Artist: Herumor
Title: Nie am Tage
Genre: Acoustic / Folk
Release Date: 6th September 2018
Label: Gothic Novel Rock Records
Album Review
Back in 2015, Asp Spreng’s acoustic project APS VON ZAUBERERBRÜDERN went on its ‘Zwielichtgeschichten’ (Twilight Stories) tour. In addition to acoustic versions of songs from ASP’s albums up to and including ‘fremd’, the band played several new and unrecorded songs specifically written for this tour. Later that year, the acoustic project was put on ice. That could’ve been it for these songs, but mastermind Asp had the idea to release these musical stories with a companion storybook illustrated by changing artists. To prevent confusion with the main band ASP (something that had become a serious issue with APS VON ZAUBERERBRÜDERN), he eventually chose a new moniker for the musical side of this project: HERUMOR.
‘Nie am Tage’ (Never in the Daytime) is the fourth in this series of ‘Zwielichtgeschichten’ and tells the love story of a human and a vampire. Lamenting the cruel temporal limitation to their intimacy, the human protagonist is ultimately yearning for the other kind of kiss, ready to give up their days in exchange for everlasting companionship. In a surprising twist, the CD comes with two tracks. The first track with addendum ‘Sie Version’ (She Version) has a male protagonist with Asp Spreng himself singing. The second track, ‘Er Version’ (He Version), turns the protagonist into a female, and Asp Spreng knew better than to sing this version as well. Instead he brought in Nic Frost, former singer of now disbanded SPIELBANN. Given Asp Spreng’s history as a mentor, songwriter and collaborator of SPIELBANN, this casting choice was less of a surprise.
The song itself is a solid acoustic arrangement with a memorable chorus. The inclusion of an accordion seems slightly odd at first as it quickly dissolves the tension created at the beginning of the song, but in doing so also makes a statement: this is not a monster but a love story. Disregarding the obvious difference in gender, the two versions differ just slightly in tone: Nic’s take sounds a little more afflicted in comparison to Asp’s deep voice. It’s difficult to pick a favourite.
The real difference between the two interpretations comes in the form of the visual aid, the storybook. The 48-page hardcover can be read front to back or, flipped over, back to front, presenting the stories of the male and the female protagonist separately. The artwork inside is a series of stunning paintings by Asp’s long-time friend and collaborator Timo Wuerz. With a mixture of water colour, acrylic paint and ink, the so-called “rock star of the comic scene” masterfully illustrates both variants of the story with their parallels and deviations from another, alternating between romantic or even sexual imagery and outright horror scenes.
‘Nie am Tage’ is certainly the most adult-themed and least folk of the ‘Zwielichtgeschichten’ this far. The vampire theme might seem a bit cliché, but with or without bloodsuckers involved, it does the classic love-story dilemma justice in both audio and visuals. It really stands out for the latter.
Tracklist
01. Nie am Tage (Sie Version)
02. Nie am Tage (Er Version)
Line-up
Asp Spreng - Composition and lyrics, vocals “Sie Version”
Patrick Damiani - Arrangement, recording, guitar, bass, drums
Nikos Mavridis - Violin, Hammond)
Klaus Eichberger - Accordion
Tom Ströble - Cello
Andreas “Tossi” Groß - Backing vocals
Nic Frost - Vocals “Er Version”
Timo Wuerz - Artwork
Website
https://aspswelten.de
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 7 (8 for the full experience with visual aid)
Sound: 9
Total: 8 / 10
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