OOMPH! - Truth Or Dare Review
OOMPH! are a band which hold a very special place in my heart and have done for quite some time.
They are a pioneering band, which played a vital part in the formation of German’s alternative music scene as it stands today. The basically created the ‘Neue Deutsche Harte’ genre singlehandedly. Without them, it is doubtful that the world would even have Rammstein (yes, they were that influential upon them)…. Yet, outragingly, hardly anyone outside of Germany has heard of this band, mistaking them frequently for Rammstein, if they have. But hopefully this is all about to change!
I first heard OOMPH! at the tender age of 14 - I was on my first ever exchange visit to the German exchange city of Mannheim - a vital formative event in my life! It was my first time abroad without my parents and the first time I really tasted freedom. I developed a massive crush on a German boy I met whilst there (isn’t that always the way these things happen?) and, even though it hurt more than I would have believed at the time, I now know that it was a vital catalyst in the development of my addition to Germany which today brings me so much joy!
Anyway, whilst I was in Germany, one song topped the charts. It was played everywhere and, subconsciously, I absorbed it. That song was OOMPH!’s ‘Augen Auf’, an incredibly catchy song, loosely based on a twisted game of hide-and-seek and OOMPH!’s biggest ever mainstream hit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YClJQBq4qpU
Once back in the UK and in the grip of my first powerful ‘sehnsucht’ for Germany, a friend of mine, who had bought the single leant it to me. From that moment onwards, I was hooked on OOMPH! I listened to countless songs via an old website, and the minute I was back in Germany rushed top a CD shop to buy the album ‘Wahrheit oder Pflicht’. I instantly fell for the catchy riffs, powerful lyrics and sexual vocals. Over time I set about collecting the back catalogue.
That isn’t to say I’m a fan of everything they’ve done. Their earlier albums are too heavy and raw for my personal tastes, the lyrics often clumsy and unnecessary - mostly spoken rather than sung.
But, with the album ‘Ego’ the found a new sound, which they carefully honed to perfection which, to my ear, has lasted from ‘Wahrheit oder Pflicht’ through to ‘Glaubliebtod’ and the recent ‘Monster’
After hearing about my love for OOMPH!, another friend leant me Rammstein’s ‘Mutter’ album - the rest is, as they say, history. My obsession for German music was born, spreading out from Neue Deutsche Harte to span many other genres but always primarily in my beloved German language. I strongly believe that is is partly thanks to OOMPH! that I am the person I am today.
So, when I heard about the newest album ‘Truth or Dare’(Initial preview here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGqxepDGH9s) my initial excitement was somewhat tempered with anxiety. Despite having previously sung the odd song in English (mainly much earlier works, which seemed largely to be a collection of all the swear words Dero could think of cobbled together in a random order) the band lyrics are primarily in German. But this album is a reworking of some of their biggest hits into the English language, I assume in order to make them more accessible to a wider audience.
I must admit, I was sceptical.
In my general opinion, if someone won’t listen to a particular artist or song because of it being in a different language, they are spiting only themselves through their closedmindedness and don’t deserve the joy those songs can bring. Also, I believe the mystique of a foreign language is a vital part of their beauty and people’s fascination (I mean, come on, would most people listen to Rammstein if they actually knew what Till was grunting about? My instincts tell me quite possibly not!)
Also, generally speaking, songs really don’t translate all that well - I recently translated a number of L’ame Immortelle songs into English for my boyfriend who doesn’t speak and German and was largely horrified at the results. Despite my very best efforts, the beautifully constructed, elegant and poignant lyrics became deconstructed, clumsy and completely lost all subtlety. (I will post more of these miserable attempts soon)
So, it was with a great degree of trepidation that I listened to ‘Truth or Dare’
Truth be told, I was pleasantly surprised! The songs aren’t so much direct translations, as English versions of their German counterparts, using a certain degree of creative licence to change the lyrics in order to make them neater and make the rhythm of the words fit within the rhythms of the songs (which were tampered with only minimally)
The choice of songs is excellent, using mainly tracks of the three latest (and in my opinion, strongest) albums, with the exception of Crucified, which is a more industrialised English version of an old single ‘Gekreuzigt’ which is a firm favourite, still an anthem at live shows. Almost all of the singles are there, spanning from ‘Ready or Not, I’m Coming’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7xn1Uu3J9Q&NR=1 - the English version of the song that begun it all ‘Augen Auf’, other floorfillers like ‘God is A Popstar’ through to the nightmarish ‘Labyrinth’ and highly political ‘Sandman’
The band even managed to get old collaborators back into the studio with them for the re-makes. L’ame Immortelle’s Sonja Kraushofer did a haunting rendition on ‘Burning Desire’ - a real stand out track http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD62lKUobpY They also got Marta Jandova from Die Happy back on ‘Dream Here’. Oddly, I disliked her vocals on the original German version of ‘Traumst Du’, but rather like them here, thinking her sugared sweetness contrast the darkness in Dero’s voice perfectly. In addition, they also got the wonderful Shardon Den Adel from Within Temptation to contribute to Land Ahead, a beautiful and unexpected ballad which fully utilises her vocal talents.
Overall, I think ‘Truth or Dare’ would be a wonderful introduction to the band’s work for an English speaker and is wonderfully listenable. The only problem I have is that whenever I listen to music on shuffle I now end up playing the “Will it be the English or the German version” game with myself!