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Letzte Instanz, founded in Dresden, Germany in 1996, is a German Mittelalter rock band particularly noted for their use of the violin and cello. The founding members included Hörbi, Tin Whistle, Muttis Stolz, Kaspar Wichman, Holly D. and Markus G-Punkt. Benni Cellini and Robin Sohn entered the group a year later. To date, they have released six studio albums, one live album, a live DVD, a single, and have appeared on a number of mix CDs.
When the band's first album, "Brachialromantik" (Brute Romance), they earned swift comparisons to the giants of the popular German Mittelalter rock genre like Subway to Sally and Tanzwut, despite objections from the band that this was not an accurate expression of their sound or style. Shortly before the album's release, the singer Hörbi left the band to pursue other projects, and the band was left unsure of themselves and faltering with the public taking little interest in their record.
Enter Robin Sohn and a new era for the band. With sharp, complex German lyrics, the new singer arrived and helped shape a new sound. The result was the critically acclaimed "Das Spiel" (The Game), a stark departure from the sound of their previous effort. The strings were drawn more into the background and the focus shifted to the conventional band instruments, making room also for electronics. Also, two of the new songs ("Das Ist Der Tag"/"That is the Day", "Das Spiel") let Robin take a break from the microphone and introduced background vocalist Holly D's rap stylings. This album also demonstrates Robin's linguistic versatility, featuring a remake of Camouflage's "Love is a Shield." Shortly after the release, Kaspar departed the band, and the introduction of Rasta F. marked the first in a series of changes in the bass player position.
With their third album, 2001's "Kalter Glanz," Letzte Instanz showed their fans and critics that trying to classify their music was a fruitless endeavor, yet again introducing a record with a sound different from either of its predecessors.
The strings were pulled slightly more into the background, and the sound had begun to mature as a kind of string-assisted form of modern heavy metal in songs like "Ganz oder gar nicht"/"Completely or not at all" and the title track, and with a continued dedication to their folk music roots in songs like "Oh Fortuna" and "Mein Todestag"/"My dying day." The result is a powerful combination of musical genres, occurring both integrated and drawn into sections, but never completely pulled from one another. Also appearing on the album were two well-known German singers: Marta Jandová from Die Happy and Sven Friedrich from Dreadful Shadows accompanied the septet on 3 songs.
With the introduction of an additional guitarist (Oli), another bass change (FX), and a new drummer (Specki T.D.), the band followed up in September of 2003 with "Götter Auf Abruf" ("Gods on Call") and it became abundantly clear that the band was simply incapable of releasing two CDs that sound the same. Though the new sound was not quite as significant a departure from "Kalter Glanz" as that album had been from its predecessor, the progression toward a heavier, complex blend of modern rock and classical/folk instruments and themes was audible. While the Letzte Instanz of "Das Spiel" had sounded like a folky horror-themed group with rock instruments thrown in, the band of the latest album has shifted much further to the metal end of the spectrum, with the strings nevertheless always present and keeping the previous albums' collective promise of a unique and incomparable sound. The resurgence of Holly D's rap vocals also appears on two tracks. With a more radio-friendly sound, the band was even able to climb into the German album charts, a place rarely frequented by rock bands with German lyrics.
Their latest releases have included a live CD and DVD, featuring tracks from the three most recent albums plus the track "Kopf oder Zahl"/"Heads or Tails," which first appeared on the German mix "Nachtschwärmer Vol.7" in July 2004 after having served well as a closing song for their previous tour.
The band did, however, hit a snag in March 2004 when three integral members (vocalist Robin Sohn, founding guitarist Tin Whistle, and bassist FX) decided to leave the band simultaneously for personal reasons. Many of the band's fans feared that they had heard the last of Letzte Instanz. The remaining members decided not to abandon their eight-year project and actively sought to rebuild their lineup. In the meantime, the two strings players M. Stolz and Benni Cellini took advantage of the break to cooperate with the new band Angelzoom on four songs for their self-titled debut, including the single "Fairyland," and joined them briefly for their Tiefenrausch Tour 2005.
December 2004 saw the introduction of new bass player Michael Ende and, three months later, the band became complete once more, finding a new lead singer in Holly. In June 2005, the band debuted live for the first time with their new lineup, playing new songs for a new era. With a new album in production and a dedicated fanbase, Letzte Instanz refuses to give up and continues to share their unique blend of music with Germany and the world.
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