You can think what you want about solidarity. For example, how you define it in detail. Or who should (or should not) stick together for what reasons. Opinions differ on this, as everyone likely has their own view on the matter. I do too. My solidarity with others ends, for instance, when people start killing or hurting others. Or when someone tries to inflict ear shell cancer or other nasty diseases on me in a completely perverse way.
This is probably also the reason why the hardcore punks from Wolfsburg receive such a poor rating from me and don’t earn any “Hey, at least we live in the same city!” points. Even though the band is somewhat bearable live (though those experiences are from years ago, so they shouldn't necessarily be seen as a recommendation), the album offers hardly any noteworthy qualities.
“Quality” would be – just like the topic of “solidarity” mentioned above – a point of contention. There are bands that have terrible music quality because they lacked the means. Examples could be the band “The Buttocks” or “Die Toten Hosen” (the old tracks). What is the quality – measured by today’s standards – is indeed poor! But still, it’s damn enjoyable to listen to! Why? Because it still has its own charm, its own style, and thus its own lovable qualities. In contrast, there are bands that truly possess excellent music quality but still sound like someone is setting fire to a dog pile. Because they lack character, heart, and real energy in the lines.
Rotzflash meets none of these two criteria. They not only offer poor quality but also lack something like “charm” or character in their music.
Let’s start with the sound quality of the songs. Yes, let’s start with that… uh. Well, here the first problem might already be emerging. The sounds are somehow not noteworthy because they hardly stand out. After a few songs, one begins to suspect that the CD has a scratch, leading to the impression that the same song is playing over and over. Okay, that might be a bit exaggerated, but the songs have almost no recognizability. Be it the guitar, which sounds the same in almost every song, the bass, which is somehow nonexistent (because you can’t hear it!), or the drums, which are so damn quiet that you’re led to think the recordings were made with a child’s toy with an integrated drum machine. The vocals also somehow sound the same every time, so the album – although it’s relatively acceptable on the first or second listen – quickly loses its appeal and disappears into the eternal abyss of the local CD shelf. Forever!
The lyrics are an imposition. Irrelevant, boring, and certainly so clichéd at demonstrations that you’d want to tie the slogan-shouters to the tracks after tar and feathering them. Of course, it’s about beer, cops, “We-are-the-people” mentalities, the state, and of course Nazis. Not that I have anything against such songs – other bands implement these ideas damn well and intelligently – but with Rotzflash, it’s far less. While there may not be any lyrics found on the album, anyone who reads the other lyrics of the band (Google helps with that) gets a taste of what to expect from “Since 2003”.
Everything is just played through, sung through, and the record is done. Even the 4 bonus songs, which are presented as live recordings, do not save the album. It’s exactly the same, just in green. Therefore, it would also be a waste of life’s effort to delve into these four songs as well.
But where is my fairness? Well, I must admit that there are two songs that are actually worth listening to. With “Vergessene Jugend” or “Keine Chance”, there are still two representatives on the 15-track strong album that I can listen to (but only once… over a period of several months).
The “DIY” logo, which is advertised on the album cover, certainly makes things somewhat more attractive (after all, DIY is just a great thing), but unfortunately, it doesn’t make it any better in this case. There are more deserving representatives in the punk genre that one can endure.
One can only hope that the hardcore rockers from Wolfsburg will get their act together and manage to bring a revolution into their music next time. Otherwise, they will only appeal to the typical slogan punks who can shout nothing more than their own name and political beliefs. Because with “aspiration” or “intelligent music”, this unfortunately has nothing to do.
However, if someone is looking for an overpriced beer coaster, a junk gift for their little sister, or a reason to get fired by their boss, they can surely find it with this CD.
Sorry folks, but it really could be a bit more. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go beyond 2 out of 10 points.
