Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Narbengrund: Back in 2007, Totleben wrote his first songs for himself, but soon he began to realize, that the art he’d created did not feel complete, it needed to be filled with lyrics, it needed to be filled with a whole concept. We both were already good friends, so he showed me his song ideas and asked me if I could imagine being the singer of his project and since I’ve searched for a chance to unfurl myself and loved both, symphonic black metal and his interpretation of this genre, I accepted. 
First of all we’ve searched for a drummer and a rehearsal room and we’ve found David T. as well as a place to practice, in Zimmer near Rottweil. Unfortunately (?) it didn’t went that well and we decided to break new ground, separated from David and it all turned into a kind of "home project”. 
At that time we’ve searched for a acceptable name and chose "Totengeflüster” which can be translated as "whisper of the dead”. Totleben and I chose "whisper of the dead” because wanted to have a name which reflects our abstruse kind of music and describes our lyrical subjects, the obvious ones, like death, desolation, sorrow, hatred and insanity as well as the subliminal ones, which lead deep inside our somber souls... 
Later this should be called the birth of "Totengeflüster”.
As time went by Totleben also created a lot of artworks for different bands and after a little while he met Schattendorn, who was already playing in a Death Metal / Deathcore band. Totleben told Schattendorn about Totengeflüster and Schattendorn, who also was a big Black Metal fanatic, joined Totengeflüster on drums. "Vom Seelensterben” was already composed by Totleben and the lyrics were also already written by me, so Schattendorn had no creative impact on the first album and that’s our story so far…

How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music? 
Narbengrund: To put it simple we play a symphonic kind of Black Metal, but on the other hand I don’t think that we are simply one of those Symphonic Black Metal Bands. Yes, if you listen to our music it will remind you of old "Dimmu Borgir” or "Cradle of Filth”, but that’s the kind of music we adore and we’ve wished to create a sound which combines beauty with heinousness, we wanted the grace of classical music as well as the cold hatred of black metal. We are not just simply brutal, we wanted to establish a two faced sound and I only can speak for myself, but I think we’ve done a great job. The lyrics and the music are horrific and bewitching at the same time, we’ve got highly aggressive blast parts as well as calm atmospheric or epic parts. The vocals are mostly high pitched or moderate high screamed, but there are a few growls as well. All in all I think that the vocals are pretty "emotional” and are desperate and aggressive at the same time.
One of our main influences is of course the symphonic Black Metal genre, especially the mid 90nties sound of this genre, but Totleben also loves cinematic music and I would love to give my life for bands as Lifelover (R.I.P  B!), Shining, Bethlehem or for older creations of  Dornenreich

Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Narbengrund: I think that we’ve got an interesting mixture of the classical symphonic Black Metal sound with a raw note and an emotional kind of vocals. Apart from that Totleben did a splendid job in creating the artwork! Each track has a thereon concerted picture.
If you discovered the beauty of horror as well as the horror of beauty, this sinister opus of death and insanity may attract you…  

What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media? 
Narbengrund: "Vom Seelensterben” is our debut album and we refused to release some underdone sound carrier earlier, so it’s our first sign of (un)life. The feedback is very good so far and we are also very proud of the result, including all the weak points and failures, because the songs are old and back then they were what we were and one should never forget where he comes from… 

Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Narbengrund: At the moment we don’t have a complete line up so we can’t play live and we didn’t play live so far. Schattendorn and I have a bit live experience with his/my former/current bands, but there are no plans for live activities for Totengeflüster yet. 

What sould labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
Narbengrund: Well, as I told in the "Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?” question. In addition to this, I think that we have an interesting, hidden philosophical core. We are not the stereotypical Black Metal Band, even if we wear black, leather, spikes and corpse paint. This isn’t a masquerade to look the most frostbitten or something like that, no, this is our way to express what hides deep inside us. This is the ugly face of our disfigured soul and it is as real as death itself.

What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
Narbengrund: We are planning to have a future as a band. Until now, it was more a two-man project. We want to unleash our interpretation of art and life itself upon the thirsty seeds of men and we want to release it in a "live-way” too… The second album also lurks hungry in the darkness of our souls… Metamorphosis is what aim for. We want to evolve in each of our ways. Our next work shall improve everything what you actually can name as the aural and lyrical heart of Totengeflüster.
 
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Youtube: "VOM SEELENSTERBEN” OFFICIAL VIDEOCLIP (FULL HD 1080p): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apgfx0N2Kpc
You can listen to us at:

If you wish to acquire "Vom Seelensterben” you can choose between: 


March 2013

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