Hanzel und Gretyl
Encyclopedia
Hanzel und Gretyl are an Industrial metal
music group formed by members Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas in February 1993. In the 1990s their sound was described as a genre-defying blend of sci-fi metal/electronic and experimental, but into the new millennium they adopted a decidedly heavier sound leaning more towards aggressive metal. Due to their heavy use of German lyrics, imagery and German-sounding pseudonyms they are often mistaken for being a German Neue Deutsche Härte
band, but are actually based in New York City, to which founding members Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas are native.
, in October 1995. With lyrics in five different languages and no two songs sounding alike, the album made a clear statement as deviating from the often predictable and monochromatic themes of many electro and industrial bands of the time. The single "Shine 2001" topped the Alternative Press dance chart at No. 1 shortly after its release. Performing only several local shows on Manhattan's lower east side, they immediately embarked on two U.S. tours with Marilyn Manson
. The first in 1995 with Clutch
as direct support and again in 1996 as direct support for Manson themselves.
In 1997, they released their second full-length album, Transmissions From Uranus
, that featured a video game in which the object was to transform Loopy and Vas into alien-like insectoid space creatures. The enhanced CD was again cited for its progressive-minded musical stylings and groundbreaking technological advances. This led the band to tour the U.S. extensively with Tommy Victor
's Prong, giving them even broader exposure nationally. In between shows on Prong's Cold Fusion tour, Hanzel und Gretyl headlined a Halloween show in Des Moines, Iowa with hometown band Slipknot
in direct support. During the same year, Hanzel und Gretyl's song "9D Galactik Center" appeared in New Line Cinema
's "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
" and was also played at the 1997 MTV Music Awards. Furthermore, the song "Robot Logik" from the same album was used in radio commercials for the Howard Stern Show
.
In 1998, clad in custom-made lederhosen, Hanzel und Gretyl toured the U.S. in direct support of Germany's venerable Rammstein
on the band's first ever headlining tour of the states after meeting and playing with the band at a CMJ Music Marathon
show in New York City. HuG also supported Rob Halford
's 2wo
in Los Angeles during the Rammstein tour.
In 1999 HuG completed a full-length CD entitled Oz Faktor that is currently unreleased by Energy Records. The CD depicts a displaced Hanzel und Gretyl lost in a quasi-"Wizard of Oz
" type setting. As of yet, HuG's entire 90s discography remains out of print and a rare find item in the industrial realm. Mint condition, factory sealed copies have been known to sell for upwards of one hundred dollars.
in 2002 and immediately began recording for their long anticipated third album, Über Alles
. Described by Kaizer Von Loopy as a "futuristic Wagnerian rock opera" and released in 2003, it marked a distinct stylistic change for the band favoring heavy guitar riffs and Germanic themes over the more genre expanding electro-metal style for which they had become known in the 90s. The CD was met with a fair amount of controversy over its parodic cross-referencing of both German and American stereotypes set against a surreal and spaced-out WWII backdrop but nevertheless attained a four out of five star review in Kerrang!
magazine and equally high praise from New York City's prestigious The Village Voice
. Following the release of the album, the band toured the U.S. as a headliner on their aptly named "Fukken Uber Tour" and later in direct support of The Genitorturers
in the states and Canada after which they returned to the studio to record a new album.
In September 2004, the band released their fourth album, Scheissmessiah. The album was immediately hailed as required listening for fans of industrial metal along side Nine Inch Nails
, KMFDM
and Ministry by Revolver Magazine. Served up devilishly as a "Handel's Messiah from hell", HuG continued to grow harder and heavier touring the states in support of My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
and in direct support of Al Jourgensen
's Ministry
for a three-month stint on their "Evil Doer Tour" throughout the U.S. and Canada. In 2005, Hanzel und Gretyl headlined North America's largest goth festival, "Gothicfest 2005", in Illinois and were featured yet again in Revolver Magazine's "bands to watch". In 2006, the band toured across America and Canada as a headliner with label mates Bella Morte
in direct support upon the release of the four-song EP "Oktotenfest 2006
". With song titles like "Fukken Uber Death Party" and later "Bavarian Bierhaus Blood", HuG's home-brewed putsch soon led to a full-scale U.K. tour in direct support of Cradle of Filth
in 2007. Shortly thereafter, they began work on their fifth full-length album, 2012: Zwanzig Zwölf
, released in February 2008. Drawing more and more from death metal
and black metal
sentiments, 2012 is HuG's heaviest offering thus far. The album's central motif follows the Mayan theory that the world will end in 2012, and the band posits the subsequent extinction of the human race following one last rock concert to be performed by HuG after which a pyramid will unearth itself and carry the band members and all participants safely into outer space. Upon the release of 2012, the band expanded its growing cult following to both metalheads and rivethead
s alike ultimately leading to HuG's first-ever headlining shows overseas beginning in Moscow, Russia in September 2008.
