Oberer Totpunkt has released the compilation album “Feuer” via Danse Macabre Records, bringing together 19 tracks in remixed and re-sequenced form. The album already appeared in late 2025 via Bandcamp.

“Feuer” functions as a concise overview of Oberer Totpunkt’s catalogue, focusing on the songs that are included in the band’s current live set. The material was presented during Project Pitchfork’s “Epitaph” tour in autumn 2025, where Oberer Totpunkt appeared as special guest across German dates and at the Schakelbox in Waregem, Belgium.

The compilation opens with “Rattenfänger” and moves through recent songs such as “Dia De Los Muertos”, “Alltag macht tot”, “Die Krieger”, “Imperator”, and “Maschinenherz”, before reaching later tracks including “Blutmond”, “Totentanz”, “Teufels Lehrerin”, “Zeit verfliegt”, “Untergehen”, “Geisterfahrt”, “Gevatter Tod”, “Hamburg”, “(Das ist nicht) meine Welt”, “Paul ist tot” and “Dies Irae”. Many of these titles originate from earlier albums such as “Erde ruft”, “Stiller Zoo”, “Desiderat”, “Neurosen blühen” and “Totentanz”.

All lyrics are written by Bettina Bormann and all music composed by Michael Krüger, with two exceptions: “Paul ist tot”, based on a composition by Peter Hein (Fehlfarben), and “Dies Irae”, which reworks the medieval hymn with choir parts performed by Canticum Potentem.

Mixing and mastering for “Feuer” were handled by Tom Wendt at Skating Dog in Hamburg, continuing their collaboration which was already visible on earlier Oberer Totpunkt releases.

About Oberer Totpunkt

Oberer Totpunkt is a German-language electronic project from Hamburg, formed in 2006 by vocalist and writer Bettina Bormann and drummer/composer Michael Krüger. The project’s name refers to the “top dead centre” position of a piston in an engine, a mechanical term that the band use as a metaphor for “moments of critical tension and change.”

Musically, Oberer Totpunkt combine dark electronic production, elements of industrial and EBM, and traces of rock with German spoken-word vocals. Musically they are clearly part of the Neue Deutsche Todeskunst lineage.

The duo released a string of concept albums, mainly through Danse Macabre Records. Their debut “10 Grad vor OT” appeared in 2007 on Brainsmash Records and was reissued by Danse Macabre in 2009, followed by “Erde ruft” in 2009, which blended darkwave, electro and spoken word and introduced tracks such as “Blutmond”, “Hamburg” and “Imperator” that return on “Feuer”.

In 2010 the band released “Stiller Zoo”, with a thematic focus on fairy tales and myth. “Desiderat” followed in 2014, centring on ideas of longing and desire, while “Neurosen blühen” in 2017 examined cultural unease and anxiety.

The 2022 album “Totentanz” became their sixth studio album and marked a return after a five-year break. The record dealt with personal and external “demons” and was released on Danse Macabre in digital and CD formats. In 2021 the band already launched a first single, “Dia De Los Muertos” from the new album. Side-Linealso interviewed Oberer Totpunkt in 2022. And Oberer Totpunkt also made Side-Line’s Top 25 albums of the year 2022.

Live, Oberer Totpunkt perform as a duo or with additional musicians on guitar, bass, keyboards and performance, including collaborators such as Sebastian Rack, Denis Scheither, Christiane Schmidt and Reaktor4.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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Astari Nite has released a new single, “Necessity Meal”, via Negative Gain Productions. The band says that “Necessity Meal” is a battle cry “against the facade of perfection that suffocates an authentic connection (…) it’s about the dark, often unseen journey of seeking forgiveness and finding solace in the unexpected kindness of strangers.”

“Necessity Meal” is available on all major digital platforms including Bandcamp and Spotify.

