The German electro band Ravenous has returned after a lengthy hiatus with a new song called “Roots.” It’s the first new music from the band since their last album was released in 2000.
“Roots” is a solemn, mid-tempo track stretched across a dark, menacing beat. The production is sharp, bursting with electronic flourishes, but it’s the lovely, somber vocals that really hook me. A catchy chorus finds the vocalist repeating the refrain, “Now I really know that they were wrong,” which lends an otherwise EBM-flavored song with a dark synthpop vibe.
I’m looking forward to hearing more new music from Ravenous. Fortunately, the project has announced that “Roots” will appear on an upcoming album called Forward to the Roots, a title that promises a mixture of old and new. It’s due out in late October.
Forward to the Roots will be the band’s fourth album. It will feature three new songs (“Roots”, “Here Again,” and “Free Me”), along with several unreleased tracks, remixes, and rarities from the Ravenous archive. Among the tracklisting, the album will include a re-recording of their 2001 song, “Frozen Tears,” that was never officially released.
Who is Ravenous?
Ravenous released their debut album, Mass Mental Cruelty, in 1996 and became part of the late ’90s electro scene. The album was recorded by X Marks the Pedwalk mastermind Sevren Ni-Arb. Some singles and two additional albums followed, including their last release, Phoenix, in 2000.
If you’re not familiar with Ravenous, you are more than likely aware of the members involved. The trio is comprised of musicians Björn Böttcher and Gerrit Thomas and vocalist Tim Fockenbrock. Björn was a performing member of Funker Vogt known for his striking face paint, while Gerrit is of course the primary radio operator behind Funker Vogt.
Ravenous is just one of several projects from Gerrit Thomas, who is one of the biggest producers in the dark scene. In addition to Funker Vogt, he’s also the producer behind the early-2000s synthpop project Fictional and the modern-day futurepop greats Eisfabrik, who incidentally also have a new album coming soon.
As for singer Tim Fockenbrock, he’s apparently been away from the scene since his time in Ravenous. He did, however, provide vocals for two Fictional tracks, including their mammoth club hit, “Blue Lights.”
