And the years go by…
No, this will not be a review of Die Toten Hosen but rather of the second album by TBC from Austria. In 2010, the band released their debut album, which I also reviewed for ramtatta.de (http://www.ramtatta.de/reviews,id-899,go-tbc+_+28+days.html). Now, in 2012, the second album is hitting the market. Again through the label STF-Records, and once more I have the honor of reviewing the CD.
In the last two years, the band has thought about their music, and thus “The Rise” comes across as significantly more mature than “28 Days”.
The songs generally lean more towards Symphonic Gothic(-Metal) but still have considerable ’80s metal influences.
The first mark is set by the song “Gnade”, sung in German, where the opening lines provide a critical assessment of today’s society and its consumerism. After that, however, the lyrics take a 180-degree turn into a typical, almost kitschy Gothic text. It’s a shame, really. This text strongly highlights that many Gothic lyrics are kitschy and naive; just because the lyrics are in English, this is often overlooked.
Well, Gothic in all its facets is as thematically and textually entrenched as many other subcultural genres.
The music of TBC tries to bring power into the songs with hard riffs. While this is somewhat successful, it quickly becomes tiring as the same riffs are often repeated. It doesn’t help that the keyboard tries to add a bit of pep to the songs. It sounds heavily like ’80s kitsch metal and is likely to appeal only to the most pain-tolerant listeners.
Only the vocals of Natascha can convince. The lady was already able to make an impact on “28 Days” and does so on this album as well. Her trained singing voice is the best part of the entire album.
For fans of Gothic metal, TBC might be worth a listen; others should steer clear.
