OOMPH! - German Neue Deutsche Härte / Alternative rock

German Neue Deutsche Härte/Alternative rock group founded in Wolfsburg in 1989.
Members: Crap: guitar, keyboards, Robert Flux: guitar, sampling
Past members: Dero Goi: vocals, drums (1989-2021)

Hailed as pioneers of the German "tanz metal" (dance metal) scene and heavily influencing late-'90s acts like Rammstein, Oomph! were arguably one of the most controversial, influential, and popular German goth-industrial bands to emerge in the early '90s. In spite of their importance to the German industrial scene, however, Oomph! didn't break into the mainstream until the early 2000s. Frontman Dero Goi and guitarist Andreas Crap were born in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The two grew up in the same tenement housing unit, and started playing music together when they were in grade school. Dero and Crap were playing in a new wave band by the time they met Robert Flux at a music festival in 1989. The three hit it off, and Oomph! were born.

The band traveled to Spain that year and recorded a 500-copy demo. They managed to obtain a contract with Machinery once they returned to Germany; their first single on that label, a KMFDM-esque track called "Ich Bin Du," was released in 1991, and the following year found Oomph! with their self-titled debut. Oomph! had yet to develop their guitar-driven metal sound -- they were more or less considered part of the electro scene -- but things changed on the band's next release, 1994's Sperm. It was aggressive, it was metal, and it was highly controversial; the video for the first single, "Sex," was banned from MTV Germany due to its graphic content. Oomph!'s third album, Defekt, was released the following year, and the band embarked on an exhaustive touring schedule.

Two new members, Leo and Tobi, were added to round out the band's live sound, and a new music video, "Ice Coffin," made the rounds on MTV Germany. Oomph!'s profile had heightened to the point that they were offered a spot on Virgin Schallplatten's roster, but Dynamica (a subsidiary of Machinery) refused to let them go until they'd completed their fourth album. Grudgingly, the band fulfilled its contract with Wunschkind in 1996.

Oomph! signed with Virgin the following year, and their fifth album, 1998's Unrein, peaked in the Top 50 on the German charts. The band's second Virgin release, Plastik, hit stores the following year. One of the album's singles, "Das Weisse Licht," peaked at number 46 on the German charts, and the video for this song, which depicted Dero tearing open his abdomen, was banned from MTV Germany due to its graphic nature. The album also featured Evanescence-style appearances by Nina Hagen. The band's final album on Virgin, Ego, was released in 2001. Critics gave the album lukewarm reviews, but Ego did well nonetheless, peaking in the German Top 20 and earning the band a tour with HIM. It wasn't good enough for Virgin, though, and they opted to drop Oomph! once their contract expired. Undaunted, Oomph! went on to play Ozzfest the following year and continued to write new material.

Website: https://www.oomph.de/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oomphband
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oomphband/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/oomphband
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4u1M7OPAeDls-l8hQOjeng
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/oomphband
Bandcamp: https://oomphband.bandcamp.com/album/ritual https://oomph.bandcamp.com/ https://napalmrecords.bandcamp.com/

OOMPH! - Tausend Mann Und Ein Befehl | Napalm Records