Peek of an identity crisis - A review of Saltatio Mortis' Für immer frei

On its last few records, German medieval rock octet Saltatio Mortis has gradually shifted from its original style towards a more contemporary punk rock sound with lyrics dealing with societal, political and economical issues. This development has now reached a new peek on twelfth studio record Für immer frei.

Single ''Für immer jung'' sounds strikingly similar to hit single ''Tage wie diese'' by German punk rock veterans Die toten Hosen that managed to give their career a new push eight years ago. Fast-paced, joyful and almost naïve ''Neustart für den Sommer'' discusses the impacts of the ongoing pandemic by reminiscencing about past summers with concerts, festivals and parties. ''Mittelfinger Richtung Zukunft'' features nu metal elements with rap passages criticizing negative sensational news about corruption, hunger and war.

The main issue with such songs and their lyrics is that they don't offer escapism from a dreadful year but constantly bring back those negative memories. Everyone is tired hearing about terror attacks, presidential elections and the pandemic these days and nobody needs a medieval rock band to discuss those topics to death.

Sure, not all fourteen songs deal with contemporary issues but they are certainly the most outstanding tunes since the other tracks such as ''Bring mich zurück'' and ''Rose im Winter'' sound like faceless pop rock tunes dealing with conventional topics such as love stories.

The only remotely convincing tune on the record is medieval tune ''Factus de materia'' but even that one sounds like an alibi track hearkening back to the band's origins without reaching the quality of the band's early material. It's only in the context of this new album that the song stands out positively.

Please note that I'm certainly not against a band changing its style at all. Saltatio Mortis had some energetic songs with important messages on previous records but they had been intertwined with the band's charismatic medieval rock style. The music on Für immer frei sounds like exchangeable pop punk rock from the mid-nineties and the topics presented here have already been dealt with on numerous occasions by this band and other groups.

In the end, Saltatio Mortis' Für immer frei might appeal to young punk rock fans and teenagers interested in economical, political and societal issues which explains the record's commercial success. However, fans of old date will barely recognize the band that seems to be going through an identity crisis by trying to appeal to younger generations through lyrical messages alone. While some of the issues discussed by the band are certainly relevant and positions I can wholeheartedly agree on, the fact that the band attempts to curry favour with a younger generation by throwing its very own trademarks overboard is something I find quite frankly repulsive. Für immer frei is an album of an average quality from an objective point of view but coming from a charismatic band such as Saltatio Mortis, it is sincerely a huge disappointment. The band certainly needs to reestablish what it wants to stand for and take a step back to take two steps forward on its next studio album.

Final rating: 50%