For those that are not familiar with Unheilig’s work, Das 2. Gebot is a good place to start. It is the third of five studio albums released by Unheilig (right in the middle). While Unheilig is the name of the band, one man is primarily responsible for the genius behind Unheilig…Der Graf. The composition, lyrics, instruments, vocals, arrangements, and production of Unheilig are all done by Der Graf himself. In other words, Unheilig is pretty much currently a one-man band. Der Graf is a man with incredible talent, and a beautiful, deep voice (similar to that of Till Lindemann and Joachim Witt). Also, Unheilig’s music is very electronic-based, rather than guitar-based. So those looking for very hard and heavy music will not find it with Unheilig. However, fans of Joachim Witt or ASP will almost definitely be pleased with Unheilig’s music.

Das 2. Gebot is a very gothic album. It features lyrics about angels, androids, werewolves, and even the boogie man.  Many of the songs have dark themes and vibes. Visually, I would compare this album to Rammstein’s Sehnsucht. This album has a 12-track line-up. My five favorite songs on this album are:  Schutzengel (my hands-down favorite Unheilig song), Maschine, Sternenschiff, Rache, and Jetzt noch nicht. The album ends with a very beautiful instrumental, Herzland.

For those already familiar with Unheilig, I would call this album a combination of the Phosphor and Zelluloid albums. That all said, I wouldn’t consider Das 2. Gebot my favorite Unheilig album. I would actually say it is my third favorite. I consider Zelluloid and Frohes Fest superior albums. However, by no means is this a skipable album. It perfectly defines the Unheilig and Der Graf image. For most casual Unheilig fans, this is probably the first (chronologically) album they are most familiar with. It will probably be hard to find this album or any of Unheilig’s albums for sale. I would be surprised if any North American store carries Unheilig’s albums. Online will probably be your best bet.
 

[Editors note: All of Unheilig's catalogue are available from IsoTank in the United States]
 

Score:
Hompage: Unheilig.com
Reviewer:  Jared Sutton