STRICTLY LIMITED ‘COMPLETE CD BOX’ EDITION FOR THE OCCASION OF THIS CULT ALBUM’S 20th ANNIVERSARY. INCLUDES ALL BONUS TRACKS AND ALL RELATED SPECIAL RELEASES.
Fun fact:
The album is a true revenant, being released on 18 August 2023, exactly 20 years to the DAY after its initial release. Crammed full of music and available as two strictly limited versions: vinyl and CD.
- A total of 36 tracks, with a playing time of 188 minutes
- CD 1 features the album ‘Weltunter’
- CD 2 features all bonus tracks from the limited first CD edition of the album
- CD 3 features all tracks from the limited edition ‘Weltunter’ single
- CD 4 features all tracks from the limited edition ‘Stille der Nacht’ single
- CD 5 features all tracks from the limited edition ‘Ich will brennen’ single
- All CDs are vinyl-look discs in printed card wallets
- Sturdy box, similar to that of the vinyl edition
- 24 pages booklet with all song lyrics of the ‘Weltunter’ album
- Sticker featuring the ‘Ich will brennen’ motif (weatherproof)
- Hand-numbered certificate
- Signed by Asp
- Strictly limited to 1.999 copies worldwide
20 years of ‘Weltunter’
“Come on in and spend an hour or two up here in the Dark Tower...” With this rerelease of the cult album ‘WELTUNTER’ for the occasion of its 20th anniversary, we withdraw once more back into the Dark Tower. Back in 2003, the album surprised fans with its more pronounced rock elements, but after two decades it still delights, thanks to its immortal classics, not least of which is the megahit ‘Ich will brennen’. It now finally appears on vinyl for the first time, as well as in a comprehensive CD box.
The album’s initial release in 2013 was not without its problems, as the distributor went bust, meaning sales were below expectations. For details, see Asp Spreng’s book ‘Horror Vacui - Dichter am Abgrund’ (German language). Notwithstanding this, over the years, the album built up an enormous cult status. For lots of fans, this album was the gateway drug to a healthy addiction lasting many years. Even today, numerous songs from ‘Weltunter’ are still perennial live favourites. For the first time, fans were able to cast a glimpse through the keyhole into an entire narrational universe, which became ever larger with the Schmetterling and Fremder cycles. Its success was not least due to Ingo Römling’s painstakingly designed artwork. The songs about the black butterfly had finally gained an outward appearance that was worthy of them. Unsettling images which made the (his)tories about this creature and its hosts and victims seem all the more unearthly, depicting mastermind Asp Spreng in one of his most iconic incarnations.
Monumental sounds before the storm, rousing ‘Brennen’, wolf metamorphoses that burst with energy, consuming desire and poignant loss, and last but not least the mirror held up to our society, which can be so unpleasant. Stories of unbroken topicality. Much has changed in the two decades since this album’s momentous release on 18 August 2003, yet much will probably always remain the same. Luckily, this also includes the enthusiasm for this album, which now, 20 years later, finally receives the honour it deserves.
