Golden Apes

The Golden Apes are a German Gothic rock Band, that was founded in 1998. The name of the band is based on a wordplay, which refers of the contents to Friedrich Nietzsches „Also sprach Zarathustra“. Trademarks of the band are melancholic-atmospherical songs and complex, partly surrealistic lyrics.
The Golden Apes were founded in 1998 by Peer Lebrecht (voc), Christian Lebrecht (bass) and Eric Bahrs (guit). After live-appearances together with Scream Silence and Whispers in the Shadow the Band released their darkwave/postpunk-like debut-album "Stigma 3.am" in 2000, which found regardful attention by the audience and the critics. In 2001 Drummer Nestor de Valley joined the Band and the result of the more stronger and the more intensive sound was the very dark and nihilistic album "Thalassemia". It followed concerts with Clan of Xymox, The Crüxshadows and Ikon. After some changes in the line-up (the Band's long time friend and live-keyboarder Sven Wolff became permanent member of the Golden Apes) the Band released "Helianthos and the War", their third studio-album. It became a balancing act between the experimental facings of the bands origins and the dark melancholy of their later work and it convinced even the last sceptics. This combination of earcatching melodies, an atmosphere, which oscillates between the singer's dark melancholic voice, powerful guitars and elegising soundscapes became soon the trademark of the band, then with their fourth album "Structures [The Inner Scars]" (2004) they consolidated their reputation to be one of the most innovative and interesting German Goth-Rock Bands, proved by several sampler contributions and live-appearances at well-known festivals, most important the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig/Germany. In Autumn 2006 the Golden Apes are going to release their new album, which will be called "The Geometry of Tempest".