Release Date: 24 April 2026
Song Count: 28
Duration: 1 hour, 45 minutes, 41 seconds
Rating: 9.3/10
Description:
Song Count: 28
Duration: 1 hour, 45 minutes, 41 seconds
Rating: 9.3/10
Description:
Watch out, Koda Kumi, it seems you've got a new competitor for a long album.
The deluxe - or "black" - edition of last year's Kaltfront°! released just a day ago as of writing, from a band based not too far away from München, that being Eisbrecher. An industrial metal and NDH group far from unfamiliar with singing in their native language, these guys have been in the scene since 2003 after their co-founding members exited Megaherz the same year, and have since seen plenty of success doing their own thing. Known for incorporating themes of ice, winter and sea travel into their lyricism and frontman Alexander Wesselsky wearing naval and military outfits during performances, Eisbrecher have established a solid performative identity for themselves, and their music channels it thoroughly as well, including the contents of this album.
Kaltfront°!'s black edition, along with all of the original album's tracks, includes two bonus tracks - "Tot oder lebenslänglich" and a piano version of "Festung der Einsamkeit", as well as live performances of several of the same songs all collected from different shows the band has been on. The industrial style in which the metal instruments are played immediately leaves a strong impression from the very beginning, certain electronic bits are added as gateways to the metal blaring in one's face and as mood setters, and the music's explosive effect is only enhanced by Wesselsky's imposing, raspy vocals leading the way. The tracks generally revolve around concepts of hedonism, loneliness, despair, hypocrisy in war in the name of peace, and clinging onto a person worth one's love as a means to pull oneself out of the dark, providing nuanced and poetic descriptions in the German lyrics.
The likes of Schattenmann, Joachim Witt and Sotiria also make appearances in particular tracks and lend their musical skills, in "Auf die Zunge", "Zeitgeist" and "Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt", respectively. The live performances tacked at the back may seem like needless repetition of already heard songs at first, but not only hold up to their studio counterparts, but at times breathe an additional amount of life through segways and commentary preceding them being played as well as rare ad-libs. Really, the only point one could deduct from this album is the entirely out-of-place slow song "Tränen lügen nicht", which aims to act as a break from the loudness of the rest of the record, but ends up grinding the momentum to a complete halt without it paying off at all. This dud is, however, thankfully corrected right away with the following track.
Aside from one imposter track, and perhaps "Festung der Einsamkeit" being a slightly inferior version of "Einzelgänger" if one really wishes to be harsh, the contents of Kaltfront°! (Black Edition) are nothing short of incredible, and embody the true spirit and charm of industrial metal music as a whole. It manages to not just bypass, but absolutely demolish any sort of "Singing in my language is embarrassing" bias I may have had previously, as Wesselsky carries endless amounts of charisma in his vocal performances, both in studio and live, and the other members more than pull in their weight as well. Overall a phenomenal piece with so many memorable songs that carry both meaning and enjoyable musicality, and one I shall definitely remember as one of the best metal albums I have had the pleasure of listening to for the sake of this project. Immaculate stuff.