The House Of Usher

Germany earned a reputation for spawning the doomsayers Xmal Deutschland during the 1980s, yet the House of Usher came to be viewed as that nation’s final Goth rock outfit. Jorg Kleuden on vocals, Markus Pick on guitar, Ray Nottinger on bass, and Victor Constrictor handling guitar plus keyboards assembled the project in 1990 under the name Tales of Despair 1919-1925 before adopting the House of Usher moniker to honor horror writer Edgar Allan Poe. Kleuden extends the literary theme by composing a short story to accompany every album. Because Xmal Deutschland had already disbanded by the time the House of Usher entered the scene, the newcomers inherited the mantle of Germany’s last word on Goth, drawing crucial inspiration from English forebears such as the Mission U.K. and Joy Division. Their earliest offering, Dance Hall Days Dawn Kissed, circulated exclusively on cassette; additional tapes followed, along with the 1993 EP Relic. The band’s debut full-length, Stars Fall Down, surfaced in 1995. Although they began on Nyctalopia, the group ultimately moved to Celtic Circle Productions and contributed to the magazine and accompanying CD compilation GOTHIC. Line-up shifts occurred over the years, yet Kleuden stayed throughout, completing the recording of Inferno/l'enfer in 2002.