Gotteskrieger (Special Remastered Edition)

Theres dark EBM and then theres really dark EBM, and the latter seems to be the territory that this young German band wishes to stake out. One hint is the cover and insert art, which consists mainly of grisly images of knights in bloody combat (for light relief, theres also a picture of a skeleton). Even if your German-language skills are rusty, you might get the general gist of er zemurbt seine Adern mit diesem pulsierenden Blut, not to mention der Fleischlichkeit des Leibes loste, and in neither case is the gist pretty. Then there are the cries of anguish, the howling wolves, and the Gregorian chant that are interwoven with the electronic glitches and monster-movie synthesizer on Die Lauterung, and the frightened children whispering on Moerder. Combine all these elements with stereotypically pounding Teutonic beats and guttural singing and youve got either musical Valhalla or purgatory, depending on your personal tastes. If youre not inclined to wallow in the nightmarish, you might prefer the subtly melodic Ich Hab die Nacht Getraumet and the despairing Wiederganger over the self-consciously death-obsessed stuff that surrounds them. ~ Rick Anderson