In January 2009, Hanzel und Gretyl kicked off their extensive headlining "World Fukken Tour 2009" including shows throughout the U.S., Europe, U.K., Scandinavia, Russia, Ukraine, New Zealand and Australia ending with a final show in New York City on December 19, 2009.
On August 8, 2010, Hanzel und Gretyl performed to a near capacity crowd on the main stage at M'era Luna Festival
in Hildesheim, Germany.
In October and November 2010, Hanzel und Gretyl capped off the year with their "Bierhaus Blood Tour 2010" which included select dates in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Finland and the U.S. ending with a final show in Chicago on December 30, 2010.
Hanzel und Gretyl kicked off 2011 supporting Genitorturers' "Sexxx U 2 Death Tour" in February and March. And in October through to December, 2011 Hanzel und Gretyl will once again tour North America on their "More German Than German Tour".
00's - "FUKKEN UBER"
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
music group formed by members Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas in February 1993. In the 1990s their sound was described as a genre-defying blend of sci-fi metal/electronic and experimental, but into the new millennium they adopted a decidedly heavier sound leaning more towards aggressive metal. Due to their heavy use of German lyrics, imagery and German-sounding pseudonyms they are often mistaken for being a German Neue Deutsche Härte
Neue Deutsche Härte
Neue Deutsche Härte is a genre of industrial metal. The term was invented by the German music press after the release of the debut album Herzeleid by Rammstein....
band, but are actually based in New York City, to which founding members Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas are native.
Machines Good People Bad Era (1993-1999)
Hanzel und Gretyl formed in early 1993. In April, 1994, they completed a demo entitled "Kindermusik". Of the 200 cassette tapes manufactured, most were sent to record labels and fanzines and some were sold on consignment at a local music store called Bleeker Bob's. In January 1995, after refusing offers from at least one major label to resubmit their demo with only English lyrics, they signed with Energy Records, an indie record label based in New York City. HuG recorded and released their first full-length album, AusgeflipptAusgeflippt
Ausgeflippt is industrial rock duo Hanzel Und Gretyl's debut full-length album, released on October 10, 1995 on Energy Records. Much like their second full-length album, Transmissions from Uranus, this album is mostly techno-industrial, unlike later releases. The album featured mostly German and...
, in October 1995. With lyrics in five different languages and no two songs sounding alike, the album made a clear statement as deviating from the often predictable and monochromatic themes of many electro and industrial bands of the time. The single "Shine 2001" topped the Alternative Press dance chart at No. 1 shortly after its release. Performing only several local shows on Manhattan's lower east side, they immediately embarked on two U.S. tours with Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
. The first in 1995 with Clutch
Clutch (band)
Clutch is an American rock band from Germantown, Maryland, formed in 1990. The band's first release was an EP entitled Pitchfork, which debuted in October 1990. Their first studio album, Transnational Speedway League, was released three years later in 1993. To date, Clutch has released nine studio...
as direct support and again in 1996 as direct support for Manson themselves.
In 1997, they released their second full-length album, Transmissions From Uranus
Transmissions From Uranus
Transmissions from Uranus is the second full-length album by American Industrial metal band Hanzel und Gretyl. It was released in 1997, on Energy Records. It followed the pace set by the band's debut release, Ausgeflippt, as its style was very electronically oriented...
, that featured a video game in which the object was to transform Loopy and Vas into alien-like insectoid space creatures. The enhanced CD was again cited for its progressive-minded musical stylings and groundbreaking technological advances. This led the band to tour the U.S. extensively with Tommy Victor
Tommy Victor
Tommy Victor is the lead singer and guitarist for the crossover thrash/industrial metal band Prong that he founded in New York in 1986. In the late 1980s Victor worked as a soundman at CBGB's. After the release of Rude Awakening in 1996, Prong disbanded and Victor moved to Los Angeles. Since then...
's Prong, giving them even broader exposure nationally. In between shows on Prong's Cold Fusion tour, Hanzel und Gretyl headlined a Halloween show in Des Moines, Iowa with hometown band Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
in direct support. During the same year, Hanzel und Gretyl's song "9D Galactik Center" appeared in New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
's "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is a 1997 American martial arts action film that was the sequel to 1995's Mortal Kombat, and was directed by John R. Leonetti, who had served as the cinematographer for the previous film...
