''Zillo'' (or ''Zillostrierte'') was a German alternative music magazine, published monthly, originally edited by Rainer "Easy" Ettler. It was in circulation between 1989 and 2014. The headquarters of ''Zillo'' were in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

History

The magazine was founded in 1989 under the name ''Zillostrierte'', and three issues were published in A5 format. The format was changed to the double-size

A4 format A4 most often refers to: *A4 paper, a paper size defined by the ISO 216 standard, measuring 210 × 297 mm A4 and variants may also refer to: Science and mathematics * British NVC community A4 (''Hydrocharis morsus-ranae - Stratiotes aloide ...

, and the name was shortened to ''Zillo'' in January 1990 after a four-month break in publication, and the magazine managed to gain circulation of about 50,000 readers. Despite a positive response and an increasing number of readers, the magazine was generating a monthly loss of 10,000

Deutsche Marks The Deutsche Mark (; English language, English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. I ...

. At the end of 1990 the debt was over 100,000. To avoid bankruptcy, it was decided to increase the retail price. By 1992, circulation had increased to 70,000, and the magazine had become the mouthpiece of indie and goth culture as well as the

Neue Deutsche Welle Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW, , "New German Wave") is a genre of West German rock music originally derived from post-punk and new wave music with electronic influences. The term was first coined by Dutch radio DJ Frits Spits on the popular nationwid ...

("new German wave") movement, financed by its

classifieds Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements used ...

. In January 2014, a fire destroyed the entire editorial office, the logistics department and storage rooms of ''Zillo''. The editorial staff announced on their website that the planned production of the February and March issues could not be realised. Later it was announced that the next issue would be released in 2015, but no new issues have been published since.

Music

''Zillo'' regularly included a sampler CD which contained both well-known acts and new, lesser-known bands. They regularly released compilation CDs since 1991. The compilation ''Zillo Dark Summer - Best Of Goth Open Airs 2000'' was on the German Alternative Charts in 2000 for 8 weeks, peaking at number 1. The ''Zillo Festival 2001'' compilation also charted on the DAC. Selected editions also included a second CD, a DVD, a calendar, or gimmicks like an

ice scraper An ice scraper is a handheld tool for removing frost, ice, and snow from windows, usually on automobiles. Basic scrapers have a plastic blade and handle, though some have blades made out of metal. More complex models often include brushes to h ...

. The following sections appear in ''Zillo Music'':

Comics

An appreciable part of ''Zillo'' were the

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

. The first comics were drawn by Nicole Scheriau and Marcus Zysk, from April 1993 and onward, often making fun of the New Wave and

Goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

movements. Scheriau was replaced in September 1995 with Uwe Roesch and his ''Dead'' comics, which, like Scheriau's, made fun of the Goth scene. Recently, there were 2-3 comics in every issue with death-specific icons that illustrate individual headings.

Festival

From 1993 to 1997, ''Zillo'' organized the

Zillo Festival ''Zillo'' (or ''Zillostrierte'') was a German alternative music magazine, published monthly, originally edited by Rainer "Easy" Ettler. It was in circulation between 1989 and 2014. The headquarters of ''Zillo'' were in Lübeck. History The magaz ...

. First planned in 1990, the open-air concert didn't happen until 1993. It has been held in many places, starting in

Durmersheim Durmersheim is a small town in the district of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Southwest Germany and has a population of 12,112 (2020). Durmersheim is situated between Karlsruhe and Rastatt, in the valley of the river Rhine near the border to Fra ...

in 1993 and 1994, then Russelsheim in 1995. Between 1996 and 1999 it took place at the airport in

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...

. This annual music festival turned in to the

M'era Luna Festival The M'era Luna is a rock festival that encompasses a number of different styles such as metal, future pop, aggrotech, synthpop, gothic rock, dark wave, and ebm. It is held annually on the second weekend of every August, in Hildesheim, Ge ...

Zillo Shop

Over the years, the Zillo shop emerged as significant support for the magazine. At both festivals and the online store, Zillo sells such things as T-shirts, sample CDs, mugs, watches, rear window stickers, and accessories with dark, quirky motifs. The shop includes over 100 death-themed images.

External links

Zillo's website

Website for Medieval Zillo

website for M'era Luna

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zillo 1989 establishments in West Germany 2014 disestablishments in Germany Defunct magazines published in Germany German-language magazines Magazines established in 1989 Magazines disestablished in 2014 Music magazines published in Germany Mass media in Lübeck