Beyond the Black is a German
symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...
band formed in 2014 in
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
.
Their debut album ''
Songs of Love and Death
''Songs of Love and Death'' is the eighth full-length album by Canadian singer-songwriter Emm Gryner, released in 2005 on her independent label Dead Daisy Records.
''Songs of Love and Death'' is Gryner's second album of cover versions, followin ...
'' became popular immediately after the release, and entered the German and Austrian national music charts.
History
The band was formed in 2014 in Mannheim, Germany by Jennifer Haben (vocalist, ex-
Saphir). After finishing the production of Beyond the Black's first album together with her producers, Haben engaged Nils Lesser (lead guitar), Christopher Hummels (rhythm guitar/backing vocals), Michael Hauser (keyboards), Erwin Schmidt (bass) and Tobias Derer (drums) as live musicians. They made their first appearances at the
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music, rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and su ...
2014 festival and on tour supporting
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
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peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
and
Hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
.
On 13 February 2015, Beyond the Black released their debut full-length album ''
Songs of Love and Death
''Songs of Love and Death'' is the eighth full-length album by Canadian singer-songwriter Emm Gryner, released in 2005 on her independent label Dead Daisy Records.
''Songs of Love and Death'' is Gryner's second album of cover versions, followin ...
'', which reached the 12th place in the
German music charts
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...
and 21st place in the
Austrian charts.
The album was produced by
Sascha Paeth
Sascha Paeth (born 9 September 1970 in Wolfsburg, West Germany) is a German guitarist, bassist, musical producer, and mixer known for working with heavy metal bands such as Avantasia, Edguy, Angra, Shaaman, Rhapsody of Fire, Kamelot, After For ...
(
Avantasia
Avantasia is a German supergroup metal opera project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist of the band Edguy. It has been characterized as a rock opera, as it features the contributions of various vocalists and musicians and it consists of concept ...
) and received mostly positive reviews from critics.
A week later, on February 20, the band appeared on the German Sat.1
Breakfast television
Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a ...
with the song "In the Shadows".
From 13 May 2015, the band embarked on its first tour through Germany, including an appearance at the
Wave-Gotik-Treffen
The Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT; ) is an annual world festival for "dark" music and "dark culture" in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds (gothic rock, gothic metal, EBM, industrial, noise, darkwave, neo-folk, neo-cl ...
on May 23, 2015 and several more festivals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Beyond the Black's second album, titled ''
Lost in Forever'', was released on the 12 February 2016 and features 13 tracks. The deluxe edition features 9 live songs (including an unreleased cover), an interview and an interactive menu.
On July 15, 2016, the band announced that Jennifer Haben and her musicians were parting ways. Haben continued the band with new members. The new band line-up (Kai Tschierschky (drums), Tobi Lodes (rhythm guitar), Chris Hermsdörfer (lead guitar), Stefan Herkenhoff (bass) and Jonas Roßner (keyboards)) was announced in November 2016 and organized as a permanent-member band from this time on.
On January 13, 2017, the band's second album ''Lost In Forever'' was released as a Tour Edition with additional song material. Beyond the Black started touring internationally then with shows in the UK, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Japan. In 2017 the band also toured as a support act for
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...
and
Scorpions
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
.
In spring 2018, keyboardist Jonas Roßner left Beyond the Black for private reasons. On August 31, 2018, their third album ''Heart of the Hurricane'' was released, followed by an extensive European tour as support for the Dutch
symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...
band
Within Temptation
Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have been classified by critics as gothic metal and symphonic metal, although each album contains other inf ...
till the end of the year.
In 2019, the band released a Black Edition of their album ''Heart of the Hurricane'' with three new songs and went on a European headline tour, which has mainly sold out.
On June 19, 2020, Beyond the Black released their fourth album ''Hørizøns'', reaching the bands highest chart positions to date. In the course of the release, the band announced a European co-headline tour together with the Swedish/Danish metal band
Amaranthe
Amaranthe is a Swedish metal band originally known as Avalanche. The band is notable for their blend of various metal genres and having three lead vocalists.
History
Formed by Olof Mörck (Dragonland, Nightrage) and Joacim "Jake E" Lundbe ...
.
In July 2022 they took part in the 4 days rock fest "Midalidare - Rock in the Wine Valley",
on the evening of Within Temptation.
On September 9, 2022, Amaranthe released an alternate single version (including a lyric video) of their song "Make It Better", with Haben as a guest singer.
Members
![Beyond the Black - Rock am Ring 2019-1314](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Beyond_the_Black_-_Rock_am_Ring_2019-1314.jpg)
Current members
* Jennifer Haben – lead vocals, piano, acoustic guitar (2014–present)
* Chris Hermsdörfer – lead guitar, backing vocals (2016–present)
* Tobi Lodes – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2016–present)
* Kai Tschierschky – drums (2016–present)
Current live members
* Linus Klausenitzer – bass, backing vocals (2021–present)
Former members
* Nils Lesser – lead guitar (2014–2016)
* Christopher Hummels – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2014–2016)
* Tobias Derer – drums (2014–2016)
* Erwin Schmidt – bass (2014–2016)
* Michael Hauser – keyboards (2014–2016)
* Jonas Roßner – keyboards, backing vocals (2016–2018)
* Stefan Herkenhoff – bass, backing vocals (2016–2021)
Timeline
Discography
Albums
EPs
Singles
Promo singles
Music videos
* "In the Shadows" (2015)
* "Lost in Forever" (2016)
* "Night Will Fade" (2017)
* "Forget My Name (2017 Version)" (2017)
* "Heart of the Hurricane" (2018)
* "Million Lightyears" (2018)
* "Breeze" (2018)
* "Through the Mirror" (2019)
* "Misery" (2020)
* "Human" (2020)
* "Reincarnation" (2022)
* "Dancing In The Dark" (2022)
Promotional videos
* "Songs of Love and Death" (2015)
* "Love Me Forever" (2015)
* "Written In Blood" (2016)
References
External links
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{{Authority control
2014 establishments in Germany
German symphonic metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 2014
Musical groups from Baden-Württemberg
Musical quintets