Officially founded in 1989, the Germany based Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows is one of the very few dark groups/projects who have based the trinity of their music, poetry and visual appearance on the explicit emphasis of the highly individual expression of pain, isolation, depression, token suicides and the desperate search for the "sacred reunion"; all acted out by their sole protagonist – the transgender Anna-Varney Cantodea.

Best described as "introverted exhibitionism", the holistic concept of their ritualistic/Jungian art is not necessarily rooted in the grounds of a commonly accepted sense of aesthetics – which is one of the many aspects that gives their work its serious and most unique character. Though their music playfully fuses elements of classical, baroque, medieval, and even electronic music, the essence of Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows always remains entirely "goth".

Despite the fact that to this very day they still refuse to perform live in front of a human audience, Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows have long gathered cult status in underground circles worldwide.
Strongly recommended to be approached only with an open heart and mind, the profound darkness (and occasionally subversive humour) of their multi-layered (yet fragile) art is mainly intended as a spiritual healing-process for the wounded soul. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.