History & Biography While thrashing at start, Germany's Crematory was soon associated correctly with goth music. The band had toured with My Dying Bride in the early days and had become a big name in Germany. Forst's departure was decidedly unfriendly and the band announced it would split up in 2001 much to the surprise of its fans. The band had grown dissatisfied with its level of growth and diminished returns. Remind was the band's supposed swan song.
Not unsurprisingly, Crematory soon ‘reformed’ and began working on a new album for Nuclear Blast called Revolution. It was scheduled for the summer of 2004. The band, however, had to pause its recordings in the midst of working on the 2004 album Revolution because Katrin was pregnant with Markus Jullich' daughter, Janina. The band would drift back to Massacre Records in 2006. Pray, the latest by the band in 2008, entered the German Media Control charts at position number 64. German gothic band Crematory announced the release of a full-length called Infinity for February of 2010. The album included a cover version of Depeche Mode's Black Celebration. A 2011 CD/DVD was also in the works to commemorate the band’s twentieth anniversary. In the autumn of 2013. The band signed a deal with Steamhammer/SPV. The band's next album, Antiserum, would be released on February 25, 2014. It promised to incorporate even more electronica! A video called Live W.O.A. 2014 was released in 2015. Crematory filled its guitar gaps by recruiting Tosse Basler (Scapegoat, Poison ASP, Avalanche, Evolution, etc.) and producer Rolf Munkes. Crematory would release its next studio album, Monument, on April 15th 2016 through Steamhammer/SPV. After twenty years, the band lost bassist Harald Heine at the beginning of 2016 and replaced him with Jason Matthias. The band was at the studio in late 2017 working on a new album entitled Oblivion, which was to be out on April 13th 2018 through SPV/Steamhammer. The band was again working with producer Kristian Bonifer at the Kohlekellerstudio. Matthias was on bass. Drummer Markus Jüllich had a post on the band’s page imploring fans to buy physical media and concert tickets or the goth rockers may be over. The band’s record and ticket sales were abysmal. The group signed a deal with Napalm Records. A new album was due in 2020. The group released a single, called The Downfall, which was taken from the band’s Unbroken album which was out through Napalm Records in March. Guitarist Connie left. Bassist Patrick Schmid joined in 2021. Old bassist Heinz Steinhauser died in 2021. Live At Wacken 2019 was an independent DVD/CD release in 2022. Inglorious Darkness was out in the spring. The band appeared at Wacken Open Air for the eighth time in 2023.
Crematory signed a new deal with ROAR in late 2024. The band was working on finalising a new studio album, Destination, which was scheduled for release on May 2, 2025. “Fans can expect a return to the classic gothic metal style with lots of catchy hits. The album release will follow with an extensive tour of Germany,” said the press release.
Reviews CREMATORY - REVOLUTION - NUCLEAR BLAST
A fact and a confession: I am not a fan of Crematory's techno-metal style of music and it took the Germans less time to disband, go away and 'reform' than it takes some bands to track songs for a new record.
That being said, the new Crematory album is quite good for its style. The band mixes metal, dance, goth and industrial to good effect. The album begins with Resurrection, which is an obvious title, the next song Wake Up is typical of the band with gruff vocals, big chords and the synthesized sounds, Tick Tack is sung in German and out-Rammsteins Rammsteins - a sure bet for single of the month over at Nukie Blast - and the band has even fit a video for the title track on this disc too. This is not this girl's cup of tea, but fans of the band and the genre(s) will like it. - Anna Tergel
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CREMATORY - PRAY - BLISTERING 
Crematory’s twelfth album isn’t bad for the genre, yet the material barely tempts one to listen again or add any part of it to a personal playlist. Crematory is still at it. The band is all into its metal with goth tones and has all the synthesizers one would (not) want. The vocals are tired relying on the grand old formula of alternating growls with clean singing. The slower cuts have really laughable titles, namely Sleeping Solution and Say Goodbye, which makes one think of how true it all is. Only if the band’s music was as astute as its naming and titles. Much of this album sounds familiar and the same and the apparent mixture of drum machines into the tracks does not help. Crematory will forever remain an unfulfilled potential. - Anna Tergel
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