Es reiten die Toten so schnell...

Infobox Album | Name = "Es reiten die Toten so schnell..."
Type = Studio
Longtype = (demo tape)
Artist = Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows


Released = 1989
Recorded = 1989
Genre = Darkwave
Length = 29:28
Label = ??
Producer = ??
Reviews =
Last album =

This album = "Es reiten die Toten so schnell..."
(1989)
Next album = "Rufus"
(1989-1992) |

"Es reiten die Toten so schnell..." (German for, "The Dead ride so fast...") is the title of Darkwave band, Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows' first and only released demo tape — it was first published in 1989.

Demo Information & Chronology

It (Es reiten...) is the first tape included in "Sopors debut triad of three demo tapes: "The Undead Trilogy," a.k.a. "Blut der schwarzen Rose" (meaning: "Blood of the black Rose"). Only 50 copies of the demo were originally pressed. All of the songs from "Es reiten die Toten so schnell..." were re-worked extensively for the 2003 album ', and were released in their original form as part of the box set "Like a Corpse standing in Desperation" on Disc #1 of the set and as a facsimile of the original demo tape, complete with original and repackaged artwork from the whole demo (besides the cover); the CD version of the demo contains more treble and is usually thought of as sounding 'spacier' that the original cassette.This "Es reiten... " demo CD was released wax sealed in black paper bearing an image of a "Vampyre-head" with an extra red "content"-sheet and A4 photo-sheet (colour/laser-copy). Each individual demo CD is/was numbered by Anna-Varney Cantodea.

This demo is succeeded by the second (and unreleased) of the three demos in in "The Undead Trilogy," "Rufus".

Demo Overview & Insight

^{"See also [for more information] : Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows."}

"Es reiten die Toten so schnell..." was recorded by Anna-Varney (at the time of the recording known simply as "Varney") and her then-companion Holger; they would come together only once a month to record and edit the tape until its conclusion. [ [http://www.sopor-aeternus.de/frame.html www.sopor-aeternus.de ] ] At the time Anna credited Holger very much for his help in creating "Es reiten...", especially since the both of them were financially unfortunate at said point in time and had not yet signed "Sopor" onto a record label. [ [http://www.sopor-aeternus.de/frame.html www.sopor-aeternus.de ] ]

Lyrically speaking, "Es reiten..." seems to have a focus primarily upon vampires (the tracks, "Stake of my Soul" and "The Feast of Blood" seem to reinforce this statement). As was the case, Anna-Varney discussed these undead in one of her earliest interviews from 1992:

"We (Anna & Holger) recorded Es reiten die Toten so schnell... to express the deep bounds towards, well, to our beings suffering their immortal lives in eternal darkness. The lyrics of the Undead-Trilogy allude to vampires only at first sight for they are a symbol of tragedy, damnation and all of that..."

- Anna-Varney Cantodea (Circa 1992) [ [http://www.sopor-aeternus.de/frame.html www.sopor-aeternus.de ] ]

Musical Style

All of the songs featured in "Es reiten..." are Anna-Varney's first recordings and thus they are often considered "classic" Sopor Aeternus tracks. The common "Sopor-like" orchestrations that feature pipe organs, string orchestras, woodwinds and brass, and deep-sounded drums are not unlike many of Anna's works following the release of this demo. As well, the often-heard faux crying and/or screaming sounds echoing from Varney's lungs are present here (though in a more subtle variety than some of her later releases).

The demo — either due to its age or the type of recording used — is often described as sounding "choppy" or "old". static-like sounds can be heard in the background of nearly every song, though this "choppiness" is somewhat reduced in the rereleased version featured in the Sopor Aeternus, 2004 box set, Like a Corpse standing in Desperation.

Track listing

# "Omen Sinistum" – 2:15
# "Dead Souls" – 6:41
# "Stake of my Soul" – 1:14
# "Beautiful Thorn" – 5:09
# "Baptisma" – 5:01
# "The Feast of Blood" – 4:07
# "Sopor fratrem Mortis Est" – 4:55
# "Reprise" – 0:16 "(unlisted track)"

ee Also...

*Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows
*

References