"The Fairy Feller's Masterstroke" & "Nevermore". In between the 2 albums, the band appeared with another 'now cult' cover song on the Black Lotus Records' release The Lotus Eaters: Tribute to Dead Can Dance. Hortus Animae recorded their metalized epic interpretation of "Windfall" & "Summoning Of The Muse" featuring a joint effort with gothic singer Liv Kristine (Theatre Of Tragedy, Leave's Eyes, Atrocity) on lead vocals. Hortus Animae has been proclaimed 'best emerging band' and 'best Italian album of the year' in the polls of the top Italian magazine Metal Maniac in 2005. The group disbanded on 18 January 2006. They posted this message on their homepage of their website: "Due to different motivations the band decided to split-up or, at least, to stay on-hold for some time. There are technical and personal reasons involved (the music business, hardships... life itself) which led us to take this decision. We faced many difficulties in the music industry, but we wish to thank and hail all the fans and people who bought our albums, visited our websites, came to our shows, wrote to us, believed in what we did or just listened to our music. We also want to thank the worldwide metal press for their support. We may return in the future, but for now we just don't know." Years after their split they released a 10th-anniversary commemorative boxset (sold out) called 'Funeral Nation: 10 years of Hortus Animae' through Sleaszy Rider Records (EMI distribution). The boxset contained various gadgets (T-shirt, mug, pin, etc.) as well as their first 2 official albums Waltzing Mephisto (in an unreleased demo version) & The Blow Of Furious Winds, and a 'Making of...' DVD. After 4 years of the box set release and sell-out, increasing requests and popularity in the underground demanded a further re-release of the band's historical discography. Hortus Animae teamed up with Thrash Corner Records (USA) to release their definitive collection in 2012, aptly called 'Funeral Nation MMXII' their definitive collection. Released worldwide in a double CD edition with new artwork, this collection featured the very first self-produced album The Melting Idols, which had not been included in the previous box set. The band has also launched a new Myspace page for the occasion: http://www.myspace.com/hortusanimae On 25 January 2013, the band officially stated that the time was ripe for their comeback, and they are hard at work with their new album, which