With their third album, 2001's Kalter Glanz, Letzte Instanz showed their fans and critics that trying to classify their music was a fruitless endeavor, yet again introducing a record with a sound different from either of its predecessors.

The strings were pulled slightly more into the background, and the sound had begun to mature as a kind of string-assisted form of modern heavy metal in songs like "Ganz oder gar nicht"/"Completely or not at all" and the title track, and with a continued dedication to their folk music roots in songs like "Oh Fortuna" and "Mein Todestag"/"My dying day."

Also appearing on the album were two well-known German singers: Marta Jandová from Die Happy and Sven Friedrich from Dreadful Shadows accompanied the septet on 3 songs.

Though the new sound was not quite as significant a departure from Kalter Glanz as that album had been from its predecessor, the progression toward a heavier, complex blend of modern rock and classical/folk instruments and themes was audible.

While the Letzte Instanz of Das Spiel had sounded like a folky horror-themed group with rock instruments thrown in, the band of 2003 had shifted much further to the metal end of the spectrum, with the strings nevertheless always present.

In the meantime, the two strings players M. Stolz and Benni Cellini took advantage of the break to cooperate with the new band Angelzoom on four songs for their self-titled debut, including the single "Fairyland," and joined them briefly for their Tiefenrausch Tour 2005.

December 2004 saw the introduction of new bass player Michael Ende and, three months later, the band became complete once more, finding a new lead singer in Holly.

[2] The song "Das Stimmlein" on that album features guest singers Eric Fish (Subway To Sally), Sven Friedrich (Zeraphine) and Thomas Lindner (Schandmaul).

The pre-release single "Flucht ins Glück" contained also a track "Der Garten" which Letze Instanz recorded together with singer Aylin Aslım.