Astari Nite 2024 live dates

• 2/10 – Nashville, TN @ Fascination Street (THE GOTH PROM) featuring ASTARI NITE!
• 3/23 – New York City, NY @ The Red Party
• 4/20 – Parsippany, NJ, @ Dark Force Fest
• 4/27 – Tampa, FL – Supporting Das Ich W/ guest Oberer Totpunkt (Communion After Dark Presents)
• 7/6 – Dallas, TX @ Obituary Festival curated by Lean lane of Rosegarden Funeral party
• 9/7 – Deutzen, Germany @ NCN Nocturnal Cultural Night Festival
• 9/28 – Louisville, KY @ Dark Castle Fest presented by Radio Arcane!STARI NITE 2024 Live Dates:
• 2/10 – Nashville, TN @ Fascination Street (THE GOTH PROM) featuring ASTARI NITE!
• 3/23 – New York City, NY @ The Red Party
• 4/20 – Parsippany, NJ, @ Dark Force Fest
• 4/27 – Tampa, FL – Supporting Das Ich W/ guest Oberer Totpunkt (Communion After Dark Presents)
• 7/6 – Dallas, TX @ Obituary Festival curated by Lean lane of Rosegarden Funeral party
• 9/7 – Deutzen, Germany @ NCN Nocturnal Cultural Night Festival
• 9/28 – Louisville, KY @ Dark Castle Fest presented by Radio Arcane

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com

(By Stéphane Froidcoeur for Inferno Sound Diaries/Side-Line Reviews) 2022 has been once again a sad, bloody and terrible year. Living in a mad world music once more remains a true therapy to appease pain and frustration. Concerts and festivals came back; the perfect place to meet friends again. Artists remain prolific releasing great studio work. So I’m once more closing the year by a personal selection of my very own ‘best of’-albums of the year.

Over 700 productions have been selected while 540  reviews have been made all over the year. Some productions have been refused because the style of music didn’t fit, while other reviews will be postponed to 2023. I’m really grateful to all labels, bands and promoters considering my work and efforts and I hope you’ll go on providing me new promos next year.

I one again have to express my deepest gratitude to Rich Bova (NEIKKA RPM) who for years and years now is reading, correcting and improving my reviews. Without Rich there would be no reviews. I also want to thank Bernard Van Isacker – chief redactor Side-Line Music Magazine – for the successful collaboration. 

Up now to 2023. I already reduced my activities this year and will move on reducing it in 2023. I made my first reviews and interviews back in 1991 (!). Some of the readers and artists weren’t even born when I wrote my first review for Side-Line. So after more than 30 years non-stop activities I think it’s not that strange to move on slowly.

I also want to express a big ‘F*** you’ to so-called ‘artists’ and label owners who don’t realise and appreciate the work I’m doing by making reviews and preparing interviews to get them in the spotlights. The attitude and less of respect shown by those people – luckily a very few number – is just unacceptable… but I’m afraid it reflects the world we’re living in… Behind a genius artist is not always hiding a great person… It’s quite strange to realise the ’biggest’- and long-time established artists from this scene often are the most accessible ones.

Writing reviews remains very ‘subjective’ and always a source of discussion, but keep in mind it will be always the perception of the reviewer. I can assure you I’m always trying to argue my reviews the best as possible. A review will be never objective, but has to be honest!

Like every year I’ve made a selection from the best albums of the year. This ‘TOP 25’ covers different styles like EBM, Dark-Electro, IDM, Synth-Pop, Ethereal, Dark-Ambient, Industrial, Cinematographic, Gothic, Post-Punk, Cold/Dark-Wave, Dark-Techno and a few related genres. It remains an exciting but tough exercise.

This ‘TOP 25’ is taken from the promotional material I got while compilations, ‘best of’-productions, EP’s and singles were not considered.

So, here’s my ‘TOP 25’ from 2022 and don’t forget to share it with your friends….

Top 25 albums 2022

1. IVARDENSPHERE: “Ragemaker” – Metropolis Records
2. DIE ROBO SAPIENS : “Robo Sapien Race” – Alfa Matrix
3. EBE04 : “Inrush – Give/Take
4. CALDON GLOVER: “Labyrintia” – Cyclic Law
5. ROME: “Hegemonikon” – Trisol
6. NEIKKA RPM: “Scorpio In The Hourglass – Alfa Matrix
7. VANGUARD: “Spectrum” – Infacted Recordings
8. SUICIDE COMMANDO: “Goddestructor” – Out Of Line
9. ELM: “Penetrator” – Alfa Matrix
10. OBERER TOTPUNKT: “Totentanz” – Danse Macabre Records
11. THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE: “Fascination” – Metropolis Records
12. BLACKBOOK: “Confessions Of The Innocent” – DarkTunes Music Group
13. BEYOND THE GHOST: “Sundown” – Cryo Chamber
14. THEN COMES SILENCE: “Hunger” – Metropolis Records
15. PRINCIPE VALLIENTE: “Barricades” – Metropolis Records
16. DAWN OF ASHES: “Scars Of The Broken” – Artoffact Records
17. MONSTERGOD: “Ozymandias” – Space Race Records
18. STATIQBLOOM: “Threat” – Sonic Groove Records
19. AXIOME: “Field Guide To Alien Planets And Other Disco Balls – Audiophob
20. REICHSFEIND: “Darken” – Alfa Matrix
21. FIRST AID 4 SOULS: “I Am The Night” – Alfa Matrix
22. ORDO ROSARIUS EQUILIBRIO: “Nihilist Notes And The Perputual Quest 4 Meaning In Nothing” – Out Of Line
23. KILL SHELTER: “Asylum” – Manic Depression Records / Metropolis Records
24. JAGATH: “Svapna” – Cold Spring Records
25. KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND: “Voodoo” – Shyrec

