Top 10 Bands from GERMANY

Do you like German bands? I bet you like them more than you think you do! From classic rock to molten metal, techno pop to prog-synth odysseys, Germany has given the world a huge amount of great music. What’s interesting is that, unlike many other European countries, many German acts are happy to sing in English, or at least re-record English language editions of their songs. Maybe this has helped artists from Germany to reach a larger worldwide audience?

Maybe it’s just great songs?

Either way, today I’d like to gather a list of the ten best bands and artists from Germany. I’ve focussed on those who’ve had longer, more sustained careers, but I’m a sucker for an amazing song in any context, so I reckon there’s room for at least one classic from a German one-hit-wonder, right?

The Scorpions are basically German rock royalty. The band that spawned such six-string luminaries as Uli Jon Roth and Michael Schenker, The Scorpions have traversed six decades as one of the biggest rock bands in Germany.

Hailing from Hanover, The Scorpions know when to go for it (Rock You Like a Hurricane, Sails of Charon) and when to hold back and deliver anthems like Holding on For an Angel or the epic Wind of Change. If there isn’t at least one Scorpions song that you like, I have a feeling you’re just yet to find it!

Synth pioneers Tangerine Dream are a deeply influential electronic group who have counted many members within their ranks, but the nucleus for the most part was Edgar Froese and Christopher Franke. Taking apart the very notion of popular song structure, these adventurous Germans have pushed the concept of  what can be communicated and achieved with atmospheric, ambient synth music.

As well as classic records like Phaedra and Rubycon, Tangerine Dream have also scored many movies such as Ridley Scott’s Legend and William Friedkin’s Sorcerer.

Even Tangerine Dream would probably admit that they are Germany’s second most significant electronic band. Dusseldorf’s Kraftwerk are iconic in so many ways, from their pioneering synth music to their innovative (and somewhat subversive) image, that they are surely the first German synth band for most music fans. 

Doing their best to blur the worlds of human being and machine, Kraftwerk used their (sometimes home made) synthesizers to project an optimistic, utopian idea of Europe. Kraftwerk albums are all available in both English and German language editions, and interestingly, they are one of the very few bands out there where the language doesn’t seem to matter. They are almost as influential as The Beatles, and have managed to successfully keep their private lives mostly private, too. But then, do machines have private lives?

Rammstein are arguably the only top touring metal band in the world who do not sing in English. The Berlin 6-piece Neue Deutsche Harte (New German Hard) group have maintained the same lineup for over 30 years now, and have possibly the most instantly distinctive sound of any metal band in the world. Taking the best riffs from Ministry and Metallica, and welding them to the electronics of Depeche Mode, Rammstein have created a sound that both transcends nationality and stays profoundly German.

Helloween are a more traditional type of metal band than Rammstein. For over 40 years, these Hamburg-based hard rockers have been knocking out stone-cold belters like Eagle Fly Free and the excellently-titled Are You Metal?

Helloween have quite the line-up, with two lead vocalists and no less than three guitarists! Helloween fans are sure to enjoy the two interviews I’ve carried out with guitarists Michael Weikath and Kai Hansen. Helloween continue to power ahead as one of Germany’s best-loved bands.

Seminal metal band Kreator were one of the first to develop the thrash sound. Kreator, from Essen, were initially called Metal Militia and then Tyrant, then Tormentor, before finally settling on Kreator in 1984. The lineup has changed often, but their relentless commitment to speedy, heavy metal has remained unchallenged. Well, apart from a period in the 1990s when they incorporated more industrial elements to their sound.

Kreator are one of the “Big Four of Teutonic Thrash Metal” (I want a t-shirt with that on it) alongside Destruction, Sodom and Tankard. Time for a reunion tour?

Is there more to Alphaville than just that one (admittedly superb) song Forever Young?

In fact, yes! The 80s popsters actually have a string of awesome songs, all sung by Marian Gold, a man with a ridiculous vocal range.

Taking their name from the very hip 1960s French movie, Alphaville started out with little in the way of conventional musical ability, but lots in the way of imagination and dedication. Starting in 1982, the band remains active and popular in Germany and beyond.

For some raw German punk, look no further than Die Toten Hosen. The Dusseldorf 5 piece sing in German (one of very few bands on this list who do) and formed during a second wave on punk in 1982. With a name that translates more or less as ‘boring’, Die Toten Hosen are anything but, delivering high energy music with a sly attitude and sense of humour.

Unclassifiable, endlessly inventive and pretty confrontational. Those are the first three things that come into my head when I consider describing Berlin’s Einstürzende Neubauten. This is the band who used to attach contact mics to each others’ bodies and then beat each other up onstage, the mics picking up the punches and kicks as improvised drum sounds!

There’s more to them than just crazy stories though, but there are plenty of crazy stories! Bandleader Blixa Bargeld spent many years as a Bad Seed with Nick Cave. For a listen that's still within the confines of rock music, but pushes against of of its conventions, this is where to go.

Caspar Brötzmann’s guitar playing is flat-out thrilling. Eschewing conventional boxes and patterns, he instead goes for a highly expressive style that mixes an avant-garde approach to noise with a gleefully reckless attitude to musical theory. Whilst still building recognisable parts to his songs, Brotzmann uses shards of sonics, overtones and dissonance to craft his musical landscapes. An upside-down Strat, a Rat pedal, a wah and a loud Marshall are all of the tools required by Caspar to unleash abstract hell, in the best possible way!

Caspar Brötzmann Massaker is a three-piece, with Brötzmann taking on lead vocals as well as guitar. They’ve created five albums together since 1987, and Brötzmann has collaborated with artists such as Page Hamilton from Helmet and F.M. Einheit from Einstürzende Neubauten.

Germany is, as you can see, full of excellent music. I’ve obviously not touched on things like folk or jazz today, but even this shallow dip into the waters of Germanic music proves that there’s a deep reservoir of quality here, and one well worth digging into for rock music and guitar fans.

If you enjoyed checking out the music of Germany, be sure to click the links below and also read about some of the best music from France, Wales, Ireland and Scotland!