Eisbrecher - Ludwigsburg 2008

Rockfabrik, Ludwigsburg, Germany
17th September2008
Eisbrecher, Jesus on Extasy

Even though front man Alex Wesselsky and sound engineer Noel Pixx just finished the new and third EISBRECHER album, there’s no time to chill or be lazy because the signs are already set for a stage storm again. The third EISBRECHER album ‘Sünde’ will see the lights of day on 22nd August 2008 and Alex and Noel promise their fans a dark-colouring rain, made of dark rocking ice pearls. Album number 3 will be the hardest and most sinister album to date. Free after the motto: fragile-violent, hard but sincere. To get the fans in the right mood for what is awaiting them with the new album, the EISBRECHER sent out a vanguard by the name of “Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein”, a club smasher par excellence which earned only positive reactions by the fans.


Jesus on Extasy

The Band was founded by cousins Dorian (vocals) and Chai Deveraux (guitar) in the year 2005. Ivy (bass) complemented the duo at the end of 2006. At that time the group still had no drummer, so the first songs that appeared on the EP ‘Assassinate me’ have been published with a drum machine. The band members of JESUS ON EXTASY changed at the end of 2006: Ophelia Dax on the keyboards, BJ on drums and Andrea Odendahl at the second guitar were added and so the trio grew. They published their first album “Holy Beauty” in the year 2007 with DRAKKAR ENTERTAINMENT. The band got their influences from the ranges of Industrial Rock to Alternative Rock and Glam Rock. There is a strong contrast between the keyboard sounds of Ophelia Dax and the hard guitar melodies by Chai Deveraux who use some new interpretations and variations. They already remixed song from bands as ASP and XANDRIA.



Music & Performance
We arrived lately to the first appearance of JESUS ON EXTASY due our working time and some traffic jam. Upon entering into the Rockfabrik it seemed we run against a wall of wild moving bellies. The crowd filled every space in this music hall and moved as a single monster to the stage. We reached a halfway reasonable place to watch the band only with mild violence. After we established our place JESUS ON EXTASY played one of their known songs ‘Assassinate Me’. They had previously a fairly considerable success with this song and were even shown on the DVD-Sampler ‘Schattenreich’. The temperature starts to boil and the crowd in front of the stage was really excited. The clearly recognizable voice of Dorian and the movements of the incarnate temptation Ophelia provided further reassurance that many fan in front of the stage got much warmer feelings.



As already mentioned we noticed only the end of the show and so I could only judge the last minutes of the show. The show of JESUS ON EXTASY was not the ultimate highlight in my eyes but the fans came to their cost. They played song after song with little or no announcements so I missed some more interaction with the audience they are still new in the music business and therefore it can still improve in the future. The sound was quiet good for the conditions of the Rockfabrik. They even found a new fan with me with their hard and pitilessly played music. The sound and music were technically good and in addition JESUS ON EXTASY is also something for the eye….

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 7.5 / 10


Eisbrecher

After singer and songwriter Alexander "Alexx" Wesselsky separated from the band MEGAHERZ (which was founded in 1994) due to artistic differences in the year 2003 he founded with DJ and ex-member of MEGAHERZ Noel Pix (aka Jochen Seibert), the band EISBRECHER. They act as an incentive for the copying of the album and attached two CD-blanks with their debut album ‘EISBRECHER’. The aim of their action was to protest against the criminalization of end users by the music industry. In the summer of 2006 EISBRECHER published two new singles and the second album ‘Antikörper’. The album reached rank 85 in the German album charts. Alexander "Alexx" Wesselsky and Noel Pix describe the sound they produce with EISBRECHER as "Electronic Trip-Rock." They try to replace hard guitar sounds with powerful electric sounds. The press often considered them as doppelgangers of RAMMSTEIN. EISBRECHER occur mainly with their hard electronic sound in the foreground strengthened with their hard guitar sounds. They are assigned to the music direction of “Neue Deutsche Härte” but there are many differences between the bands which are subordinated to this style.



Music & Performance
‘Sünde’ (Sin) is the title of the new album of the band which invited us this evening to the Rockfabrik at Ludwigsburg. I mentioned EISBRECHER which are not unknown in the history of the black scene. They presented another strong album after their two strong discs ‘Eisbrecher’ and ‘Antikörper’ and presented their new material on the “Sünder-Tour” in the clubs throughout the whole land. After a lengthy reconstruction phase the first notes of ‘Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein’ depressed from the boxes and tied the audience from the first second in the hall. Most of the crowd was already prepared by JESUS ON EXTASY and need little more to go to the boiling temperature and so I could really say that a veritable storm of euphoria filled the hall and swept the hole crowd of their feet. What Alexx and Co. have done this evening was a musical presentation of some extra class. Every fan in front of the stage enjoyed their successful combination of old songs of the past CDs and the new CD ‘Sünde’. If someone´s gaze wander over the crowd he could clearly notice from the reactions of the audience that the sound and music was not only inspiring from the CD but also from the live performance from EISBRECHER too. Even the interpretation of ‘I Got The Power’ was answered with frenetically applause.



The crowd was even further spurred with the old classics such as ‘Anitkörper’, ‘Mein Blut’ or ‘Schwarze Witwe’ and were admitted to the inevitable end. We were downright under shock after the presentation of the still brilliant classic song from MEGAHERZ ‘Miststück’ and the sinful whispered ‘Ti Amo’ as we realized that the concert was over. What should I write about a band like EISBRECHER? The show and related performance was almost perfect, Alexx and his men knew about each second how to put a spell on the audience. They excited their fans from the first to the last second. The crowd in the whole Rockfabrik got no time to relax and where shipped through the seas of sin with the typical music from EISBRECHER. Even quieter songs contained so much energy and passion that you always wish to give the same back to the guys on the stage. I expected powerful drums coupled with hard riffs and the voice of Alexx on this evening and I got more than I could hope for. And for some fans this evening was more than just a small sin....

Setlist
01. Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein
02. Angst
03. Antikörper
04. Phosphor
05. Willkommen im Nichts
06. Herzdieb
07. Leider
08. Alkohol
09. Instrumental
10. Mein Blut
11. Vergissmeinnicht
12. Zu sterben
13. Schwarze Witwe
14. Heilig
15. Zeichen der Venus
16. This is Deutsch
17. Ohne dich
18. Miststück
19. Ti Amo

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Light: 8
Sound: 9
Total: 8.8 / 10



All pictures by Ruth Gräbeldinger (http://www.alpha-photography.net/)
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