Oomph! - Wahrheit oder Pflicht (2004)

German industrial rock trio Oomph! has always been credited as Neue Deutsche Harte pioneers but could never come close to the success of other genre bands like Rammstein or Megaherz in its early career. This changed overnight with the release of the band's eighth studio record Wahrheit oder Pflicht, a reference to the Truth or Dare verbal party game.

The record's lead single ''Augen auf!'', a reference to a game of hide-and-seek, hit the German charts and achieved gold certification. Oomph! was suddenly present on numerous television shows, on the radio and in countless newspapers and magazines. The main difference between Oomph! and other bands of the German gothic scene that unexpectedly rose to stardom is that the trio from Wolfsburg always remained close to its fan base, continued to play the same festivals it had already played before and never became pretentious about its unexpected success. This helped the band keeping momentum with upcoming records GlaubeLiebeTod two years later and Monster four years later and even winnig the Bundesvision Song Contest with the song ''Traumst du?'' featuring Die Happy's singer Marta Jandova. More recently, the band's thirteenth studio record Ritual unexpectedly conquered the German Album Charts this year without much promotion which underlines the band's longevity and its fans' loyalty.

Reducing Wahrheit oder Pflicht to its hit single wouldn't do the record justice however. While it's not the band's most consistent effort, it contains a few hidden pearls and obvious hits. The energetic ''Dein Feuer'' is a vibrant yet atmospheric industrial rock tune that works splendidly at parties and concerts. The more complex, dystopian and haunting ''Sex hat keine Macht'' came a long with a fascinating music video in which the three band members portray priests practising a challenging exorcism. ''Brennende Liebe'' is a heartfelt gothic rock ballad with additional vocals by Austrian darkwave duo L'Âme Immortelle that managed to achieve brief commercial success thanks to this collaboration and the release of three singles supporting the band's release Gezeiten back then.

Oomph!'s Wahrheit oder Pflicht is the most successful record of one of the most important Neue Deutsche Harte bands. It helped the charismatic trio from Wolfsburg push its career to the next level. The album made numerous teenagers discover the gothic scene. Despite its huge success, the band always remained faithful to its roots and continues to release high-quality records until this day. The album has stood the test of time and Oomph! continues to play this type of music without repeating itself which is quite an accomplishment in itself.