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Set up in 2006 by Bettina Bormann and Michael Krüger the German formation Oberer Totpunkt doesn’t release new albums at regular basis. They this year strike back with their sixth opus “Totentanz” which is the band’s first album in five years. It became an eclectic work although dominated by an interesting mix of ‘Neue Deutsche Härte” and EBM. The work is their most accomplished production to date revealing multiple great songs. I talked about this masterpiece with both core members.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Oberer Totpunkt is now active for numerous years so what have been the main facts in the band’s history and how do you see the band today compared to the early beginning?

Bettina: We started in 2007 as a duo. A friend of us suggested us to bring our creativity together –that was when Michael played in bands as a drummer for years and I have been writing stories for years. So we tried it out –and Oberer Totpunkt was born! Just the two of us made the first shows on stage. Later we worked together with double bass player David Nesselhauf who accented our brand as a kind of sophisticated band.

In the next step we wanted to experiment with performative elements, so the idea of a ‘living stage design’ was born. We worked together with Gunter Laudahn on guitar and harp who since years is touring with artists like The Gregorians and Sarah Brightman. Then we had a longer period with Stefan Frost, who influenced our sound with his metal guitar. Also we have the live-keyboarder Denis Scheither and Performer Reaktor 4 in our staff for big stages or videos. Unfortunately Stefan could not accompany us when we were touring with the band Das Ich in the USA in 2019. This circumstance at last brought us back to our roots: Performing as a duo.

Each album is a contemporary document which shows the themes which we deal with in a certain phase of our creative work. The psychedelic-hypnotic song “Dystopia” describes the mood I was in while dark and disturbing incidents happened. What I appreciate is the fact that we present our very first song “Scharlachroter Schnee” on the new album “Totentanz” in a new dark-romantic shape. And for the very first time we made love songs!

Michael: All Oberer Totpunkt-albums are conceptual albums with a master-idea. Every album is a cocktail of music, lifestyle, experience you make. I´m always looking for the next song and album. “Totentanz” has a lot of tom-based drumbeats, melodic and dark elements and danceable songs. Emotional, dark, kicking and also experimental stuff like “Dystopia” (Psychedelic-Rock) or “Rien Ne Va Plus” (Jazz).  By the way, our first song we ever made was “Scharlachroter Schnee”.

Q: What kind of work did you want to compose with “Totentanz”? What is the album all about and how did the production took shape?

Bettina: In my eyes “Totentanz” is our most poetic album. The songs tell about human basic themes like fears, loneliness, fear of loss, fear of life, fear of death, but also love and longing –it tells about the demons in ourselves and around us. A line from the song “Rien Ne Va Plus“ describes the basic melody of the content: ‘We long for hope –and for the end of darkness.’

“Dystopia“ is about crisis, “Fake Leben“ tells about embellished life plans, flattering self-portrayals, skillful poses, staged images –behind this is the question: ‘Do we still feel who we really are?’ Or the song “Die Krieger”; so many self-proclaimed warriors roam our time coordinates, fighting for ‘what’s right.’ Bossiness, inability to tolerate and loss of a healthy sense of proportion included. We considered whether this song could be misunderstood in the current global political situation. But ultimately it is probably obvious that the ‘warriors’ are meant here in an ironic way.

Tracks like “Dia De Los Muertos”, “Totentanz“, “Fake Leben” or “Die Krieger“ clearly show: The spoken word rocks and lures onto the dance floor!

