Random Thoughts

I just wrote a review of Ritual, OOMPH!’s 13th (!) full length album. I mentioned that I thought it was among their best efforts. But, where does it fit in with the others? Here is what I think.

13. OOMPH! (released 1992) Every band has to start somewhere, and OOMPH!’s eponymous debut marks the beginning of this influential band’s career. This album is very different from anything else that OOMPH! has released, as it contains no guitars. It is purely 80s-vibe German EBM. It’s not bad for what it is, but combining…interesting music with bad lyrics, I personally find the album borderline unlistenable.

12. Plastik (released 1999) Plastik marks a definitive style change for OOMPH! It is considerably less heavy and dark than its predecessors. It also feels like a transition album for the band, as if they are uncertain as to what direction they wanted to go musically. It’s not bad, but none of the songs really stand out.

11. Ego (released 2001) This is OOMPH!’s softest album to date. It is obvious that Dero had vocal lessons between Plastik and Ego. He introduces vibrato, and the whole album feels like a showcase to his improved vocal skills. The opener, “Ego” sets the tone for the album, and the following track, “Supernova” is among my favourite OOMPH! songs. However, they are not enough to salvage an uneven, and almost flat effort from the band.

10. Monster (released 2008) The album that features the most disturbing music video from the band (watch “Beim Ersten Mal tut’s Immer Weh” if you dare), as well as stadium-ready “Labyrinth” is a pretty solid effort throughout. It’s a bit heavier than its predecessors (GlaubeLiebeTod and Wahrheit Oder Pflicht), but it is still mostly melodic. The songs are all good, but for some reason this album has only ever been “meh” for me. It’s too bad that the best single from this time, “Sandmann”, didn’t make it on the original album.

9. Wunschkind (released 1996) This is one of OOMPH!’s heavier and darker albums. The theme of the album is child abuse and, even if you don’t speak German, this theme is obvious on the album with its alternating melodic/innocent moments contrasted with its heavier and disturbing ones. Musically, this album is brilliant, as it features headbangers like “Wunschkind”, “I.N.R.I vs Jahwe” and “Krueppel” as well as haunting instrumentals such as “Filthy Playground”. However, I have rated it so low because the theme is not handled very well lyrically. Instead of shedding light on the issue as the band intended, the lyrics seem to glorify the abuse. It is a disturbing effort, but well worth it if you can get past the lyrics.

8. Wahrheit Oder Pflicht (released 2004) WoP is the album that contains OOMPH!’s most successful hit to date, “Augen Auf”. However, the album is mostly just “Augen Auf” that is supported by OK, but not standout songs. It is one of OOMPH!’s more radio-friendly albums in general, but Dero has noticeably more grit in his voice than he did on Ego, which is a good thing.

7. Sperm (released 1994) While I don’t personally like this album more than some of the other ones I ranked below it, I had to give it a relatively high rating because of its importance to the Neue Deutche Härte (NDH) genre. This is the album that Rammstein cites as being highly influential, and it is arguably the first NDH album. It features repetitive guitar riffs, deep spoken vocals with some signing, and synthesizers from the band’s EBM roots.

6. Des Wahnsinns fette Beute (released 2012) OOMPH!’s poppiest album to date is filled with incredibly catchy songs.The songs are lighthearted, and the band doesn’t seem to be taking themselves too seriously. I get the impression that they had a lot of fun making this album.

5. Defekt (released 1995) This is arguably OOMPH!’s heaviest effort. The vocals are mostly shouted, although the cleans are powerful when they do come through. The electronic elements and repetitive guitar riffs that characterize NDH are still here, but the quality of the vocals make me classify this as a pure metal album instead of an NDH one.

4. Ritual (released 2019) OOMPH!’s most recent album shows of the heavier side of NDH. The band decided to put more of a metal sound in their music, without sacrificing some of the more melodic influences of their more recent albums. The darker nature of the album, both musically and lyrically, make for a most enjoyable listening experience.

3. XXV (released 2015) As fun as Des Wahnsinns fette Beute was, XXV thankfully takes a step back in the direction of Monster and GlaubeLiebeTod. It is a touch heavier than the other two albums I’ve mentioned, but it contains a good mix of NDH-style rock, and ballads. Dero’s singing is as strong as ever here, and it fits well with the instruments.

2. Unrein (released 1999) This is OOMPH!’s heavy masterpiece, and it is also one of my all-time favourite metal albums. It starts off with the creepy intro “Mutters Schoss”, and then hits hard with “Unsere Rettung”, and never lets go until the breather “Foil”. The songs here exhibit some of OOMPH!’s best songwriting. There are soft moments that get blasted by in-your-face heaviness, often within the same song. The guitars are heavy and loud, but not so overwhelming in the mix that the electronic elements and the keyboard can’t be heard. These, in my opinion, are what make this album so great. Having these heavy passages with a chromatic/dissonant piano line on top of the mix sends chills down my spine every time. The only reason I didn’t rank this as OOMPH!’s #1 album is that a few of the songs have a tendency to drag on a bit too long, but this flaw does not detract too much from the absolute brilliance of Unrein.

