Track Listing
1. The Last Flood 2. Isolation 3. Odyssey of the Mind 4. Eggshell 5. Scent 6. The Final Option 7. LCD 8. Jeckyll or Hyde 9. Metalmorphosis 10. Alive Year: 1995 Label: Music For Nations - Official Site |
Die Krupps - 'Odyssey of the mind' - By W. Spurrier
Overview: - Die Krupps are an Industrial Band from Germany. They have been around for a long time, relatively speaking, and are yet to experience super stardom outside their native Germany unlike their fellow industrial brothers, Rammstein. This album under review is their third commercial album and it is the English version. The Last Flood: - The first track opens with the bass being plucked away and with industrial scrapes and scratches going on in the background. You can feel the momentum building up bit-by-bit until� yes, the track launches into a full on sound with guitars and keyboard leading the onslaught. It seems Engler is �waiting for the cleansing rain�; obviously he is dissatisfied with the world as it stands with �the pimps and the creeps�. The chorus has a Cathedral like quality to it. The track stands as a good opener with a theme that continues throughout the album of man and how he feels about, and interacts with, his environment and himself. Isolation: - After a couple of seconds the track launches into a barrage of guitars and synth squeals which then lead into a guitar loop that plays throughout the song. The chorus is almost like a chant claiming that �there is no love in isolation- all you have is your imagination� In this song Engler describes how �he� can�t cope with the outside world and finds more freedom in his isolation, simply put. I personally think this track is one of the highlights of the album. Odyssey of the Mind: - Odyssey starts with eerie asylum like sounds, then some very nin - esque bass synth beats and then the launches into the main music with Organ pipe synthesizers leading the way. After a minute the guitar riff kicks and Engler starts singing in a way very reminiscent of Metallica. He then sings melodically in the chorus with the bass synth, guitars and organ pipe sounding synth battling to be heard. The track skips between these instruments with each dominating the sound at crucial points in the song. Mid way through the song Engler chants �it�s the odyssey of the mind� while a guitar solo is being played out in the background, which for an industrial band its quite refreshing to here. The lyrics are strong in this track, depicting your mind being caged up by certain personal factors (unique to each individual) and how once set free, the mind will find that a wealth of new experiences await. It is a good track but I feel as the title track it should have been something more special, in my opinion the next track is far better than this one. Eggshell: - Eggshell kicks in with a stereo reverberating synth beat, and the obligatory industrial clangs and bangs and then shortly after the guitar loop kicks in. In the chorus the guitars leads the way with 4 chords repeating throughout Engler�s statement �I can�t deny it - I reached my breaking point. I personify it - an eggshell in duress. I can�t deny it I�m at my limit. I identify with - an eggshell in duress�. Towards the end of this track another longer guitar solo is played just to demonstrate that they can, in fact play, a variety of guitar styles. This track is one of my personnel favourites on this album. Its to the point the point and has a catchy chorus and I personally identify with what he�s saying, as I�m sure so do a lot of people; � I live in an eggshell � not as strong as it seems. I protect myself from the world � don�t fit in with it�s scheme�. A definite highlight of the album. Scent: - The track launches off with a combination of guitars and haunting synth. The scent is a very melodic track with Die Krupps keeping to the typical song structure. The chorus again reminds you of Metallica and you begin to understand why they released a tribute to the aforementioned master of metal. It would be harsh to call this a filler track it is more than that. The track fits in nicely with the album and as it�s a slower track it gives you a breather before the next track. The Final Option: - The final option begins with a vocal screaming loop and melodic guitar scratches. A stereotypical metal riff is then found creeping its way in as Engler starts singing in a guttural style. As the chorus begins the screaming comes back in so as to grab your attention. This track is one of the heavier if not the heaviest on the album, but it doesn�t lose anything because of this, in fact this demonstration of heavy metal style makes this track of the stand out ones and makes it easy to see how Die Krupps progressed to their very heavy Paradise Now album. LCD: - The bass synth again plays its important role of initialising a song. The guitars then kick in with their contribution. The first 2 minutes of this song do disappoint however, one could easily believe that they had already heard this song. They appear to have become a bit lazy. It is not until after half way, when some fancy synthesizer work kicks, in that the track begins to redeem itself. The last 15 seconds play out to some sounds very reminiscent of Reptile off of the Downward spiral. This track is one of the poorer offerings on the album. Jeckyll or Hyde: - A kind of horror amusement park style music opens this track up. This synth loop is then repeated to the accompaniment of guitars and drums. This track is thumping track that never lets up one of their shorter tracks it leaves you wanting more. It could quite easily a theme to a horror movie (maybe even a Jeckyll and Hyde movie ). In this track its quite obvious that Engler describing the dual personality that everyone has and how society forces you to be bad more often than not. � Society�s forcing you to be rotten � all morals have been forgotten�. The last line is quite poetic �Jeckyll or Hyde � which will I chose � society throws the dice � will I win or will I lose. The track isn�t as obviously brilliant as say Isolation, but after listening to it begins to sink in what a damn fine track it is. Metalmorphosis: - Guitar distortion welcomes you upon the start of the track. This track also titters close to a filler track. The chorus has accompanying metal percussion clangs among the usual array of sounds. The song goes by a bit like a bee�s drone, which is quite disappointing. Its not an awful track but compared to the evidence of the rest of the album you can�t help but feel they could have done better. Alive: - This track, in my opinion is the best on the album. It is probably the quietest one on the album but it is executed in pure style. The keyboard is used to great effect leading the music melodically with guitars just providing rhythm. Engler is singing in a very deep and emotional way you can feel what he�s experiencing through his tone. In the middle a Japanese style synth sound leads the way almost like a solo. This song seems a celebration of life and all its tribulations. At the end the guitar plays out like an outro with the last twenty seconds a fading drone sounds out leaving you quite drained. Conclusion: - Die Krupps have offered us a damn fine album. Proving that German industrial music had found its feet long before Rammstein injected their life into the genre. A score of 81% is rewarded because the album leaves you wanting more and you can�t help but revisit it. The score would have been higher had it not been for the one or two lazy tracks. An album well recommended to any Industrial or Metal Fan alike. Metal Obsessive Grade: 81% |