Absurd (band)

Absurd
Absurd
Background information
Origin	Sondershausen, Germany
Genres	NSBM
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Darker Than Black
Website	www.hordeabsurd.com
Members
	Ronald “Wolf” Möbus; Sven “Unhold” Zimper
Past members
	Hendrik “Jarl Flagg Nidhögg” Möbus; Sebastian “Dark Mark Doom” Schauseil; Andreas “Chuck Daniels” Kirchner; Udo “Damien Thorn” H.; Tormentor

Absurd is one of the best-known NSBM bands in Germany. It was founded in Sondershausen by Hendrik Möbus and Sebastian Schauseil in 1992, with a third member, Andreas Kirchner, joining at a later stage. Möbus' brother, Ronal "Wolf" Möbus (who is also the owner of the label Nebelfee Klangwerke on which Absurd are signed) had previously sat in rehearsal sessions with the band at the local YMCA, where they utilized a free rehearsal space open to local teen bands. Their lyrics concern nationalistic, pagan, and anti-Christian themes.

History

Despite being considered one of the most well-known and one of the first NSBM bands, these themes didn't seem to become that prominent until the 1999 release Asgardsrei.

While the young band had a small following among their peers, and had supposedly even attracted the attention of Euronymous, the figurehead of the Norwegian black metal circle (an unfounded claim, as stated by former contacts of both Euronymous and Absurd. That Möbius and Varg Vikernes had been in contact since 1990 is mentioned marginally in Gods of the Blood (p. 316).

The band achieved infamy because its members murdered the fifteen-year old Sandro Beyer in 1993. The canonical motive is that Beyer was privy to an illicit relationship of Schauseil's with the mother of a schoolmate, and had been spreading rumours about this and other activities of the band. On 29 April in Sondershausen, Möbus, Schauseil, and Kirchner enticed Beyer to a meeting, and strangled him there with an electrical cord. Kirchner, in a now infamous quotation, was reported as saying: "Oh shit, I completely fucked up my life". Schauseil attempted a plea of insanity, claiming that voices in his head told him to murder Beyer. This was, however, thrown out in court, due to the testimony of psychiatrists who worked with Schauseil after the initial arrest.

Hendrik Möbus

In prison, Möbus was able to carry on with the band under the temporary name "In Ketten" (German for "in chains"); after the murder, this became a cult band with Neo-National Socialist groups. No releases were made as 'In Ketten' but some of the tracks recorded were used on the 'Facta Loquuntur' album. The tape Thuringian Pagan Madness shows on its cover the grave of the murdered Sandro Beyer, and inside says: "The cover shows the grave of Sandro B. murdered by horde ABSURD on 29.04.93 AB".

The band members were released on parole in 1998, because they had been under eighteen when they had committed their crime. Shortly after release, Möbus violated the terms of his parole when at a concert he performed the "Hitlergruß", a kind of salute used in the Third Reich, which is illegal in Germany. His parole was consequently revoked. He managed to flee to the United States, where he met William Luther Pierce, but was captured there. He was arrested by U.S. marshals, while carrying groceries back to his compound, shattering his elbow in the process. In 2001, after his request for asylum was denied, he was sent back to prison for the remaining three years for murder. For mocking his victim and for the Hitlergruß he was sentenced to a further twenty-six months. On 15 May 2003 he was again sentenced to four years in prison.

Möbus is presently still incarcerated ,and has ended his participation in Absurd. Schauseil is still involved with the underground metal-scene; he performed between 1999 and 2004 with the folk-influenced nationalist band Halgadom, the black metal project Wolfsmond (also featuring bassplayer Unhold, who currently plays drums in Absurd), and the neofolk band In Acht und Bann. He has distanced himself from National Socialism and politics in general, as evidenced by the current direction of Wolfsmond and as stated in an interview he conducted with Vampire Magazine.

The band Absurd has continued in existence since 1999, going through many changes of personnel, and losing all of its original members. The leader is Wolf, Hendrik's brother, with Sebastian Schausell performing the occasional vocal part on releases such as Asgardsrei (1999), Werwolfthron (2001), Totenlieder (2003), and Blutgericht (2005). Due to the fact that the band line-up and musical style has changed drastically, many people consider anything that was released after Werwolfthron to be an entirely different band.