The German football club EINTRACHT FRANKFURT is set to celebrate its 120th anniversary in the Commerzbank Arena (stadium) in the most extraordinary and unprecedented settings on Saturday, June 29th, 2019.
Together with the hr-Sinfonieorchester and many other artists, the club is set to embark on a unique journey back through time, and through their history. There will be musical highs and lows, in the style of the “moody diva”.
Also, the thrash metal legends TANKARD will perform the club’s anthem ‘Schwarz-weiß wie Schnee’ together with the Sinphony-Orchestra, for the first time.
Frontman Gerre states:
“It is a great honour for us to be able to perform live in the Waldstadion again. We will only be playing one song live, but it will be our Eintracht anthem “Schwarz-Weiss wie Schnee” together with the Hessian symphony orchestra! Classical meets Thrash Metal – hopefully this works well and the conductor won’t lose his baton… hahaha… we are really looking forward to this event, especially as it will be broadcast live on Hessen TV”.
The German TV station HR will stream the whole event live on TV and the internet. Check it out on Saturday, 20:15 CET here: https://www.hr-fernsehen.de/livestream/index.html
After the event, the TV-station will show a movie about club legend Jürgen Grabowski, in which the band also took part – so it’s worth staying tuned.
Impressively, the track has been performed three times by the band before the German football cup final (2006, 2017 & 2018) in which their hometown team Eintracht Frankfurt participated. Check out the official video here: https://youtu.be/t1ywnQ6qhgg
‘Schwarz-weiß wie Schnee’ is the anthem of the German football club Eintrach Frankfurt and has been played in the stadium for ten years before every home game. The song has now been completely re-recorded by the band. The thrashers were supported by Henni Nachtsheim (BADESALZ), Ande Werner (MUNDSTUHL) and Roy Hammer (ROY HAMMER & DIE PRALINÉES), who can be heard in the backing choir. The artwork was designed by cult comic artist Michael Apitz, whose comics have been published for years in the stadium newspaper of Eintracht Frankfurt.
You can order the EP here: www.nuclearblast.de/tankard
TANKARD released their highly praised 17th studio album »One Foot In The Grave« in June 2017 via Nuclear Blast Records. With the enormous support of their loyal fan base, the band entered the German album charts at #26, which marks the highest entry in the band’s career.
Order »One Foot In The Grave«: http://nblast.de/TankardOFITGNB
Order »One Foot In The Grave« digitally: http://nblast.de/TankardDigital
More on »One Foot In The Grave«:
‘One Foot In The Grave’ OFFICIAL VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkwWlPtKXdE
‘Arena Of The True Lies’ OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXto44JfQOQ
‘Syrian Nightmare’ OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqbYApfeUeE
35 Years Of TANKARD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYxHcFVO6eo
TANKARD – Tourdates 2019:
05.07. D Wiesbaden – Schlachthof (Kesselhaus)
06.07. D Nordheim – Sunstorm Festival
13.07. A Leoben – Area 53 Festival
10.08. CZ Jaroměř – Brutal Assault
24.08. D Wörrstadt – Neuborn Open Air
13.09. D Jena – F-Haus
14.09. D Regensburg – Alte Mälzerei
27.09. D Wuppertal – Live Club Barmen
28.09. D Hinte – Coastrock Festival
2020:
29.05. D Kassel – 130bpm
30.05. D Hamburg – Kronensaal (Kulturpalast)
31.05. D Flensburg – Roxy
German thrash metal legends TANKARD have released an official video clip for their song ‘Schwarz-weiß wie Schnee’, taken from the identically named EP, which was re-released in 2017 via Nuclear Blast. Impressively, the track has been performed three times by the band before the German football cup final (2006, 2017 & 2018) in which their hometown team Eintracht Frankfurt participated. Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/t1ywnQ6qhgg
The video was produced by Ralf Holl (Soccer Records) and filmed by Doug Laurent.’Schwarz-weiß wie Schnee’ is the anthem of the German football club Eintrach Frankfurt and has been played in the stadium for ten years before every home game. The song has now been completely re-recorded by the band. The thrashers were supported by Henni Nachtsheim (BADESALZ), Ande Werner (MUNDSTUHL) and Roy Hammer (ROY HAMMER & DIE PRALINÉES), who can be heard in the backing choir. The artwork was designed by cult comic artist Michael Apitz, whose comics have been published for years in the stadium newspaper of Eintracht Frankfurt.
