Eisbrecher – Liebe Macht Monster
RCA Deutschland
Release Date: 12/03/2021
Running Time: 56:29
Review by Wallace Magri
9/10
So, here I am…a guy from Brazil, trying to write in proper English about a band from Germany that doesn’t give a shit about the rule that you should sing in English if you want to have your music noticed around the world.
By the way, I’ve just reviewed an album from a Portuguese band – named Grunt (check it out!) – and I said there that, even though they have some lyrics in Portuguese (yeah, in Brazil we speak Portuguese), I wasn’t able to understand a single word that they sang, but even so, I enjoyed it. And that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about lyrics, which I do, a lot.
But there are certain musical styles whose message behind the songs are not about WHAT is being sung, but HOW the speech intonation dictates exactly what the words should mean – even when you don’t have a German or Portuguese translator dictionary by your side. Vocals aren’t supposed to be only about semantics at all.
Listening to “Liebe Macht Monster”, Eisbrecher’s 8th album, I remembered what I’d said in my very first review for Ever Metal (Terminal – “Blacken The Skies”, check it out): Neue Deutsche Härte is the perfect Heavy music for the pandemics fucked up era that we live in, mostly due to the Teutonic power vocals, which lend grandeur to the melody and intimidates those who listen to NDH’s songs. Allied to that, the disturbing guitar riffs and Dark-Electro Industrial ambience fulfils the role of putting the listener into a trance allowing them to understand any kind of language through beats and melodies…at least while hypnotized by the song and dance thing.
Have you ever watched the movie ‘Midsommar’? If you did, you would remember what happens in the last ‘ladies’ dance’. That is what I am talking about here. If you haven’t watched the movie (which you should do), just listen to album opening track, ‘Es lohnt sich nicht ein mensch zu sein’, to understand what I mean: the organic drum beat combines perfectly with the synth’s bass tune and layers of gothic ambience that open space to the heavy guitar riffs to settle the tone of the music and then the vocal lines kick in to confer even more heaviness to the song as a whole. Even tough I don’t speak a single word of German; I am singing along to the mid-tempo chorus of that song right now! And the lyrics make sense to me, as a matter of fact.
Well, if you didn’t get into the same musical trance as I did listening to ‘Es lohnt sich ein Mensch zu sein’, and also if you don’t know what the hell NDH is, just read the following explanation about their music from Eisbrecher’s lead singer, Alex Wesselsky: “eternal bloodbaths between rock/metal and pop electro-industrial” (available on Eisbrecher’s website).
Eisbrecher have been around since 2003, releasing albums regularly and constantly growing their fan base in USA and Europe. In Germany, the albums “Die Höle muss warten” (2012) and “Schock” (2015) were certified gold and “Sturmfahrt” hit #1 in the German charts. They have also played on major European festivals, such as Summer Breeze and Wacken Open Air, as well as gigs with UDO and Scorpions and a bunch of tours around Europe.
And it seems like Eisbrecher is getting very busy during the COVID-19 lockdown, since they released “Schickalsmelodien” in 2020 (where they perform cover songs from German bands) and, only 5 months later, here I am giving my impressions on their latest release “Liebe Macht Monster”, that shows Alexx Wesselsky (vocal) and Noel Pix (lead guitar, programming and production) allowing themselves some experimentation, delivering a much more synth pop approach on ‘Systemsprenger’ and ‘Leiserdrehen’. On ‘Wer bin ich’ we listen to something close to what bands like Bring Me The Horizon used to play, in a very accessible musical outfit.
Die-hard fans don’t need to get worried about that unfamiliar approach, because “Liebe Macht Monster” keeps the traditional musical style heard on the previous albums from the Ice Brakers. ‘Himmel’ relates to the Electro Gothic with magnificence. On ‘Dagengen’, Dero Goi, from the band Oomph!, shares lead vocals with Alexx on one of the best songs of the album.
‘FAKK’ and the title track are based on Neue Deutsche Härte’s heavy guitar riffs and powerful chorus, as can be heard on any of Eisbrecher’s back catalogue – that anyone, regardless of language spoken, is able to sing along to. Which takes us back to the main theme this review was based on.
Eisbrecher’s new album is definitely worth the listen, even though you may get a little lost on the language diversity. Just let your mind be guided by the heavy electronic beat and guitar riffs that are going to help you to find out your way into their Neue Deustche Härte world and, suddenly, it will feel like home.
‘FAKK’ (Official Video)
TRACKLISTING:
01. Es lohnt sich nicht ein mensch zu sein
02. FAKK
03. Nein Danke
04. Im Guten Im Bösen
05. Frommer Mann
06. Dagengen (feat. Dero Goi)
07. Liebe Macht Monster
08. Sytemsprenger
09. Wer bin ich
10. Himmel
11. Kontrollverlust
12. Leiserdrehen
13. High Society
14. Es lebe der Tod
LINE-UP:
Alexx Wesselsky – Vocals
Noel Pix – Lead Guitar, Programming, Production
Jürgen Plangger – Rhythm Guitar
Maximilian Schaver – Keyboards/Programming
Achim Färber – Drums
Rupert Keplinger – Bass
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Wallace Magri and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.