Album: Unendlich (2014)(Limited Edition + Bonus CD)
Genre: Folk Rock (Medieval/Folk Metal) / Germany
The word eclectic can be used to positively describe a magpie-like gathering of styles and influences to create a whole. It can also hint that the whole is a bit of a mess. ‘Unendlich’ is a bit of both. It leaps about wildly in styles and tones, and whereas this is usually a good thing – who wants to hear fifteen identical songs after all – it makes for a disjointed and unsettling listen at times. Bouncing breezily in is ‘Trafalgar’, a busy little piece with a nursery-rhyme feel to the verse, followed swiftly by the “do-do-dum dum do-do-do” folk shuffle of ‘Tippelbruder’. Appreciation, or otherwise, of this depends on how much you like the idea of the cast of ‘Lord Of The Rings’ bursting into song. It’s a bit too Hobbitty for my liking, and is somewhat over-produced. In fact a lot of the songs here would benefit from a more earthy and less polished studio sheen. On stage, I’m sure they’ll be fine, trees behind, a light drizzle falling, red flares lighting up the night sky. But it feels a bit flat here somehow. The multi-instrumentation is impressive throughout and keeps things ticking along nicely, and there’s no doubting the skill of Thomas Lindner as a story-teller. And there’s a playfulness underlying songs such as ‘Mit der Flut’ despite it being another contender for Bilbo’s favourite party song. Things get most impressive on the slow, dramatic waltz of ‘Baum des Lebens’, a beautiful, understated song, gorgeously arranged and sung. And ‘Tangossa’ is a similar triumph, an instrumental, dancing seductively through the dusky street of Europe’s great cities. Try not foot-tapping to this one. Folk-rock-by-numbers can be heard on the perfectly pleasant enough ‘Mittsommer’, and the farmyard knees-up of ‘Little Miss Midleton’ has a slow/ fast thing going on that will keep the purists more than happy. The album ends softly with the gentle harmonies of ‘Mein Bildnis’ giving way to the subdued ‘Märchenmond’. It’s a stunning end to the album, and allows one to forgive the huff-and-puff and bluster of some of the earlier over-folked moments. It’s epic in every sense of the word. ‘Unendlich’, then. It’s folk, it’s rock, it’s Middle Earth versus studio polish, there’s beauty here, and liveliness there, an over-crowded but happily busy little collection of songs. In a word, eclectic. Review by "Stephen Kennedy" (www.reflectionsofdarkness.com).
RATING: 7.25 / 10
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Genre: Folk Rock (Medieval/Folk Metal) / Germany
The word eclectic can be used to positively describe a magpie-like gathering of styles and influences to create a whole. It can also hint that the whole is a bit of a mess. ‘Unendlich’ is a bit of both. It leaps about wildly in styles and tones, and whereas this is usually a good thing – who wants to hear fifteen identical songs after all – it makes for a disjointed and unsettling listen at times. Bouncing breezily in is ‘Trafalgar’, a busy little piece with a nursery-rhyme feel to the verse, followed swiftly by the “do-do-dum dum do-do-do” folk shuffle of ‘Tippelbruder’. Appreciation, or otherwise, of this depends on how much you like the idea of the cast of ‘Lord Of The Rings’ bursting into song. It’s a bit too Hobbitty for my liking, and is somewhat over-produced. In fact a lot of the songs here would benefit from a more earthy and less polished studio sheen. On stage, I’m sure they’ll be fine, trees behind, a light drizzle falling, red flares lighting up the night sky. But it feels a bit flat here somehow. The multi-instrumentation is impressive throughout and keeps things ticking along nicely, and there’s no doubting the skill of Thomas Lindner as a story-teller. And there’s a playfulness underlying songs such as ‘Mit der Flut’ despite it being another contender for Bilbo’s favourite party song. Things get most impressive on the slow, dramatic waltz of ‘Baum des Lebens’, a beautiful, understated song, gorgeously arranged and sung. And ‘Tangossa’ is a similar triumph, an instrumental, dancing seductively through the dusky street of Europe’s great cities. Try not foot-tapping to this one. Folk-rock-by-numbers can be heard on the perfectly pleasant enough ‘Mittsommer’, and the farmyard knees-up of ‘Little Miss Midleton’ has a slow/ fast thing going on that will keep the purists more than happy. The album ends softly with the gentle harmonies of ‘Mein Bildnis’ giving way to the subdued ‘Märchenmond’. It’s a stunning end to the album, and allows one to forgive the huff-and-puff and bluster of some of the earlier over-folked moments. It’s epic in every sense of the word. ‘Unendlich’, then. It’s folk, it’s rock, it’s Middle Earth versus studio polish, there’s beauty here, and liveliness there, an over-crowded but happily busy little collection of songs. In a word, eclectic. Review by "Stephen Kennedy" (www.reflectionsofdarkness.com).
RATING: 7.25 / 10
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