Hanzel und Gretyl - Release remix companion album!

October 7th 2013

Release

Hanzel und Gretyl with release a remix companion album 'Fur Immer' on the 7th of October!

Hanzel und Gretyl's new remix album 'Fur Immer' will be the companion to their last album 'Born to be Heiled'

Originally formed in New York in 1993 by Kaizer von Loopy and Vas Kallas, Hanzel und Gretyl released their debut album 'Ausgeflippt' in late 1995 on Energy Records. With lyrics in five different languages and no two songs sounding alike, it made a clear statement in deviating from the often predictable and monochromatic themes of many Electro / Industrial bands of the time. The single 'Shine' in 2001 hit the No.1 spot on the Alternative Press Dance chart shortly after its release and the band immediately embarked on two US tours with Marilyn Manson after having played only a handful of local shows to that point.

The band’s second album 'Transmissions From Uranus' was released in 1997. Cited for its progressive musical stylings and groundbreaking technological advances, the enhanced CD featured a video game entitled 'The Alienator'. The song '9D Galactik Center' featured in the movie 'Mortal Kombat: Annihilation' and was also played at the MTV Music Awards. Touring with Prong at that time, Hanzel und Gretyl also headlined a Halloween show in Des Moines, Iowa with local band Slipknot as their support act, while in 1998 they toured as support to the German act Rammstein on their first headlining tour of the US.

Following a hiatus caused by problems at their record label, Hanzel und Gretyl eventually signed to Metropolis Records and released their highly anticipated third album 'Über Alles' in 2003. Described by Loopy as a "futuristic Wagnerian Rock Opera", it marked a stylistic change for the band, favouring heavy guitar riffs and Germanic themes over their proven Electro / Metal sound, and it initially met with controversy over its parodic cross-referencing of both German and American stereotypes set against a surreal and spaced out WWII backdrop. Nevertheless, it attained great reviews from publications as diverse as the UK’s Kerrang! and NY’s Village Voice. The band subsequently toured the US on the aptly named 'Fukken Uber' tour and later in direct support of The Genitorturers.

Next up was the controversially entitled 'Scheissmessiah'. Devilishly described as "Handel's 'Messiah; from Hell", Hanzel und Gretyl continued to grow harder and heavier, touring with Ministry and My life with the thrill Kill Kult as well as headlining Gothicfest 2005. The following year they toured throughout North America headlining above label mates Bella Morte and released the EP 'Oktotenfest' 2006. The band’s home brewed putsch then led to a UK tour with Cradle of Filth in 2007.

Hanzel und Gretyl's fifth album '2012: Zwanzig Zwölf' was released in early 2008. The album’s central motif was based on the Mayan theory that the World would end in 2012 but with a fantastical Hanzel und Gretyl twist on proceedings, while musically Death and Black Metal elements were incorporated into the mix. Their heaviest offering to date, the band’s cult following continued to grow and they played their first extensive headlining World tour in 2009.

The band’s current album 'Born to be Heiled' was released in late 2012 as the first release on the newly formed Metropolis Metal Records, a subdivision of the label that focuses on more Metal leaning electronic and Industrial bands. The record featured an eclectic blend of Death, Black and Doom Metal, Classic Rock, Electronic and Industrial elements all tied together with the band's unmistakable ersatz German affectations but now coupled with strong outlaw biker motifs. A companion piece entitled Hanzel und Gretyl 'Für Immer', comprised entirely of remixes by ‘KyzrWölf’ (Loopy's Electronic side-project), is set to be released in October 2013 at the culmination of a European tour.