Janus (band)

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Janus
Origin	Germany
Genre(s)	electronic music Neoclassical
Years active	1995–present
Label(s)	Trisol
Members
Dirk "Rig" Riegert Tobias "Toby" Hahn
Notable instrument(s)
Keyboards Piano Guitar

Janus is a German band. The name comes from Roman mythology, specifically the god Janus, who ruled over gates and doors.

1 History
2 Musical characteristics
3 Line-up
4 Discography
- 4.1 Releases
- 4.2 Compilation appearances
5 External links

[edit] History

From the beginning, Janus consisted of only two members - Dirk "Rig" Riegert, songwriter and vocalist, and Tobias "Toby" Hahn, programmer and piano player. Throughout their albums Janus has used many guest musicians, up to and including an entire orchestra.

Despite positive criticism, the debut album "Vater" failed to attract much attention. However, with further releases, Janus gained more popularity within the underground German gothic scene.

[edit] Musical characteristics

The music style of Janus is not easy to define. The band has been labeled as electro-industrial, industrial rock, and neoclassical.

Like the mythological god, Janus has two faces: aggressive electronic pieces, and ballads with acoustic instruments. Their live concerts are equal parts typical gothic concert and solemn orchestral performance. In their concerts, Janus is often assisted by guest musicians, who can also be found on the albums, although they are not official members of the band.

Janus uses the German language to describe such human emotions as hate, despair, insanity, fear, and loss.

[edit] Line-up

Members

Dirk "Rig" Riegert - Vocals and lyrics
Tobias "Toby" Hahn - Programming and piano

[edit] Discography

[edit] Releases

????: Liebeslieder (first demo, under the name Rorschach)
1995: Schlafende Hunde (second demo, limited to 25 copies)
1997: Vater Demo (self-distributed, limited to 500 copies)
1998: Vater
1999: Isaak
2000: Schlafende Hunde (see German Wikipedia article)
2001: Hundstage
2002: Winterreise (self-distributed, limited to 500 copies. With German-language covers of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen and Disarm by Smashing Pumpkins)
2004: Auferstehung
2004: Kleine Ängste (only available on the limited edition of Auferstehung)
2004: Kleine Ängste (spoken word, self-distributed and limited to 666 copies)
2005: Live Bootleg DVD (self-distributed, limited to 400 copies. Footage from a concert in Leipzig)
2005: Nachtmahr
2005: Die Alpträume des Herrn Riegert (spoken word, only available on the limited edition of Nachtmahr)
2005: Live Bootleg DVD (self-distributed, limited to 400 copies. Footage from a concert in Koblenz)
2006: Vater Deluxe (self-distributed re-release of the first album Vater and bonus tracks from the Vater Demo)