Michael: I love classic arrangements and loop songs with rhythmic shifts! For most titles the song comes first. Bettina selects which pieces she can relate to or has an idea for a text. For other titles like “Auf Der Dunklen Seite Des Mondes“ (“On The Dark Side Of The Moon”) and “Mitten Ins Herz” (“In The Middle Of The Heart”) she had ready-made ideas for the lyrics and ideas for the song. I usually start with the keyboard, then play the bass and then the drums. Most of the time, the song gets fatter and more complex –that doesn’t always work. With “Mitten Ins Herz”, an emotional framework turned into a wall-of-sound bombast that crushed the great lyrics. Then I went back and just used the piano with organ and soft strings –less is sometimes more. We also took out the beatbox on tracks like “Totentanz” and “Scharlachroter Schnee”. Of course, the song is less pushy, but once you get used to it, it sounds a lot more interesting and complex to mine, Bettina’s and Tom’s ears without the obligatory dancefloor dance drum.

In 2020 we recorded my 70s-Staccato and Northdrums. They are single-headed and so they can´t create a various and deep sound like a modern maple-kit. So we had the idea to record the drums acoustically with a modern PDP maple kit. Songs like “Totentanz” and “Scharlachroter Schnee” with the powerful tombeats simply make the difference to the drum-to-midi recordings with triggers and BFD/Affinity drums. The toms sound more complex and the snare simply punches more –the rim sound is also more poisonous. The real cymbals also convinced me –especially the ride and the hihats. Some songs like “Auf Der Dunklen Seite Des Mondes” or “Tänzer Im Regen” both have a classic songwriting structure with verse, bridge, chorus, etc. I worked out a second bridge and chorus variant for both of them –atypical for Oberer Totpunkt, but we enjoyed it. The overly long song is also an Oberer Totpunkt-classic. That’s two songs this time. “Rot, Schwarz, Herz” and “Rien Ne Va Plus”. We only separated them because we were afraid that with typical song zappers who only listen to a minute of a song, the jazz variant would be lost. Also typical of Oberer Totpunkt are loop-oriented titles, on a theme without change or refrain, such as “Dystopia” or “Die Krieger”. For “Zeit Verfliegt” (“Time Flies”) and “Jetzt Oder Nie” (“Now Or Never”) I used Simmons samples.

By coincidence we chose the title “Totentanz”, reminding the name of our label, Danse Macabre Records. First of all, we are happy to hold this multi-faced album in our hands. It’s a conceptual album again and like all our albums it’s actually a double LP with more than 60 minutes playing time and 16 songs! According to normal playing length, that would be our twelfth CD. We hope there’s something in the selection for most, depending on whether you prefer the quiet, hypnotic, lyrical, rock, or danceable side of Oberer Totpunkt.

Q: “Totentanz” reveals an interesting mix of influences reminding me to KMFDM and ‘Neue Deutsche Härte’ with extra EBM elements on top. How would you analyze and define the production? And did you handle specific criteria and references in the composition- & production process?

Michael: That’s a good analysis. We like EBM, Rock-elements like in Neue Deutsche Härte-Stuff and… KMFDM? Never heard that, but I like them and we are friends of the KMFDM-drummer Rudi Naomi. “Totentanz” opens musically with a rocking intro that we composed for the 2019 US-tour as support for Das Ich so that the audience can remember our name. That was a good idea –and that’s exactly how we wanted to start the album with “Oberer Totpunkt” and end it with “Unterer Totpunkt” with five bass lines grooving in competition until the double bass takes over and the whole thing then on the piano ends with the poetic finale by Bettina. With “Totentanz”, “Dia De Los Muertos” and “Scharlachroter Schnee” I have built three pieces on mystical sounding and different percussive tombeats. The album starts rocking, gets bombastic and more and more electronic and minimalistic until it ends in a quiet ballad. Then it gets Pop-Rock, Psychedelic and harder and harder until “Die Krieger”. Then comes our long song, which we have divided into two pieces this time: “Rot, Schwarz, Herz” and “Rien Ne Va Plus” –a crazy Jazz  track… we always wanted to do something like that. This is the song for Bettina with top hat and tuxedo! We have again combined many genres from purely Electronic to songs with a classic Rock line-up, for which I played all the instruments on some titles because of Covid-19. Last but not least, our guitarist Stefan Frost can be heard again with many cool Metal and Rock riffs.

Q: “Totentanz” clearly sounds as your most accomplished and successful work to date. So it’s not really surprising the album became number one in the famous DAC. What does that mean to you and how important are the ‘Deutsche Alternative Charts’ for German artists? Is there a kind of impact on sales, live shows etc?

