German rock
Encyclopedia
Although German rock music (Deutschrock) didn't come into its own until the late 1960s, it spawned many innovative and influential bands spanning genres such as krautrock
, New Wave
, heavy metal
, punk
, and industrial
.
Rock and roll
itself arose in the United States
in the 1940s, and spread across the world beginning in about 1956. There were few German performers at that time, even though American rock was popular in (West) Germany. Rockabilly
stars like Bill Haley & His Comets
were of particular popularity. The reasons for this lack of German musical innovation were the suppression of "degenerate" forms of music by the Nazis and/or the traumatic effects of the war—while Germany was a center of several forms of modern music before the Nazi era
, it had difficulty developing its own music culture after its occupation.
and "rock band" instrumentation (guitar
, bass
, drum
s) with electronic
instrumentation and textures, often with what would now be described as an ambient music
sensibility.
By the end of the 1960s, the American and British counterculture
and hippie
movement had moved rock towards psychedelic rock
, heavy metal
, progressive rock
and other styles (from which Scorpions
rose to prominence), incorporating, for the first time in popular music, socially and politically incisive lyrics. The 1968 student riots in Germany, France and Italy had created a class of young, intellectual continental listeners, while nuclear weapon
s, pollution
and war
inspired protests and activism. Music had taken a turn towards electronic
avant-garde in the mid-1950s.
These factors all laid the scene for the explosion in what came to be termed krautrock, which arose at the first major German rock festival
in 1968 at Essen. Like their American and British counterparts, German rock musicians played a kind of psychedelia. In contrast, however, there was no attempt to reproduce the effects of drugs, but rather an innovative fusion of psychedelia and the electronic avant-garde. That same year, 1968, saw the foundation of the Zodiak Free Arts Lab
in Berlin
by Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler
, which further popularized the psychedelic-rock sound in the German mainstream.
Originally Krautrock was a form of Free art which meant you could receive Krautrock bands' records for free at Free Art Fairs.
The next few years saw a wave of pioneering groups. In 1968, Can
formed, adding jazz
to the mix, while the following year saw Kluster
(later Cluster) begin recording keyboard
-based instrumental music with an emphasis on static drones. In 1971, the bands Tangerine Dream
and Faust
used electronic synthesizers and advanced production techniques to make what they called Kosmische Musik.
In 1972, two albums incorporated European rock and electronic psychedelia with Asian sounds: Popol Vuh
's In Den Gärten Pharaos
and Deuter
's Aum
. Meanwhile, kosmische musik saw the release of two double album
s, Klaus Schulze
's Cyborg
and Tangerine Dream
's Zeit
, while a band called Neu!
began to play highly rhythmic music. By the middle of the decade, one of the best-known German bands, Kraftwerk
, had released albums like Autobahn
and Radio-Activity
, which laid the foundation for electro
, techno and other genres later in the century.
, post-punk
and New Wave
which appeared in the mid-to late 1970s. The field did not last long, however, done in by over-commercialization in the early 1980s. Since ca. 2003, it seems that a new "Neue Deutsche Welle" has arrived. Many German singing young pop and rock groups become successful in Germany (Tokio Hotel
, Wir sind Helden
, Silbermond
, Juli
and Revolverheld
for example), although the international breakthrough is not yet in sight, if not counting Tokio Hotel
who are gaining success in Europe, The U.S., Israel and Latin America.
(also known as East Germany), which began at roughly the same time as in the West. Its best-known groups are The Puhdys
and Karat.
scene arose in Germany in late 70s and early 80s. Hard rock
band Scorpions
is credited for seeding the genre in their country. Among the most notable acts of this time were Accept, led by Udo Dirkschneider
, and female-fronted Warlock
led by Doro
. Speed metal
subgenre was popular with bands like Rage
, Grave Digger
and Running Wild
producing this kind of music. Notable innovative thrash metal
bands, such as Kreator
, Sodom
and Destruction
spread their influences over the seas in the late 80s. German bands Helloween
and Blind Guardian
are credited for invention of Power metal
subgenre, that gradually grew up from Speed metal and gained mainstream popularity in 90s.
and mixed all that with punk
, grunge
and experimental pop music
. Hamburger Schule is (and was) an important part of Germany's youth and gave pop a new definition, as now it was "ok" (or "cool") to sing in German language. Hamburger Schule is also about intellectual lyrics with postmodern theories and social criticism.
Since the early 90s bands like Rammstein
, Eisbrecher
, KMFDM
, Oomph!
