Bundesliga 2019/2020

 

1. Borussia Dortmund  79

2. Bayern Munchen  75

3. RB Leipzig  67

4. Bayer Leverkusen  63

5. TSG Hoffenheim  58

6. VfL Wolfsburg  55

7. Eintracht Frankfurt  53

8. Schalke 04  52

9. Werder Bremen  48

10. Borussia Monchengladbach 46

11. FC Koln   42

12. Hertha BSC Berlin  40

13. FSV Mainz 05  38

14. SC Freiburg  35

15. Union Berlin  33

16. Fortuna Dusseldorf  31

17. FC Augsburg  28

18. SC Paderborn  22

 

2. Bundesliga 2019/2020

 

1. VfB Stuttgart  68

2. Hamburger SV  63

3. Karslruher SC  62

4. VfL Bochum  58

5. Hannover 96  57

6. Dynamo Dresden  52

7. Greuther Furth  49

8. Holstein Kiel  45

9. 1. FC Nurnberg  44

10. 1. FC Heidenheim  41

11. SV Sandhausen  40

12. FC St. Pauli  40

13. VfL Osnabruck  38

14. DSC Arminia Bielefeld  35

15. Darmstadt 98  33

16. Wehen Wiesbaden  32

17. Jahn Regensburg  30

18. Erzgebirge Aue  24

 

3. Liga 2019/2020

 

1. Eintracht Braunschweig  78

2. KFC Uerdingen  72

3. FC Ingolstadt  67

4. Hansa Rostock  65

5. 1. FC Kaiserslautern  63

6. Chemnitzer FC  58

7. TSV 1860 Munchen  57

8. Hallescher FC  55

9. 1. FC Magdeburg  53

10. SpVgg Unterhaching  50

11. Preussen Munster  48

12. FC Bayern Munchen II  46

13.  Waldhof Mannheim  44

14. SV Meppen  41

15. Carl Zeiss Jena  40

16. Sonnenhof Grossaspach 38

17. FSV Zwickau  37

18. Wurzburger Kickers  35

19. Viktoria Koln  32

20. MSV Duisburg  28

After a decade of silence, New Wave of British Heavy Metal legend Cloven Hoof has come back in strength with the beginning of the new millennium and the quintet's seventh studio record Who Mourns for the Morning Star? underlines the group's qualities on a high level.

The band plays with rejuvenated energy and especially the mid- to fast-paced riffs are truly vivid while the numerous melodic guitar solos are executed with passion and care. The thunderous rhythm section is also above average and especially the drum play is quite creative at times. The vocals find the right balance between energy and melody and perform convincingly in higher and lower registers. New singer George Call seems to have great chemistry with the rest of the band and he even brought his bandmate Danny White from Aska who has become the new drummer. 

Among the highlights, one needs to cite the powerful opener ''Star Rider'' that doesn't take any prisoners and convinces aggressiveness, precision and speed that most younger heavy metal revival bands can't compete with. Another outstanding song is certainly ''Go Tell the Spartans'' that might be the record's most creative and diversified song with numerous dynamic changes of pace where the vibrant bass guitar and clever drum play convince particularly well. Album closer ''Bannockburn'' is at times atmopsheric, epic and melodic but doesn't forget to intensify the performances and quicken up the pace at the right moments.

In the end, Cloven Hoof's Who Mourns for the Morning Star? certainly doesn't reinvent traditional heavy metal but is performed with so much accuracy, grit and playfulness that it can be considered a genre highlight. Heavy metal fans should certainly rather check out this legend that has aged very well instead of the numerous exchangeable heavy metal revival bands. Especially the beginning and end of the record are very convincing and show that the legend is still alive and kicking.

