It is rare that I am at a loss for words when hearing a CD, usually words of praise or damnation flow from my lips and through my fingertips like water going over Niagara Falls. Upon listening to Verehrt und Angespien, the only word I could utter is "why?". I just don’t understand this at all. The best way to describe this band would be rock-folk-glam metal, sounds pretty horrific, doesn’t it? It’s much worse than you can imagine, trust me. To start off with, the album cover basically looks like an advertisement for the German YMCA. Usually I tend to exagerate the negatives of a band, but in this case, I’m not. Grown men, topless, wearing leather kilts, with their hands on their hips, each member with short hair, some looking like they’ve either just been sodomized or are hoping to be sodomized. The front man looks like Scott Thompson (Kids In The Hall) doing his Buddy character. As far as the music is concerned, I’m not sure where to begin. The music itself is unique and the band certainly has their own sound, however, I think that’s because even Scandinavians have more sense than this. The band simply seems to do thirteen cover songs, since not a single riff on this album is their own, sometimes sounding like Guns N’ Roses or Iron Maiden to name a few, however with the addition of the extra folk instruments, not normally found in metal, your attention tends to be pulled away from the riffing and drumming. The most blatant example of this would be on the second track, "Ich Kenne Alles", which copies the exact rhythm from the popular Lenny Kravitz song "Are You Gonna Go My Way". Considering I don’t swing that way, there’s no way in hell I’d wanna go their way. The guitar sound, for the most part, is very deep with a great deal of chugging riffs, the drumming is incredibly simplistic, just a lot of single beats. The bagpipes, flutes and zysters are just plain unusual, usually while listening to this album I was half expecting to see leprechauns doing a jig next to my stereo. Even my dog looked at me strangely while reviewing this, I’m not sure but I think he was starting to get homosexual urges towards me, although he’s fixed he had that look of lust in his eye that simply strikes fear in my leg. The vocals basically sound like my french uncle after a few too many beers, he’s got a deep voice and speaks loudly about whatever pops into his head. If you’ve ever heard a drunk frenchman rant about fishing, then you’ve basically heard the vocal pitch. The horrible part is when the band does their group vocals and/or attempt to sing. Walk into a karaokee bar with a group of Japanese businessmen, give them too much to drink, then get them to go on stage. The effect would be so similar to the vocals of In Extremo, you’d get chills up your spine. This is the type of band your German grandmother would tell you to crank up so granny could joyously show off her dance steps she learned as a child, she gets up, starts doing a jig as you stare, open mouthed in horror, when you turn your back the hidden message of the music causes her to hit you from behind, knocking you unconscious before tossing you headfirst into an oven while she dances joyously as your body burns. Oddly enough the music is rather catchy, and I could easily see people picking this up and enjoying it, however, rest assured should anyone I know enjoy this album or band, I will gladly put them out of their misery with a single gun shot to the back of the head.

Written By: Teufel