Beyond the Black

Beyond the Black
Beyond the Black performing at Arena Leipzig in 2023
Background information
OriginMannheim, Germany
GenresSymphonic metal
Years active2014 (2014)–present
LabelsAirforce1 Records,[1] Napalm Records, Nuclear Blast[2]
Members
  • Jennifer Haben
  • Kai Tschierschky
  • Tobi Lodes
  • Chris Hermsdörfer
Past members
  • Stefan Herkenhoff
  • Nils Lesser
  • Christopher Hummels
  • Tobias Derer
  • Erwin Schmidt
  • Michael Hauser
  • Jonas Roßner
Websitebeyond-the-black.com

Beyond the Black is a German symphonic metal band formed in 2014 in Mannheim.[3][4] Their debut album Songs of Love and Death became popular immediately after the release, and entered the German and Austrian national music charts.[5]

History

[edit]

2014-2016: Beginnings, Songs of Love and Death and Lost in Forever

[edit]

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 2014 festival and on tour supporting Saxon and Hell.[6][7]

On 13 February 2015, Beyond the Black released their debut full-length album Songs of Love and Death, which reached the 12th place in the German music charts[8] and 21st place in the Austrian charts.[5][9] The album was produced by Sascha Paeth (Avantasia) and received mostly positive reviews from critics.[10][11] A week later, on February 20, the band appeared on the German Sat.1 Breakfast television with the song "In the Shadows".[12]

From 13 May 2015, the band embarked on its first tour through Germany, including an appearance at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen on May 23, 2015[13] 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.

2016-2023: Full lineup change, Heart of the Hurricane and Hørizøns

[edit]

On July 15, 2016, the band announced that Jennifer Haben and her musicians were parting ways. Haben continued the band with new members.[14] 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 and Scorpions.

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 band Within Temptation 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.

In July 2022 they took part in the 4 days rock fest "Midalidare - Rock in the Wine Valley",[15][16] 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.

2023-present: Self-titled album

[edit]

The band released their fifth, self-titled album on January 13, 2023.

Members

[edit]
  • Current members
  • Jennifer Haben – lead vocals, piano, acoustic guitar (2014–present)
    Jennifer Haben – lead vocals, piano, acoustic guitar (2014–present)
  • Chris Hermsdörfer – lead guitar, backing vocals (2016–present)
    Chris Hermsdörfer – lead guitar, backing vocals (2016–present)
  • Tobias Lodes – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2016–present)
    Tobias Lodes – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2016–present)
  • Kai Tschierschky – drums (2016–present)
    Kai Tschierschky – drums (2016–present)
Jennifer Haben, lead vocalist from Beyond The Black at "Dancing In The Dark Tour" in Stuttgart 2024
Beyond the Black live at Rock am Ring 2019

Current live members

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

[edit]

Albums

[edit]
Title Album details Peak chart positions
GER
[8] 		AUT
[9] 		BEL
[17] 		SWI
[18]
Songs of Love and Death
  • Release: 13 February 2015[19]
  • Label: Airforce1
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 12 21 — 51
Lost in Forever
  • Release: 12 February 2016[20]
  • Label: Airforce1 Records
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 4 21 — 28
Heart of the Hurricane
  • Release: 31 August 2018
  • Label: Napalm Records
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl
 5 28 — 14
Hørizøns
  • Released: 19 June 2020
  • Label: Napalm Records
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl
 3 16 53 6
Beyond the Black
  • Released: 13 January 2023
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl
 2 14 101 6

EPs

[edit]
Year Title
2020 "W:O:A Acoustic Clash: The Lockdown Session"

Singles

[edit]
Year Title Album
2015 "In the Shadows" Songs of Love and Death
2016 "Lost in Forever" Lost in Forever
2017 "Night Will Fade" Lost In Forever (Tour Edition)
"Forget My Name (2017 Version)" N/A
2018 "Heart of the Hurricane" Heart of the Hurricane
"Million Lightyears"
2020 "Misery" Hørizøns
"Golden Pariahs"
"Wounded Healer"
"Human"
2021 "Wasted Years" (Amazon Original)" N/A
2022 "Reincarnation" Beyond the Black
"Is There Anybody Out There?"
"Winter Is Coming"
"Dancing In The Dark"

