Album Review: Lindemann - Skills In Pills - 2015

Genre: Industrial Metal
Country: Germany
Year; 2015

Tracklist:

1. Skills In Pills
2. Ladyboy
3. Fat
4. Fish On
5. Children Of The Sun
6. Home Sweet Home
7. Cowboy
8. Golden Shower
9. Yukon
10. Praise Abort
11. That’s My Heart

And so… Rammstein releases a new album. Yes, it is, and don’t fuk with me telling it’s not. It sounds like Rammstein and the lyrics are the ones from Rammstein, so it must be it… Even if the band is called otherwise, even if it’s not composed by all Rammstein's members, even if all the songs are in English, it is fuking Rammstein!

So, how good is this new Rammstein album? Better than the previous four ones, no doubt. However, it's not as good as the three or maybe four firsts Rammstein's albums. So yes! Go and pick this one… if you can accept a work a bit more than mediocre. 

I've already talked about the single “Praise Abort”. I was quite disappointed at that time because of the lack of new or good ideas. I believed then, that the upcoming album was going to be shit. I was, however, wrong. The album is far superior than the load of crap I was expecting, but it’s not a gem neither. 

This work doesn’t bring anything truly innovative, nor in its composition, lyrics, nor in its structure. Maybe the only distinctive element is the relevance of synths and other industrial metal instruments (relevance that seemed a bit forgotten since Mutter), and the use of some vocal choruses (also synths). Just listen to the song “Cowboy” and hear it for yourself. The album structure is one proper of any pop song (AABA), so you won’t find anything that excels here, besides the sense progression that Rammstein always imprints on their songs . Of course, as it's usual to the band, the composition lacks any technical brilliance. 

The participation of Peter Tägtgren in this project isn’t shown very much. It really seems like this is a Lindemann's solo project, and not a band. That's a shame. One could think that the ex-Hypocrisy and Pain member would contribute with some element from those bands… but no.

Throughout the eleven full tracks that compose the album (no coda or outro here), through the lyrics, the band seems to try too hard to make a strong impression on the listener. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, that must be a common goal to all lyric writers. The bad and tiresome thing is the way Lindemann tries to achieve this goal. Graphically, it is like watching time and time again the video from the single “Praise Abort”. Thus, it tends to get disgusting. After hearing ten songs alike in both lyrics and rhythm, it can get boring. That’s why the change of pace marked by the tracks “Home Sweet Home” and “That’s My Heart” (the album’s best one) is more than welcome.

The sound is good enough for any respectable studio album, but it appears to be a bit over-saturated or near saturated always. Because of the extensive use of background synths, it’s almost “atmospheric”. The guitars, synths and drums sound like they should on an industrial metal album. It is not superb but more than OK.

This album shines thanks to its catchy tunes, which are present in every song. That’s fundamental to any song, and Rammstein achieves it very frequently through this work.

Paradoxically, Skills In Pills seems more faithful to Rammstein’s style than Rammstein itself, and better also. It’s a lengthy album, with a respectable quality, but that doesn’t worth the almost $15 that they are asking for.

Finally, the worst song: “Praise Abort”. Why they decided to make it a single? It’s a mystery. Maybe it was just because it resembles so much to “Pussy”, which was a big success as a single.

Rating: 7/10

Album review: Thornskill - Demo EP 2015

Genre: Nü Metal/Alternative Metal
Country: Spain
Year: 2015

Tracklist:

1. My Motivation
2. Sexy Erotic Karma
3. Crying Blood
4. Retiro
5. Hysteric Coprolalia
6. Surprise MF

A few days ago came to my knowledge the existence of “Thornskill”, a recently created Alternative Metal band from Spain. They released a six song Demo, free to listen and download for everyone… and free music is always welcome. As a thank you, I want to give my honest opinion (not that anyone should care about it anyway) about this work.

Thornskill recognizes itself as a Alternative/Nü Metal band. And that’s just right. I don’t know where the Alternative Metal ends and the Nü Metal begins, I don’t fuking know if it is the same thing, and I don’t care. But, what i know is that this style has many shades. So, what kind of “Alternative Metal” this band plays? The answer is: a complex one. Thornskill mixes many little bits of different styles over and over again in an almost progressive style, but maintaining every song as a coherent and original piece. Because of this, their music feels fresh and interesting at every time, even though the band uses a pop song structure. This work may remind the NüMetal's golden years, around the year 2000, but enriched with new ideas and complexity.

This complex mix brings an original composition most of the time, others not. For instance, some riffs present in the second song reminds me to System of a Down. (Maybe to the song "B.Y.O.B." or "Forest". In fact, up to a certain point, one could perfectly think it’s a System of a Down song. 

Melodic tunes and aggressive riffs are making love through all the demo and in every track. The result is more amusing than beautiful, and more than interesting enough to please anyone. Certainly the style is not a melodic one, but it's neither an aggressive one.

As a Death Metal fan, I welcome the use of harsh vocals and screams, so I’m glad to hear them in this Demo. Impressively, I think that, because of the special way they are used, and because of the lyrics, even listeners that are not used to listen this vocals, or are not fond of them, may welcome them as well. The occasional use of female vocals are also welcome. They add even more spice to the already tasty mix.

Finally, Thornskill is indeed a Nü Metal band, but its style reaches a lot more than this only genre. This Demo will be a good addition to my bulky music collection, and not just another work lost among many. I send my best wishes to this promising band, and I hope to hear some new songs soon.

Rating: 7/10

You can also listen to them through their Youtube channel and check their web page at www.thornskill.com

If you want to download their Demo EP, here is the link.