Biography
Heimataerde, an electro-industrial outfit fixated on the Templars, wove together three interlocking strands from Germany’s dark scene into a sound at once novel and anchored in remote history. Although the deployment of medieval instruments, bagpipes foremost among them, along with corresponding melodies was hardly unprecedented, Heimataerde became the first act to merge such material with electro-industrial textures; by contrast, the already established Mittelalter-Rock movement—exemplified by Subway to Sally, Schandmaul, and Letzte Instanz, all frequent occupants of the indie charts—had never attempted that fusion.
Launched in 2004 as the solo endeavor of DJ Ash, the project issued its debut EP Ich Hab die Nacht Getraeumet, which met with instant acclaim and secured contracts with the prominent German imprint Infacted and the American label Metropolis. Under the Heimataerde banner, Ash then delivered one album annually from 2005 through 2007—Gotteskrieger, Kadavergehorsam, and Leben Geben, Leben Nehmen—the last of which contained the peerless club track “Vater,” widely regarded among the strongest electro-industrial recordings ever made. Across this sequence the songwriting and production grew steadily more refined while the overarching narrative of the cursed, fallen Templar knight Ashlar von Megalon and his endless search for significance and redemption continued to unfold.
After initially declining live engagements, DJ Ash agreed to perform at the 2007 edition of Wave-Gotik-Treffen, the preeminent festival of the dark scene, and assembled a complete ensemble featuring guitar, keyboards, and pipes. The group’s unwavering fidelity to every facet of its conceptual framework remains striking: successive albums advance the storyline, all boast meticulously crafted artwork, the initial three volumes embed chapters of the tale in densely printed booklet pages, and the subsequent two appear in deluxe editions that append an extra disc containing a fully dramatized audiobook with integrated music and effects. The musicians further adopted the medieval names of the Templars they portrayed—“Ansgar von Hucretha” among them—and took the stage clad in authentic Templar regalia, chain mail, swords, and shields, wholly devoid of ironic distance.
Following a three-year hiatus, the complete band made its first album appearance with 2010’s Unwesen, which introduced Middle Eastern instrumentation; combined with the heavier guitar presence, the resulting sound absorbed traits of the Neue Deutsche Härte style associated with Rammstein and Oomph!, thereby reaching that genre’s substantial listenership. In 2012, capitalizing on mounting popularity, the ensemble transferred to the German metal label Golden Core, an affiliate of the ZYX entertainment conglomerate, which issued their fifth album, Gottgleich.
Launched in 2004 as the solo endeavor of DJ Ash, the project issued its debut EP Ich Hab die Nacht Getraeumet, which met with instant acclaim and secured contracts with the prominent German imprint Infacted and the American label Metropolis. Under the Heimataerde banner, Ash then delivered one album annually from 2005 through 2007—Gotteskrieger, Kadavergehorsam, and Leben Geben, Leben Nehmen—the last of which contained the peerless club track “Vater,” widely regarded among the strongest electro-industrial recordings ever made. Across this sequence the songwriting and production grew steadily more refined while the overarching narrative of the cursed, fallen Templar knight Ashlar von Megalon and his endless search for significance and redemption continued to unfold.
After initially declining live engagements, DJ Ash agreed to perform at the 2007 edition of Wave-Gotik-Treffen, the preeminent festival of the dark scene, and assembled a complete ensemble featuring guitar, keyboards, and pipes. The group’s unwavering fidelity to every facet of its conceptual framework remains striking: successive albums advance the storyline, all boast meticulously crafted artwork, the initial three volumes embed chapters of the tale in densely printed booklet pages, and the subsequent two appear in deluxe editions that append an extra disc containing a fully dramatized audiobook with integrated music and effects. The musicians further adopted the medieval names of the Templars they portrayed—“Ansgar von Hucretha” among them—and took the stage clad in authentic Templar regalia, chain mail, swords, and shields, wholly devoid of ironic distance.
Following a three-year hiatus, the complete band made its first album appearance with 2010’s Unwesen, which introduced Middle Eastern instrumentation; combined with the heavier guitar presence, the resulting sound absorbed traits of the Neue Deutsche Härte style associated with Rammstein and Oomph!, thereby reaching that genre’s substantial listenership. In 2012, capitalizing on mounting popularity, the ensemble transferred to the German metal label Golden Core, an affiliate of the ZYX entertainment conglomerate, which issued their fifth album, Gottgleich.
Albums
Singles