You can order the EP here: www.nuclearblast.de/tankard
TANKARD released their highly praised 17th studio album »One Foot In The Grave« in June 2017 via Nuclear Blast Records. With the enormous support of their loyal fan base, the band entered the German album charts at #26, which marks the highest entry in the band’s career.
Order »One Foot In The Grave«: http://nblast.de/TankardOFITGNB
Order »One Foot In The Grave« digitally: http://nblast.de/TankardDigital
More on »One Foot In The Grave«:
‘One Foot In The Grave’ OFFICIAL VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkwWlPtKXdE
‘Arena Of The True Lies’ OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXto44JfQOQ
‘Syrian Nightmare’ OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqbYApfeUeE
35 Years Of TANKARD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYxHcFVO6eo
TANKARD – Tourdates 2018:
28.12. D Saarbrücken – Garage
29.12. D Munich – Feierwerk
TANKARD – Tourdates 2019:
01.03. RUS St. Petersburg – Mod Club
02.03. RUS Moscow – Station Hall
06.04. UK Glasgow – Lords of the Land Festival
13.04. D Dettelbach – Metal Franconia Festival
10.05. D Mannheim – 7er Club
11.05. D Kassel – K19
07.06. D Aschaffenburg – Colos-Saal
08.06. D Oschersleben – Rock & Metal Day’z
21.06. D Büßfeld – M.I.S.E. Open Air
22.06. D Uttenhofen – Aaargh Festival
05.07. D Wiesbaden – Schlachthof (Kesselhaus)
06.07. D Nordheim – Sunstorm Festival
13.07. A Leoben – Area 53 Festival
10.08. CZ Jaroměř – Brutal Assault
23./24.08. D Wörrstadt – Neuborn Open Air
13.09. D Jena – F-Haus
27.09. D Wuppertal – Live Club Barmen
28.09. D Emden – Coast Rock Festival
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German cult thrashers TANKARD are pleased to announce that they’ll perform at the German DFB cup final this year, which will impressively be their third appearance at the huge event. Like their appearances in 2006 and 2017, the band will be playing ‘Schwarz-weiß wie Schnee’ which is their favourite football team, Eintracht Frankfurt‘s club anthem. They‘ll be performing in front of the Eintracht Frankfurt‘s fan stand on May 19th. After that, it’ll be all or nothing for their team in the match against Bayern Munich.”The best things come in threes. Of course we’re very proud that we’re once again invited to perform right before the cup final at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, and it’ll be a real challenge to surpass last year’s event. But this
year, we’re going to win the cup and won’t take Helene Fischer home.
Black/white/red regardsGerre”The event will be broadcasted on ARD, kick off will be at 8pm CEST.