" and was also played at the 1997 MTV Music Awards. Furthermore, the song "Robot Logik" from the same album was used in radio commercials for the Howard Stern Show
Howard Stern Show
The Howard Stern Show is an American radio show hosted by its namesake Howard Stern. It gained wide recognition in the 1990s when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1986 to 2005...
.
In 1998, clad in custom-made lederhosen, Hanzel und Gretyl toured the U.S. in direct support of Germany's venerable 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...
on the band's first ever headlining tour of the states after meeting and playing with the band at a CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival is put on by CMJ Network. CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 2010 is scheduled for October 19–23 and will be headquartered at New York University and other downtown NYC venues.- History :...
show in New York City. HuG also supported Rob Halford
Rob Halford
Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...
's 2wo
2wo
2wo was an English industrial metal band, formed by former Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford as a side project, after the break-up of his first solo project, Fight.-Band history:...
in Los Angeles during the Rammstein tour.
In 1999 HuG completed a full-length CD entitled Oz Faktor that is currently unreleased by Energy Records. The CD depicts a displaced Hanzel und Gretyl lost in a quasi-"Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
" type setting. As of yet, HuG's entire 90s discography remains out of print and a rare find item in the industrial realm. Mint condition, factory sealed copies have been known to sell for upwards of one hundred dollars.
Fukken Uber Era (2002-Present)
After a long hiatus due to a legal dispute with their former label which had dissolved, the band signed to Metropolis RecordsMetropolis Records
Metropolis Records is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based record label, distributor, and mail-order store specializing in the post-industrial field such as electro-industrial, synthpop, futurepop, darkwave, and gothic musical genres....
in 2002 and immediately began recording for their long anticipated third album, Über Alles
Über Alles
Über Alles is Industrial metal duo Hanzel und Gretyl's third studio album, and was released on May 20, 2003 on Metropolis Records. The album was critically well received and is generally regarded as the group's most prominent and identifiable work to date...
. Described by Kaizer Von Loopy as a "futuristic Wagnerian rock opera" and released in 2003, it marked a distinct stylistic change for the band favoring heavy guitar riffs and Germanic themes over the more genre expanding electro-metal style for which they had become known in the 90s. The CD was met with a fair amount of controversy over its parodic cross-referencing of both German and American stereotypes set against a surreal and spaced-out WWII backdrop but nevertheless attained a four out of five star review in Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine and equally high praise from New York City's prestigious The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
. Following the release of the album, the band toured the U.S. as a headliner on their aptly named "Fukken Uber Tour" and later in direct support of The Genitorturers
Genitorturers
The Genitorturers are an industrial metal/industrial rock band from the United States, with influences extending into the 1990s hardcore punk and electronic music. They proclaim themselves to be "The World's Sexiest Rock Band".-History:...
in the states and Canada after which they returned to the studio to record a new album.
In September 2004, the band released their fourth album, Scheissmessiah. The album was immediately hailed as required listening for fans of industrial metal along side Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, 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...
and Ministry by Revolver Magazine. Served up devilishly as a "Handel's Messiah from hell", HuG continued to grow harder and heavier touring the states in support of My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based out of Chicago, Illinois.-History:...
and in direct support of Al Jourgensen
Al Jourgensen
Alain David Jourgensen , is a Cuban-American musician best known as the founder and frontman of the industrial metal band Ministry. He is sometimes credited as Alain Jourgensen, Alien Jourgensen, Hypo Luxa , Dog, Alien Dog Star and Buck Satan...
's Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
for a three-month stint on their "Evil Doer Tour" throughout the U.S. and Canada. In 2005, Hanzel und Gretyl headlined North America's largest goth festival, "Gothicfest 2005", in Illinois and were featured yet again in Revolver Magazine's "bands to watch". In 2006, the band toured across America and Canada as a headliner with label mates Bella Morte
Bella Morte
Bella Morte is a gothic band that was formed in 1996 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They also incorporate elements of metal, darkwave, deathrock, alternative, and synthpop. The name is Italian for "beautiful death."...
in direct support upon the release of the four-song EP "Oktotenfest 2006
Oktötenfest 2006
"Oktötenfest 2006" is a single by the industrial band Hanzel und Gretyl...
". With song titles like "Fukken Uber Death Party" and later "Bavarian Bierhaus Blood", HuG's home-brewed putsch soon led to a full-scale U.K. tour in direct support of Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
in 2007. Shortly thereafter, they began work on their fifth full-length album, 2012: Zwanzig Zwölf
2012: Zwanzig Zwölf
2012: Zwanzig Zwölf is the fifth full-length album created by the Industrial metal band Hanzel und Gretyl. It was released on Metropolis Records, on February 5, 2008. It was based on the idea that in the year 2012, Hanzel und Gretyl will play a show at one of the ancient Mayan temples that will...
