After a break of five years the German formation Engelsstaub is back! They started in the early 90’s, their first album was Malleus Maleficarum (’93). In the course of time the sound of the band developed and incorporated various influences, like ritual and medieval styles, with elements from classical and world music. Band members Mark Hofmann and Janusz Zaremba (he’s Polish) are also the owners of Apollyon Records which amongst other artists released work of Ataraxia. Mark’s sister Silke sings, she has a beautiful voice, which mixes nicely with Janusz’ vocals.
Anderswelt sounds like a very mature product. The band uses traditional instruments, orchestra instruments, piano, acoustic guitar as well as modern synthetic sounds. My favourite song is the fast and merry Faerieland, which I have already heard a few times at parties. But the more laid-back songs are also very good. Most songs are in English, but there are also texts in French and German. A lot of attention was paid to the booklet, with many pictures and of course the lyrics.
