[de:ad:cibel] - Klondike

Widely considered as one of Echozone's brightest acts, German duo [de:ad:cibel] calls upon experience in bands such as Skorbut and Kalte Farben (Daniel was even a live member of Das Ich), to bring to the table a combination of Old School Ebm and Electro-Industrial.

My Immediate thought is that the act reminds me of a cross between Turnbull A.C's and Dupont - the lyrics are relevant to society and decadence (with the occasional reference to the struggle between class).
Much better than the usual "Argh, Robots are invading!" Or the oft-trodden "Hot Girl with Dreads! Let's put her on the album cover and then not mention her ever again!"

So we start with "Hotel Lux" - a track which really does make me think of Dupont. This is an ambient intro with computerised vocals that spell out the bands name. Not original, but a good listen.

"Jerusalem Syndrom" was later released as an EP, and rightly so. It's a good track with a decent BPM, in typical German, with the usual samples throughout the slower bits. Can't really say at any point this is being innovative, but Old-style EBM hasn't done that since 1996. (Complaints to info@brutalresonance.com).

The album is inter-laced with a helix of fast (170 BPM) and slow (58 BPM), tracks, and enough focus on the hard and dirty sound to make everyone sit up - "SelektionsFunktion" for example uses the same harsh synth sound found in the intro to Panzer AG's "MachineGun GoGo" - it doesn't draw the masses to the dancefloor, but those who do like it will shake their nipples off. (I'd hate to be the Sunday morning Cleaner.)

My personal highlights on here are "Nobody Hurts me Like I do", "Between my Headphones", and the decadence song "Too Tired To Consume" - a track released as an EP, which features a long list of things that the narrator would dearly love, if he wasn't exhausted (presumably from the strain of working class life) - take for example, the first verse :

"TV, girls and clubs - Too tired to consume
Music, sex and drugs - Too tired to consume
Alcohol, champagne - Too tired to consume
Cigarettes, cocaine - Too tired to consume
Long legs, tits and porn - Too tired to consume"

You almost wanna give [de:ad:cibel] a pillow. Ultimately, this album has something to appeal to everyone, and although they're not at the point yet where they can claim their own sound, this is a REALLY good CD.

So, moving forward, the only advise I can give Daniel and Armin is to continue with the ideas they have, and try and find a way between them to make it it's own unique sound. The almost-tribal backing sounds on "Nobody Hurts me Like I do" are truly wonderful, and it's little touches like this that make this album worth a purchase. Jun 07 2011