ATROCITY Covers SIMPLE MINDS' 'Don't You (Forget About Me)'; Audio Available

Long-running German metallers ATROCITY have posted an audio sample of their cover version of the SIMPLE MINDS classic "Don't You (Forget About Me)" at this location. The track comes off ATROCITY's long-awaited new album, "Werk 80 II", which is scheduled for release in Europe on February 29, 2008 (March 4 in the U.S.). Like the first "Werk 80" release, which came out in 1997, "Werk 80 II" features ATROCITY's interpretations of hit songs from the '80s.

Asked why he chose to include "Don't You (Forget About Me)" on "Werk 80 II", ATROCITY frontman Alex Krull stated, " It is a song I always had in my mind to do and it was also repeatedly demanded by several different people to record 'Don't You (Forget About Me)'. After the release of the first 'Werk 80', fans and several other people came up with a list of songs that they would like to hear the next time which was really some kind of funny. Liv [Kristine, Alex's wife] once told me that that she could very well imagine this song in combination with my voice and heavy guitars. So we tried it out and the song works very well in my opinion. For me it is something like a following-up of 'The Great Commandment' from the first 'Werk 80' album."

Asked if he connects any special memories from the Eighties with the songs that we can hear on both "Werk 80" albums, Krull replied, "This is a question I got asked several times right now. As a 'kid of the Eighties' there are, of course, some songs which you keep in mind and then you connect them with certain events . There are probably many nostalgic stories for many people like their first love romance or something like that. But for me it is mostly metal songs which I adore now and in the past. So these are songs which we don't play on any of the 'Werk 80' albums. There were many metal songs in these days were we partied along and listened to when we were rambling the streets. Don't forget that we founded ATROCITY as young teenagers during this period in the mid-Eighties which was a serious step in our lives. So we decided to become a metal musician at a very early stage. Music took always the center stage and it is still our purpose in life. Clearly, music always has a nostalgic aspect if you can refer it to a special epoch. And this is definetly the point that many people feel the rising of memories when listening to 'Werk 80'. I have a clear memory about some songs when I listened to them on radio or TV that I thought they would sound cool as a metal song with heavy guitars. That's actually the beginning of the idea to play well known songs of the Eighties with our band in a metal way. But you can also find some songs on both 'Werk 80' albums that were interesting for us besides the memories of youthness, for example for breaking taboos such as homosexuality. It has been a very sensitive subject in our society until today. Many bands have tried to break boundaries in these days by very offensive and provocant means. I think it is right to kick societies ass from time to time with its hypocritical values and norms and its absurd double standards. That's exactly what heavy metal is about – breaking the rules, man!"

"Werk 80 II" track listing:

01. People Are People (DEPECHE MODE)
02. Smalltown Boy (BRONSKI BEAT)
03. Relax (FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD)
04. Don't You (Forget About Me) (SIMPLE MINDS)
05. The Sun Always Shines on TV (A-HA)
06. Hey Little Girl (ICEHOUSE)
07. Fade To Grey (VISAGE)
08. Such A Shame (TALK TALK)
09. Keine Heimat (IDEAL)
10. Here Comes The Rain Again (EURYTHMICS)
11. Forever Young (ALPHAVILLE)
12. Feels Like Heaven (FICTION FACTORY) (bonus track for special edition)

Fans will get a chance to preview the songs on "Werk 80 II" one track at a time every single day on ATROCITY's homepage beginning on January 1, 2008 and ending on the "Smalltown Boy" single's release date (January 11).

World-famous burlesque dancer and Marilyn Manson's estranged wife Dita Von Teese is the cover model on "Werk 80 II". Check out the cover at this location.

Commented Alex Krull: "We took a lot of time for the production to get the best result. All fans of the first 'Werk 80' will like the second one too. This time we have worked together with an orchestra and a choir. So the whole album has gained a bit more of a classical touch, which I personally like a lot. Everything sounds very harmonic and organic. The work on this album has been intense and thrilling. On the first 'Werk 80' album we also used classical elements but we enforced this on the new one. Thus the electronic parts got moved a little bit into the background. We didn't want to do the same on this successive album but including new elements and developing our style. I promise you 'Werk 80 II' is gonna be a class of its own worth waiting for it."

Watch ATROCITY's video for the song "Cold Black Days" (taken from the 2004 album "Atlantis"):