What on earth has happened to gothic rock? This was the thought burning in Joakim Knutsson’s mind, and he felt that something needed to be done to save the much-loved genre from going down the drain. He embarked on this mission with the aim to create something special but also something faithful to the original ideals of the 80’s gothic genre.
“I wanted a band that would be an occult mix of The Lords Of The New Church, Adam and the Ants, John Carpenter and Billy Idol”, says Knutsson, “The end result turned out heavier, bloodier and darker than that, but that was probably our destiny anyway.”
With a little help from prominent members of the Swedish metal and punk community the idea recently took a solid form. Today the band together sums more than 250 years of knowledge in music and pop culture - knowledge they shamelessly put to use in their own creation.
Here they are: die Oberherren. The Gothic rock band the world has been waiting for since the golden age of the 80s. Kept strictly under wraps until now, die Oberherrenfeature members of rock and metal royalty in Sweden, with past or current membership in bands such as The Coffinshakers, Ghost, The Mobile Mob Freakshow, Gehennah and many more.
Watch "The Blood and the Wine"
The band's comments on the video:
"This video somewhat takes over where "The Horned One Stabs" ends. It is also in the vein of 70s and 80s horror movies. This one also points to the so called Highgate Vampire debacle."
About the song:
"When we demoed the song someone pointed out that the main riff sounded alot like a 'bad 80s Alice Cooper', which by today's standards of course, is awesome. A catchy rocker with sing along chorus and stupid nonsense lyrics? The way it should be."
The band snatched their ominous-sounding moniker from the intellectual group that operated at the turn of the 20th century, by whom their lyrics are also heavily influenced.
About die Oberherren, Knutsson comments: “Anarchistic, occult and apocalyptic imagery with prophets of war, armageddon, decadence and love – these themes and ideas are even more actual today than the original ‘overlords’ could ever dream of over a hundred years ago."
The debut album 'Die By My Hand', set for release on January 27, 2023 on Svart Records, is a collection of eight songs that are adorned with infectious hooks and laced with vintage darkness.