Erdling (German for "Earthling") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte[2] and dark rock band formed in 2014 by Neill Freiwald and Niklas Kahl.[3]

Erdling
Erdling at the Amphi Festival 2019
Erdling at the Amphi Festival 2019
Background information
OriginEssen, Germany
GenresNeue Deutsche Härte,[1] dark rock[2]
Years active2014–present
LabelsOut of Line
Members
  • Neill Freiwald
  • Christian Schäfer
  • Robin Sem Vedrfölnir
Past members
  • Marco Politi
  • Niklas Kahl
  • Nate Pearson
  • Anders Pierre
  • Christian Eichlinger
  • Neno Knuckle
  • Valeria Ereth
  • Max Nash
Websitewww.erdling.rocks

History

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After guitarist Neill Freiwald left the band Stahlmann and the side project Sündenklang at the end of 2014, ostensibly due to time constraints,[4] drummer Niklas Kahl followed in spring 2015, who, according to his own statement, he can 'identify less and less with the band'.[5]

Together with guitarist Neno and bassist Marco, the first recordings began in the studio of Chris Harms.[6] After Erdling was signed "surprisingly quickly" by Out of Line, according to Neill,[6] they released their first maxi single Blitz und Donner in October 2015, followed by tours with Unzucht and Megaherz.[7]

In January 2016 Erdling released their debut album Aus den Tiefen, in August of the same year they played for the first time at the M'era Luna Festival in Hildesheim. At this gig, the band played for the first time without their bass player Marco Politi, a few days later the band announced that Marco had announced his departure shortly before the festival and had not come to rehearsals, so they had decided on a replacement.[8] On 8 November, Erdling introduced Nate Pearson as the new bassist.[9] Their second album Supernova was released on 17 March 2017. In January 2018, Niklas Kahl, who had switched to Lord of the Lost, was replaced by Christian Eichlinger. In February 2018, Pierre Anders replaced the previous bassist Nate Pearson. At the same time, the band announced their third album, Dämon, which was released in July 2018. On 22 March 2019, Erdling released the single Wir sind Midgard and announced that the fourth album planned for 2020 would be "different, faster, more Metal-heavy, but also deeper". At the same time, the tour dates for the band's second headline tour were announced. In a video blog of his own, Freiwald stated that work on the new album had already started simultaneously with the production of the previous one. He also justified the departure of the bassist Anders for professional reasons. Freiwald will take over the bass himself in the future, so that Erdling will appear as a trio. On 5 July 2019, the second single In Namen der Krähe was released, in which singer Robert Dahn (Equilibrium, Minas Morgul) participated. A short time later, Robin Sem Vedrfölnir was hired as the new bass player. The third single Wölfe der Nacht was released in November 2019, where Chris Pohl (Blutengel) can be heard as a guest singer. Their fourth album Yggdrasil followed on 10 January 2020.

Members

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Erdling at Rockharz Open Air 2018

Current members

  • Neill Freiwald (Neill Devin) – lead vocals, guitar, programming (2014–present), bass (2019)
  • Christian Schäfer – drums (2021–present)
  • Robin "Rob" Sem Vedrfölnir – bass (2019–present)

Former members

  • Marco Politi – bass (2014–2016)
  • Niklas Kahl – drums (2014–2018)
  • Nate Pearson – bass (2016–2018)
  • Anders Pierre – bass (2018–2019)
  • Christian Eichlinger – drums (2018–2021)
  • Neno Knuckle (Ne Djentno) – guitar (2014–2021)
  • Valeria "Valy" Ereth (BÖSE FUCHS) – guitar (2021–2024)
  • Max Nash – guitar (2021-2024)

Discography

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Albums

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Year Title Chart positions
GER AUT SWI
2016 Aus den Tiefen ("From the depths") 64 - -
2017 Supernova 56 - -
2018 Dämon ("Demon") 43 - -
2020 Yggdrasil ("Odin's horse / World Tree")[2] 45 - -
2021 Helheim ("Hel's realm") 66 - -
2023 Bestia ("Beast")[1] 44 - -

Singles

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  • 2015: Blitz und Donner (German for "Lightning and Thunder")
  • 2016: Mein Element (German for "My Element")
  • 2018: Tieftaucher (German for "Deep divers")
  • 2019: Wir sind Midgard (German for "We are Midgard")
  • 2019: Im Namen der Krähe (German for "In the name of the crow")
  • 2019: Wölfe der Nacht (German for "Wolves of the Night")
  • 2019: Am heiligen Hain (German for "At the sacred grove")
  • 2021: Fimbulwinter (Old Norse for the "Mighty Winter" that precedes Ragnarök)
  • 2021: Rabenherz (German for "Raven heart")
  • 2021: Götterdämmerung (German for "Twilight of the Gods")
  • 2022: DEUS (Latin for "GOD")
  • 2018: Dämon – The Secret Tracks

Music videos

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References

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  1. ^ a b Weise, Matthias (27 April 2023). "Erdling - "Bestia" - Die ausführliche Review auf metal.de" (in German). metal.de.
  2. ^ a b c "Erdling – Neue Deutsche Härte/Darkrock-Hopefuls auf Tour zum neuen Album 'Yggdrasil' im Januar" (in German). schwarzesbayern.info. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  3. ^ "AlterNation - Erdling". AlterNation. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Abschied: Gitarrist Neill verlässt Stahlmann & Sündenklang (German for "Farewell: Guitarist Neill leaves Stahlmann & Sündenklang")" (in German). sonic-seducer.de. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  5. ^ Matthias, Irrgang (8 February 2015). "Stahlmann: Drummer Niklas Kahl verlässt die Band" (in German). Mindbreed. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b Rapp, Marcell (10 November 2015). "ERDLING: Interview mit Neill Devin" (in German). schwarzesbayern.info. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Erdling als Special Guest bei der Erdwärts – Tour" (in German). megaherz.de. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  8. ^ Irrgang, Matthias (1 September 2016). "Besetzungswechsel bei Erdling – Bassist Marco verlässt die Band" (in German). Mindbreed.de. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Nate Pearson neuer Bassist von Erdling" (in German). Mindbreed.de. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
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