extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
band from
Grevenbroich
Grevenbroich () is a town in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Erft, approximately 15 km southwest of Neuss and 15 km southeast of Mönchengladbach. Cologne and Düsseldorf are in a 30 ...
, formed in 1991 by Jürgen Bartsch and Klaus Matton. Before starting Bethlehem, Bartsch and Matton used to play in a German
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
band Morbid Vision. Many of their lyrics revolve around sickness, morbidity, suicide, death and madness, and may to some extent be personal to the band.
History
Bethlehem was formed by Jürgen Bartsch in 1991. They recorded a few demos in the early 90s before releasing their debut album ''Dark Metal'' in 1994, which featured Andreas Classen on vocals. On their second full-length album ''Dictius Te Necare'' (Latin: You must/should kill yourself), Classen was replaced with Rainer Landfermann on vocals (known as the bass player in the German
death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
band Pavor). Landfermann's vocals were particularly extreme, described by critics and fans alike as "one of the sickest and most extreme voices you'll ever hear from a human being". On ''S.U.I.Z.I.D.'' his place is taken by Marco Kehren from the band
Deinonychus
''Deinonychus'' ( ; ) is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur with one described species, ''Deinonychus antirrhopus''. This species, which could grow up to long, lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million ye ...
. Guido Meyer de Voltaire, the vocalist from ''Schatten aus der Alexander Welt'' and ''Mein Weg'', is also well known with his band Aardvarks. Andreas Classen, vocalist on ''Dark Metal'' also did vocals for Shining (primary vocalist
Niklas Kvarforth
Niklas Olsson (born 7 December 1983), better known as Niklas Kvarforth, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He is the founder, composer, and vocalist of the black metal band Shining.
Background
As a multi-instrumentalist musician, Kvarforth star ...
also provided vocals for Bethlehem on the album ''A Sacrificial Offering to the Kingdom of Heaven in a Cracked Dog's Ear''), Dark Creation, Paragon Belial, Made of Iron, Kadathorn, and Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult. Over the years Bethlehem modernized their style and so the early
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
and
doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
influences are now hardly present, the band favouring a more ''
Neue Deutsche Härte
Neue Deutsche Härte (; "new German hardness"), sometimes abbreviated as NDH, is a subgenre of rock music that developed in Germany and Austria during the early-to-mid 1990s and during the early 2000s. Alluding to the style of Neue Deutsche Well ...
'' (New German Hardness) and
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
approach. In 1998 Bethlehem collaborated on the soundtrack for the American underground movie ''
Gummo
''Gummo'' is a 1997 American experimental drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine, starring Jacob Reynolds, Nick Sutton, Jacob Sewell, and Chloë Sevigny. The film is set (but was not filmed) in Xenia, Ohio, a Midwestern American tow ...
'' with the tracks "Schuld Uns'res Knöcherigen Faltpferds" and "Verschleierte Irreligiösität".
* Rainer Landfermann: vocals (on ''Dictius Te Necare'' and ''Alles Tot'')
* Jonathan Théry: vocals
* Reuben Jordan: guitars
* Guido Meyer de Voltaire: vocals (on ''Schatten aus der Alexanderwelt'', ''Mein Weg'' and ''Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia'')
* Andreas Tekath: Session-keyboards/piano (on ''Mein Weg'')
* Klaus Matton: electric guitars (until ''Profane Fetmilch Lenzt Elf Krank'')
* Marco Kehren: vocals (on ''S.U.i.Z.i.D.''; ''Reflektionen aufs Sterben'')
* Markus Lossen: drums (on ''S.U.i.Z.i.D.''; ''Reflektionen aufs Sterben'')
* Cathrin Campen: vocals (on ''S.U.i.Z.i.D.''; ''Reflektionen aufs Sterben'')
* Steinhoff: drums (until ''S.U.i.Z.i.D.'')
* Andreas Classen: vocals (until ''Dictius Te Necare'')
* Oliver Schmidt: session keyboards (on ''Thy Pale Dominion'')
* Reiner Tiedemann: electronics (''Schatten aus der Alexanderwelt''), remixes (''Suicide Radio'')
*
Niklas Kvarforth
Niklas Olsson (born 7 December 1983), better known as Niklas Kvarforth, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He is the founder, composer, and vocalist of the black metal band Shining.
Background
As a multi-instrumentalist musician, Kvarforth star ...
: vocals (on ''A Sacrificial Offering to the Kingdom of Heaven in a Cracked Dog's Ear'' and ''Stönkfitzchen'')
* Steve Wolz: drums
* Olaf Eckhardt: guitars
Discography
Albums
* ''Dark Metal'' (1994)
* ''Dictius Te Necare'' (1996)
* ''Sardonischer Untergang im Zeichen irreligiöser Darbietung'' (1998)
* ''Schatten aus der Alexander Welt'' (2001)
* ''Mein Weg'' (2004)
* ''A Sacrificial Offering to the Kingdom of Heaven in a Cracked Dog's Ear'' (2009)
* ''Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia'' (2014)
* ''Bethlehem'' (2016)
* ''Lebe Dich Leer'' (2019)
* ''Wraithen / Bethlehem'' (Split, 2002)
* ''Gestern Starb Ich Schon Heute / Have a Nice Fight'' (Split, 2009)
* ''Suizidal-Ovipare Todessehnsucht'' (Split, 2009)
Demos
* ''Bethlehem'' (Demo, 1992)
* ''Thy Pale Dominion'' (Demo, 1993)
Gummo (Soundtrack)
''Gummo'' is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name and contains songs that were recorded specifically for the film or were featured in the film.