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(; "New German Hardness", sometimes abbreviated as NDH), also known as dance-metal, is a crossover style drawing from Neue Deutsche Welle,
alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
, groove metal,
electro-industrial Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the early 1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound ...
and techno. It developed in Germany and Austria during the early-to-mid 1990s and early 2000s. Alluding to the style of Neue Deutsche Welle, the term was coined by the music press after the 1995 release of
Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...
's first studio album '' Herzeleid''.


Characteristics

describes a crossover style that is influenced by Neue Deutsche Welle,
alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
and groove metal combining it with elements from
electro-industrial Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the early 1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound ...
and techno. The lyrics are generally in German. NDH uses the basic setup of instruments for metal: electric guitar, bass guitar, drums and vocals, along with keyboard, synthesizers, samples and sometimes additional percussion. Emphasis is on a demonstration of predominance, by over-pronouncing certain
syllable A syllable is a basic unit of organization within a sequence of speech sounds, such as within a word, typically defined by linguists as a ''nucleus'' (most often a vowel) with optional sounds before or after that nucleus (''margins'', which are ...
s and sounds (such as the uvular or
alveolar trill The voiced alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental consonant, dental, alveolar consonant, alveolar, and postalveolar consonant, postalve ...
). The vocals are dominantly presenting in deep, male and clean voice. Some bands use screaming and death growls, which is also common, being heard in certain songs by Oomph!,
Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...
, Joachim Witt, Megaherz and
Eisbrecher ; ) is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band founded by Alexander Wesselsky and Noel Pix after their departure from Megaherz, with the founders describing their music style as "modern, electronic trip-rock". The band consists primarily of Alexand ...
. NDH imagery is often strongly masculine and militaristic. Guitars are tuned low, usually to drop D or drop C, and are generally heavily distorted. The NDH style has crossed borders and its popularity has grown in recent years to such an extent that there are already bands outside Germany, such as the Spanish band Bloody Kitchen, who do not use German in their songs as usual and their lyrics are also entirely in Spanish.


History

The rudiments of the NDH style were established by Oomph! on their seminal second album, ''Sperm'' (1994), and by
Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...
with their first album '' Herzeleid'' (1995). In those days, Oomph!'s biggest influence were groove metal bands such as Prong,
Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...
and Sepultura. Rammstein, who take inspiration from a wide array of bands including
Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...
and Ministry, is the style's most famous and successful practitioner. NDH is especially successful in
continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...
; Rammstein have sold nearly four million records in Germany, while accumulating gold and platinum records in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and Finland. Oomph! achieved a gold record for their 2004 " Augen auf!" single in Austria and Germany.
Eisbrecher ; ) is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band founded by Alexander Wesselsky and Noel Pix after their departure from Megaherz, with the founders describing their music style as "modern, electronic trip-rock". The band consists primarily of Alexand ...
's 2004 self-titled debut album entered at No. 13 on the Deutsche Alternative Top 20 Chart, while the group's second album (''
Antikörper ''Antikörper'' (German for ''Antibodies, Antibody'') is the second studio album by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Eisbrecher, released on 20 October 2006. It debuted on the Media Control Charts at number 85 and on the Deutsche Alternative C ...
'') reached the No. 85 position on the German main chart. Other NDH groups include Hanzel und Gretyl, L'âme Immortelle and Unheilig.


Cultural influence

In 2011, English comic and musician Bill Bailey parodied the Neue Deutsche Härte style by releasing a cover of
Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...
's "Scarborough Fair" in the style of Rammstein.


