ASP is a German
gothic rock
Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...
band from
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, formed in 1999. The name is identical to the pseudonym of the band's leader Asp (Alexander Spreng), and is pronounced as one word (like the
snake
Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
).
History
ASP were formed in 1999
by Alexander Frank Spreng (a.k.a. "Asp") and Matthias Ambré (a.k.a. "Matze"), producing their first 3-track demo CD later that year. The following year saw a record deal with Trisol, who released the band's debut album ''Hast du mich vermisst? ''("Have you missed me
ery much"), as well as the band's first live performance, at the 'Gothicworld' festival having added Andreas Gross (a.k.a. "Tossi") on bass, Oliver Himmighoffen (a.k.a. "Himmi") on drums and a choir section to the line-up.
The following three years saw the release of two further albums ''Duett'' and ''Weltunter'', which, along with the debut, formed the album series ''Der Schwarze Schmetterling'' ("The Black Butterfly"). ASP also became a popular live act over these years, regularly appearing at high-profile festivals.
The band suffered some difficulty in 2004 with the bankruptcy of distributor EFA,
though their albums were reissued later that year, along with the ''Interim Works Compendium'', a 2CD collection of ASP rarities as well as selected tracks from their three albums to date. Another string of live dates took them through to the release of ''Aus der Tiefe'' in May 2005, the fourth part of the ''Der Schwarze Schmetterling'' series. The fifth part ''Requiembryo'' followed in 2007.
The year 2008 saw the release of three new albums. First, a best of-album ''Horror Vacui'' was released in February. This was followed by a tour in Europe. At the end of August the band released ''Zaubererbruder – Der Krabat-Liederzyklus'', an album based on the
Sorbian Krabat legend (see, e.g., ''
Krabat'' by
Otfried Preußler). The live recording ''Akoasma'' is available since December 2008.
They have also remixed
Emilie Autumn
Emilie Autumn Liddell (born September 22, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, author, and violinist. Autumn's musical style is described by her as "Fairy Pop", "Fantasy Rock" or "Victoriandustrial". It is influenced by glam rock and ...
's "Liar", plus provided vocals for the mix. It is known as the "Manic Depressive Mix" and is featured on Autumn's ''
Liar/Dead Is The New Alive'' EP.
The band released their first DVD in August 2009, entitled ''Von Zaubererbrüdern''.
In 2011, after almost 11 years of cooperation, the paths of the two founders of the band diverged – songwriter and singer Alexander "Asp" Spreng and producer and guitarist Matthias Ambré. ASP as a band continued with new partners, and the musicians Andreas Gross and Oliver Himmighoffen were retained for live performances. The reasons for separation are given officially as personal and professional differences.
One year later Oliver Himmighoffen also left the band. In his place Stefan Günther, who is a friend of Sören Jordan, joined the band.
Members

Current members
*Asp (Alexander Frank Spreng) – vocals (1999–present)
*Lias (Tobias Engel) – bass (2021–present)
*Lutz Demmler – bass, guitar, mandolin, keyboard (2011–present)
*Sören Jordan – guitar (2011–present)
*Stefan Günther – drums (2012–present)
Former members
*Tossi (Andreas Gross) – bass (2000–2021)
*Matze (Matthias Ambré) – guitar, bass guitar, programming (1999–2011)
*Max (Marcus Testory) – choir (2001–2004)
*Holger Hartgen – choir (2000–2004)
*Pit Hammann – choir (2000–2001)
*Himmi (Oliver Himmighoffen) – drums (2000–2012)
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
EPs
Singles
Music videos
*2005: '
*2011: '
*2015: '
*2017: '
*2017: '
*2017: '
*2017: '
*2017: '
*2019: '
*2019: '
*2019: '
*2021: '
*2021: '
*2022: '
*2022: '
*2023: '
DVD
* 2009: ''Von Zaubererbrüdern – Live & Unplugged''
* 2012: ''Live auf dem Summer Breeze''
* 2019: ''Zaubererbruder – Der Krabat-Liederzyklus – Live & für immer''
Box sets
*2007: ''The Once in a Lifetime Recollection'' (feat. Chamber live; Limited to 1,999 copies)
*2011: ''Der Komplette Schwarze Schmetterling-Zyklus'' (10-CD box set containing all the songs within the Schwarzer Schmetterling cycle)
References
External links
Official website*
{{Authority control
German gothic rock groups
German Neue Deutsche Härte music groups
German industrial rock musical groups
Musical groups from Frankfurt