History
1989 – 1995
Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows was founded by Anna-Varney (then known as Varney) and Holger in 1989, and began as a Neue Deutsche Todeskunst musical project. The two had met in Frankfurt in a Goth club called Negativ, during one of Cantodea's rare outings into the public world.Cantodea and Holger worked together on a low budget in order to purchase musical equipment, and recorded three demo tapes: Es reiten die Toten so schnell..., Rufus and Till Time and Times Are Done. The three demos were recorded between 1989 and 1992, with Es reiten... being the only publicly released cassette. The demo tapes are collectively referred to as "Blut der Schwarzen Rose" (German: "Blood of the Black Rose")[or "The Undead-Trilogy". Shortly after the cassettes were produced, Holger left Sopor AeternusIn 1994, Varney signed with the DA label Apocalyptic Vision and released her first album, …Ich töte mich…. The album, like the demo tapes before it, showcased darkwave music with a neo-classical bent, punctuated by Varney's tortured voice and the recurring imagery of death, despair, philosophical pessimism and vampires. It is unknown if Varney received financial assistance to produce the record.
1995 – 2003
Sopor Aeternus' second album, Todeswunsch, was an abrupt change in direction. While the album retained qualities of darkwave music, the album was stripped of its heavy use of synthesizers and drum machines. A companion EP, Ehjeh Ascher Ehjeh, was released later that year. Varney would also record four songs for an Apocalyptic Vision compilation, Jekura – Deep the Eternal Forest; two of the songs appeared under the pseudonym White Onyx Elephants.Sopor's third album, The Inexperienced Spiral Traveller, was released in 1997 alongside a remix album, Voyager: The Jugglers of Jusa. It was around this time that Varney changed her name to Anna-Varney Cantodea.1999 saw the double concept album, Dead Lovers' Sarabande (Face One); a project dedicated to the memory of Christian Death frontman, Rozz Williams. Dead Lovers' Sarabande chronicled a nameless protagonist's seemingly futile quest to re-unite with her deceased lover. The album was released in two parts throughout the year, and was the first to be released on vinyl as well as on CD. The following year saw Sopor's sixth album, Songs from the Inverted Womb.
2003 – Present
In 2003, producer John A. Rivers was brought aboard to produce the seventh album, Es Reiten die Toten so Schnell. Rivers would go on to produce all new Sopor Aeternus' albums. During the following year, the first six Sopor albums were remastered by Rivers and repackaged with new artwork as a lead up to their eighth album, La Chambre d'Echo. Where Es Reiten... started to re-introduce synthesizers into the group's sound, La Chambre d'Echo became the first album in a decade to prominently feature synthesizers and drum machines, in a nod to Sopor's first recordings. The companion EP, Flowers in Formaldehyde, as well as the career-spanning rarities box set, Like a Corpse Standing in Desperation, followed.
Discography & Demo tapes
The three demo tapes are often referred to as "Blut der schwarzen Rose" or "The Undead-Trilogy".Only the first has been released.
Es reiten die Toten so schnell… (1989)
Rufus (1992)
Till Time and Times Are Done (1992)
Studio albums
Ich töte mich... (1994)
Todeswunsch (1995)
The Inexperienced Spiral Traveller (1997)
Dead Lovers' Sarabande (Face One) (1999)
Dead Lovers' Sarabande (Face Two) (1999)
Songs from the Inverted Womb (2000)
Es reiten die Toten so schnell (2003)
La Chambre d'Echo (2004)
Les Fleurs du Mal - Die Blumen des Bösen (2007)
A Triptychon of Ghosts (Part Two) - Have You Seen This Ghost? (2011)
Poetica - All Beauty Sleeps (2013)
Mitternacht (2014)
EPs and remix albums ("sister albums")[edit]
Ehjeh Ascher Ehjeh (1995)
Voyager - The Jugglers of Jusa (1997)
Flowers in Formaldehyde (2004)
Sanatorium Altrosa (Musical Therapy for Spiritual Dysfunction) (2008)
A Triptychon of Ghosts (Part One) - A Strange Thing to Say (2010)
A Triptychon of Ghosts (Part Three) - Children of the Corn (2011)
Angel of the Golden Fountain (2015)
Singles
The Goat/The Bells Have Stopped Ringing (2005)
In der Palästra (2007)
Imhotep (2011)
Other releases
Jekura - Deep the Eternal Forest (1995) – a compilation featuring four songs by Sopor Aeternus
Nenia C'alladhan (2002) – a self-titled side project with Constance Fröhling
Like a Corpse Standing in Desperation (2005) – a boxed set of rarities and hard-to-find albums
The Goat and Other Re-Animated Bodies (2009) - DVD of previously released videos
1989 – 1995
Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows was founded by Anna-Varney (then known as Varney) and Holger in 1989, and began as a Neue Deutsche Todeskunst musical project. The two had met in Frankfurt in a Goth club called Negativ, during one of Cantodea's rare outings into the public world.Cantodea and Holger worked together on a low budget in order to purchase musical equipment, and recorded three demo tapes: Es reiten die Toten so schnell..., Rufus and Till Time and Times Are Done. The three demos were recorded between 1989 and 1992, with Es reiten... being the only publicly released cassette. The demo tapes are collectively referred to as "Blut der Schwarzen Rose" (German: "Blood of the Black Rose")[or "The Undead-Trilogy". Shortly after the cassettes were produced, Holger left Sopor AeternusIn 1994, Varney signed with the DA label Apocalyptic Vision and released her first album, …Ich töte mich…. The album, like the demo tapes before it, showcased darkwave music with a neo-classical bent, punctuated by Varney's tortured voice and the recurring imagery of death, despair, philosophical pessimism and vampires. It is unknown if Varney received financial assistance to produce the record.
