Website: Eisbrecher
Following their surprisingly infectious and fun self-titled release in 2004, Eisbrecher is back with Antikorper, an effort that shows some mild changing of the format, but not entirely in the right direction.
Eisbrecher’s self titled debut CD was full of catchy dance hooks, odd rap melodies, and electronic energy. Antikorper follows this formula to a certain extent, though to a lesser degree. Tracks like “Leider†and “Vergissmeinnicht†retain the feel of the first album, but most of the rest of the album seems to feature a direction that harkens to a combination of the electronics from the first effort and some strong chugga-chugga guitar work, similar to that of Megaherz. This is probably not by accident; the lead singer of Eisbrecher, Alexx Wesselsky, was also the lead singer of Megaherz.
This stylistic change works in some cases, but not in others. “Adrenalin†and “Entlassen†show off what Eisbrecher can do with this new sound, and sound quite solid and well designed. Easily the best representative of this style is “Ohne Dich†(no, not that one), a song that mixes both styles phenomenally, and manages to get the emotional point across the language gap admirably. However, songs like “Phosphoer†and “Freisturz†don’t meld the sounds well enough to make anything enjoyable, and “Kein Mitleidâ€â€¦ well, sounds a lot like Rammstein. These sorts of issues are in the minority, but they still bear noting.
All told, Antikorper is a deviation from Eisbrecher’s previous effort, but it retains enough of its charm to keep fans interested, while changing up its sound enough to appeal to German Industrial fans who’ve never heard it. It’s not a complete success in stylistic melding, but it’s a good effort, and it’s an enjoyable listen overall.
