|
Monday, 21 May 2007 |
I should preface this review by saying that I am a fan of the style OOM PH! have pursued since Wahrheit oder Pflicht, and that, truthfully, I like WoP and this album more than their previous work. I know many OOMPH! fans greatly disagree with this, so you may want to skip this review. Just fair warning.
So. OOMPH! has released 9 albums now, and they seem to have finally come into a sound they can call all their own. They sound relaxed and confident, and this feeling has helped them create some very mature work. This is not the rawer, more brutal OOMPH! of old, as this album includes much of the pop influences that distinguished Wahrheit oder Pflicht from their earlier albums. In fact, some of the tracks on this album could nearly be called pop songs (the best example being Zuviel liebe kann dich töten, the final track on the regular edition of the album)
That’s not to say that the album and the band are something they shouldn’t be. Many of the tracks here still rock pretty hard, take Mein Schatz or Du willst es doch auch, but even on these there is a far greater use of melody to balance things out.
Dero is also becoming an increasingly talented singer. In OOMPH!’s earlier albums, Dero’s singing had a flat, guttural quality which belied his talent. I’m really looking forward to seeing where he goes from here.
I feel that the only weak link is the occasionally too simple songwriting. While this can detract a bit at times, the quality of several songs (Gott ist ein Popstar, in particular) make up for the weaker tracks.
All around I feel that this is a very solid release, and easily the best album in OOMPH!’s catalog. That said, many older and even many newer fans might feel that the band has sold out or betrayed their original sound. I would say to that that it’s a band or artist’s prerogative to change their style to whatever they want. If that style happens to be more popular at the time, it shouldn’t be held against them.
Score:
Hompage: oomph.com
Reviewer: Paul Gifford
|
