakl,[3]Edgar Allan Poe,Charles Baudelaire, andJean-Paul Sartre. The concerts of these groups put a great emphasis on costumes, lights and pyrotechnics. The performances were designed to stimulate all the senses and convey an overall dark, brooding atmosphere. Lyrical themes include transience, evil, nihilism, surrealism, expressionism, existential philosophy, criticism of religion, violence, madness, isolation, depression, and especiallydeath.[3][4] As part of this movement, a number of bands useclassical Latin for their lyrics and album names.
The greatest Neue Deutsche Todeskunst hits include "Gottes Tod" byDas Ich (1990), "Verflucht" byRelatives Menschsein (1991), "Der Ketzer" byLacrimosa (1991), "Das Ende" byGoethes Erben (1992) and "Regentanz" byEndraum (1992). Many NDT artists gravitated to theDanse Macabre record label.[5]
The expression "Neue Deutsche Todeskunst" was first used in 1991 by Danse Macabre's label magazineMagazinOphon.[6] It was picked up by Sven Freuen, a journalist for theZillo magazine, who used it to classify bands likeRelatives Menschsein,Das Ich andGoethes Erben.[7]
..."Neuen Deutschen Todeskunst" gezählt, deren Kennzeichen ein Hang zu nihilistischen Texten, übertriebener Todessehnsucht und die Verwendung deutscher Texte war [..."New German Death Art" is characterized by nihilistic lyrics, excessive glorification of death, and the use of German texts]