On September 20, blackened death metal outfit Kanonenfieber will release their sophomore album, Die Urkatastrophe, via Century Media Records. For a preview of the record, a video for the new single, "Panzerhenker" is available below.

Kanonenfieber explains about the back story of "Panzerhenker": "The Battle of Cambrai took place from November 20 to 30, 1917 and marked the first offensive in which tanks played a decisive role in the attack strategy. The British carried out the attack with the support of battle and auxiliary tanks as well as an intensive barrage. The offensive was halted by German counterattacks. With the help of anti-tank field guns the Germans managed to take out a large number of the British tanks. J. Krüger, who was known as the 'Panzerhenker' (= Tankslayer / Tank Executioner), played an important role in this. Even when his battery was wiped out, Krüger remained as the last survivor at a field gun and destroyed up to 16 of the approaching tanks. When enemy assault troops penetrated his positions, he attacked with a pistol and was eventually wounded and captured."

Regarding Die Urkatastrophe - "The First World War accelerated the path to modernity and is considered the 'Die Urkatastrophe' (= 'primal catastrophe') of the 20th century, which was characterized by wars, violence and displacement. Around 17 million people, soldiers and civilians lost their lives, large parts of Europe were destroyed and unresolved problems were left behind, which led to further violent conflicts. This album is dedicated to the victims of the First World War, so they are not forgotten. May their fates be a warning for all following generations even after more than 100 years," says Noise, who records all instruments in the studio and who is also responsible for the concept of Kanonenfieber.

As with its predecessor, Kanonenfieber's second album Die Urkatastrophe is based on factual reports, letters and original documents from the surviving and deceased soldiers from the First World War. Its intent is not to glorify, because there is no glory in war. Everyone loses - their lives, their souls, their humanity. War is often depicted in an abstract way, through numbers and statistics. Kanonenfieber aim to tell the stories of the nameless and the faceless in order to allow for a small glimpse of their personal horrors, and thereby the larger scale horror for mankind as a whole.

Albums formats:
--Ltd. Deluxe transp. sand-dark red colored splattered 2LP Artbook
--Ltd. Deluxe orange-black splattered 2LP Artbook (1000x) from Kanonenfieber
--Ltd. CD Mediabook & Patch
--Ltd. Gatefold transp. orange LP & LP-Booklet
--Ltd. Gatefold transp. olive green-white splattered LP & LP-Booklet (300x) at cmdistro.de
--Ltd. Gatefold transp. bottle green-bone colored-black splattered LP & LP-Booklet (500x) at cmdistro.de and various other retailers
--Ltd. Gatefold transp. violet-black splattered LP & LP-Booklet (300x) at Nuclear Blast and Impericon
--Ltd. Gatefold black-orange-white splattered LP & LP-Booklet (500x) from Kanonenfieber
--Ltd. Gatefold white-orange-black splattered LP & LP-Booklet (500x) from Kanonenfieber
--Ltd. Gatefold translucent ruby LP & LP-Booklet (US version) at centurymedia.store and various other retailers
--Standard CD Jewelcase
--black LP
--Digital Album

Preorder here.

Tracklisting:

“Grossmachtfantasie”
“Menschenmühle”
“Sturmtrupp”
“Der Maulwurf”
“Lviv zu Lemberg”
“Waffenbrüder”
“Gott mit der Kavallerie”
“Panzerhenker”
“Ritter der Lüfte”
“Verdun”
“Ausblutungsschlacht”
“Als die Waffen kamen”

“Panzerhenker” lyric video:

(Photo – Stephanie Rifkin)