Angels and Agony are a Dutch futurepop band consisting of vocalist Reinier Kahle, guitarist Erik Wierenga, DJ Marco van Belle on synthesizer and backing vocals and Fried Bruggink as sound engineer and drummer. The band formed in 1995 and produced two EPs before its first full album, ''Eternity'' (2001). ''Eternity'' was produced by VNV Nation's

Ronan Harris Ronan Harris (born 14 June 1967) is the founding member of the electronic music project VNV Nation. He is credited with the songwriting, production, lyrical and vocal aspects of the band's music. In the years preceding VNV Nation's debut album, h ...

. Other high-profile collaborations include Axel Ermes of

Girls Under Glass Girls Under Glass (GUG) is a musical group from Hamburg, Germany, founded in 1986 by Thomas Lücke, Hauke Harms, and Volker "Zaphor" Zacharias. Described as "an indispensable part of the German wave and gothic scene", GUG began as a gothic rock ban ...

Diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...

, and

SITD SITD, stylised SITD:'', is a German EBM and industrial band founded in 1996 by Carsten Jacek and Thorsten Lau as Shadows in the Dark. History SITD was founded by Jacek and Lau in the Ruhr Area of Germany. In the next three years they self-produ ...

The band's current record label (since ''Eternity'', 2001) is Out of Line, a German label of industrial- and synthpop-oriented electronic bands.

Metropolis Records Metropolis Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1993 by the late Dave Heckman. The label's all-electronic format closely tracked with European contemporaries, such as Off Beat, and, since 1995, has been instrumenta ...

is the band's US distributor since 2004. According to Reiner, the name of the band symbolizes the duality of human experience. It was also the name of a graphic novel Reiner worked on in 1995 simultaneously to founding the band. Similar artists to Angels and Agony are VNV Nation,

Assemblage 23 Assemblage 23 is an electronic act from the United States, currently based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1988 by Tom Shear who writes the music and lyrics and does the recording himself. Live performances are supported by Paul ...

, Covenant and

Pride and Fall Pride and Fall is a Norwegian futurepop act from Stavanger, Norway, formed in 2000 by Sigve Monsen, Per Waagen, and Svein Joar A. Johnsen. History The band came about when Sigve and Svein wanted to pursue a more electronic and club-oriented sou ...

. A 2007 interview commented on the musical style of the band, noting that, in contrast with many electro-industrial projects whose lyrics center on violence and provocation, Angels and Agony songs are philosophical and humanist in character. To this Renier replied: "The lyrics are meant to be 'universal', multi-interpretable and objective, in a way.... I'm just not the guy to write songs, singing 'Fuck' 116 times in 4 minutes, or singing I'd like to cut up my bitch or what have you not." Metropolis Records describes the band's music thus: "Although the music can be dark and melancholic, but still danceable with pumping beats and sequences, the songs have a very positive message."

Discography

*''Unity'', EP (1999) *''Darkness'', EP (2001) *''Eternity'', album (2001) (re-released 2007 with new artwork) *''Forever'', EP (2002) *''Salvation'', EP (2003) *''Avatar'', album (2004) *''Unison'', album (2007) *''Monument'', album (2015)

References

External links

Angels & Agony FacebookAngels & Agony Myspace
Dutch electronic music groups Dutch synthpop groups Dutch dark wave musical groups Metropolis Records artists {{Netherlands-band-stub