Biography Oomph - Showbiza.com/de

Oomph! (pronounced "oomf") is a German musical group that was formed in Wolfsburg, Germany in 1989. The band is considered the pioneers of the German Neue Deutsche Härte movement. Since the formation of the band, there have been no line-up changes.

Band history

Early years (1989–2002)

Oomph! incorporates many styles of music such as metal, industrial, alternative rock, electronica and gothic to create their sound. Oomph!'s change of style between their self-titled debut (1992) and its successor Sperm(1994), leaning more heavily to a guitar-driven metal sound without giving up their electronic roots, inspired numerous musicians, most famously Rammstein, Megaherz and Eisbrecher, to follow their lead. Oomph! released their first album on Jor's Machinery label, then releasing their consecutive albums on its sister label Dynamica. They stayed with Jor, until his labels disappeared during the acquisition by Sanctuary Records at around 1996/1997.

Oomph! finally signed on Virgin Schallplatten. Between 1998 and 2001, they released three albums on the Virgin label. The first, Unrein, was released in 1998, which became their debut album in the Media Control Charts, peaking at No. 37, and the Austrian top 40 at No. 38. A single called "Gekreuzigt" was released in 1998 to promote Unrein and became the band's debut single on the German charts, peaking at No. 81.

The second Virgin album, Plastik, was released in 1999 and peaked in Germany at No. 23. The third, Ego, was released in 2001, peaking at No. 21 in the Media Control Charts. This fulfilled their contract with Virgin; the band did not continue with the record company, feeling that it never fully explored their potential. With the benefits of major-label status, however, Oomph! gained a larger following and toured with labelmates Skunk Anansie in 1999, later opening for the Finnish rock band HIM in fall 2001.

In 2002, Oomph! played at the Ozzfest in Germany, alongside Black Label Society, Tool and Ozzy Osbourne on May 20. The band appeared at the With Full Force Festival on July 5, 2002. On December 19, 2002, Oomph! opened for Apoptygma Berzerk.

Wahrheit oder Pflicht and GlaubeLiebeTod (2004–2007)

In 2004, Oomph! released their first single "Augen Auf!" ("Eyes Open!") on a new label, this time on Supersonic Records, part of the Sony BMG group of music companies, from their eighth album Wahrheit oder Pflicht. It marks their first number one hit in Germany, thus eventually bringing forth their major commercial breakthrough. The album hit number 2 in the Media Control Charts.

In June 2004, Oomph! played at two major European music festivals: the Dynamo Open Air Festival on June 5, in the Netherlands and on June 25 at the Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium.

"Augen auf!" became part of the FIFA 2005 soundtrack. Oomph! appeared for the first time at Wacken Open Air on August 4, 2005.

The band's ninth album, GlaubeLiebeTod (FaithLoveDeath) was released in March 2006, including the controversial single Gott ist ein Popstar! ("God is a Popstar!"), its follow-up Das letzte Streichholz, Die Schlinge and Träumst Du?.

In August 2006, Virgin released the compilation album 1998-2001: Best of Virgin Years. It contains tracks from Oomph!'s three Virgin albums as well as a few unreleased tracks. The band distanced itself from this best-of release and asked the fans not buy it as the band's current label GUN had scheduled a best-of compilation as well.

On June 15, 2006, Oomph! played at the Nova Rock Festival in Austria.

On 1 December 2006, Oomph!'s official best-of album, Delikatessen (Delicacies) was released under the GUN label. The songs on it were hand-picked by the band itself. It contains tracks from all nine Oomph! albums, b-sides, remixes and never-heard before tracks like "The Power of Love" and "Gekreuzigt'06". By 17 November 2006, Oomph! released those two songs in a form of double single to promote the new compilation release.

On 9 February 2007, the band released their final GlaubeLiebeTod single – "Träumst Du?", featuring the female vocalist from Die Happy, Marta Jandová. The single peaked at number 9 in the media control charts. Oomph! performed the song live the same day at the 2007 edition of Bundesvision Song Contest, representing Lower Saxony in the competition, coming in first place.

On July 6, 2007, Oomph! opened for Metallica in Vienna, Austria.

Oomph!'s first DVD was Rohstoff, which contains live footage consisting of 23 songs, most of the videos the band has created, making-of videos, and an exclusive interview. The DVD was released on July 20, 2007.

Monster and Truth or Dare (2008–2010)

A new song called "Wach Auf!" appeared in the film Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem; the single was released on 4 January 2008. Oomph! made their first appearances at the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park Festivals on June 6, 2008.

Oomph! released their tenth album, Monster, on August 22, 2008, which peaked in the Media Control Charts at number 8. The band's most successful single from the new album is "Labyrinth", released in September 2008, which peaked at number 26 in the Media Control Charts. The remaining tracks were to be released as B-sides on the upcoming singles. The first and only was "Sandmann", released in February 2009. Monster was reissued in June 2009 to include "Sandmann".

Oomph! opened for Marilyn Manson on June 24, 2009 in Linz, Austria.

On February 26, 2010, the band released their fourth compilation album, Truth or Dare, with their German songs re-recorded in English. Then, from April 24 to October 22, the band toured Europe to promote the new compilation album.

On September 10, 2010, Oomph! debuted the song "Sieger" (German for "Winner"), which was written for the ESL Pro Series 17, to a worldwide audience. The song had previously only been heard at the Gamescom 2010 trade fair.

Des Wahnsinns fette Beute

Flux announced on October 8, 2011, on the official Oomph! Facebook page, that recording of a new album would be finished by the end of November. Dero also said that after so much time, only 20 tracks would be chosen and then they would select 12 or 14 of the best of them.

Announced on the band's official website, the new album is titled Des Wahnsinns fette Beute. The first single, "Zwei Schritte vor", was released on May 4, 2012. The album was released on May 18, 2012.

Oomph! then went on a European tour starting on May 24 in Russia and will continue into October. Countries confirmed so far are Russia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Lithuania, Netherlands, Spain and France. Festivals confirmed so far are Nova Rock Festival, Wacken Open Air and the Summer Breeze Open Air festivals.

The band gained two new live members in 2012: Okusa (percussion) and El Friede (keyboards).

Announced via the bands official Facebook page on August 29, 2012, live drummer, Leo departed Oomph! to take on new musical challenges. Leo's last show with the band was at the KRock U Maibutne Festival in Kherson, Ukraine on September 1, 2012. The band also announced that Leo's replacement will be announced soon and that the European tour in September and October will go ahead as scheduled. Oomph!'s new drummer, Sylvestri, was announced on the band's official Facebook page on September 14, 2012.