Flowing Tears was a German

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy met ...

band founded in 2003 in Wadgassen. Their original name was Flowing Tears & Withered Flowers, which they used for their first several releases. The band's final lineup consisted of vocalist Helen Vogt, guitarist/keyboardist

Benjamin Buss Benjamin Buss (; born 7 October 1977), best known by his stage name Matthew Greywolf, is a German musician, best known as the guitarist and a main songwriter in the power metal band Powerwolf. He's married to a photographer Janine Buss. Biog ...

, bassist

David Vogt David Vogt (2 May 1793 – 6 June 1861) was a Norwegian politician. Biography He was the son of Niels Nielsen Vogt Sr. (1755–1809), and a brother of priest and politician Niels Nielsen Vogt and politician Jørgen Herman Vogt. He was an uncle ...

and drummer Stefan Gemballa.

History

1994–1999: Formation and first albums

The band formed in 1994 under the moniker Flowing Tears & Withered Flowers. Under the first name, they released a demo called Bijou in 1995, two full-length albums: ''Swansongs'' in 1996 and ''Joy Parade'' in 1998, and an EP named Swallow in 1999. On ''Swansongs'', Manfred Bersin contributed the male vocals. After the EP's release, the band abridged their name to "Flowing Tears".

2002–2004: ''Serpentine'' and vocalist change

With the release of ''

Serpentine Serpentine may refer to: Shapes * Serpentine shape, a shape resembling a serpent * Serpentine curve, a mathematical curve * Serpentine, a type of riding figure Science and nature * Serpentine subgroup, a group of minerals * Serpentinite, a ...

'' in 2002, the band would build on the work they did with ''

Jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

'', adding a slightly more up tempo and a less melancholy sound. After the release of ''Serpentine'', Stefanie Duchêne left the band for personal reasons. The replacement vocalist became Helen Vogt. With a sound similar to that of ''Serpentine'', and Vogt's vocal similarities with Stefanie Duchêne's vocals, the band released their fifth studio album, '' Razorbliss''. The band toured with After Forever in April and May 2004. On 20 October 2004, just seven months after the release of ''Razorbliss'', two founding members of Flowing Tears, Björn Lorson and Cristian Zimmer (the first of whom was still in the band's lineup at the time), died in a car accident.

2008–2014: ''Thy Kingdom Gone'' and a hiatus

October 2008 saw the release of Flowing Tears' sixth full-length album, ''

Thy Kingdom Gone ''Thy Kingdom Gone'' is a concept album and the sixth full-length album by the German gothic metal band Flowing Tears. The cover art was made by Seth Siro Anton, who has previously worked with bands such as Moonspell, Soilwork, and Paradise Lost ...

''. It is a concept album containing 12 songs, along with artwork made by

Seth Siro Anton Spiros Antoniou (Greek: Σπύρος Αντωνίου; born 24 October 1973 in Athens, Greece) is a Greek death metal singer, bassist, and visual artist best known for his work with Greek symphonic death metal band Septicflesh, in which he has been ...

, an artist who has done work for Moonspell,

Soilwork Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name ''Inferior Breed'', the band changed their name in late 1996 to S ...

, and

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

. The band is on hiatus according to a Facebook status update in January 2013 by Helen Vogt, she expressed that she does wish to record a new album someday. However, she announced in March 2014 that ''Thy Kingdom Gone'' would be the band's final album.

Members

Final lineup

* Helen Vogt – vocals (2003–2014) *

– guitars, programming, keyboards (1994–2014) *

– bass guitar (2007–2014) * Stefan Gemballa – drums (2002–2014)

Former members

* Lena Fischer – keyboards (1994–1995) * Björn Lorson – guitar (1994–1995) (deceased) * Manfred Bersin – vocals (1994–1998); guitar (1996–1999) * Christian Zimmer – drums (1994–1997) (deceased) * Stefanie Duchêne – vocals (1998–2003) * Eric Hilt – drums (1998–2000) * Mike Voltz – keyboards (2000) * Frédéric Lesny – bass (1994–2007)

Timeline

Discography

As Flowing Tears & Withered Flowers

*''Bijou'' (demo; 1995) *''Swansongs'' (1996) *''Joy Parade'' (1998) *''Swallow'' (EP; 1999)

As Flowing Tears

*''

'' (2000) *''

'' (2002) *'' Razorbliss'' (2004) *''Invanity – Live in Berlin'' (2007) *''

'' (2008)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1994 Musical quartets German gothic metal musical groups German heavy metal musical groups German doom metal musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 2014 1994 establishments in Germany 2014 disestablishments in Germany