Review Summary: The 90’s slump finally catches up to one of Germany’s leading thrash bands, sending them right to the grave.
It’s the mid-90’s and while the underground metal scene flourishes with more extreme and experimental scenes, thrash metal is pretty much dead as a doornail. The changing musical climate didn’t favored them even in Germany and the big bands there had to adapt for survival. Kreator started to infuse their music with industrial and gothic influences resulting in their most debated and controversial albums to date. Destruction went the groove metal way and failed spectacularly and Sodom simplified their music into a less complex, rougher-edged crossover nature with also middling results.
From the three alternatives Holy Moses choose the third path and even that didn’t paid off well. First and foremost the band went through significant line-up changes after Reborn Dogs. Sabina Classen left the band, and went to form Temple of the Absurd. Without her Holy Moses quickly dissolved but two years later Andy Classen decided to give it another shot. He recruited drummer Sven Hervig and Dan Lilker from Nuclear Assault while he took over the vocal duties with the guitars. The trio recorded and released “No Matter What’s the Cause” under the Holy Moses name, but it’s only accomplishment was to become the band’s gravestone till the early millennium.
Switching from traditional thrash to crossover seems like an ideal musical change given the often displayed punkish nature in the band’s earlier albums and Lilker’s presence can carry a major help in that transition. However the execution itself is almost a complete failure. Most the songs are usually between the 1-3 minute length and carry a strong influence of hardcore and death metal/grindcore. It’s fast, it sounds heavy and pissed off but nearly all of them lack character, catchiness, or any real impact thus reducing the listener’s interest very fast. Andy’s guitar tone may sound strong, and his partners can play the hell out of their instruments, but when you are face with one-sided musical monotony it doesn’t matter much. The vocals were always a major part in Holy Moses’s music, here they just as subpar and forgettable as the musical core. The only tracks that are somewhat worth remembering are “Hate is Just a 4 Letter Word” and “Bomber”. And that’s especially ironic considering they are covers not original material.
“No Matter What’s the Cause” is easily the band’s worst album to this date (hell I’m wondering if it even qualifies as a Holy Moses record), and it’s not only unworthy early curtain close for the Aachen thrashers, but also a sad, sour note of a time when many bands had changed or abandoned their original identity for failed experimentation or appealing to other crowds. If you enjoy these sideways from the 90’s, good for you, but I’m glad I’m living in a time when the members of the Teutonic scene can honestly make the music they are good at.
