The band OOMPH! is reaching its twenty-fifth anniversary in very good shape, coinciding with the release of a new album and performing at the most renowned festival on the Metal scene: WACKEN. Being the band that gave rise to Neue Deutsche Härte, has gone through several stages of experimentation in the EBM, Goth and Industrial metal sub-genres; including Pop-Rock. In addition to maintaining the original lineup throughout this time, Dero (Voice, Drums), Crap (Guitar, Keyboards) and Flux (Guitaras, Samples) are now their own producers, along with Simon Michael, of Subway To Sally.
The band stays on its "comfort zone", although not for that reason it is free of the controversy. Although with its previous production "Des Wahnsinns fette Beute" (2012) the group went through more or less successful experiments, the album "XXV" could be considered a new classic album of OOMPH!. Energetic, vibrant, intense themes, like the very meaning of the group's name. The album presents us with 14 songs, which the band describes as "Songs full of dark poetry, criticism of society and religion, as well as texts dedicated to redemption, love and death". There is also room for fun. They are songs that make you think and also dance.
On the strong side, the opening song Dein Retter ('Your savior'), who plays with the duality of someone who sees salvation in the satisfaction of an addiction: "I am your Savior / My Spirit is willing / Your Flesh is weak".
Then comes'Alles aus Liebe ' ('Todo por Amor') which has been released as the first single; a power ballad with masochistic overtones: "I will endure cruel pain / I implore her to punish me at last / All this just for the love of her", followed by a song with a special dedication to the most loyal fans "Jetzt oder Nie ' ('Now or never') who will surely be the new star in the band's live performances: "With each one of you together / We are a Legion / We are a Unit, we have a Passion".
'Als wär´s das letzte mal' ('As if it were the last time') is a romantic ballad with a gloomy twist: "Kiss me as if it were the last time / As if it were forever / Near you I feel alone / Because you are so beautiful dead", while 'Mary Bell' is a theme inspired by the psycho girl of the same name: "This nightmare really happened / And it never ended / Heaven stares / When little hands do Evil."
Keep going "Jede Reise hat ein Ende '('Every journey has an end ') a theme that mixes ballad elements with strong impulses and great performance: "Every journey has an end / Ours ends here and now / Your eyes say it all / So it happens when it happens / It will also happen without you."
Two melancholic and fantastic themes follow: 'Unter diesem Mond' ('Under this Moon') and 'Alle deine Wunden' ('All your wounds') that could be about a werewolf and a vampire and their respective obsessions with the moon and blood: "Under this Moon / I will not sleep / The power that dwells in it / It does not allow me to relax" "I kiss your wounds / I take a small sip of you / You belong only to me / Every last drop of blood".
'Fleisch und Fell' ('Carne y pellejo') tells us the story of a hunter who ends up being a prey: "He follows the trail offered / He loves the city, the bustle, the tension / Hunting is what gives him pleasure." With 'Tick, Tack' we find the classic NDH theme hard and exciting: "Tic-tack / My heart beats / Time is running out / Everything is spinning / I lose my reason"
'Nicht von dieser Welt' ('Out of this world') is kept in a rhythmic rhythm, with its melancholic lyrics; Perhaps the least strong theme of the album: "He wants the Light / Only once / Because nothing keeps him here anymore / He is not of this world". Spieler ('Player') and 'Zielscheibe' (TIRO AL BLANCO) they raise the Oomph; one speaking about the manipulation of people and some people's obsession with power: “You will belong to me / I am going to govern you / And you will follow me / Only I can guide you” and the other about not taking criticism too seriously: “ Come and use me / As a target / For your prejudices / I like it when you shoot me ”. '
'Leis ganz Leis' ('Mild enough soft') closes the album with Dero singing a story accompanied only by piano and strings: "Soft enough soft / As soft as the wind / Soft enough soft / Death is coming."
As is customary, German language letters remain the forte of OOMPH!, this time, without songs originally written in English or instrumental songs (maybe we will see them in the next few singles?). In the end, fans will surely thank a new album for a compilation of "Great SuccessesIn this case, the album gives the best of the band, since it has the peculiarity of having a touch of practically all of their discography, and the voice of Dero it sounds much better, without the distortion effects in the voice that are so usual and sometimes exaggerated in productions of this genre.