, Tanzwut
, and Megaherz
developed this kind of Rock music as a mixture of industrial
rock
, heavy metal
and electronic music
.
, In Extremo
and Schandmaul
. The style is characterised by the prominent use of a wide variety of traditional folk and medieval instruments.
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
, New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, and industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
itself arose in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1940s, and spread across the world beginning in about 1956. There were few German performers at that time, even though American rock was popular in (West) Germany. Rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
stars like Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...
were of particular popularity. The reasons for this lack of German musical innovation were the suppression of "degenerate" forms of music by the Nazis and/or the traumatic effects of the war—while Germany was a center of several forms of modern music before the Nazi era
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, it had difficulty developing its own music culture after its occupation.
1960s and 70s: Krautrock
Mostly instrumental, the signature sound of krautrock mixed rock musicRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and "rock band" instrumentation (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s) with electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
instrumentation and textures, often with what would now be described as an ambient music
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
sensibility.
By the end of the 1960s, the American and British counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
and hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
movement had moved rock towards psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
and other styles (from which Scorpions
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
rose to prominence), incorporating, for the first time in popular music, socially and politically incisive lyrics. The 1968 student riots in Germany, France and Italy had created a class of young, intellectual continental listeners, while nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s, pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
and war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
inspired protests and activism. Music had taken a turn towards electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
avant-garde in the mid-1950s.
These factors all laid the scene for the explosion in what came to be termed krautrock, which arose at the first major German rock festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
in 1968 at Essen. Like their American and British counterparts, German rock musicians played a kind of psychedelia. In contrast, however, there was no attempt to reproduce the effects of drugs, but rather an innovative fusion of psychedelia and the electronic avant-garde. That same year, 1968, saw the foundation of the Zodiak Free Arts Lab
Zodiak Free Arts Lab
The Zodiak Free Arts Lab, sometimes known as the "Zodiak Club" or "Zodiac Club," was a short-lived but highly influential experimental live music venue, founded in the then West Berlin in late 1967 by German artists/musicians Conrad Schnitzler and Hans-Joachim Roedelius The Zodiak Free Arts Lab,...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
by Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler
Conrad Schnitzler
Conrad Schnitzler was a prolific German experimental musician.Schnitzler was born in Düsseldorf. He was an early member of Tangerine Dream and a founder of the band Kluster. He left Kluster in 1971, first working with his group Eruption and then focusing on solo works...
, which further popularized the psychedelic-rock sound in the German mainstream.
Originally Krautrock was a form of Free art which meant you could receive Krautrock bands' records for free at Free Art Fairs.
The next few years saw a wave of pioneering groups. In 1968, Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
formed, adding jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
to the mix, while the following year saw Kluster
Cluster (band)
Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
(later Cluster) begin recording keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
-based instrumental music with an emphasis on static drones. In 1971, the bands Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
and Faust
Faust (band)
Faust are a German krautrock band. Formed in 1971 in Wümme, the group was originally composed of Werner "Zappi" Diermaier, Hans Joachim Irmler, Arnulf Meifert, Jean-Hervé Péron, Rudolf Sosna and Gunther Wüsthoff, working with record producer Uwe Nettelbeck and engineer Kurt Graupner.-History:Faust...
used electronic synthesizers and advanced production techniques to make what they called Kosmische Musik.
In 1972, two albums incorporated European rock and electronic psychedelia with Asian sounds: Popol Vuh
Popol Vuh (German band)
Popol Vuh was a German electronic avantgarde band, in the mainstream-media so called Krautrock, founded by pianist and keyboardist Florian Fricke in 1969 together with Holger Trülzsch and Frank Fiedler...
's In Den Gärten Pharaos
In den Gärten Pharaos
In den Gärten Pharaos is the second album by Popol Vuh. It was originally released in 1971 on the label Pilz. In 2004 SPV re-released the album with two bonus tracks.- Track listing :...
and Deuter
Deuter
Deuter is a German New Age instrumentalist and recording artist known for his meditative style that blends Eastern and Western musical styles.- Biography :...
's Aum
Aum
Om or Aum Om or Aum Om or Aum (also , written in Devanāgari as and as , in Sanskrit known as (lit. "to sound out loudly"), ', or ' (also as ') (lit. "Auṃ form/syllable"), is a sacred/mystical syllable in the Dharmic or Indian religions, i.e...
. Meanwhile, kosmische musik saw the release of two double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
s, Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze is a German electronic music composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried. He was briefly a member of the electronic bands Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before launching a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums released across five decades.-1970s:In...
's Cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
and Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
's Zeit
Zeit
Zeit is the third album by the German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. A double LP, it was the first release featuring Peter Baumann, who joined Chris Franke and Edgar Froese.-Overview:...
, while a band called Neu!
Neu!
Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
began to play highly rhythmic music. By the middle of the decade, one of the best-known German bands, Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
, had released albums like Autobahn
Autobahn (album)
Autobahn is the fourth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in November 1974. The 22-minute title track "Autobahn" was edited to about 3 minutes for single release and reached number 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and performed even higher around Europe, including...
and Radio-Activity
Radio-Activity
Radio-Activity is the fifth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in October 1975. Unlike Kraftwerk's later albums, which featured language-specific lyrics, only the titles differ between the English and German editions...
, which laid the foundation for electro
Electro (music)
Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 drum machines, Moog keytar synthesizers and funk sampling...
, techno and other genres later in the century.
Neue Deutsche Welle
Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) is an outgrowth of British punk rockPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
and New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
which appeared in the mid-to late 1970s. The field did not last long, however, done in by over-commercialization in the early 1980s. Since ca. 2003, it seems that a new "Neue Deutsche Welle" has arrived. Many German singing young pop and rock groups become successful in Germany (Tokio Hotel
Tokio Hotel
Tokio Hotel is a pop rock band from Germany, founded in 2001 by singer Bill Kaulitz, guitarist Tom Kaulitz, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bassist Georg Listing...
, Wir sind Helden
Wir sind Helden
Wir sind Helden is a German Alternative Rock band from Berlin, established in 2001 in Hamburg. The quartet is composed of lead singer Judith Holofernes and musicians Pola Roy, Mark Tavassol, and Jean-Michel Tourette. The group's style has often been considered similar to that of the Neue Deutsche...
, Silbermond
Silbermond
Silbermond is a German rock band from Bautzen, Saxony. The band consists of Stefanie Kloß, Andreas Nowak, Johannes and Thomas Stolle.-Biography:...
, Juli
Juli (band)
Juli a German alternative pop band from Gießen, Hesse, consisting of singer Eva Briegel, guitarists Jonas Pfetzing and Simon Triebel, bassist Andreas "Dedi" Herde and drummer Marcel Römer...
and Revolverheld
Revolverheld
Revolverheld is a German rock band from Hamburg, Germany, formed in 2003. Originally named "Manga" and was founded in summer 2003 in Hamburg. In 2004 they renamed the band to "Tsunamikiller" and then afterwards decided upon the name "Revolverheld" after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.-Band...
for example), although the international breakthrough is not yet in sight, if not counting Tokio Hotel
Tokio Hotel
Tokio Hotel is a pop rock band from Germany, founded in 2001 by singer Bill Kaulitz, guitarist Tom Kaulitz, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bassist Georg Listing...
who are gaining success in Europe, The U.S., Israel and Latin America.
Ostrock
Ostrock refers to rock music scene from the former German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(also known as East Germany), which began at roughly the same time as in the West. Its best-known groups are The Puhdys
Puhdys
The Puhdys are a veteran German rock band, formed in Oranienburg , in what was then the German Democratic Republic, in 1969, although they had been performing together, with various lineups, as the Puhdys since 1965. They continue to record and tour...
and Karat.
German Heavy metal
Heavy metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
scene arose in Germany in late 70s and early 80s. Hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band Scorpions
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
is credited for seeding the genre in their country. Among the most notable acts of this time were Accept, led by Udo Dirkschneider
Udo Dirkschneider
Udo Dirkschneider is a German heavy metal singer who is best known as the vocalist in German heavy metal band Accept and later U.D.O.After leaving Accept in 1987, Dirkschneider formed the band U.D.O....
, and female-fronted Warlock
Warlock (band)
Warlock was a German heavy metal band, assembled in 1982. The band gained some commercial success in the mid 1980s. By the end of the decade, singer Doro Pesch was the sole original member who remained in the band, and thus proceeded to form Doro, a band that was essentially a continuation of...
led by Doro
Doro (musician)
Dorothee Pesch , popularly known as Doro Pesch or Doro, is a female rock vocalist, formerly of the German heavy metal band Warlock ....
. Speed metal
Speed metal
Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....
subgenre was popular with bands like Rage
Rage (band)
Rage are a German heavy metal band, formed in 1984. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s, along with bands such as Helloween, Running Wild and Blind Guardian.-Background:...