Check out ‘Schwarz-weiß wie Schnee’, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y_CBNpbW-Q
Order the ‘Schwarz-weiß wie Schnee’ 7″ vinyl single, here:www.nuclearblast.de/suche/264203
More on TANKARD:‘One Foot In The Grave’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkwWlPtKXdE
‘Arena Of The True Lies’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXto44JfQOQ
‘Syrian Nightmare’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqbYApfeUeE
‘Pay To Pray’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG7XMB2fjTE
35 Years Of TANKARD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYxHcFVO6eo
TANKARD live:
08.05. ES San Salvador – Cifco
09.05. CO Cali – Discoteca Green Bird
10.05. CO Bogotá – Royal Center
15.06. D Ferropolis – With Full Force
05.07. E Barcelona – Rock Fest
20.07. D Fritzlar – Rock am Stück
21.07. D Weil am Rhein – Baden in Blut Open Air
27.07. D Brande-Hörnerkirchen – Headbangers Open Air
28.07. D Essen – Nord Open Air
11.08. D Schlotheim – Party.San Open Air
17.08. D Dinkelsbühl – Summer Breeze
08.09. CH Hüttikon – Meh Suff! Metal-Festival
21.09. D Würzburg – Posthalle
22.09. D Magdeburg – Factory
19.10. D Leipzig – Hellraiser
20.10. CZ Brno – Melodka
21.10. CZ Prague – Rock Café
02.11. D Karlsruhe – Substage
03.11. D Andernach – JUZ Liveclub
23.11. D Aachen – Musikbunker
24.11. NL Ulft – Metal on Metal
30.11. D Hanover – MusikZentrum
01.12. D Dresden – Skullcrusher
08.12. D Oberhausen – Ruhrpott Metal Meeting
28.12. D Saarbrücken – Garage
29.12. D Munich – Feierwerk
]]>First, it is important to mention that One Foot In The Grave is not your typical Tankard album. It is much too serious for this. So no, no party album this time. There are still some party songs, of course, but the serious songs are much more numerous. This is not to say that Tankard never wrote any serious song (‘Minds On The Moon‘ anyone?). In fact, they wrote a couple of them over the years, but they are not exactly typical for the band.
Take the first song ‘Pay To Pray’, for instance. The entire song is an attack against a form of religion where faith becomes a form of oppression that brainwashes and exploits the average believer. It would be a mistake to interpret the song as a general stab against Christianity – the band is on good terms with Running Wild’s first bassist “Preacher” who is both an ordained Protestant pastor and also still a Heavy Metal fan, but it is definitely a stab against what Christianity can be (ab-)used for. The song is about anger and frustration expressed by fast-paced drums, Gerre’s vocals, harsh guitars. In addition, the song pretty much sets the mood for the rest of the album. One could probably call it “righteous anger”, the anger of somebody who cares a bit too much for his own good, but it is also the kind of anger that can be used for good. It is the kind of anger that can motivate people to actually do something to improve the state of the world. It will likely inspire some quite brutal moshpits as well.
The next song ‘Arena of True Lies’ is not much different. Frustration and anger again, this time aimed at the use of social media, the fakeness (actual fake news included) that plagues it, and the loss of actual human interaction. It is also a fast paced Thrash song, that still feels sort of strange for Tankard. Although, this can be said about every Tankard song, particularly when you get several of them in a row.
This is what makes the album so different. It is not a party “let’s drink some beer” album with maybe one or two serious songs thrown in for good measure. It is a serious album with a few party songs thrown in to lighten up the mood. Particularly ‘Syrian Nightmares’ shines in this respect. However, the song is as serious as it can get, and very much in the vein of the aforementioned classic ‘Minds On The Moon’. The only difference is that ‘Syrian Nightmares’ is more Thrash while ‘Minds On The Moon’ feels more like a punk rock song.
So no, ‘One Foot In The Grave’ is not a party album. It sure has its party moments, but those are rare. Nevertheless, so what? Life is not just about beer and parties, sometimes it is about this particular kind of anger that does not rage blindly, but rather tries to instil you with the wish for a change. It is positive and constructive anger, anger that speaks from the heart, mature anger that screams for a change for the better. Chances are the next Tankard album will be on the silly side again, but for once let us enjoy Tankard’s mature side on One Foot In The Grave. Nine devils!
]]>Given the sheer size of a sizeable portion of the mostly male audience that night the latter was pretty much to be expected and – not surprisingly – there were some really big guys right in the pit! However, mosh pit etiquette was still in place and in fact there were several incidents where the mosh pit took a break to help somebody up. Wild, but not heartless just as it should be. This is not to say that the big guys were necessarily the wildest. In fact there were a couple of smaller guys who were even wilder and also gave stage diving a try every now and then. There were also a couple of female fans who graced the first row with their presence and gave the bands something to smile at. So yes, Thrash Metal shows like this one require a certain toughness, but they are nowhere near as suicidal as they might look like to the uninitiated.
