Review Summary: „Und es dürstet mich danach, nichts mehr zu spürn‘...“
They have been called a new hope for German progressive music ever since the release of their debut album
Holon: Hiberno, which already displayed a plethora of different sounds, fusing indie and post rock with chaotic, face-melting hardcore and metal riffage . The follow-up Holon: Anamnesis refined and extended that sound, adding more guest musicians and implementing longer, more melodic arrangements.
The Hirsch Effekt’s third album takes us in another direction without leaving their characteristic sound behind. On this record the band is angrier than ever before and tears down walls, be it lyrically or physically. Compared to Holon: Anamnesis the sound is stripped down and focuses more on the essentials: Guitar, bass and drums. Especially the addition of new drummer Moritz “Mr. Moe” Schmidt seemed to have given the overall speed and groove a significant push and provides some smiles for the avid lover of blastbeats, start-stop riffs and perfect interplay with bass and guitar. Just listen to the title track and you will know what I’m talking about.
After a suspense building intro
Holon: Agnosie starts off with
Jayus, a wild beast, which takes no prisoners and rolls over you like a thunderstorm of intricate, technical riffs and time signature changes, which could be taken right out of The
Dillinger Escape Plan’s discography. Infact, opening for DEP two years ago seemed to have quite an impact on the band’s sound, which is evident in songs like
Bezoar. On top of that this song undeniably evokes a certain
Between the Buried and Me vibe in its jazzy surf-rock chorus.
Previously released
Fixum has one of the most memorable choruses the band has ever written, and nicely contrasts it’s heavy, dissonant riffage. Inbetween we have the dreamy
Tombeau, which relies almost solely on a reverbed piano and Nils Wittrocks honest and touching vocal performance. The clean vocal lines on
Holon: Agnosie are the best and catchiest the band have ever written and you can truly feel how the themes of restlessness, confinedness and the wish to escape your own mental prison are carried across. Be it the choruses of the title track or the predominantly clean voiced songs like
Emphysema or
Athesie, where the vocals sound reminiscent of late 90ies and early 2000s Emo and you can always feel the melancholy with occasional moments of hopefulness piercing through.
Especially in the 9-minute-long album closer
Cotard this bittersweet vibe is audible. The song opens with a dissonant riff that immediately makes you think of
Protest the Hero’s
Bloodmeat, follows with a part of lush, twinkling math-rocky guitars and a chorus that will make fans of
Kezia jump out of joy. Finishing in wide open riffs and powerful vocals, which tell a story about catharsis and letting go, this song showcases the bands ability to compose epic tracks that are not only coherent but also emotionally engaging.
This album is a riff-monster par excellence while still delivering a lot of heartfelt moments and I can’t disagree more when they close the album with the words “Was bleibt ist nichts” – (translated : “What remains is nothing”) because this album will definitely leave an impression as the best album the band has ever written and as one of the best records released this year.
Recommended tracks :
Agnosie
Bezoar
Clotard
