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And now there is a new album from DIE STRAFE, I jumped in double triangles when I read that. For the first time, I now have something digital from STRAFE in the form of a CD; otherwise, my record shelf only offers vinyl from the trio from M'gladbach (the album is also available as a strictly limited white marbled LP including MP3 download code! That earns a bonus point!). But I must admit that "Krunk" did not captivate me from the very first second like the previous long players did.
There are some good songs on the new record, but back then, all 16 (!) songs from the two LPs "Strafe muss sein" and "Henry mit dem Spaten" were hits, classics, crowd-pleasers! To confirm this, I first pulled out the two old polyvinyl chloride records from my collection, placed them on the turntable, started them, and was immediately astonished in two ways.
First: The LPs "Strafe muss sein" and "Henry mit dem Spaten" are already a damn 20 years old!!! From 1995 and 1996, wow.... that hit me hard. 20 years! And "Jenny," the single, is also from 1998 (even though it says 1985 on the A-side of the single ;-) ) Amazing...
And second: The songs still blow me away today, even though I haven't listened to the records in many, many years.... Still, I can sing along with the songs (at least some)! I was right back in it, as if it were just yesterday when I bought the records.... (well, the day before yesterday ;-) )
Strangely, this is not the case with "Krunk." So I first checked the press info to see if anything had changed, and "shame on me," DIE STRAFE released their third album "Schwarz" in 2008, and I didn't notice... What kind of bad fan am I... Yes, DIE STRAFE punishes me for that!!!
In my search for why the new songs don't grab me as much as the old ones, I have gained some insights over time. I actually recognized the quality of the songs only after several listens to the 37-minute-long record. By now, I know that there are not just some good songs on it, but 15 damn great songs! Of course, not all songs are created in the dark punk rock style of the 90s records; DIE STRAFE has evolved. Sometimes more, sometimes less, and sometimes not at all in the 16 songs, and I had to accept that. There is only one song that I still can't quite get along with, or rather, it somehow falls out of the STRAFE form. I would have expected "Entschuldigen Sie" more from KASSIERERN. And what I also couldn't shake off is the feeling that in the song "Fensterband," the tempo of the drums in some sections doesn't match the basic tempo of the song. I noticed this in a second song as well, but I just can't find it again. After all, Torsten still doesn't play drums (as it says on every record). Instead, he, like Budde and Kai, now also plays bass, which wasn't the case on the old records. The instruments are always nicely swapped, and the three know what they are creating, and I am unworthy and expect DIE STRAFE for my "blasphemy."
Otherwise, the melodies are basically like before (where have those 20 years gone?) => dark, depressing, minimalist, sometimes slow, sometimes stormy. The same goes for the lyrics => cheerful, happy, life-loving lyrics have no place with STRAFE!
It took some time for me (except for the one mentioned exception) to recognize the quality of the total of 16 songs (it's a good ritual to always release 16 songs), but after all, 20 years have passed since "Strafen-Henry." A STRAFE tradition is also that the booklet (20 pages!) or the fold-out double record cover is simply kept in black/white or grayscale, but inside, there are not only the lyrics but also always creative color photos. Thumbs up! :-)
