Bethlehem founder Jürgen Bartsch dies after illness

Jürgen Bartsch, the founding bassist and longtime creative leader of German extreme metal band Bethlehem, died on August 27, 2025, after an illness, the band announced. Current vocalist Yvonne Onielar Wilczynska shared an Instagram message, translated from German, saying Bartsch passed away "after a serious illness, perseverance, and great fighting spirit" and that the group would "never forget you, Jürgen." The exact nature of the illness has not been disclosed; the band and the group’s longtime label described his condition variously as serious and long-term.

Bartsch co-founded Bethlehem in 1991 in Grevenbroich, North Rhine-Westphalia, and remained the band's sole constant member across decades of shifting lineups. He served as the primary songwriter and was widely credited with helping to shape the sound later identified as depressive suicidal black metal, or DSBM, a fusion of black metal, doom and experimental elements that emphasized bleak atmospheres and raw emotion.

Bethlehem’s early 1990s output established their reputation. Their 1994 debut, Dark Metal, helped define a subterranean style that critics and fans later associated with the term the album title inspired. The...