Hekate – Sonnentanz

Hekate, a German band from Koblenz, first came to my attention at the Wave Gotik Treffen in 1998, where they did an impressive performance at the Parkbuhne, together with Hagalaz Runedance. Spectacular was their powerful use of drums and percussion, reminding a bit of Camerata Mediolanense. The first full-lenght album from Hekate, “Sonnentanz”, proves its evolution. The music is sort of a mixture of neo-folk and medieval styles, completed with powerful drumming and use of electronics. Hekate consists of many members and a rich instrumentarium and with several vocalists (male and female), so that the songs are pretty varied. Sometimes it sounds bombastic, with martial drums and trumpets, sometimes fragile and beautiful with female voices and acoustic guitars and strings. Most lyrics are in German, but there are also texts in French, Yiddish and old German. It’s hard to pick out favourite tracks. Danse de l’obscurité, To break a heart, L’Ivresse and Die Gedanken sind Frei are among the best ones.