Promo singles

Year Title Album
2015 "Songs of Love and Death" Songs of Love and Death
"Love Me Forever"
2016 "Written in Blood" Lost in Forever
"Halo of the Dark"
2018 "My God Is Dead" Heart of the Hurricane

Music videos

[edit]
  • "In the Shadows" (2015)[21][22]
  • "Lost in Forever" (2016)[23]
  • "Night Will Fade" (2017)[24]
  • "Forget My Name (2017 Version)" (2017)[25]
  • "Heart of the Hurricane" (2018)[26]
  • "Million Lightyears" (2018)[27]
  • "Breeze" (2018)[28]
  • "Through the Mirror" (2019)[29]
  • "Misery" (2020) [30]
  • "Human" (2020) [31]
  • "Reincarnation" (2022) [32]
  • "Dancing In The Dark" (2022) [33]
  • "Free me" (2023)
  • "Call my name" (2023)

Promotional videos

[edit]
  • "Songs of Love and Death" (2015)[34]
  • "Love Me Forever" (2015)[35]
  • "Written In Blood" (2016) [36]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Beyond The Black". Airforce1.tv. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Beyond The Black". Nuclearblast.com. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Official biography". Universal Music Deutschland (in German). Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Beyond the Black". ALLMusic. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Beyond The Black - Songs Of Love And Death". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Beyond The Black support Saxon & Hell on UK tour dates". Wacken.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Hören sie "Beyond the Black" im stream: Liefern sie das metal-debüt des jahres?". Bild (in German). 14 February 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Discographie von Beyond the Black". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Österreichische Hitparaden und Musik Portal". austriancharts.at (in German). Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  10. ^ "Beyond The Black - Songs of Love and Death". Metal Hammer (in German). 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  11. ^ "Beyond The Black – Songs Of Love And Death review". Metal-Temple.com. 8 March 2015. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  12. ^ Kessler, Sebastian (20 February 2015). "Metal-Newcomer Beyond The Black im Sat.1 Frühstücksfernsehen: Video vom TV-Auftritt". Metal Hammer (in German). Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  13. ^ "Wave Gotik Treffen 2015 Bericht und Fotos". NecroWeb - Musikmagazin (in German). 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  14. ^ "Beyond The Black is looking for new musicians". 15 July 2016. Archived from the original on 17 March 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  15. ^ "Midalidare rock 2022: BEYOND THE BLACK AT MIDALIDARE ROCK IN THE WINE VALLEY". midalidarerock.bg.
  16. ^ "BEYOND THE BLACK at Midalidare Rock 2022".
  17. ^ "Beyond the Black – Beyond the Black" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  18. ^ "Discographie Beyond the Black". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  19. ^ "Encyclopaedia Metallum - Songs of Love and Death - Beyond the Black". Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  20. ^ "Lost In Forever (Limited Deluxe Fanbox) CD+DVD, Limited Edition". Amazon.com. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  21. ^ "Seht hier zuerst das neue Beyond The Black-Video zu 'In The Shadows'". Metal Hammer (in German). 29 January 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  22. ^ Beyond The Black - In The Shadows (Official video) on YouTube Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  23. ^ Beyond The Black - Lost In Forever on YouTube Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  24. ^ "Beyond The Black - Night Will Fade (Official Video) {Ketzerbraut Version}". YouTube. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  25. ^ "Beyond The Black - Forget My Name (re-recorded) [Music Video]". YouTube. December 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  26. ^ "BEYOND THE BLACK - Heart of the Hurricane (Official Lyric Video) | Napalm Records - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  27. ^ "BEYOND THE BLACK - Million Lightyears (Official Video)". YouTube. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  28. ^ "BEYOND THE BLACK - Breeze (Official Video)". www.youtube.com. YouTube. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  29. ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2019-08-02. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  30. ^ "BEYOND THE BLACK - Misery (Official Video) | Napalm Records - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  31. ^ "BEYOND THE BLACK - Human (Official Video)". www.youtube.com. YouTube. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  32. ^ "BEYOND THE BLACK - Reincarnation (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)". www.youtube.com. YouTube. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  33. ^ "BEYOND THE BLACK - Dancing In The Dark (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)". www.youtube.com. YouTube. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  34. ^ Beyond The Black - Songs Of Love and Death Teaser on YouTube Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  35. ^ Beyond The Black - Love Me Forever Teaser on YouTube Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  36. ^ Written In Blood on YouTube
[edit]
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