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Letzte Instanz

Wir Sind Gold

Written by: PP on 21/05/2007 14:25:21

If you always liked industrial rock but found Rammstein too cheezy on the vocals and too heavy on the instrumental side for your taste, then look no further than the ambitious sixth release "Wir Sind Gold" from German industrial rockers Letzte Instanz (spelling the name is a nightmare), who apparently are a massive band in their home country, but have not found international success yet with any of their releases.

I personally find it disputable that several reviews and the promo sheet labels Instanz as an industrial rock band, because the more I listen to the album, the less characteristics of the gerne I am able to find in it. Whereas Rammstein's sound is often heavy on the bass and can be classified as metal, Instanz' relies on mid-tempo rock with the occasional ballad or two on the album. None of it is particularly complicated or difficult to play on the instruments, but I guess Instanz isn't trying to imitate instrumental mastery of some other bands in this genre but instead want to head towards the top quartile of the German national chart. Each song is supplemented by a mini-orchestrial section where violins, cello and viola depict a more fragile and silky atmosphere than the otherwise distorted riffs might tell you. The production is also set to highlight this, bringing the string-instruments to the forefront together with the low-range voice of vocalist Holly and the guest soprano vocals from opera singer Christiane Karg. But other than that it is also a sign of a band more concerned about being on the charts than credible songwriting. The simplistic instruments are purposefully hidden behind the vocals and the other instruments to distract the listener from the fact that a) they aren't very interesting and b) that they (mostly) have nothing to do with industrial rock, and only take advantage of that label to separate them from other rock bands in the charts.

But despite being utterly mainstream-ish in its vibe and attitude, the album isn't full of filler nor as horrible as most mainstream releases in the US. Instanz has put a lot of effort into creating 16 songs that are all equally appealing, and not one song stands clearly out as the best. Variation is also used successfully so that you have some heavy Rammstein-inspired songs, many medium heavy straightforward rock songs, and a few ballads to top it all off. It will therefore not be surprising to find Instanz high up on the German charts, but because the lyrics are entirely in German, I find it difficult to imagine them being more than a 'cool Rammstein copy' outside of their own country.

Download: Maskenball, Du Und Ich, Morgenrot
For the fans of: Rammstein
Listen: Myspace

Release date 23.03.2007
Drakkar Records
Provided by Target ApS