Music

Platz, Nym and Balanck describe , in Nym's compilation ''Iridescent Dark'', as a pronounced and powerful merging of German metal with hardcore influences and elements of techno – all coming together with the capabilities of modern music production. The instrumentation usually consists of guitars, bass guitars, drums, vocals, electronic synthesisers and sometimes drum machines. The electronic components of the instrumentation are often employed to create string arrangements, melody samples and loops, or background elements. Previous descriptions of the style of NDH make reference to it being a stylistic crossover of many different subcultures. During its first surge in popularity, NDH proved to be a music direction which made use of heavy metal and hardcore influences as well as elements of techno with German lyrics. According to Martin Büsser, the style is characterised by its visual aesthetic of "searching for the best possible and most marketable midway." As a result, NDH incorporates electronic sound and martial rhythm with musical elements of heavy metal, dark metal and oftentimes light amounts of
rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...
. Typical features such as highly technical distorted guitar riffs have been adopted from
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
and heavy metal and are often modified post recording to add further effect to their sound. The guitar riffs are often played in
staccato Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of Articulation (music), musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and ...
with a monotonous sound and are similar to those of popular modern metal from the 1990s. The rhythm focused riffs resemble those of
alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
and groove metal bands. Just like groove metal, NDH bands lean towards mid-tempo riffs, which gain additional rhythm dominance through the use of syncopation. Additionally, strong distorted power chords and palm muting are typically incorporated into this style, and distorted and dominating basslines are also commonly used. The employment of electronic effects from synthesisers and keyboards are also characteristic of NDH, in which they are used to provide artificial string arrangements, melodic components and loops – both melodic hanger loops and background elements. The use of synthesisers and relatively simple rhythms is closely related to 1990s techno. The rhythm is occasionally created through the use of drum machines. The vocals are mostly performed by men using a deep voice "enunciating every syllable". Female vocalists – such as Luci van Org from Übermutter, or Greta Czatlos in some releases from Untoten, are rarely represented as lead singers in the genre of NDH. The rolled 'R' – popularised by Rammstein – is a frequently occurring feature. The vocal melody merges with the backing track and sometimes becomes '' Sprechgesang''.


Content

The lyrics often contain phrases laden with meaning and connotation in simple rhyme schemes that are semantically connected and often get repeated. The texts are often about general topics such as love, hate, jealousy, sexuality, religion and death, with a certain tendency to break taboos by dealing with shock topics like extreme forms of sadomasochism,
necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction or acts involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ''International ...
,
incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...
, cannibalism and
sexual abuse of children Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whe ...
. Büsser calls this manner a gladiator show and display of masculinity that is simply based on shock. Vocals, instruments and manner are intended to display strength. Bands who use indulgent militaristic aesthetics or who make ambiguous reference to
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
have been harshly criticized;
Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...
and Joachim Witt in particular have been confronted regarding this issue many times. Rammstein has made several songs distancing themselves from Nazism, specifically " Links 2 3 4" and " Deutschland". A striking characteristic of the genre are the many band names that consist of conjoined nouns and that are intended to sound hard and strong when pronounced.


Scene

Although NDH is popular, no separate
youth subculture Youth subculture is a youth-based subculture with distinct styles, behaviors, and interests. Youth subcultures offer participants an identity outside of that ascribed by social institutions such as family, employment, work, home and school. Youth ...
exists. The music genre developed independently from any scenes and instead finds its listeners in various subcultures such as the
heavy metal subculture Fans of heavy metal music, commonly referred to as "Metalheads", have created their own subculture that encompasses more than just appreciation of the style of music. Fans affirm their membership in the subculture or scene by attending metal conce ...
or the dark culture. Popular dark culture magazines such as '' Orkus'', '' Sonic Seducer'' and '' Zillo'' frequently feature interviews and reviews about representatives of the NDH music genre. The popularity of the genre spread especially due to many NDH bands appearing at big events showcasing a multitude of genres (
indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
,
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
or
alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
festivals) such as the Wacken Open Air festival but also by holding concerts and going on tours. Rammstein for example performed as a supporting act of the band Project Pitchfork, a band situated in the dark wave genre, on their "Alpha-Omega" tour in 1995.


Bands


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neue Deutsche Harte 20th-century music genres Rock music genres Heavy metal genres Industrial music German styles of music Culture of Germany Neue Deutsche Welle