Der Blutharsch, live 8 March, 2002, Red Rose, Finsbury Park, London, UK.
Der Blutharsch was an Austrian martial industrial, neofolk and psychedelic rock project created in 1996 by Albin Julius.
Group leader Albin Julius died on 4 May 2022
3 -(Photo by SPQR) The SPQR label has announced that Albin Julius passed away on the morning of May 4th. Albin Julius, born on 16 October 1967, was an Austrian martial music and industrial artist whose primary musical project is called Der Blutharsch.
Julius released all Der Blutharsch music on his own record label, Wir Kapitulieren Niemals (WKN, which translates: We Never Surrender) and also founded the HauRuck! music label, which releases albums by several Neofolk and industrial groups.
Sebastian Koch from the Italian distributor Audioglobe (the most important one in this scene) who has been working with Albin Julius for years says this in a communication to his clients: “When I first heard about it, I could not / did not want to believe it. Only last week we chatted for long, and I had the firm feeling that I was talking to someone who was 100% satisfied and happy with the way his life had developed over the last few years. More than that: Albin was almost eager to tell me about all his latest successes and satisfactions. He was enthusiastic about his next 2 planned collaborative releases (with Saturnalia Temple and Abigor) and he was so proud that after countless years of hostility and boycotts, now even the Austrian state radio (FM4 – the ‘Youth’-channel of ORF) was playing his music (and laughing he added: “And I get A LOT of royalties for it!”).”
And he adds: “Albin was simply full of joy, contentment and confidence like I had rarely heard him before – and less than a week later he suddenly disappeared. At the age of 54 years…”
About Albin Julius and Der Blutharsch
Originally a side project to The Moon lay hidden beneath a Cloud, Julius’ first release as Der Blutharsch was a self-titled picture disc (1996), limited to 250 copies. Early Der Blutharsch recorded material was very dark ambient in sound, heavy on historic samples and post-industrial melodic drones. As the discography progressed, the material became more lively, with the more bombastic approach and a focus on a form of martial industrial with emphasis on neoclassical instrumentation combined with experimentalism. Subject matter and imagery largely derived from historical topics relating to the history of Germanic Europe.
With the release of “Time Is Thee Enemy!” in 2003, Julius took Der Blutharsch into the direction of a grunge band. Gone were the martial aspects of Der Blutharsch, only apparent to some extent in promotional imagery. Instead of a one-man project, promotional material showcased the project as a fleshed out group. Live shows continued in this direction with a focus on placing the group further into the area of psychedelic rock. Subsequently, any traces of the previous focus on historical themes disappeared with new promotional imagery showcasing references to psychedelic pop art.
Live, Der Blutharsch started as a one-man electronic music show. Later, Albin Julius performed as a two or three man show, with martial drumming and spoken (or shouted) lyrics. Julius' output is often described as neo-fascist owing to his frequent use of military-related themes and fascist aesthetics, including Third Reich-era material, in the composition of his works
