Review Summary: When the icebreaker captain fails to notice the oncoming iceberg, the results are not pretty.
When the gas tank starts to run empty one usually attempts to find the nearest gas station to avoid sputtering to a halt in the middle of the road-unless you’re driving a hybrid and believe those commercials of individuals who haven’t filled up in a month. Unfortunately Eisbrecher seems to have fallen into the latter category, believing full well that their proverbial car needed no filling. The result from this assumption is the very problem just barely noticed in Sünde, that of creative exhaustion. Songs on Eiszeit seem half-hearted and forced, lacking the essence which made Antikörper and Sünde so great. The aggression built up over two releases has given way to a lax collection of tracks lacking focus and the catchiness needed for repeated listens. Unfortunately for Eisbrecher the limits of following the NDH formula to a tee seem to have finally caught up with them.
Album openers usually have been Eisbrecher’s strong suit, and for Eiszeit this assumption was no exception. It might have been excessive wanting lots from Böse Mädchen, but one cannot get out of feeling cheated slightly, as the track leaves something to be desired. The main change is the lack of aggression, something Wesselsky had a knack for infusing tracks with. His rasping growl has been replaced with a vocal style more reminiscent of Lidemann from Rosenrot era Rammstein. While not terrible, it lacks the oomph required to truly bring one into the music and get one moving. The simple guitar riffs do not add well on top of Wesselsky’s performance as the synth ends up taking a backseat to both guitars and vocals. Where originally one would have been banging one’s head, one now is left scratching it wondering what the hell happened since Sünde. Eiszeit does not improve upon the picture, maintaining the same style as Böse Mädchen, but running further down into the realm of boredom. There is no glue in Eiszeit, nothing that sticks in the mind. The chorus is forgettable as once again Wesselsky’s vocals languish over top of basic guitars and quiet synth lines. An outro which could have potentially saved the song is just as easily forgotten as one realizes one has to listen to the rest of the song to get back to it.
What saves Eiszeit from truly collapsing into an album worthy of the trash bin and keeping it above the average rating are a few songs showing when focused Eisbrecher have not forgotten how to craft excellent NDH. Die Engel is probably one of the best tracks on Eiszeit, focusing more on synth than guitars, but unlike earlier examples featuring a chorus that-surprise, surprise-sticks in one’s mind. Further enhancing the image is the return of Wesselsky’s seemingly forgotten rasping barks, providing the spark needed to invite that repeat listen. Album closer der Hauch des Lebens feels just like a breath of life, really making one question what the hell happened during the preceding three quarters of the album. The distorted guitars run rampant around Wesselsky’s barking as the quieter keyboards help tie loose ends together, while the bombastic chorus and intermediate break generate enough noise and catchy lines to get that finger itching over the playback button. Even Supermodel helps inject some semblance of life into Eiszeit as the short playtime and catchiness lend their strength, even if the aggression does not quite break out into the open.
It seems with Eiszeit that Eisbrecher have hit that point in the road where they finally realize the hybrid is not that great on gas mileage as they first thought. Featuring a large collection of subpar songs interlaced with a handful of well-done tracks reminiscing to the past days of Antikörper and Sünde, Eiszeit brings as much disbelief down upon its head as happiness over the few gems. Whether due to running out of complete ideas or just not taking a long enough break between albums, Eisbrecher nevertheless stand at a crossroads in their music career. Tracks such as die Engel and der Hauch des Lebens show they still know how to craft excellent songs, but others like Eiszeit and Amok indicate a complete breakdown in their writing strategy. Something new is needed to return Eisbrecher to the heights they have previously attained, something different is required to correct a now very noticeable issue. Whether this problem can be solved by breaking from their formula, taking more time off, or something else entirely, the next album will ultimately define how well Eisbrecher can continue to fare in the realm of NDH.
Recommended Tracks:
Die Engel
Der Hauch des Lebens
Supermodel
