(no subject)
Bij dezen mijn oordeel over het nieuwe album van Götterdämmerung:
The last full-length album of Götterdämmerung dates back to 2001 when Morphia saw the light of day. That album was a sort of comeback after a few years of silence. In 2004 the compilation Kin-Burst 9104 was released and now they are back again with Of Whores and Culture. For all those (alleged) post-punk/gothrock fans that are unaware of the existence of the pride of Dutch gothrock: go shame yourself; second: in what cave have you been hiding for the last 16 years? Unless you are a neophyte of course, but also in that case you should own at least one of their albums. During the release-parties the attractiveness of the new album was proven with enthusiastic responce from the audience, many of the new songs have the capacity of turning into dancefloor pleasers. While this album may not contain absolute classics like "Lesser Deity", "Left Hand Rapture", or "Echoes of Despair", some come awfully close. Coming up with such a fine album 16 years after founding the band is a feat. Many band loose focus after a while, Götterdämmerung keeps the right track.
"Warhorse" gallops, stylish drama is radiated with both force as well as with sinister, mysterious interludes. "First-in-Man" relies quite heavily on serrated synths. The mellow and dreamy guitars form a nice contrast. The vocoder used to treat Guido's voice gives some passages an unsettling touch. The swinging vigor of "The Prow", the confident and defiant "Bleeding Wooer" and the woefully melodic power of "Whore Mill...a game of fear" prove that the Götterdämmerung concept has many alluring possibilities. "Vibroboy" sounds more mechanical, due to the dry electronic percussion, more than average use of synths and edgy guitars. The song ends in a dreamy, narrative way. Guido's voice has an endearing tone.
"At Status" is the driving highlight of the album, intense and passionate. It reaffirms their skills in writing catchy uptempo tracks. "Oblivion" has a diverse nature, from spirited to restrained. The percussion keeps up the tension all along the track, your nerves are not given much rest. Götterdämmerung grabs you tight and doesn't let go until the last tune calls. There is also time for some reflection, like on "No Deviation" and the instrumental "Infiltrate". Uncover the latter's raw second part.
Of Whores and Culture sounds more electronic-tinged than previous works, contains more quiet parts and is less noisy. There is more focus on elaborated compositions, the band rightfully uses the term artgoth as a description of their music.
Of whores and Culture is an album Götterdämmerung can be proud of. It is just waiting to be discovered.
De nummers vielen afgelopen vrijdag goed in de smaak tijdens Onderstroom, dat was wel duidelijk!