Bettina: Of course we are very happy about this ranking which indicates the opinion of professional DJs and Radio-DJs. So that’s a creative statement which really means something. Yet we don’t know if this will have any impact on sales; let’s wait for the end of the year. In relation to live shows we don’t see a lot of possibilities this year. Because of the pandemic a lot of concerts and festivals were cancelled so there are still some line-ups to be caught up since 2020…

Another fact is that many small clubs and festivals didn’t survive the crisis, which means that there are fewer locations for live concerts. We hope for the next year!

Michael: But until then we are happy to present a video for each of our songs on the new album. We made 16 live-videos with 16 different outfits, 6 drum sets and 6 guest musicians! Not in 6 weeks or 6 hours! We needed 6 hours! We couldn’t agree on the songs so we said let’s take them all. Besides, a good opportunity to see how the singles of the whole album work live. We release them every week or month. Hope we can play the album asap live in a club.

Q: What’s the input of each member in the writing process of the album, the live shows, the artwork and who’s taking the final decision? And how does it feel to be involved with a music band as man and wife?

Bettina: The words are my part, the music is the part of Michael. Together we develop and rehearse for our live shows. Finding decisions is a process which we make together. Actually we are used to work together as long as we know each other. We started as colleagues working for a newspaper years ago. So it feels very common to share our creative work also.

Michael: That feels cool because when I played in other bands as drummer your partner asks you: ‘How was the show?’ and you answer ‘Great!’ That’s all and you know that means nothing! So we both know what it means and how it feels to make an album or to make a live show and know the hard work and creative process behind it, that most of non-music-friends and most part of the family never understand. They think it’s like meeting with a cooking club every week. At “Totentanz” I ran a beatbox on the loop songs and then jammed along live on the Nord Drum3P and my synthesizers. Just like a solo jam session. This is how you can use machines alive. If the songs are rough, I’ll get Frosti on board. He played the Metal riffs and good ideas for Grunge type guitar styles. His run to “Tänzer Im Regen’” is great. The Spaghetti-Western guitars are also amazing. Bettina had the idea of ​​recording the flute on “Tänzer Im Regen” and “Liebeleid” and a timbale solo on “Totentanz”. What I find particularly cool are the acoustic hihats I play live with the electronics. On “Unterer Totpunkt” and “Zeit Verfliegt” the 16th and 32/64th hihat fill-ins bring a casual swing to the basslines, that a non-drummer or DJ would never or could never program. Speaking of thunderstorms of rhythm, on “Dia De Los Muertos” three bass lines work against four percussion tracks and the drums. In the last song “Unterer Totpunkt” five basslines are grooving. I love songs in which the grooves with different accents and rhythms with linear, triplet and half-time/double-time resolution create trembling beats and restlessness. To sum it up. I´m not the biggest fan of complete computer generated Electro-Music –for me it sounds always a little bit like plastic. Electronics are cool but the taste of real instruments, drums, bass, guitars, percussions, live played keyboards bring the mud and life into music!

Q: Bettina and Michael, when taking a look at your personal homepage I discovered a person who’s not only interested in music but also in traveling, diving, poetry… so I can imagine getting in touch with other cultures and artistic forms must be enriching for mind and body. Tell us a bit more about it and how do you find a balance between all interests and activities?

Bettina: Writing for music or for poetry is familiar –often I am writing and don’t know yet how I will use it later, and sometimes I am writing especially for a music track. Then I listen to the music to find out what it tells me. Then I only have to write it down. On the other hand I love traveling and diving. These items are going together perfectly. But of course I am not in every second of my life in a productive creative phase. It is necessary to experience things and then to let thoughts grow inside yourself before you can ‘produce’ and write down.

Traveling and diving are things that Michael and I are sharing as well. It took years for us to build up the life we want to live as writer and musicians and as travel journalists. The year 2019 for us was an awesome year in relation to traveling and live shows as the US-tour together with Das Ich. The pandemic made an end to this –there were several lockdowns, clubs and festivals died in consequence which means less chances for bands to play live. Now we have to build it up again as many other artists too. We are looking forward to the next years!

Michael: If you don’t dive and travel, you’ll miss half of your life. Those who don’t make music miss the other half. And if your partner doesn´t share these things you’re no really partners. In fact, we are passionate divers, worked also as dive masters and still as travel journalists. Once in a lifetime we had the possibility to combine both passions, when we joined Das Ich during the Gothic Cruise 2019 in the Caribbean. We hope to do that again! I would say our Soundtrack is “Letzter Gang” from our album “Erde Ruft” – here is an impressive video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwwij1SmiRE 

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop, EBM, Cinematic, Tribal.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Denis Tverdokhleb this released the third full length album of his Stairway Maze sonic brainchild. After two albums released by Aliens Production, the new opus has been released in his homeland, Russia, by ScentAir Records.

