Eisregen
Eisregen is a German death metal/black metal band formed in 1995. The members are from Tambach-Dietharz, a village in Thuringia. History. In English, Eisregen translates to "ice rain". By using morbid German lyrics unlike those of other bands of this genre, Eisregen got the attention of German authorities, causing the ban by the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons of three of their albums in Germany. Eisregen originally planned to disband after releasing a final album called "Menschenmaterial" ("human resources", as in mineral/natural resources, a dehumanizing reference to "spendable" humans), but announced that they  will continue to work together. Musical style. Eisregen's old albums were more black metal-influenced than the newer ones. The violin parts, now typical for the band, came with 1998's "Krebskolonie" ("cancer colony"), considered the band's best album by many of their fans. Censorship. Unlike regular banning (referred to as "indexing"), which prohibits playing the songs in public, selling to minors and any kind of advertisement, "Krebskolonie" is not allowed to be sold at all in Germany. The reason given by the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons were the lyrics, which were described as  cruel, inhuman, misogynistic and brutalising. The band could not fight the ban as their label Last Episode (which they left afterwards) did not inform them. Interviews show the reasons giving for the ban differ from lyricist Michael Roth's intentions. As an example, an excerpt from the ban report referring to the song "Futter für die Schweine" ("food for the pigs"): Roth himself stated: The ban of the 2001 album "Farbenfinsternis" ("color darkness"), which along with "Krebskolonie" was one of their most important releases, inflicted financial damages to Eisregen. The album "Menschenmaterial", originally thought to be their sixth and last  album, was not released. The band announced to release one more album called "Blutbahnen" ("bloodlines") before, as they found new motivation to make music. On 1 February 2007, their release "Wundwasser" ("water from wounds") was banned due to "youth endangering and condemnable contents". In order to circumvent the banning rules, Eisregen retitle songs when playing them live. "Meine tote Russische Freundin" and "Futter für die Schweine" became "Meine schwedische Freundin" and "Nonnen für die Schweine". "Krebskolonie" is often played as "Leprakolonie" ("leper colony"). Reception. Although Eisregen were criticized for their horror and splatter lyrics, their songs also have a certain  (often morbid and humoristic) background and sometimes even deal with social or historical topics (e.g. "Schwarze Rose", "vom Muttermord", "Ripper von Rostow", "Eisenkreuzkrieger", "17 Kerzen am Dom") in a fictional way. Side projects. Ronny Fimmel founded a gothic metal band called Ewigheim in 1999 (Michael Roth and Theresa Trenks were featured as session musicians). Michael Roth and Michael Lenz play in a melodic death metal band called Eisblut since 2004, and Ronny Fimmel and Theresa Trenks founded Transilvanian Beat Club in 2005.