Rotengeist - Fear Is The Key
Rotengeist unleash their thrashing debut 'Fear Is The Key,' full of ten rapidly aggressive tracks that really knows how to mix groove and aggression well. The opening track is just a taste of what is to come with a brief, but catchy instrumental that cohesively chugs together before exploding into "Spiritual Collapse." It's very raw in the guitars with a fuzzy sound, but not enough to ruin the rest of the music. The drums are pretty clear in their thick beatings, and even the fuzzy atmosphere helps make them sound a bit mystical, but not as mystical as sounding like metal trashcan beatings. The bass also makes a few surprise moments that add lots of groove to the music. The vocals can be a bit hard to place because they seem like they are on a teeter totter between thrash and black and death metal; sometimes the tones change pitches every once in a while, but for the most part, stays steady.
As the album goes on fans will notice that there isn't too much variation between tracks. "Organized Murderer" sounds quite a bit like "Spiritual Collapse;" even the bass moments are in the same place with the rhythm of the guitars, and the drums sometimes feel like they are more machine handled than by man. The solos are about as organic as anyone can get with their lively attitude. "Preacher Of Hate" finally offers a bit of variety with the melodic interlude and almost a melodic death metal/groove metal taste to the riffs that really breaks the montony of the Slayer based thrash feeling of all the earlier tracks. It's basically an instrumental track that really shows the best aspects of the band. "Fear Is The Key," also tries to mix things up a bit by offering a great drum intro, but eventually tends to fall into the usual riffings that make up the rest of the album. At least the solos are highly engaging and the track leans more towards early Metallica rather than just rely on a Slayer formula.
This isn't a revolutionary album in the thrash department, but its a strong debut and involves a lot more melody than just repetitive catchy riff after riff. Most thrash heads will enjoy this and even a few melodic death metal fans. It's obvious that this is only the start for Rotengeist, it is a great start and hopefully a jump point for some more very engaging material in the future.
As the album goes on fans will notice that there isn't too much variation between tracks. "Organized Murderer" sounds quite a bit like "Spiritual Collapse;" even the bass moments are in the same place with the rhythm of the guitars, and the drums sometimes feel like they are more machine handled than by man. The solos are about as organic as anyone can get with their lively attitude. "Preacher Of Hate" finally offers a bit of variety with the melodic interlude and almost a melodic death metal/groove metal taste to the riffs that really breaks the montony of the Slayer based thrash feeling of all the earlier tracks. It's basically an instrumental track that really shows the best aspects of the band. "Fear Is The Key," also tries to mix things up a bit by offering a great drum intro, but eventually tends to fall into the usual riffings that make up the rest of the album. At least the solos are highly engaging and the track leans more towards early Metallica rather than just rely on a Slayer formula.
This isn't a revolutionary album in the thrash department, but its a strong debut and involves a lot more melody than just repetitive catchy riff after riff. Most thrash heads will enjoy this and even a few melodic death metal fans. It's obvious that this is only the start for Rotengeist, it is a great start and hopefully a jump point for some more very engaging material in the future.
- Devil's Mask
- Spiritual Collapse
- Slaves Of The False Freedom
- Erase
- Choice And Duty
- Organized Murderer
- Eradicate Evil
- Preacher Of Hate
- Strange
- Fear Is The Key (Dormo Five)
Propaganda Promotions
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Feb 23, 2011
Feb 23, 2011
Next review:
Pentacrostic - The Pain Years 1989-2010
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