The Vision Bleak
| The Vision Bleak | |
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The Vision Bleak performing live at Summer Breeze, 2005
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Mellrichstadt, Bavaria, Germany |
| Genres | Gothic metal, doom metal, symphonic metal, horror punk, dark metal |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Prophecy Productions |
| Associated acts | Empyrium, Noekk |
| Website | the-vision-bleak |
| Members | Ulf Theodor Schwadorf Allen B. Konstanz |
The Vision Bleak is a German gothic metal band formed in 2000, comprising Ulf Theodor Schwadorf (famous for his work with Empyrium and Noekk), Allen B. Konstanz and, since 2015, Fursy Teyssier (of Les Discrets and Amesoeurs fame) as a live musician. The band's lyrics are noted for their horror themes and heavily allude to the works of classic writers/filmmakers of the genre, such as H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, George A. Romero and John Carpenter, among others. They self-describe their musical style, which mixes gothic metal, doom metal, symphonic metal and horror punk aesthetics, as "horror metal".
Contents
History
The Vision Bleak was formed in 2000, in the Bavarian city of Mellrichstadt, by Markus Stock (a.k.a. Ulf Theodor Schwadorf) and Tobias Schönemann (a.k.a. Allen B. Konstanz). Their first release was the independent extended play Songs of Good Taste, which came out in 2001 and contained, among other tracks, a cover of The Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin". The EP caught the attention of Prophecy Productions, who approached them to record their first full-length, The Deathship Has a New Captain, on February 23, 2004; counting with a guest appearance by Dark Sanctuary vocalist Dame Pandora, it would be their first of many releases under the Prophecy label. A teaser EP containing two tracks which would eventually appear on the album was released the year prior.
In 2005 the band released "Carpathia", a promotional single for their then-upcoming second full-length, Carpathia: A Dramatic Poem, which came out on August 29, 2005.
On August 31, 2007, the band released their third studio album, The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey — it is a loose concept album whose first part is based on the story of the Indian feral girls Amala and Kamala, and its second part is mostly composed of the "Black Pharaoh Trilogy", a series of three songs based on H. P. Lovecraft's short story "The Haunter of the Dark". A promo EP which served as a teaser for the album, Club Single, was released the month prior.
The band's fourth album, Set Sail to Mystery, came out on April 2, 2010;[1] it would be their first album (and so far only) to not feature a teaser released before it. It is a concept album loosely based on the writings of Romantic poets such as Edgar Allan Poe, Heinrich Heine and Lord Byron (its opening track, "A Curse of the Grandest Kind", takes its lyrics from an excerpt of Byron's 1817 dramatic poem Manfred, while "Descend into Maelstrom" references in its lyrics and title Poe's short story "A Descent into the Maelström"), and also of H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith. Niklas Kvarforth of Shining was a guest musician on the album.
The band's fifth and most recent album, Witching Hour, came out on September 27, 2013. A stop motion music video for the track "The Wood Hag", directed and animated by Fursy Teyssier, was uploaded on Prophecy's official YouTube channel as a teaser on September 4.[2]
On the Halloween of 2015, The Vision Bleak announced on their official Facebook page that they would begin a tour around Europe in November to promote their upcoming sixth album, The Unknown, which is scheduled to be released on Spring 2016.[3] On December 27, 2015, the band posted on Facebook that Fursy Teyssier officially joined them as bassist for future live performances.[4]
Line-up
- Ulf Theodor Schwadorf (Markus Stock) — vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards (2000–present)
- Allen B. Konstanz (Tobias Schönemann) — vocals, drums, keyboards (2000–present)
Live musicians
- Fursy Teyssier — bass (2015–present)
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2004 | The Deathship Has a New Captain
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| 2005 | Carpathia: A Dramatic Poem
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| 2007 | The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey
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| 2010 | Set Sail to Mystery
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| 2013 | Witching Hour
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| 2016 | The Unknown |
Extended plays
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Songs of Good Taste
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| 2003 | The Vision Bleak EP
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| 2007 | Club Single EP
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Singles
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Carpathia" | Carpathia: A Dramatic Poem |
| 2013 | "The Wood Hag" | Witching Hour |
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The Vision Bleak - "The Wood Hag"
- ↑ The Vision Bleak – Facebook (October 31, 2015)
- ↑ The Vision Bleak – Facebook (December 27, 2015)
External links
- Official website
- The Vision Bleak on FacebookLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- The Vision Bleak on Bandcamp
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