Eisheilig -
After starting out over ten years ago with their roots in all things metal and punk, Germany’s Eisheilig soon changed musical direction by incorporating goth, pop and electronic elements into their sound, and it was on the strength of their 1999 demo that led to the band being signed to Napalm Records, releasing their debut album simply titled “Eisheilig” in 2001. Their second album, 2003’s “Die Gärten des Herrn”, not only witnessed the departure of their second guitarist but saw the band move away from earlier goth-influences, replacing it with a more rock-oriented approach.
Fast forward to 2006 and not only did their third release “Elysium” see the band sign with a new record label, Drakkar Entertainment GmbH, but it again demonstrated the band’s desire to explore new musical territory, delivering a darker, heavier sounding record than its predecessor, until their fourth album “Auf dem weg in deine Weit” in 2007 shed the more brutal aspects of their previous outing, instead opting for a melodic, softer approach, drawing influence from 70s rock.
Now, if not unlike me you’re thinking this all comes across as a band with a serious personality disorder, allow me to bring you up to speed and introduce you to their most recent slab of ditties, “Imperium”. As expected, their musical direction has once again been overhauled. Gone are the 70s rock-tinged elements and along with them the quieter, more introspective and melodic songs and in their place an album denser and gloomier than any of its forebears; all well and good.
And this is where the obvious Rammstein comparisons enter the discussion. Despite being notoriously difficult to classify, Rammstein’s music - a fusion of industrial, hard rock, heavy metal, goth and electronic, is typically described as industrial metal. Eisheilig’s music is a fusion of all of the above, but is typically classified as goth metal. Interesting no? Anyway, the marching beats, the synthesizers emulating strings and choirs, the spoken word death grunts, the heavy, distorted guitars, all employed by both bands - not exclusively mind - but throw in the German accents and one can’t help but compare the two. Except where Rammstein often utilise catchy dance beats to get you moving, Eisheilig don’t.
Immediately upon listening to “Imperium” one can’t help but liken it to the soundtrack of an apocalyptic film, and by the second and third listens it becomes quite apparent this is no accident. In fact, it almost seems too intentional, too overt, and despite many of the tracks deftly employing synthesizer-produced orchestral arrangements to build up a nice bit of tension, this album never really gets out of first gear. Take any of the musical genres they seem to have at least mildly referenced when done by a band having a good day at the office, like the mechanically threatening urgency of industrial titans Ministry’s “Psalm 69”, or the electro-headfuck of Skinny Puppy’s “Too Dark Park” or “Last Rites”, and it becomes painfully obvious that as competent as it is, “Imperium”, though mildly eerie, isn’t as sinister as it claims, and though it’s good, its just not that good.