Massacre Records (2011)
Controversy. Censorship. Misogyny. Cannibalism. Death Metal. Black Metal. Eisregen (Icerain). What do all these words have in common? They all apply to this German outfit. Thanks to them, being half German, I learned of the Big Brother-like censorship that not only exists but is REGULARLY enforced in Germany. The country that prides itself on preventing the Fourth Reich by banning Nazi organizations and jailing people for gathering Nazi paraphernalia is actively and legally censoring forms of free expression because its citizens allow their government to shit on their inalienable rights, as they claim a democratic form of government. Your music and written word can be banned from SALE and not only to minors, which would be half the trouble, but to ANYONE.
This has certainly been the case with Eisregen, four times. Two of their albums cannot be sold to minors (something approximating our beloved "scream bloody Gore"-led Parental Music Resources) and two others cannot be sold to ANYONE EVER. This is a CRIMINAL matter. Rightly had a wise man said that there are only two kinds of fascists: fascists and anti-fascists. Which leads me to a question: if Eisregen takes those four albums production OUT of Germany, if Massacre sold them in countries where such censorship is rightly ridiculed and/or fiercely resisted regardless of one's political or religious leanings, would they be able to do so? I would think yes because what the fuck can a German law do to a German who resides in the U.S.?! No self-respecting, or rather, his office loving politician of any American party would push here for extradition, so German censorship could rightly go fuck themselves with a rusty spoon. Something to think about for the ones concerned?
Hopefully this little diatribe on the face of Eisregen's history can make you aware of what kind of band we are dealing with here. Their lyrics are too much for their very own countrymen! And the thing is we know that they do not do this for publicity so they can be banned from selling it to the public. And yet they continue to do whatever the hell they want and for that they should be applauded. I am a loudmouth activist but faced with criminal charges should I persist, I freely admit, I would cease and desist. Not so Eisregen.
Eisregen has positively surprised me with the "Schlaggensonne" and if I remember correctly I awarded it a 5/6 at the time when we had no half point scoring so today it would most likely be close to 5.5/6, a near perfect grade. Powerful riffs with catchy songwriting put these guys in my personal high regard, even though I was in the minority of that opinion. Icerain was faced with a dilemma: pursue this path or shake things up? They chose the latter.
I will say this right away that, though ambitious, varied and versatile across genres and tempos, trying very hard, "Rostenrot" does not live up to its predecessor. In many ways this is a more aggressive album, certainly the full on ferocious symphonic black metal of "Schakal-Ode, et al" is the primary example. But the scope is too wide and makes the album a little disjointed. There is some great gothic melodic elements here as in "Madenreich" and some fine accoustic interludes which add a "story" feeling to this album, although similarity to fellow countrymen Agathodaimon is palpable to say the least.
But some of these songs must have been written purely, to use a German expression, fuer spass (for entertainment, fun or joke with [fuer] properly written as [fur] with two "umlaut" dots over "u"). Yes, I'm talking about "Ja, dass muss Kati sein, Kati, the Kuchenschwain" (yes, that must be Kathy, Kathy, the cookieswine/cookiepig). Seriously, what the hell?! Is this supposed to be some kind of code so you don't get banned again or a tale from experience? I guess I'll never know, but the song is terrible, and while I applaud Eisregen for brevity of including even elements of "radio rock" similar to their countrymen Unherz, as well as general across the genres sprawl, I question the point or necessity of including such a banal, crass song. The last possibility is that they wanted to include a piece of German volksmuzik. In any case, it would make for a good interview question.
Overall, "Rostenrot" is enjoyable but all over the place. Perhaps a little scrutiny in what stays and what's chucked would have made a bigger difference. Still interested in what these guys will dish out next, but for now "Schlaggensohne" is still a standard to aim for.
Shit, there goes my "judge albums on their own merits, disregard the past" commitment...Oh, well.
www.fleischhaus.de/Eisregen
www.massacre-records.de
Rating: 4 / 6
Composed by Dethster4life