Overwhelming diversity explored in a structured way - A review of Atrocity's Die gottlosen Jahre

Atrocity has always been a band that has changed its style so much that few people could keep track. The band started as grindcore pioneers Instigator, continued to play technical death metal, then offered industrial metal before evolving into gothic metal and even Neue Deutsche Todeskunst spheres. Die gottlosen Jahre, which translates to The Godless Years, is a much-needed release that helps fans to understand, revisit and explore the band's numerous soundscapes thanks to a detailed documentary, numerous music videos and several live clips.

The heartpiece of this release is the band's twenty-fifth anniversary concert at Wacken Open Air featuring twelve songs with a total running time of fifty-six minutes. Most songs from that show have been performed in chronological order varying from fast-paced death metal eruptions such as ''Fatal Step'' over more atmospheric oppressive industrial metal soundscapes as heard in ''Willenskraft'' to more melodic gothic metal sounds as witnessed in ''Die Todgeweihten''. The show ends with a series of eighties pop music covers featuring lead singer Alexander Krull's then-wife Liv Kristine. In addition to the diverse set list, the concert also relies on intense crowd participation towards the end and female dancers on stage. Despite offering so much to digest, the concert has excellent flow and evolves naturally thanks to a perfectly chosen set list order. The only minor thing to criticize is that the concert is very short in the context of a festival.

Anyone who would like to discover Atrocity's numerous soundscapes but doesn't know where to start or simply can't find the band's more obscure releases from the past should pick up this excellent release with an extensive documentary, numerous music videos and an excellent concert that offers many hours of entertainment. It's worth exploring different parts of this release on different occasions since it offers much replay value. The only downside is obviously that few fans will appreciate all of the band's experiments. It's also noteworthy that the live concert doesn't include any of the band's ethno rock experiments where Alexander Krull collaborated with his sister in the past. In the end, what we get here is a quirky package that requests an open-minded approach due to its at times overwhelming diversity.

Final rating: 75%