With their sixth full-length, "Über den Sternen", an allegorical German rendering of their band name meaning "Above the Stars", EMPYRIUM still draw from the magic and spirits of wild places, nature's beauty, and human relics of ages long past. "Über den Sternen" echoes this reconciliation of the old with the new on a musical level as well. The Franconian duo is putting more emphasis on the electric guitars and harsh vocals again, which marked their first two albums and stood strong upon the band's melodic black metal foundations. Yet EMPYRIUM also revisit the dark folk style, which the Germans had progressively embraced on their third and fourth albums.
What used to appear to be a crossroad in their musical development has now merged into one breath-taking sound. The combined force of mastermind, multi-instrumentalist, clean and extreme vocalist as well as producer Markus "Schwadorf" Stock and classical singer Thomas Helm, who lends his amazing voice also to the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, is painting a radiant sonic picture. It comes with the melancholic grounding of the sophomore album "Songs of Moors & Misty Fields” (1997), adds brushstrokes of the fairy-tale tempera colours of "Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays" (1999), and also makes use of a few hues from the palette that DEAD CAN DANCE have infused with world music, which EMPYRIUM have already employed on "The Turn of the Tides" (2014). The crowning varnish is diligently crafted from rougher elements that reach all the way back to the Germans' legendary debut " A Wintersunset…" (1996). EMPYRIUM have reconciled their early vintage sound with the acoustic expression of later recordings."
Staying true to the Romantic tradition, EMPYRIUM continue to take inspiration for their lyrical flights of fantasy from the local myths, ancient places, and natural wonders of the Rhön Mountains and their Lower Franconian homeland in the West of Germany. A circle is closing, and with EMPYRIUM's label Prophecy Productions, which were originally founded with the mission to release the band's debut album, celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2021, it happens in more than one way.
Buy at our shop here:
worldwide: en.prophecy.de/artists/empyrium/empyrium-ueber-den-sternen.html
US/Canada: us.prophecy.de/artists/empyrium/empyrium-ueber-den-sternen.html
releases February 26, 2021

Nils Frahm is a German musician, composer, and record producer based in Berlin. He is known for combining classical and electronic music and for an unconventional approach to the piano in which he mixes a grand piano, upright piano, Roland Juno-60, Rhodes piano, drum machines, and Moog Taurus.

Happy
Piano Day!
—
and welcome to the first holiday
which celebrates the piano
What's this all about?
At the end of 2014 I had an immediate urge to release a solo piano album which I recorded some time ago, and I was looking for a specific occasion to do so. I wanted it to be a nice surprise for everyone, so I thought of a meaningful release date to begin with.
Seconds later it came to my mind: I was about to create my own holiday in order to come up with a reason for this release. Moreover, if I could be proud of something, then of being responsible for an annual celebration of the piano. And here comes the best bit, Piano Day will happen on the 88th day of the year, which most of the time is the 29th of March. Piano Day is intended to be the most joyful of all holidays.
My album –solo– can be downloaded in any desired format and can be listened to for free. For those who like the real thing, there is a vinyl and all other kinds of round discs available (sorry, these are not for free). It would be appreciated if you get this thing on vinyl, simply because it’s very nice looking and sounding! Anyways, this is all part of a fundraising enterprise for a very special piano project. So please read on for a bit …

摘自verycd网友ian
（
）
Adaro---
作为一个德国民谣,它既拥有日尔曼民族的特有气质,又采用多种表现手段,自然的融会了苏格兰等欧洲民族气息.这张我很喜欢.虽然加如了一些电子的现代元素,但是在民谣的范畴里,算是我认为的少数优秀专辑(爱死了),值得推荐!
第一首Mich wundert harte,音乐刚刚响起,还以为是美国的公路歌曲,可就在10秒后,进入正题,民谣的特质得意体现,虽然整首歌下来有些主流,但是配器和旋律的结合的确值得推敲.男声给我一种来自心灵的安定感(不知道你会不会觉得),轻,温柔但是透着顽强.第二首Ich zoch mir einen valken,就是全专辑最激动人心的一首了,我很是喜爱.女声声线吊的很高,有些偏冷.从1分零几秒开始进入第一次高潮,以后这段高潮多次出现,连最后阶段的女声读白都是这个词,你会体验到德国的那种特有感觉,每次听到那里总是有种颠覆死亡的感觉.
接下来的Minnenspiel和Der Schall都是带着FOLK味道的摇滚了,而第五首winnenden则又是专辑的一个亮点,起头只不过男声的自嘲,平淡无奇,45秒出了彩,应合的女声哼吟在旋律调动下和乐器的SOLO交织在一起,会给你心头一亮的.2分50秒的把段尤其精彩,听到这里总觉得Adaro的音乐能在你不经意间调动你的神经,使你的精神处于莫名的兴奋中.
紧跟着的wigen wagen把专辑紧凑的节拍疏缓了下来,向我们展示着女声的魅力.....
而第八首tandaradei是专辑的中坚,给已经厌烦了单一表现方式的你,在纷乱的节奏中带给你新的惊喜,让你的心再次起飞.低迷的情绪稍稍hight了一下.
最后的rosen rot(第十四首),做的很轻柔,男声极尽的表现温柔的一面,虽然效果不是最好的,不过可以看出专辑制作的很聪明!对温柔的男声倒是没太大印象,最后1分多钟插进来的纯音乐倒是做的很有心意.

he name of the review copy was Nils Frahm ... Plays Piano, celeste, and reed organ. I thought, “oh no.” This sounded like a vanity project or low-budget new age disk, the kind that sells next to Sounds of the Humpback Whale at the Rite-Aid checkout counter. I was determined not to like it … but then I listened to it. Again and again. I began to realize that I really liked this disk, despite the title. Then I learned that the real title was Wintermusik. (A rose by any other name …) And that Peter Broderick, another artist whose music I admire, was also a fan; and that his reaction to Nils Frahm had been the same as mine. Here’s what Broderick had to say: “I laid back and pressed play, thinking I would fall asleep to the sound of some nice piano music. But the sound I heard was more than just nice. It was absolutely breathtaking, and it kept me awake staring at the ceiling until the CD was finished. Then I pressed play again.” Broderick and Frahm are now touring together, and the songs that Broderick had listened to were re-recorded under Broderick’s supervision and will soon be released on Kning Disk.
Wintermusik might have languished in obscurity as well, if not for Monique at Sonic Pieces, who happened upon the disk, fell in love with it and signed the artist for this limited release of 333. The handmade book binding is stark gray, but elegant, and suits the project well; Wintermusik was initially recorded as a Christmas present for family and friends. This puts the disk in the company of Sufjan Stevens' Songs for Christmas, recorded as a series of personal gifts over the years and finally packaged a few years later as a boxed set for fans. There’s certainly a light-hearted, holiday feeling to the music, especially when the bells join the proceedings; one thinks of happy carolers, wandering from house to starlit house as flurries dust their woolen caps. But this is not to say that one should avoid the disk simply because Christmas is half a year away; nor should one feel that the sounds herein represent any specific religion or creed. This is simply a disk of engaging, well-played music, suffused with a positive vibe.
Richard Allen