Artist: Eisregen
Title: Rostrot
Genre: Black metal / Death metal
Release Date: 9th December 2011
Label: Massacre Records
Album Review
EISREGEN (engl. ‘Ice Rain’) was founded in 1995 in Thuringia and could never be confined to one genre. Previous productions, including the (in)famous ‘Krebskolonie’ balanced on the border between death and black metal but the latter always seemed to prevail. EISREGEN won my deepest sympathy when their album ‘Krebskolonie’ (eng. ‘Cancer Colony’) was banned in 2003 from being played even to the adult audience ("Verbreitungsverbot"). Then, in 2007 the same fate met ‘Wundwasser’. Surely, the stupidity of this move is quite apparent - it has actually won EISREGEN a few more dedicated fans. Many enthusiasts, including myself, regard ‘Krebskolonie’ to be the band’s greatest achievement. Not because of gruesome lyrics sang in German but because this album bursts with vengeance and rage, something that every black metal fan will appreciate.
‘Rostrot’ seems to be different than most of the band’s earlier work in the sense that it is much slower and more melodic. However, there are some tracks, such as ‘Schakal: Ode An Die Streubombe’, ‘Wechselbalg’ and ‘Blutvater’ that fully meet the description of fast and furious black metal. As a sworn fan of the Scandinavian hordes I was truly delighted to hear some diabolical and hateful stuff here. I also liked the slower but more epic tracks such as ‘Bewegliche Ziele’ and ‘Fahles Ross’. Some may find them a little theatrical in a Cradle of Filth way but without the same level of pretentiousness. They are both pleasantly engaging and effortless to listen to at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, this is no Bathory but it has its undeniable charm.
Unfortunately, it seems that EISREGEN is yet another band that has succumbed into the cult of RAMMSTEIN. Tracks like ‘Madenreich’ are just a misunderstanding. They do not add anything new to this album and this chaotic flouting between black/ death metal and “something else” (euphemistically speaking) produces rather pitiful results. I would prefer if the band stuck to what they are actually quite good at instead. With their relentless guitar riffs, coarse sound and graphic lyrics they have earned themselves a solid reputation of a non-conformist metal band. Why now ruin all this?
There is some decent stuff on this album but all of it falls into the black/death metal category. The RAMMSTEIN-like bits and gothic rock moments make it difficult to perceive this album as one whole entity. It’s more like when you buy a new CD, start listening to it and discover some nasty scratches that affect some tracks. It’s disturbing, annoying and odd. Also, the production is not even and some tracks have the quality of a demo while others seem smooth and pampered. It’s like mixing GORGOROTH (no offence here, please, I am a huge fan myself) with TEHATRE OF TRAGEDY and some RAMMSTEIN (‘Ich Sah Den Teufel’). It just cannot work. And it truly hurts me to write this because I do have a lot of sentiment for EISREGEN.
Tracklist
01. Erlösung - 02:25
02. Schakal: Ode An Die Streubombe - 03:56
03. Madenreich - 03:48
04. Ich Sah Den Teufel - 07:26
05. Blutvater - 03:20
06. Bewegliche Ziele - 05:36
07. Kathi Das Kuchenschwein - 05:48
09. Wechselbalg - 04:32
10. Fahles Ross - 05:41
11. Rostrot - 06:45
Line-up
Michael “Blutkehle“ Roth – vocals
Michael “Bursche“ Lenz – guitars
Franzi „Dr. Franzenstein“ – keyboard
Ronny „Yantit“ Fimmel – drums
Website
www.fleischhaus.de / www.myspace.com/frissscheisse
Cover Picture
Rating
Sound: 6
Music: 6.5
Total: 6.25 / 10
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