Press release –
With “Romantik III,” the Austro-Hungarian duo Bergfried presents the successor to “Romantik I” (2022) and “Romantik II” (2023). The lineup consists of Erech von Lothringen, who plays all instruments, and singer Anna de Savoy.
The name Erech von Lothringen is not entirely unknown in underground circles, as the Viennese is the founder of numerous different projects, primarily in the black metal genre. He explains: “In recent years, I’ve mainly done black metal-related projects, even though perhaps only two of them were truly pure black metal. With Golden Blood, it was more in the direction of thrash, heavy, and even a bit of power metal. I listen to a wide variety of metal genres myself, and black metal is the smaller part of that.”
“I only had the band name with the title of the first EP, without having written any songs: Bergfried “Romantik I”,” the multi-instrumentalist describes the project’s beginnings. “Musically, I wanted to go into the Grime Stone Records corner, which didn’t work out so well, and the songs became rockier than I expected. So ultimately, it’s no surprise, because at the time I was listening almost exclusively to 70s and 80s hard rock and AOR.”
The new “Romantik III” is an exceptionally catchy, very melodic album, which doesn’t sound nearly as dark as the song titles might suggest. In a positive sense, the material borders on pop here and there (“Fallen From Grace”), although of course there is (almost) always an undertone of melancholy. “That’s probably due to my love of Meat Loaf,” explains Erech von Lothringen. When I was a kid holding “Bat Out Of Hell” in my hands, I was expecting the heaviest album of all time, and then that’s exactly what didn’t happen. The artwork and song titles on “Romantik III” are rather dark, and you definitely approach it with different expectations, but overall, everything somehow fits together.”
On “Romantik III,” Erech von Lothringen is supported by drummer Fabio Alessandrini (known from Annihilator, Bonfire, and Enforcer). Other guest vocalists, alongside the impressive Anna de Savoy, are Maria Nesh of Red Eye Temple, Sarah Kitteringham of Smoulder, and Damna of Elvenking.
TRACKLISTING:
01 Dark Wings
02 Fallen from Grace
03 Queen of the Dead
04 For the Cursed
05 Gates of Fate
06 Serenades
07 Tears of a Thousand Years
08 Star-Crossed Love
09 Back for More
LINE-UP:
Anna de Savoy – Vocals
Erech III. from Lorraine – Drums, Bass, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Drums by Fabio Alessandrini (Annihilator, Enforcer, Bonfire)Bass on 1-4 & 7-9 by Sam Plekhanov (Red Eye Temple)Guitar solos by Mat Plekhanov (Red Eye Temple & Dragony)Keyboards & Piano on 6 & 8 by Ariel Perchuk Hammond organ on 4 by Florian Fischer
Choirs by Maria Nesh, Sam Plekhanov, Mat Plekhanov & Erech III. recorded at RET Records Vienna
visit: www.bergfried.bandcamp.com/album/romantik-iii
