Unheilig (German for "Unholy") is a German band that draws from a variety of influences, including various pop and electronic styles as well as heavier, nihilistic hard rock. The band was founded in Aachen in 1999 and principally consisted of singer Bernd Heinrich "Der Graf" (the Earl) along with various musical partners. He was accompanied for live shows with musicians Christoph "Licky" Termühlen, Henning Verlage, and Martin "Potti" Potthoff. The group's debut, Phosphor, came out in 2000.
History
Early years (1999–2009)
Bernd Heinrich Graf (a.k.a. "Der Graf", "The Count") founded Unheilig in 1999 with Grant Stevens (writer of "Everlasting Friends", a song featured in a German television commercial for Holsten Pilsener beer) and José Alvarez-Brill (Wolfsheim, Joachim Witt, De/Vision).
Their first single "Sage Ja!" (Say Yes!) was released on Bloodline Records in 1999. It entered the Deutsche Alternative Charts and became popular in night clubs. In February 2001 Unheilig's debut album "Phosphor" was published in Europe.
Over the next few months, the band guested at major festivals and open-air events in Germany (Zillo Open Air, Wave-Gotik-Treffen Leipzig, Doomsday Festival, Woodstage Festival) before taking a break from live work to write and produce the Christmas album Frohes Fest (Merry Christmas) released in 2002 and the third album (The 2nd Commandment).
In February 2003, the band toured eleven European cities as support to L'Âme Immortelle, and played songs from the album .
Directly after the tour, the EP Schutzengel (Guardian Angel) was released, including four previously unreleased tracks. The band played in festivals during the summer. The M'era Luna Festival was one of the highlights for the band and the fans. Der Graf produced remixes for Absurd Minds, Terminal Choice and other bands and produced a song for the Xbox game Project Gotham Racing 2. Then the band started recording the album "Zelluloid".
Zelluloid was released on 23 February 2004, and at the same time, the band toured with Terminal Choice. A fan vote organised by Unheilig chose the tracks for the EP Freiheit, released 18 October 2004.
Unheilig played more concerts in 2004 than any previous year. A live album Gastspiel was released on 31 January 2005. Six weeks before release of their DVD "Kopfkino" A mainstream music television channel (VIVA Plus) broadcast an Unheilig song video for the first time – the video of "Freiheit".
The album "Moderne Zeiten" (Modern Times) was released on 20 January 2006. The theme of the album is dreams.
During 2007 the band played a small number of festivals including Wacken Open Air, Amphi festival and Burgrock Altena festival.
In 2008, Unheilig released the album "Puppenspiel". It entered the Media Control Charts at number 13.
In 2008, they played at the (M'era Luna, Zita-Rock, Wave-Gotik-Treffen and Castle Rock) festivals. Later the band released their second DVD titled "Vorhang auf" ("Curtain Up").
In 2009, the band performed at the Amphi Festival, Summer Breeze Open Air and the Rockharz Open Air festivals.
On 3 July 2009, the albums Phosphor, Frohes Fest, , Zelluloid and Moderne Zeiten were released with new artwork and remastered audio. The Limited Edition versions of the albums that included extra songs were not re-released.
Große Freiheit and Lichter der Stadt (2009–2013) On 7 December 2009, the official Unheilig website received a major redesign to reflect the upcoming release of Große Freiheit, including a three-minute trailer showcasing Der Graf with a suitcase playing "Das Meer", the very first song off the new album.
On 14 January 2010, the first music video for their first single "Geboren um zu leben" (Born to Live) was posted on Unheilig's webpage. The single "Geboren um zu leben" was released on 29 January 2010 and debuted on the Media Control Charts at number two. The single also peaked on the Austrian Singles Chart at number eight.
Große Freiheit was released on 19 February 2010 under Vertigo Records part of Universal Records, with a tour following immediately. The new album would then go on to peak in the Media Control Charts at number 1, in Austria at number 2 and in Switzerland at number 3. The band performed at the Greenfield Festival in Switzerland on 12 June.
The second single "Für immer" was released on 21 May & Peaked in the German Charts at No. 17.
Große Freiheit would break records as the longest staying No. 1 album on the German Media Control Charts, staying at No. 1 for 23 non-consecutive weeks. This beats the old record set by Herbert Grönemeyer in 1988 with the album Ö, which stayed at No. 1 for 14 weeks.