| Eisbrecher | |
|---|---|
Eisbrecher performing at Summer Breeze 2007 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany |
| Genres | Neue Deutsche Härte, industrial metal, electro-industrial |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | ZYX Music, Dancing Ferret Discs, AFM Records, Metropolis Records, Sony Music and Columbia Records |
| Associated acts | Megaherz |
| Members | |
| Alexx Wesselsky Noel Pix Jürgen Plangger "Max "Maximator" Schuar Achim Färber Dominik Palmer |
|
| Past members | |
| Felix Primc Michael Behnke Martin Motnik Olli Pohl Rene Greil |
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Eisbrecher (German pronunciation: [ˈaɪsbʁɛçɐ]; German for Icebreaker) is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band that consists primarily of Alexander Wesselsky (vocals) and Noel Pix (lead guitar/programming), with live support from Jürgen Plangger (guitar), Domonik Palmer (bass), Achim Färber (drums). In the United States and Canada, their record label is currently Metropolis Records. The band's lyrics and slogans often include terms of ice and sailing, such as "Ahoi" ("Ahoy") and "Es wird kalt" ("It's getting cold"); vocalist Alexander Wesselsky often wears naval and military clothing in performances.
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After leaving Megaherz due to creative differences in 2003, Wesselsky got together with Noel Pix, who composed the synths, guitars and programming for Megaherz's albums Kopfschuss and Himmelfahrt. In January 2004, the band released their self-titled debut album Eisbrecher. The first 5,000 copies of the album included a blank CD with permission for purchasers to legally copy the music onto the blank. This was done as a protest against what the band felt was a "criminalization" of fans.[1]
The band would release their second album Antikörper in October 2006. This album would become the band's debut album on the Media Control Charts as it charted at #85. The band then toured with U.D.O. in December 2006.
In 2007, Eisbrecher performed at two major German music festivals, Wave-Gotik-Treffen and Summer Breeze Open Air.
In May 2008, live bass player Martin Motnik left the band due to heavy travel issues. The band immediately replaced Motnik with former Megaherz guitar player Olliver Pohl.
"Kann denn Liebe Sünde Sein" was released on July 18, 2008 in Germany as the first single to promote their third album, Sünde. It reached third place in the German Alternative charts. The album was released on August 22, 2008 in Germany and debuted on the Media Control Charts at 18th place.[2] The band then went on their then-biggest tour between September 2008 and October 2009, playing in Germany, Austria, Russia, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Music videos were planned for "This is Deutsch" and "Kann denn Liebe Sünde Sein", but were cancelled in favour of new material and live shows.
In early March 2009, the band signed with a new American music label, Metropolis Records, due to Dancing Ferret Discs closing in late 2008.
On April 24, 2009, Wesselsky and Pix were guests on Radio Goethe to promote the American release of Sünde. Wesselsky mentioned that he would love to tour the United States "as soon as possible". Wesselsky also mentioned that with the popularity of Rammstein, Nena and Falco, he hopes that Eisbrecher can become the next big German act in the United States. He also talked about their upcoming fourth album; no title was named, but said that work was in progress. He described that the new album will be "very rockish, very pop and very heart breaking."[3]
On June 20, 2009, Eisbrecher performed at their first major Austrian music festival, the Nova Rock Festival; other bands, such as Killswitch Engage, Monster Magnet and In Extremo also performed.
On January 1, 2010, the band's official website announced that their fourth studio album, later named Eiszeit, would be released in mid-April. The single "Eiszeit" was released on March 19, 2010 and became their debut single on the Media Control Charts, at #84. The album was released on April 16, 2010 and debuted in the Media Control Charts at #5, the Ö3 Austria Top 40 charts at #34 and the Swiss Music Charts at #76.
In August 2010, it was reported that Eisbrecher had signed with Sony Records and Columbia Records.
After the Summer Breeze Open Air festival, bassist Olli Pohl departed from the band. The band later found a new bass guitar player, Domonik Palmer.
From November 4 to 15, 2010, Eisbrecher toured with Alice Cooper and Tarja Turunen during Cooper's "Theatre of Death Tour" of Germany. Eisbrecher's drummer Rene Greil was temporarily replaced during the tour by Sebastian Angrand, as Greil needed back surgery.
Announced by Eisbrecher on January 24, 2011 via their Facebook page, the band is currently in the studio working on their fifth album. No title or release date has been mentioned as of yet.
On February 26, 2011, it was announced in the Herzeleid.com forums that live drummer Rene has left Eisbrecher due to health reasons. Rene was replaced by Achim Färber. Announced on March 31, 2011 it was reported that Eisbrecher will release a best of album entitled Eiskalt due for release on the 29th of April, 2011. However, Alexx said that the album was made without the bands knowledge, and that they did not choose any of the songs that will appear on the Compilation.
Eisbrecher appeared at the Nova Rock Festival in Austria on June 11, 2011. The same day Thirty Seconds To Mars, Hammerfall, In Extremo and Linkin Park perform.
During the Zugspitze concert on November 5, 2011 Eisbrecher performed 6 brand new songs from the upcoming album titled Die Hölle muss warten scheduled for release on February 3rd, 2012. The first single from the album will be "Verrückt".
| Year | Title | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAC | GER | AUT | SWI | EU | ||
| 2004 | Eisbrecher | 13 | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 | Antikörper | 10 | 85 | - | - | - |
| 2008 | Sünde | 1 | 18 | - | - | 64 |
| 2010 | Eiszeit | - | 5 | 34 | 76 | 25 |
| 2012 | Die Hölle muss warten | - | - | - | - | - |