Artist: Down Below
Album: Zur Sonne - Zur Freiheit
Genre: German Rock – Pop
Release Date: 20th September 2013
Label: Oblivion/ SPV
Album Review
The German band DOWN BELOW was founded in 2003. While the lyrics of their first albums ‘ Silent wings: Eternity’ and ‘Synfonie 23’ were mainly in English, the following releases contained songs in German language. With performing more than 100 times at concerts and festival until 2006, the band calls this its demo period. In 2006, DOWN BELOW signed at the major label Universal and released in 2007 their first album. In 2008 they made it up to the third position at the German federal states song contest with their first song in German language. With lots of touring to promote their albums, as well as touring several times with UNHEILIG they reached a wider audience and cannot be called “Newcomer” anymore. Till this day they have released four studio albums. Before they started to work on their new album they signed once again at a new label.
The opener of the album is an instrumental Rock song with some symphonic elements. Apparently this should raise the expectation for something great coming. Well, if you like Schlager-Rock-Pop with a bit of Metal, laced with some symphonic elements, all mixed well to create an album for the masses, you will love it. After listening to the album several times I have to say you can clearly hear the influence of touring several times with UNHEILIG. And as if the band is trying hard not to sound too commercially, they added some elements of the genre “Neue Deutsche Härte” and thus sound partly like a copycat of EISBRECHER. At least you can grant them that the lyrics of their songs are not kitschy love songs. They are about working hard to achieve ones aim, to gain freedom, hoping for the best even if the path is not clear.
The 5th song is a duet with Natalia Avelon who sang already the duet ‘Summer wine’ in 2007 with Ville Valo (HIM). In principle it sounds quite nice as both vocals fit together well but the incorrect use of our language annoys me deeply. To translate “make sense” literally is just wrong. Obviously at one point in their career the band decided to sing in German language. Actually there is nothing wrong with it, as the members are German and surely it is easier to write lyrics in one’s native tongue. But as they made up their mind to do so, I wish they would use the language correctly. If you don’t think of EISBRECHER or RAMMSTEIN at ‘Lauf’ then I’m clueless. And somehow they recycled the melody of the refrain from ‘Neuer Horizont’ in the following song ‘Bruder’.
Recapitulating I think fans of UNHEILIG and the like will love this album, fans of RAMMSTEIN, EISBRECHER and the like cannot take it seriously. The album is available as standard version, limited as well as limited fan box.
Tracklist
01. Ketu
02. Zur Sonne – Zur Freiheit
03. Dem Himmel so nah
04. Alles wird gut
05. Unvergessene Zeit (feat. Natalia)
06. Nordstern
07. Feuerregen
08. Lauf
09. Meilenstein
10. Neuer Horizont
11. Bruder
12. Abschied
Line-up
Neo Scope - vocals
Carter - guitar
Convex - bass
Mr. Mahony - drums
Website
http://downbelow.de/ / https://www.facebook.com/thatsdb
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 5
Sound: 9
Total: 6 / 10
Comments powered by CComment