1995 – 2003
Sopor Aeternus' second album, Todeswunsch, was an abrupt change in direction. While the album retained qualities of darkwave music, the album was stripped of its heavy use of synthesizers and drum machines. A companion EP, Ehjeh Ascher Ehjeh, was released later that year. Varney would also record four songs for an Apocalyptic Vision compilation, Jekura – Deep the Eternal Forest; two of the songs appeared under the pseudonym White Onyx Elephants.Sopor's third album, The Inexperienced Spiral Traveller, was released in 1997 alongside a remix album, Voyager: The Jugglers of Jusa. It was around this time that Varney changed her name to Anna-Varney Cantodea.1999 saw the double concept album, Dead Lovers' Sarabande (Face One); a project dedicated to the memory of Christian Death frontman, Rozz Williams. Dead Lovers' Sarabande chronicled a nameless protagonist's seemingly futile quest to re-unite with her deceased lover. The album was released in two parts throughout the year, and was the first to be released on vinyl as well as on CD. The following year saw Sopor's sixth album, Songs from the Inverted Womb.
2003 – Present
In 2003, producer John A. Rivers was brought aboard to produce the seventh album, Es Reiten die Toten so Schnell. Rivers would go on to produce all new Sopor Aeternus' albums. During the following year, the first six Sopor albums were remastered by Rivers and repackaged with new artwork as a lead up to their eighth album, La Chambre d'Echo. Where Es Reiten... started to re-introduce synthesizers into the group's sound, La Chambre d'Echo became the first album in a decade to prominently feature synthesizers and drum machines, in a nod to Sopor's first recordings. The companion EP, Flowers in Formaldehyde, as well as the career-spanning rarities box set, Like a Corpse Standing in Desperation, followed.
Discography & Demo tapes
The three demo tapes are often referred to as "Blut der schwarzen Rose" or "The Undead-Trilogy".Only the first has been released.
Es reiten die Toten so schnell… (1989)
Rufus (1992)
Till Time and Times Are Done (1992)
Studio albums
Ich töte mich... (1994)
Todeswunsch (1995)
The Inexperienced Spiral Traveller (1997)
Dead Lovers' Sarabande (Face One) (1999)
Dead Lovers' Sarabande (Face Two) (1999)
Songs from the Inverted Womb (2000)
Es reiten die Toten so schnell (2003)
La Chambre d'Echo (2004)
Les Fleurs du Mal - Die Blumen des Bösen (2007)
A Triptychon of Ghosts (Part Two) - Have You Seen This Ghost? (2011)
Poetica - All Beauty Sleeps (2013)
Mitternacht (2014)
EPs and remix albums ("sister albums")[edit]
Ehjeh Ascher Ehjeh (1995)
Voyager - The Jugglers of Jusa (1997)
Flowers in Formaldehyde (2004)
Sanatorium Altrosa (Musical Therapy for Spiritual Dysfunction) (2008)
A Triptychon of Ghosts (Part One) - A Strange Thing to Say (2010)
A Triptychon of Ghosts (Part Three) - Children of the Corn (2011)
Angel of the Golden Fountain (2015)
Singles
The Goat/The Bells Have Stopped Ringing (2005)
In der Palästra (2007)
Imhotep (2011)
Other releases
Jekura - Deep the Eternal Forest (1995) – a compilation featuring four songs by Sopor Aeternus
Nenia C'alladhan (2002) – a self-titled side project with Constance Fröhling
Like a Corpse Standing in Desperation (2005) – a boxed set of rarities and hard-to-find albums
The Goat and Other Re-Animated Bodies (2009) - DVD of previously released videos
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