Final rating: 82%

Nine and a half years after previous studio record Liebe ist fur alle da, German industrial metal sextet Rammstein is back with an untitled new record that surprises with a very simplistic cover artwork that shows that the song material is more important than fancy aesthetics and that the band is ready to ignite a firework of creativity, energy and melody. The record had been introduced long before its release with first single and opener ''Deutschland'' dealing with the complicated love and hate relationship most Germans have towards their own country which came along with a epic nine-minute long music video portraying pivotal moments in the country's history. That song was followed by another single called ''Radio'' dealing with censorship in the former German Democratic Republic that was promoted with an experimental black-and-white music video. When the entire record saw the light of day about a week ago, it sold an incredible two hundred sixty thousand copies in Germany alone, making it the best-performing album in the first week from a band in the twenty-first century. Needless to say that the album topped the German album charts and all eleven tracks entered the top fifty of the singles charts as well. A third official single with another ambitious music video for ''Auslander'' is going to be released today. According to lead guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe, at least two more music videos for two more tracks have already been shot.

What ultimately matters though is the question whether this record was worth waiting for and if it can be seen as the band's career highlight to date. I would answer the first part very positively but the second part negatively. This new record offers everything fans have been craving for and a few new experiments but it doesn't include as many hits as industrial metal milestone Mutter, the diversified Reise, Reise and the at times quite provocative immediate predecessor Liebe ist fur alle da.

Let's discuss the overall sound first. The production is crisp and energetic. The keyboards are more domineering than ever before which makes this record the band's most melodic one to date. Several tracks in the second half of the album are unusually quiet and smooth. The band however also includes some stomping industrial metal tunes with mechanic drums, tight riffs and expressive lead vocals that are still filled with pitch black sarcasm and theatrical exaggeration.

The record's first half might actually be the strongest of any Rammstein album. The opening ''Deutschland'' is atmospheric, catchy, cinematic, danceable, epic, haunting, melodic, profound, sinister and thunderous all at once and brings the essence of the unique band sound to the point. Needless to say that the thought-provoking lyrics are among the best the band has ever written. If I had to choose one single song to introduce someone to the band, this would definitely be my first choice.

Things continue on a stunning high note with ''Radio'' that has a larger-than-life chorus you won't ever get out of your mind once you have heard it for the very first time. The simplistically reduced but highly efficient electronic elements remind of pioneer bands like Kraftwerk while the heavy guitar riffs honour veterans like Ministry. The balance between melodic elements and heavy soundscapes has never sounded so perfectly balanced. This is a track for gentlemen to bang their heads to and for their ladies to dance to.

The dramatic ''Zeig dich'' surprises with sacral choirs, gloomy keyboard sounds and energetic vocals. Even though the band has already written a song dealing with the dark sides of the Catholic Church in form of the overlooked ''Hallelujah'', this track here is much more atmospheric, epic and intense and among my favourite tunes on the new album.

''Auslander'' has some lyrical similarities to ''Pussy'' but while the latter portrays a dumb German sex tourist who can't get laid in his home country, this track portrays a more cultivated traveler who collects sexual encounters with female foreigners like trophies. The track has an upbeat and danceable electronic vibe but the vivid chorus is heavy enough to convince and entertaining enough when Till Lindemann flirts in Spanish, Russian, Italian, French and English.

The record's most experimental tune comes in form of ''Puppe'' that tells the sad tale of a child who watches its older sister who works as a prostitute getting murdered. The track lures you in with soft melodies and appropriate childish lyrics until the track explodes with frantic anger in form of hysterical vocals, brutal riffs and thunderous rhythm section. This outburst is so hauntingly efficient because the track's overture is so innocent. Rammstein turns a fake beautiful world into a shocking nightmare by leaving a lasting impression and offering some food for thought.

Despite an incredible start, Rammstein loses steam throughout its second half. The first real disappointment comes around with the stereotypical ''Sex'' that offers exchangeable musicianship and superficial lyrics. ''Diamant'' is a sleep-inducing ballad that is best described as a filler. Instrumentally unspectacular album closer ''Hallomann'' feels unfinished as it tells the story of a man who convinces a young girl to go to the beach with him but never reveals what happens to the antagonist and protagonist.

The record's second half isn't utterly bad as it features a few solid tunes with the emotional power ballad ''Was ich liebe'' and the longing ''Weit weg'' with its extraordinary otherworldly keyboard sounds but it just can't compete with the flawless first four tunes and the strong sixth track. What starts as Rammstein's strongest record ever ends with one of the band's most uninspired finishes.