Content: After the great “Kelevra”-album Stairway Maze released a surprising work on which he collaborated with multiple guest artists. The main evolution is the addition of vocals, although some songs are still instrumental edits. It creates a diversified work which moves from Dark-Electro-Pop to EBM but also from Industrial/Tribal to the familiar Cinematic style. Human Vault, Martin Rudefelt (Cryo), Ryby (Disharmony), Bettina Bormann (Oberer Totpunkt), Peter Vercauteren (Pro Patria), Michael Roeder (A Spell Inside) and Emma Barson (Promenade Cinéma) contributed by vocals to this work. 

+ + + : This new opus stands for a major evolution in this project’s history. I regretted there were no vocals featured on the previous album and “DecisionFatigue” brings a nice -and sometimes surprising selection of vocalists. It creates a varied work mixing different styles together. I’m totally convinced by the Dark-Pop approach on “The Final stand” featuring Martin Rudefelt which sounds a bit like Skinny Puppy going Electro-Pop like. I also recommend “Invisible Threat” featuring Peter V. and “Flames” featuring Ryby, both cuts sounding as harsh EBM. There also is “Conspiracy” featuring Michael Roeder which is a refined Electro-Pop song. But the absolute masterpiece is “Gaia’s Mantra” featuring Bettina Bormann on a Tribal-Industrial song with a true uplifting effect.

– – – : I can’t say there are songs to throw away but the final track “Neon Eyes” featuring Emma Barson sounds totally different from the rest and is a a bit like an antithesis to the rest of the work.

Conclusion: Stairway Maze remains a great and intelligent Electro format. It’s also surprising to see this kind of artist being released on ScentAir Records which definitely enlarges the sonic horizon of the label.

Best songs: “Gaia’s Mantra”, “The Final Stand”, “Flames”, “Invisible Threat”, “Conspiracy”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/iamstairwaymaze

Label: www.scent-air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial, EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: German formation Oberer Totpunkt has been active for several years now. They don’t exactly release new albums on a regular basis, “Totentanz” being their first album in five years and the sixth opus in their history.

Content: “Totentanz” features 16 songs mixing Industrial and EBM. Driven by aggressive bass lines, industrial driven guitar playing and EBM influences, “Totentanz” also has something Punkish. Bettina Bormann sings a half sung half spoken way, sometimes a bit whispering like and nonchalant.This work reminds me of KMFDM mixed with EBM. 

+ + + : “Totentanz” is without a shadow of a doubt the most accomplished and successful work by the German band. I like the global sound approach resulting in a perfect and powerful balance between Industrial and EBM. There are several great songs featured. I’ll mention “Dia De Los Muertos” (previously released as a single) for its empowering Industrial sound. Other cuts like “Jetzt Oder Nie”, “Die Krieger”, “Rien Ne Va Plus” and “Unterer Totpunkt” have an extra EBM touch on top and are all worth to discover.

– – – : Oberer Totpunkt took me by surprise and I don’t see real minus points. The title song isn’t the best cut but that’s not really a point.

Conclusion: A modern Industrial release and a sexy alternative to the typical ‘German Neue Härte’.

Best songs: “Dia De Los Muertos”, “Jetzt Oder Nie”, “Die Krieger”, “Rien Ne Va Plus”, “Unterer Totpunkt”, “Oberer Totpunkt”, “Totentanz”. 

Rate: 9.

Artist: https://totpunkt.com / www.facebook.com/TOTPUNKT

Label: www.dansemacabre-group.de / www.facebook.com/dansemacabrerec

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Out via Danse Macabre is the newest single from the Hamburg based dark rock act Oberer Totpunkt: “Dia De Los Muertos”. The track is the first sign of life from the band’s new coming album, the follow-up to 2017’s “Neuroses bloom”.

Oberer Totpunkt combines crossover dark rock and EBM and is being marketed by their label Danse Macabre as a representative of the New German Death Art. The project began in 2006 as a duo with Bettina Bormann (vocals) and Michael Krüger (composition, drums). Oberer Totpunkt is supported live by Stefan Frost (guitar, bass) and Denis Scheither (keyboard, bass, vocals). Former members include David Nesselhauf (bass), Gunther Laudahn (guitar), Tom Wendt (guitar), Puppenformat-C (performance) and Angelus R. Bleischwitz (dance).

Here’s the video for “Dia De Los Muertos”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com