  
Massacre/Sound Pollution
East Germans (yes, they´ve been at it since 1985) are the epitome of bad luck and oppression. Being one of the first on the East side of the famous Berlin wall they toured like crazy and won heaps of fans. But the regime banned them, and when that finally changed in 1989, their lead vocalist Detlef Wittenburg committed suicide and the band split. One reunion later, in 1993, drummer Rico Sauermann took his own life. The body count almost matches that of Shakespeare´s drama. Another decade passed, but then another return, then as now with bassist Hanjo Pabst and guitarist Ralf Klein, the ubiquitous members. Newer boys on the block are vocalist Olli Hippauf, guitarist Alexander Kopp, and drummer Simon Mengs. Who came aboard after their second album. A self-titled full-lengths album was delivered in 2006, and a follow-up, “Götteskrieger”, arrived backed by unanimous acclaim in 2009. Now the East Germans aim for more metal might.
There are almost no English lyrics on this one, or on any of their past outings – apart from their “Reborn demo” from 2003. Olli shouts his lungs out as the band explore the “Kamikaze” myth. It´s fast and has a certain groove, not bad at all. The typical pre-war German music that opens “Fritz H.”, also concedes to headstrong heavy metal with brutish vocals. I really like this so far, and I normally avoid metal sung in German. “Begraben” is slower, doomier but also way less entertaining, but that was in fact the low point. “Fleisch” sounds like an awful title, but it rises to the test as agreeable heavy metal with a crude touch. And that was prior to their “Stalingrad-trilogy”. With murky under-titles like “Kanonenfutter”, “Untergang” and “Das Kreuz” I had no expectations it is all as effective and typically German as their football team in the early nineties. It is all strangely compelling and most entertaining in a good way. The remaining three, not on the info sheet, are pretty ok to great. The best cuts in the last quarter are “Bomber”, nope not a cover but proof of own ideas, and “Hollenfeuer”, which is pure thrash sing-along with a fab riff. Oddly enough the self-titled album closer has a lot going for it with a spooky intro and all, without igniting. Let´s hope it is not their old curse…because this is darned good!
Track List
Kamikaze
Fritz H.
Begraben
Fleisch
Stuck fur Stuck
Gladiator
Wiedergänger
Stalingrad - Kanonenfutter
Stalingrad - Untergang
Stalingrad - Das Kreuz
Zeit der Zeiten
Bomber
Hollenfeuer
Macbeth
www.massacre-records.com www.myspace.com/abendmahl
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