In the end, the quality of the outstanding songs is so remarkably excellent that any fan should still purchase this overall very good comeback album. Rammstein should have released this album earlier without a doubt but it's great to have Germany's most important band of the past two and a half decades back. The new live shows look promising and focus heavily on the new material which means that you should try to attend a concert if you can. Let's hope the band sticks around and that the next album won't take another nine and a half years. There are rumours that the band recorded more than eleven songs and one might get some new material sooner than anticipated like it was half a decade ago when the dynamic Reise, Reise was quickly followed by the more introspective Rosenrot. As for now, give this album a few spins and let the creative twists on the band's unique trademark sounds grow upon you. 

Final rating: 85% 

Irrlichter is the seventh studio album of poetic depressive gothic metal band Ewigheim and follows the style of the smooth predecessor Schlaflieder. Just like all Ewigeim records, the album mainly deals with topics regarding death. The music focuses on soothing clean vocals, equally domineering melancholic guitar and piano sounds and slow and stoic rhythms.

Especially the first half is rather calm, introspective and slow. Opening piano ballad ''Und es wird Licht'' is one of the slowest lullabies the band has ever written but oozes with atmosphere that lures into a peaceful mood while the menacing guitar undertones evoke that the incoming lyrical salvation is a poisoned chalice. Even by Ewigheim's smooth standards, this is one of the band's slowest tracks ever and underlines that the band focuses much more on atmosphere than musicianship. ''Alles wird gut'' introduces stoic drum patterns and domineering bass guitar sounds to the smooth vocals and piano sounds while the lyrics that portray a narrator who seems to help a plagued soul who can't fall asleep by bringing that poor character eternal sleep.

The band slightly quickens up the pace in the second half. The melancholic ''Spinnenkind'' haunts with desperate melodic low vocals accompanied by a steady rhythm section and a combination of melodic mid-paced guitar and piano sounds. Quasi-title song ''Irrlicht'' is a track that could come from a record by Anathema, Katatonia and Paradise Lost about a decade and a half ago and contrasts calm piano passages and smooth vocals with mid-paced gothic metal outbursts and more passionate vocal lines.

In the end, Ewigheim's Irrlichter should appeal to those who like particularly smooth, slow and poetic gothic metal and are willing to embrace the music's atmosphere and read the lyrics while enjoying this sinister yet beautiful output. This record might be the hardest to digest in Ewigheim's career up to this point but patience gets rewarded as the album progressively opens up. It's best enjoyed with a glass of wine on a dark night to unfold its bleak vibes.

Final rating: 78%

Ambitious Italian trio Fleshgod Apocalypse combines technical death metal with vivid rhythm changes, complicated guitar riffs and aggressive vocals with classical music in form of professional opera singers, vibrant string sections and domineering piano melodies. The band's fifth studio record certainly needs some time to open up because many songs include too many ideas performed at high speed to digest them at first contact. However, once one gets used to this ferocious clash of genres, the song material certainly grows on the listener.

The most outstanding song is however the record's calmest and smoothest track in form of ''The Day We'll Be Gone'' with melancholic piano leads, cinematic orchestral sounds, smooth drums and percussive elements, elegant female lead vocals and atmospheric growls that make for a wonderful gothic song that would do the soundtrack to any dark fairytale justice.

An honourable mention goes out to the wonderful cover of Rammstein's epic ''Reise, Reise'' that can be found on the limited edition which also includes one more bonus track, a BluRay featuring an entire concert in the band's hometown that covers its greatest classics and a cool patch. The Rammstein cover makes the melancholic original song even greater with enhanced orchestral arrangements and choirs while the raw lead vocals and vivid drum passages create an intriguing contrast.

In the end, Fleshgod Apocalypse's Veleno combines technical death metal with classical music in an ambitious, balanced and challenging way that needs some time to open up. Especially the calmer tracks manage to stand out and convince emotionally and intellectually. If the band enhanced its calmer soundscapes on future releases, it might even appeal to a wider audience and broaden its own horizons.

Final rating: 75%