So, so, a new Volxsturm album. The release of 'Lichter meiner Stadt' was already five years ago, so it was about time for a new album. And after 20 years of band history, there is a very special release: an album with a DVD and a hardcover booklet.
Booklet
The booklet is a 63-page hardcover book filled with a plethora of photos in chronological order, a short band biography, the lyrics of the album, brief explanations of the two music videos, and a few words about the interactive comic adaptation (here, the five characters are introduced, and their descriptions also appear in the film as a kind of profile). What I particularly like are the various reports from friends and acquaintances, each describing how they "discovered" the band or got to know them. In the end, each band member also gets to speak for themselves.
The CD is tucked into the first page, and the DVD is in the last. The whole thing is stored in a slipcase. So all in all, it’s a pretty stylish item that you’d love to pick up and flip through more often.
DVD
With the interactive comic film "Ways of Destiny," Volxsturm is releasing a gimmick that hasn’t been seen before. There are five characters that correspond to the five band members or at least are supposed to be similar. The story is told from the perspective of one character, with the viewer allowed to choose which one it will be at the beginning. In the game itself, there are points where you have to make decisions between one or two options, which then change the course of the game more or less, in the sense of "Do I smash the zombie's skull with a club or do I rather run away?" Well, it always ends in a fight with some fascists until a strange figure appears...
"From Idea to Action" is a 26-minute short film in which the band members, among other things, tell a friend at a pub table how the recordings for the new album are going; there are also scenes from the studio, so it’s a kind of making-of. After that, there are the two music videos for 'Für immer und die Ewigkeit' and 'Ich hab die Straße geseh'n' (the synchronization is not quite right here).
Following that, "The New One" Marcus (a colleague of Tost, who also plays in the hardcore band “Ground Zero”) is "introduced" in an 8-minute video; by the way, Jonnie Rook plays in the background, and a band sticker can also be seen in the making-of video.
As an additional bonus, there’s a dictionary by Hinkel "Hinkel Deutsch/Deutsch Hinkel" and three recipes under the title "Robert Deluxe."
CD
With the album, the listener gets to hear 12 tracks of well-produced, melodic punk rock, characterized by short ska sequences in some songs. The record is entirely in the classic Volxsturm style.
The intro, featuring accordion, strings, and brass, is accompanied by seagulls and the sound of the sea, immediately showing where the five from Schwerin come from. The intro leads directly into the first track 'Ich hab die Straße geseh'n', which should be familiar to those in the know, as it was first released in 2009 on the split with Harrington Saints from the USA. 'Für immer und die Ewigkeit' is also known from the split with Harrington Saints, with the difference that back then the title was released under the name 'Forever & for Eternity' and the chorus was in English. With 'Een Boot', there’s a story about the tragic event when a boat fails to reach its harbor, and the family stands at the quay mourning their loss. 'Schiss vor Punk' is becoming my favorite track on the record after several listens: fast, catchy, with a critical text that takes aim at the 'fashion punk.' Finally, with 'Kein Wort', there’s a cherry on top: a cover of Dritte Wahl that is introduced with a very cool short ska intro. Volxsturm also brings in trumpets and a Hammond organ as additional instruments. These can also be heard in "Szenetotentanz" and 'Carpe Diem'.
Recommended tracks: 'Wie ich bin' and 'Schiss vor Punk'
The whole thing is also available as a vinyl version, limited to 1,000 copies. Additionally, there’s a gimmick of a card quartet in four different color variations and a fold-out cover, in which the game is briefly explained in comic form.