Abandoned
After this introduction it is time to write a couple of words about the support act, Abandoned. The first nice thing I noticed about them was the full sound they got. Nothing was muted which gave them the chance to shine, or rather the chance to thrash! In fact they did so in a way that one could not help but feel sorry for the fans who had not arrived early enough for their set, because why else if not for sweaty Old School Thrash Metal do you come to a Tankard gig anyway? Those who were there were able to enjoy a set from a band that clearly enjoyed themselves, the audience and the music. A giant hippy love-feast so to say, but with a mosh pit that likely left quite a few fans with bruises. In fact the connection between the band and the audience was so good that the fans even forgave Abandoned for drinking imported apple cider – Abandoned and Tankard come from an area where it is a very popular beverage – instead of the local beer. Those who know how serious Germans take their local brews will understand what this means.
All this is obviously not for everyone, but then, how many people happen to stumble into an Old School Thrash Metal gig without any clue about what to expect? So yes, Abandoned were graced with an audience that was extremely open for their music which caused their vocalist Kalli to joke around with the audience on more than one occasion. All this made their set a very enjoyable experience. Go and see them, if you can!
Website: Abandoned (Facebook)
Tankard
No matter how popular apple cider is in Frankfurt, Tankard are the self-proclaimed kings of beer for a reason. In fact it feels like every second song is about beer in one way, or another. But then, so what? They might take their music seriously, but they are also about having a good time, be it with music, or with a tankard full of beer. And they and their fans obviously had a good time. Mosh pits again, crowd surfers, stage divers, headbangers… the audience was going nuts from the beginning to the end of the set. It was simply about the music and the shared joy, but it was obviously not about pretentious looks. In fact nobody really cared about traditional beauty standards here. In fact Tankard seems to be hell bend on breaking these standards intentionally. This is not really surprising about Tankard, but in a way it is always interesting and fun to see how liberating this was. You’ve got a beer belly? Who cares! You have wrinkles? So what! You do not even try to live up to conventional beauty standards? You are still one of us! You happen to be sporty and in training? You are welcomed just like the rest of the crowd! Looks, weight, gender… nobody really cared about that. It was all about the music and the community amongst the fans and the bands.
But what about the music, you might wonder? Hello? This is Tankard! Mean hard Old School Thrash Metal! Riffs, solos, fast paced drums, shouted vocals! Song-wise the fans got their treats in the form of songs like ‘The Morning After‘, ‘Rest In Beer‘, ‘Empty Tankard‘, ‘Freibier‘, but were also exposed to ‘Minds On The Moon’ with its surprisingly serious lyrical content that is so totally not about fun, but rather about the political madness in the world today.
All the songs were played typical Tankard style, of course with Mr. Frank Torwarth (bass) making his typical funny faces while Gerre (vocals) showed that he could not care less about his belly while on stage. Just the guitarist didn’t seem to fit in, no look-wise at least. Being a half-marathon runner simply makes you stand out when you rock on stage with bandmates like Frank and Gerre. Though, one has to admit that the drummer Oliver “O.W.” Werner is also surprisingly lean, but then playing the drums for a band like Tankard likely burns a lot of calories.
But no matter what, the quartet delivered an energetic show which was to be expected, but which is still kind of surprising. Tankard has been at it for about 35 years already after all. Not one day dead so to say!
Maybe their secret is that they actually celebrate themselves? Whatever it is, Tankard is like a hard rocking dinosaur (check out that song!) that is not likely to become extinct anytime soon, no matter how often Gerre jokes about the band’s age. Seriously, Tankard. One foot in the grave? Are you kidding me? You are strong as ever!
Website: Tankard (Facebook)
Oh, and if you should wonder about the band from Gerre’s shirt then wonder no more: Fleischwolf (Facebook)