A passion project in their very own style - A review of Eisbrecher's Schicksalsmelodien

German Neue Deutsche Härte flagship Eisbrecher has been working on two albums during the ongoing pandemic. A record with new original material will be released in spring 2021 while the record Schicksalsmelodien offered in autumn 2020 includes fourteen cover songs and an instrumental tune with a total running time of about fifty-four minutes. Some of these songs had been released on limited edition of previous singles or as stand-alone download tunes but the band decided to record a few new cover songs as well and created a quite diversified package that entertains from start to finish.

The record includes more recent material such as a martial interpretation of Powerwolf's tongue-in-cheek anthem ''Stossgebet'' but also classics from the eighties like the danceable but heavy reinterpretation of minimalistic Neue Deutsche Welle tune ''Anna Lassmichrein Lassmichraus''. The band also covered one song with entirely English lyrics in form of Warlock's heavy metal anthem ''All We Are'' that blends in nicely with the other tracks even though it's very unusual for Eisbrecher to perform in any other language than German.

It's really a matter of taste whether you prefer the cover songs or the original versions. In my case, the cover versions work well in a few cases. The cold version of Die Ärzte's sadomasochistic anthem ''Bitte bitte'' has a certain appeal for sure and the dynamic yet melodic version of Rheingold's Neue Deutsche Welle hit ''Das steht ihr gut'' is catchy and timeless. On the other side, the cover version of Die toten Hosen's overlooked punk rock anthem ''Disco in Moskau'' sounds somewhat bland and is lacking punch while the attempt to cover Falco's unique ''Out of the Dark'' is something many artists have already tried but failed at because the charismatic and innovative style of the legendary Austrian rapper simply can't be equaled but at least Eisbrecher's version is much better than the dreadful and laughable cover of the same song by genre colleagues Leichenwetter.

What really stands out however is that Eisbrecher has managed to make all fourteen cover songs sound like their own. The band's atmospheric, danceable and powerful industrial rock based upon expressive vocals, cold keyboard patterns and precise guitar play always shines through. While many bands fail to record memorable cover records, Eisbrecher has managed to pull it off without changing its charismatic style by one iota. This is why Eisbrecher fans of old date are certainly going to appreciate the quintet's new release that might not reach the quality of its very own material but is certainly more than just a filler release but rather a personal passion project. In the end, Eisbrecher's Schicksalmelodien is warmly recommended to fans of industrial rock and Neue Deutsche Härte around the world.

Final rating: 75%