1.GlaubeLiebeTod (released 2006) Yeah, this album is one of OOMPH!’s more radio-friendly efforts, but I don’t consider this to be a flaw, nor an indication of the band “selling out”. To me, it’s a sign of the band trying to go back to their roots of being a metal band, while also acknowledging the softer direction that they chose to go. That doesn’t mean that the album is soft by any means; it’s a great, fun, NDH rock album, whose songs did not feel out of place at a metal festival. They mastered the songwriting that they tried to get on Wahrheit Oder Pflicht (trying saying THAT five times fast). For me, this album is satisfying for NDH fans, as well as anyone who doesn’t mind having German lyrics in their rock. This is usually my go-to album when I feel like listening to some OOMPH!, so it is the easy choice for #1 album for me.

The great thing about OOMPH! is that they have changed styles so much, that they almost certainly have an album or at least a song that anyone could like. Despite their various style changes, they always keep their EBM roots in mind, and that is the element that separates them from other bands. While fans may disagree with my rankings, which are purely opinion-based, hopefully they can acknowledge the amazing body of work that OOMPH! have produced in their career.

The arguable founders of the Neue Deutsche Härte (NDH) genre released their 13th album, Ritual, this year. Amazingly, while the band has gone through a large variety of style changes over the years, they have kept the same lineup since 1989. 29 years after their founding, the band is as strong as ever, and continue to show a willingness to grow as songwriters and musicians.

Stylistically, Ritual is a logical continuation of its predecessor, XXV. It is dark, and has its heavy moments frequently throughout, while not giving up on OOMPH!’s industrial roots or melodic tendencies. That being said, this is the heaviest album that the band has released in the past 20 years.

What really shines throughout the album are Dero’s vocals. The classically trained singer shows off his deep and haunting voices in the choruses of songs like “Achtung!Achtung!” and “Phönix aus der Asche”. Excitingly, this is the first OOMPH! album in a while to feature harsh vocals. This adds a level of heaviness that hasn’t been heard from the band since the 90s. While Dero’s shouts are not as powerful as they have been, it still adds a layer of grit that fits well with the lyrical themes of the album. Of course, the deep voice spoken vocals that are typical of NDH are also featured on this album.

Lyrically, this album deals with issues that are relevant today. Everything from organized religion (“Das Schweigen der Lämmer”), the rise of dictatorships (“Achtung!Achtung!”, TRRR-FCKN-HTLR”), war (“Tausend Mann und ein Befehl”) and critiques of society (“Kein Liebeslied”) are tackled. OOMPH! has never been subtle with their message (at least, from this non-native/not very good speaker of German’s standpoint), but the lyrics complement the heavier and darker nature of the album well.

While the new style change is refreshing, Ritual lacks the ballads that OOMPH! has previously excelled in writing. This is not a necessary part of a good OOMPH! album, but it would have provided more contrast in the style of the songs.

Overall Impression: Ritual is among the best albums that OOMPH! has released to date. It is heavy, dark, and utterly satisfying. Fans of NDH, and open-minded fans of melodic metal should enjoy this.

Highlights: “Achtung! Achtung!” A chilling build-up leads to a haunting chorus. “Tausend Mann und Ein Befehl” Great message, and catchy tune. “Im Namen des Vaters” A heavy tune to bang your head to.

Skip Over: “Der Schweigen der Lämmer” Not a bad tune, but it is forgettable. After 20+ listens, I still don’t know what it sounds like.

Overall Score: 9/10

2019 is shaping up to be the “Year That All My Favourite Bands Release Albums”, so I thought, why not start a blog and review them?

First offering of the year: “Verkligheten” by Soilwork. This is the eleventh album by this melodic death metal band from Sweden. Verkligheten is the Swedish word for “Reality” and no, I do not know how to pronounce it. What I do know is that it is an album filled with punishing guitar lines that contrasts with soaring melodies in the catchy choruses.

The album starts with the instrumental opener “Verkligheten”. This song is very laid back, and feels mostly out of place with the rest of the album. It feels like it could set the tone of anticipation at a live show, but it is overall underwhelming and out of place on the album.

The good news is that the album jumps right away into the pounding drums and punishing riffs of the aptly named “Arrival”. The song starts off heavy, but promptly gives way into Bjorn “Speed” Strid’s clean vocals in a sing-along chorus. Soilwork then exploits this formula of heavy verses-catchy choruses for the rest of the album and its largely indistinguishable songs.

The one knock on this album is that all the songs seem to blend together. I’ve listened to the album about 10 times now, and I can only really clearly identify “Verkligheten”, “Full Moon Shoals”, “Skalfagel” and “The Wolves are Back in Town.” The rest just sounds like one giant song with many variations on a similar chorus.

That being said, it is still enjoyable music. Strid’s vocals are strong throughout the album. The screams are forceful and solid, even bordering on melodic at times. The clean vocals are as strong as he has ever done. Fans of melodic metal will likely find this effort to be pleasurable.

Overall perception: “Verkligheten” is a solid, yet formulaic album. The songs tend to sound very similar, but not in a bad way.

Highlights:“Skalfagel” (featuring Alissa White-Gluz from Arch Enemy). The chorus is just so darn catchy and powerful. White-Gluz’ vocals add a nice contrast and punch to Strid’s. “Full Moon Shoals” is also a solid track.

Skip Over: The songs are solid enough to all merit a listen, but you won’t be missing out by skipping the opener “Verkligheten”.

Overall Score: 7/10