Des Winters finsterer Gesell

First, a bit of history - I had heard an earlier album (49 Jahre) about a decade ago and remember loving what from memory sounded like a ridiculously threatrical German puppet show. Remembering this, I bought Des Winters finsterer Gesell on a whim and tossed it aside after finding it, quite frankly, awful. So, a second chance it is in the hope that I can find something worthwhile in a band I found promising so long ago.

The singing is at the front of the mix and comprises of a male singer who most of the time sounds like a constipated lunatic, exaggerating every word like it's his last. The other half is a female operatic soprano who is slightly more tolerable, but has nowhere near the skills required of an opera singer. She adds some balance to the duo, but unfortunately is used as a back-up for the male vocals rather than being allowed to sing lines on her own, which she does only intermittently. Being entirely in German, it's possible I could get into it if I could understand a word. But the vocals are so central and the pair never shut up so my dislike of them really ruin any enjoyment I get from the music itself.

And it's the music which is by far the best part. Violins, piano, cello and accordion are in centre-stage most of the time, with the more dramatic moments backed up by the simple guitar chords and bass lines. The songwriting proceeds as if a story (or perhaps a stage play) is being told - a movement is introduced by a suspenseful melodic line, a few variations, then a coda to resolve it. This is something few metal bands can master yet it is barely metal, which is fine by me because the gentle parts stand out as the best moments.

Unfortunately, when someone plays a nice melody, again the constipated vocals come in and completely ruin it. I cannot understand this choice - if the band decided the male must sing, can't he change his mode? Can he not do gentle? The clash of scenery here is nauseating. Even if the male is designated 'tough guy' and the female the slyph, use the god-damn female more!

Being such a vocal-centric release, I could not give this more than a 50%. Which is disappointing, because it would only take a more judicious use of the talents on hand to release the band's potential.