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Oomph! - Oomph! review



Reviewer:
8.2

21 users:
7.1
Band: Oomph!
Album: Oomph!
Release date: 1992


01. Mein Herz
02. Me Inside You
03. Der neue Gott
04. No Heart No Pain
05. Breathe
06. Gleichschritt
07. Under Pressure
08. Wir leben
09. Purple Skin
10. Ich bin du

If you wonder how did Oomph! begin their journey in the world of music I will tell you that they were no metal at all at first. As years were passing by and more of their albums were being released the guitars were becoming more and more and heavier in their compositions with Oomph! becoming, steadily, a really strong card in the world of industrial metal.

Their self-titled debut album came out during 1992 and except for some guitars that had a more punk rock air it has nothing to do with metal, it's just a brilliant pure EBM [Electronic Body Music, in case metalheads don't know] album in the vein of some really great bands, Nitzer Ebb and Die Krupps; and DAF come in the corner! It's not the most personal album around but it really has a lot of fabulous ideas, a superb danceable feeling that is always present through the whole duration of the album, a groovy aesthetic that cannot fail the danceable tribe and above all deep knowledge of their influences and how to use electronics.

The use of electronics as I said above is genius and well-expressed, evoking an intense spasmodic danceable feeling, the sequencer's FX and other sounds evoke an industrial feeling in the air in the most appropriate way, the drums n' beat lend the ideal groove along with the sequences that have that 80s aesthetic and the guitars whenever they appear lend that punk edge in the sound of Oomph! Everything is ideal for some wonderful 80s EBM as it was formed by bands I mentioned above. And then come the vocals, they are simply brilliant! Ranging from slightly distorted-seeming to punk-driven screams in the vein of Nitzer Ebb, they can't disappoint, not at all and by all means they contribute the best to the aesthetic of the album!

Songs like the really groovy, powerful and utterly danceable "Der Neue Gott" (what an opus!), "Gleichschritt" (what another opus!) and "Purple Skin" (oh yes, you guessed correctly, what another opus, yeah!) simply can't disappoint, on the contrary, they have the power to lead you to an infinite dance! The whole album flows definitely as one, a real EBM gem ala 80s that will amaze you!

Well, I don't expect the metal audience to like it, except for a few open-minded people that are willing to check the first wave of EBM music! If you are one of those go ahead, if you are not, too bad you spent your time on reading this review! Fans of the 80s EBM scene already know and respect "Oomph!" and definitely I am one of them!





Written on 12.04.2006 by "It is myself I have never met, whose face is pasted on the underside of my mind."



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