, Grave Digger
Grave Digger (band)
Grave Digger are a German heavy metal/power metal band formed in 1980. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s.-Band history:...
and Running Wild
Running Wild (band)
Running Wild is a German heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Hamburg. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s. The band has carved its niche in the metal world as the first "pirate metal" band, a theme which took off with the release of Under...
producing this kind of music. Notable innovative thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
bands, such as Kreator
Kreator
Kreator is a thrash metal band from Essen, Germany, formed in 1978, but formalized in 1982 under the name Tormentor. They originally performed a speed metal style with Venom influences. Their style of music is similar to their compatriots Destruction and Sodom, the other two big German thrash metal...
, Sodom
Sodom (band)
Sodom is a German Thrash metal trio from Gelsenkirchen, formed in 1981.Along with the bands Kreator and Destruction, Sodom is considered one of the "big three" of Teutonic thrash metal...
and Destruction
Destruction (band)
Destruction is a German thrash metal band. They are considered one of the "three kings" of the Teutonic thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator and Sodom...
spread their influences over the seas in the late 80s. German bands Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
and Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in the mid-1980s in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres...
are credited for invention of Power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
subgenre, that gradually grew up from Speed metal and gained mainstream popularity in 90s.
Hamburger Schule
Hamburger Schule (School of Hamburg) is an underground music-movement that started at the late 1980s and was still active until around the mid 1990s. It has similar traditions as Neue Deutsche WelleNeue Deutsche Welle
Neue Deutsche Welle is a genre of German music originally derived from punk rock and New Wave music...
and mixed all that with punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
and experimental pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. Hamburger Schule is (and was) an important part of Germany's youth and gave pop a new definition, as now it was "ok" (or "cool") to sing in German language. Hamburger Schule is also about intellectual lyrics with postmodern theories and social criticism.
Neue Deutsche Härte
(New German Hardness)Since the early 90s bands like Rammstein
Rammstein
Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band from Berlin, formed in 1994. The band consists of members Till Lindemann , Richard Z. Kruspe , Paul H. Landers , Oliver "Ollie" Riedel , Christoph "Doom" Schneider and Christian "Flake" Lorenz...
, Eisbrecher
Eisbrecher
Eisbrecher is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band that consists primarily of Alexander Wesselsky and Noel Pix , with live support from Jürgen Plangger , Domonik Palmer , Achim Färber . In the United States and Canada, their record label is currently Metropolis Records...
, KMFDM
KMFDM
KMFDM is an industrial band led by German multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, who founded the group in 1984 as a performance art project...
, Oomph!
Oomph!
Oomph! is a German rock band that was formed in Wolfsburg, Germany in 1989. The band is considered to be the original Neue Deutsche Härte musical group. In the 22-year history of the band, there have been no line-up changes.-Early years :...
, Tanzwut
Tanzwut
Tanzwut is a German Neue Deutsche Härte and medieval metal band which originated as a sideproject of Corvus Corax-members.- History :Their name is the German term for "dancing mania", but is directly translated with "dance-rage". Tanzwut are known for their heavy use of bagpipes, an unusual...
, and Megaherz
Megaherz
Megaherz is an industrial metal group formed in Munich, Germany in 1993. One of the band's most famous songs is "Gott sein" on their first full album Wer Bist Du? . Megaherz has gone through many changes in musical style since their founding...
developed this kind of Rock music as a mixture of industrial
Industrial rock
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...
rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
.
Medieval metal
Medieval metal or medieval rock is a subgenre of folk metal that blends hard rock or heavy metal music with medieval folk music. Medieval metal is mostly restricted to Germany where it is known as Mittelalter-Metal or Mittelalter-Rock. The genre emerged from the middle of the 1990s with contributions from Subway to SallySubway to Sally
Subway to Sally was founded in Potsdam, Germany, in the early 1990s. It is a rock band with clear folk and medieval influences, later also with gothic and metal elements added to the mix...
, In Extremo
In Extremo
In Extremo is a German medieval metal band originating from Berlin. The band's musical style combines metal with medieval traditional songs, blending the sound of the standard rock/metal instruments with historical instruments...
and Schandmaul
Schandmaul
Schandmaul is a German medieval folk rock band from the vicinity of Munich.As well as using modern instruments like the bass or electric guitar, the band utilizes instruments typically used in Medieval folk songs, such as the bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy or shawm, to produce their trademark folk rock...
. The style is characterised by the prominent use of a wide variety of traditional folk and medieval instruments.