Illuminate is a successful German Gothic music band from Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe

The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...

 formed in 1993 by Johannes Berthold.

History

They played M'era Luna in 2000, 2003 and 2010. Their song Dunkellicht was on the German Alternative Charts

Deutsche Alternative Charts

The Deutsche Alternative Charts is the primary record chart for Germany's alternative music scene. The charts cover genres ranging nu metal to Britpop, from rock music to alternative electronic...

 for 8 weeks in 2000, peaking at #4. Their 2004 album Augenblicke was released on Nuclear Blast

Nuclear Blast

Nuclear Blast is an independent record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The record label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by melodic...

 records as well as Johannes Berthold's Gallery label.
Ex-Mystic Prophecy

Mystic Prophecy

Mystic Prophecy is a power metal band from Bad Grönenbach, Germany. They have been described as sounding like US-power metal, similar to bands such as Iced Earth , but still without losing the melodies found in European power metal.The band was formed by Valley's Eve bandmates R.D. Liapakis and...

 Drummer Stefan Dittrich joined the band in 2009 after Mathias Kurth quit due to personal reasons. Currently they are working on new material for their next record.

Musical Style

Illuminate's early albums are often associated with Neue Deutsche Todeskunst

Neue Deutsche Todeskunst

Neue Deutsche Todeskunst is a musical genre that was developed in Germany in the early 1990s.-History:...

 (literally, New German Death Art). Their music has fewer rock elements and much catchier tunes than more typical Gothic

Gothic rock

Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...

 and Darkwave

Darkwave

Dark Wave or darkwave is a music genre that began in the late 1970s, coinciding with the popularity of New Wave and post-punk. Building on those basic principles, dark wave added dark, introspective lyrics and an undertone of sorrow for some bands...

 bands. Illuminate's melodies often have piano accompaniment, and their later albums included more electro-pop elements. Their songs often have themes such as love, loss, longing and the transience of existence.

Current members

• Johannes Berthold - Vocals, Piano Keyboards, Programming, Bass Guitar
• Jörn Langenfeld - Guitar
• Stefan Dittrich - Drums
• Johannes Knees - Keyboards

Former Members

• Carmen R. Schäfer - Vocals
• Conny Schindler - Vocals
• Mathias Kurth - Drums
• Anja Krone - Vocals
• Daniela Dietz - Vocals
• Markus Nauli - Keyboard
• Cindy Vogel - Performer
• Christian Olbert - Performer
• Laura Dragoi - Performer
• Ulrike Schneidewind - Performer

Discography

• Poesie (1993)
• Es atmet! (1994)
• Verfall (1996)
• Erinnerungen (1997)
• Erwachen (1998)
• Letzter Blick zurück (1999)
• Ein neuer Tag (2000)
• Kaltes Licht (2001)
• Bittersüßes Gift (2001)
• 10 x 10 (2003)
• Augenblicke (2004)
• Zwei Seelen (2006)
• Zeit der Wölfe (2008)
• Ohne Worte (2009)
• Splitter (2009)
• Grenzgang '(2011)