, released in February 2008. Drawing more and more from death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
and black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
sentiments, 2012 is HuG's heaviest offering thus far. The album's central motif follows the Mayan theory that the world will end in 2012, and the band posits the subsequent extinction of the human race following one last rock concert to be performed by HuG after which a pyramid will unearth itself and carry the band members and all participants safely into outer space. Upon the release of 2012, the band expanded its growing cult following to both metalheads and rivethead
Rivethead
Rivethead can mean:* The head of a rivet* Formerly, since the 1940s, a nickname for American automotive assembly line workers* A fashion style, as described here----...
s alike ultimately leading to HuG's first-ever headlining shows overseas beginning in Moscow, Russia in September 2008.
In January 2009, Hanzel und Gretyl kicked off their extensive headlining "World Fukken Tour 2009" including shows throughout the U.S., Europe, U.K., Scandinavia, Russia, Ukraine, New Zealand and Australia ending with a final show in New York City on December 19, 2009.
On August 8, 2010, Hanzel und Gretyl performed to a near capacity crowd on the main stage at M'era Luna Festival
M'era Luna Festival
The M'era Luna is a festival of goth, metal and industrial music. It is held annually on the second weekend of every August, in Hildesheim, Germanyat Flugplatz Hildesheim-Drispenstedt, a former British Army airbase....
in Hildesheim, Germany.
In October and November 2010, Hanzel und Gretyl capped off the year with their "Bierhaus Blood Tour 2010" which included select dates in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Finland and the U.S. ending with a final show in Chicago on December 30, 2010.
Hanzel und Gretyl kicked off 2011 supporting Genitorturers' "Sexxx U 2 Death Tour" in February and March. And in October through to December, 2011 Hanzel und Gretyl will once again tour North America on their "More German Than German Tour".
Discography
90's - "MACHINES GOOD PEOPLE BAD"- Kindermusik, (200 cassette tapes) independent release/Energy Records, 1994
- AusgeflipptAusgeflipptAusgeflippt is industrial rock duo Hanzel Und Gretyl's debut full-length album, released on October 10, 1995 on Energy Records. Much like their second full-length album, Transmissions from Uranus, this album is mostly techno-industrial, unlike later releases. The album featured mostly German and...
, Energy Records, 1995 - Transmissions From UranusTransmissions From UranusTransmissions from Uranus is the second full-length album by American Industrial metal band Hanzel und Gretyl. It was released in 1997, on Energy Records. It followed the pace set by the band's debut release, Ausgeflippt, as its style was very electronically oriented...
, Energy Records, 1997 - Oz Faktor, Energy Records, *UNRELEASED* 1999
00's - "FUKKEN UBER"
- Über AllesÜber AllesÜber Alles is Industrial metal duo Hanzel und Gretyl's third studio album, and was released on May 20, 2003 on Metropolis Records. The album was critically well received and is generally regarded as the group's most prominent and identifiable work to date...
, Metropolis RecordsMetropolis RecordsMetropolis Records is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based record label, distributor, and mail-order store specializing in the post-industrial field such as electro-industrial, synthpop, futurepop, darkwave, and gothic musical genres....
, 2003 - Scheissmessiah, Metropolis RecordsMetropolis RecordsMetropolis Records is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based record label, distributor, and mail-order store specializing in the post-industrial field such as electro-industrial, synthpop, futurepop, darkwave, and gothic musical genres....
, 2004 - Oktötenfest 2006Oktötenfest 2006"Oktötenfest 2006" is a single by the industrial band Hanzel und Gretyl...
EP, Metropolis RecordsMetropolis RecordsMetropolis Records is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based record label, distributor, and mail-order store specializing in the post-industrial field such as electro-industrial, synthpop, futurepop, darkwave, and gothic musical genres....
, 2006 - 2012: Zwanzig Zwölf2012: Zwanzig Zwölf2012: Zwanzig Zwölf is the fifth full-length album created by the Industrial metal band Hanzel und Gretyl. It was released on Metropolis Records, on February 5, 2008. It was based on the idea that in the year 2012, Hanzel und Gretyl will play a show at one of the ancient Mayan temples that will...
, Metropolis RecordsMetropolis RecordsMetropolis Records is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based record label, distributor, and mail-order store specializing in the post-industrial field such as electro-industrial, synthpop, futurepop, darkwave, and gothic musical genres....
, 2008