In Strict Confidence is a German

electro-industrial Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the early 1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound ...

band. Formed in 1989, they were known as ''Seal of Secrecy'' until 1992. In Strict Confidence has been signed to several record labels, including

Metropolis Records Metropolis Records is a record label that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania ...

and

WTII Records WTII Records is an independent record label created in 2001 by former Wax Trax! Records employee Bart Pfanenstiel, and David Schock. History WTII established The concept behind WTII began in 1999, while Bart Pfanenstiel was employed at Wax ...

History

Founding 1989–2000

In Strict Confidence started out as a quartet, but stripped down to a duo (Dennis Ostermann and Jörg Schelte) in 1992, releasing two demos tapes on the way to their debut release ' Cryogenix' on

Zoth Ommog Zoth Ommog Records was a German record label that focused on Industrial music and was owned by parent label Music Research. The company was established by German music producer Andreas Tomalla (aka Talla 2XLC) in 1989 and later handed over to pro ...

in 1996 (the initial pressing of this album sold out in one week), shortly followed by an EP ''Collapse''. The band left Zoth Ommog after releasing follow-up effort '' Face the Fear'' in 1998, due to payment disputes. The third album '' Love Kills!'' was released on the newly formed and short lived Bloodline label two years later.

Band Growth 2001–2010

Founding member Stefan Vesper then re-joined the group in time for '' Mistrust the Angels'' in 2002 with subsequent albums ''

Holy Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

'' and '' Exile Paradise'' appearing at two-year intervals. These albums saw the project's sound diversify further, notably with increasing use of female vocals from Antje Schulz, vocalist of the band Chandeen, and the addition of female vocalist Nina de Lianin

Side Projects

Dennis Ostermann has a side project called Controlled Fusion. Stefan Vesper has produced material under his own name and also as Steve Dragon.

Members

*Dennis Ostermann (vocals, songwriting) *Jörg Schelte (songwriting, programming) *Stefan Vesper (drums, songwriting) (left in 1992, returned in 2001) *Heidi Pulkkinen (guitars) (credited as HayDee Sparks) (joined in 2008) *Nina de Lianin (vocals, lyrics) (joined in 2009)

Guests

*Nadine Stelzer (female vocals) (from 2000 to 2004) *Heiko Montkowski (guitars) (from 2000 to 2002)

Former Members

*Thomas Steiger (keyboards) (left 1992, continues in non-musical role) *Antje Schulz (vocals, lyrics) (joined in 2004)

Discography

Albums

* '' Cryogenix'' (1996) * '' Face the Fear'' (1997) * '' Love Kills!'' (2000) * '' Mistrust the Angels'' (2002) – #87 Offizielle Deutsche Charts * ''

'' (2004) – #83 Offizielle Deutsche Charts * '' Exile Paradise'' (2006) – #3 German Alternative Charts (DAC) * '' La Parade Monstrueuse'' (2010) * ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

'' (2012) * '' The Hardest Heart'' (2016) * ''Hate2Love'' (2018)

EPs

* ''Collapse'' (1997) * ''Industrial Love/Prediction'' (1998) (limited to 1111 copies) * ''Zauberschloss'' (2001) * ''Herzattacke'' (2002) * ''Zauberschloss/Kiss Your Shadow'' (2002) * ''Engelsstaub'' (2002) * ''Seven Lives'' (2004) – #5 DAC Singles * ''Holy (The Hecq Destruxxion)'' (2004) (Remix CD in metal case, limited to 1111 copies) * ''Where Sun & Moon Unite'' (2006) – #8 DAC Singles * ''The Serpent's Kiss'' (2006) – #4 DAC Singles * ''Exile Paradise (The Hecq Destruxxion)'' (2007) (Remix CD in metal case, limited to 1111 copies) * ''My Despair'' (2009) * ''Silver Bullets'' (2010) * ''Set Me Free'' (2011) * ''Morpheus'' (2012) * ''Somebody Else's Dream'' (2016) * ''Everything Must Change'' (2016) * ''Herz & Frozen Kisses'' (2017) * ''Mercy'' (2018)

Compilations

* '' Angels Anger Overkill'' (1998) * ''Laugh, Cry and Scream'' (2010) * ''Lifelines Vol. 1 (1991-1998)'' (2014) * ''Lifelines Vol. 2 (1998-2004)'' (2015) * ''Lifelines Vol. 3 (2006-2010)'' (2015)

Singles

* ''Dementia'' (1997) (Vinyl - limited to 500 copies) * ''Aghast View vs. ISC (Industrial Love)'' (1998) (Vinyl, limited to 333 copies) * ''Kiss Your Shadow'' (2000) – #35 DAC Top 100 Singles of 2000 * ''The Truth Inside of Me'' (2001) (limited to 1500 copies) * ''Mistrust the Bonus Edition'' (2002) * ''Babylon'' (2003) – #96 DAC Top Singles of 2003 * ''The Sun Always Shines on T.V.'' (2005) (limited boxset with picture viewer, limited to 2000 copies) * ''Tiefer'' (2012) * ''Justice'' (2013) (digital only)

Tape

* ''Sound Attack'' (1992) (Demo limited to 50) * ''Hell Inside/Hell Outside'' (1994) (Double Cassette)

References

External links

*
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{{In Strict Confidence Electro-industrial music groups German industrial music groups Musical groups established in 1989 Metropolis Records artists Zoth Ommog Records artists