Artist: Callejon
Title: Metropolis
Genre: Metalcore
Release Date: 28th August 2020
Label: Warner Music Germany
Album Review
After the cover album ‘Hartgeld im Club’, which was released in 2019 and even reached a top 5 position, CALLEJON are back this year with their ninth work ‘Metropolis’. The reference to Fritz Lang’s legendary film project is less a direct homage. Rather, it serves as a projection screen and design space for CALLEJON’s very own metropolis: the big city as a dark, dystopian labyrinth, as a fairy-tale nightmare, as a juggernaut between cult, reality and madness - but also: the human being who cannot escape his own nature, with his capacity for love and his penchant for destruction. It is the gateway to a dark, colourful, comic-like horror fairy-tale world between ‘Sin City’, ‘Batman’ and ‘The Never-Ending Story’. A reality that is not ours, and yet depicts reality in so many facets. Welcome to Metropolis.
The album starts with the song of the same name. This song was already released in May and came along with a cinematic music video of nine minutes. This already showed the thin line between reality and madness, on which the band more than skilfully balances this album. With ‘Gottficker’, CALLEJON presented the second release of the record and it hits like a bomb. It is provocative, aggressive and loud. A good mixture of death metal, screams and clear vocals. The character with a blood-drenched red skull represents the most selfish and darkest instincts of human beings, regardless of losses. The latter also applies to ‘Blut’: here morality is put to the back. It starts with whispers that lead to a loud, excited babble of voices and ends in a powerful metal song.
Calmly, but also with a certain amount of toughness, it continues with ‘Die Krähe mit dem Schädelbruch’. The wake-up call follows with ‘Fürchtet euch’. You feel almost nostalgic from the first second on, as the first notes already promise a touch of good “old” Metalcore. ‘Die Fabrik’ deals with today’s consumer mania. Stomping you can hear them working, before singer Bastian “BastiBasti” Sobtzick’s voice breaks the monotony, immediately followed by hectic riffs, which drive away even the last tiredness. Finally, the pulsating, mechanical stamping fades away and gives way to the quiet, melancholic, threatening sounds with which ‘Der Wald’ entices. Strophes with clear vocals and chorus with screams bear witness to the secrets and sorrow that the forest confidently absorbs, yet leaves one in doubt as to whether there is a path leading out of the dark woods. ‘Herr der Fliegen’ starts off without an intro, full of verve. However, the chorus is a bit quieter and invites to take a breath, while the intermediate part calls for a Wall of Death and is predestined for pogo.
‘Misraim’, on the other hand, is a short, instrumental song that goes straight into ‘Katakomben’. This creates an unreal, gloomy atmosphere, which is accompanied by a metal firework towards the end. ‘Dies Irae’, which translates as “The Days of Wrath”, once again invites you to mosque, sings the apocalypse with angry screams and calls for revolution. Finally, ‘Gestade der Vergessenheit’ announces the end of history with a bang. Six minutes are not short for a song, but CALLEJON present a strong, powerful metal number that marks the end with a spoken final part. CALLEJON return to old paths. With ‘Metropolis’ they present a hard album, which makes the hearts of long-time fans beat faster. The album definitely takes die-hard fans back to 2008 with the difference that we and CALLEJON have grown up. But of course, the newer fans will also get their money’s worth with German Metalcore! ‘Metropolis’ is an absolutely round album and probably a highlight of their discography.
Tracklist
01. Gottficker
02. Blut
03. Die Krähe mit dem Schädelbauch
04. Fürchtet euch!
05. Die Fabrik
06. Der Wald
07. Herr der Fliegen
08. Misraim
09. Katakomben
10. Dies Irae
11. Gestade der Vergessenheit
Line-up
Bastian Sobtzick – Vocals
Thorsten Becker – Bass
Bernhard Horn – Guitars
Christoph Koterzina – Guitars
Maximilian Kotzmann – Drums
Website
www.callejon.de
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 9
Total: 8.5 / 10
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