www.clubhaven.net
Rasc, Gun and Krischan are back and they have just upped the ante to every
single EBM / Electro act on the planet. With their 2004 release “The
Truth is Fanatic” still getting rave reviews and serious dance floor
attention the trio unleash the most solid and addictive CD I have heard
since their last LP. These guys are not playing around and they are single
handedly reaching for that top electro spot – in my eyes they are
there now. Are they better than VNV? YES! Are they better than Apoptygma
Berzerk? OH Hell YES!! A23?? Definitely!! They have dramatically improved
their musical style and sound with this album, each song has incredible
power and energy from start to finish, their lyrics are smart – some
say too smart and Rasc delivers them with an unprecedented prowess that
sucks you in and allows you to relate to every track in one way or another.
It’s empowering, inspirational and thought provoking all at once.
This is the evolution I have been desperately searching for in the EBM/Electro
scene. This is the sonic humanity we all need to wrap ourselves in. Pounding
beats, seductive and often playful guitars, synth lines like you have never
heard and those vocals, my god! I can’t help gushing over Rotersand.
Each track holds something for me and it will for you. I can personally attach
myself to this entire CD and walk away feeling stronger, and you will too.
As I love this entire CD here are a few of my favorite tracks… “Dare
To Live”, “The Last Ship PT1 & 2” are fantastic, “Almost
Wasted” is an anthem to all of us with regrets we wish we could change
and got one last chance to do so, “Storm” is a awesome soundscape
that could easily fit into any lush Sci-fi movie and move any dance floor full
of clubbers, “By The Waters” is a haunting and beautiful ballad
that morphs into a addictive dance floor hit, “Would You Buy This” is
playful electro track with trip-hop overtones and a certain Kraftwerk-esq appeal
to it and finally “Exterminate Annihilate Destroy” is a hard industrial
/electro, boot stomping powerhouse hit that is currently topping all European
music charts. Know this - Rotersand truly is a band to be reckoned with – so
go buy all their CD’s…NOW!!
http://www.clubhaven.net
last.fm
...this album is AWESOME!!! I think I found everything I was looking for with
this album. I already liked "truth is fanatic" and the "merging
oceans" ep but this is even better! What a listen! First, it's diverse,
not every songs sounds the same here. There's harmonic futurepop (?) songs
as well as stomping club tracks for the dancefloor. Second, the vocals and
lyrics are top notch! Third, I really think the key of this cd for some songs
is the songwriting, too. It's really good. The album starts off with a rather
minimal 1 minute intro, then the bass (yay!) of "dare to live" sets
in and meets symphonic soundscapes, very nice! "The last ship pt1" is
a kinda technoid dancefloor track, "almost wasted" slows down the
speed a bit, I like the background noises in this track, it's almost "idmish" -
ok ok, not really - but I'd say this song has a very enjoyable experimental
touch.
The cd goes on with Storm and this track is the killer! Holy shit! Listen to
it!!! Actually I wonder why this song works, it's not much more than a beat
and almost an instrumental (just a voice saying storm sometimes) but this is
one hell of a track! Very nice how it drifts into ambientish atmospheric sounds
in the middle of it for about a minute before it breaks out again and erupts
like a volcano! WHAT A TRACK!! Next one is "by the waters", a softer
ballad, and "the last ship pt 2" gives us some breath to recover
before the next storm will hit us - "exterminate annihilate destroy"!
Oh my...another killer track!! It has a bit a military feel to it and a massive
beat, I can totally imagine myself freaking out to this song on the dancefloor,
huh. Next track is "undone", another good one. "Would you buy
this?" is the only song on the cd I don't like that much, it's weird and
rather annyoing. "Alive" is kinda rocky with it's guitars, loud and
powerful. Then the album finishes with another 2 ballads, "all in all" has
a nice piano and the ending track "angels falling down" isn't really
the end because when the cd is done, you just play the whole album all over
again! Haha! :D
I've been reading quite a lot of negative comments about this album, people
saying Rotersand is just a hype band and will disappear from the scene soon
and stuff. Oh well...whatever! This cd is great and you should not miss it!
So, "would I buy this?" Huh, I think you already know my answer!
;)
www.last.fm
sickamongthepure
rotersand follows their debut, truth is fanatic, with welcome to goodbye, another
powerful production! in the introductory one-minute title track, “welcome
to goodbye,” symphonic waves drift into harmonious vocals, reminding
me of a beatles’ ballad in some ways. it belies the energy that ensues
in the album. as evident in “dare to live,” the symphonic waves
and deep droning continue until the electronic sounds build into explosive
rhythms. “the last ship pt.1” achieves high marks for dance-floor
appeal, in my opinion, with its energetic movements. in “almost wasted,” the
tempo slows considerably, and the lyrics expound upon darker themes, of “all
my time — almost wasted.” an interesting reverb quality and frenetic
electro-rock sequence erupts three-quarters into the song then ebbs away
abruptly into the sounds of a film projector reeling off. i love the hard
thumping in “storm.” definitely an electronic storm, full of
fast percussive thunder and lightning. “by the waters” carries
the undercurrents of classic rock whorled together with the synths of futurepop.
with somber flair, “the last ship pt.2” embarks on a political
trip, quietly, evocatively pleading for the powers to “send the last
ship home; send the faithful home.” “exterminate annihilate destroy” is
the first single release from welcome to goodbye with good reason: gripping,
harsh electro dance rhythms and volatile chorus. it conjures nostalgia for
early kmfdm. but in “undone,” rotersand switches from the nihilistic
violent beats to the melodic ebm/synthpop. it compares nicely with the mood-driven
sensibilities of seabound, wolfsheim and de/vision, and i’ll definitely
request it at the clubs. “would you buy this?” delivers a litany
of odd questions amidst tripping power-hop (as likely term as any to describe
the experimental beat). in “alive,” you’ll experience the
edge again with energy-riveting mixture of power noise and ebm. then rotersand
slips in another ballad with “all in all,” at first heavy in
classical piano and echoic vocals. i like the song once the darkwave sequences
elevate the tempo. closing welcome to goodbye, “angels falling” is
nearly “sotto voca,” and i believe the range of vocal ability
is stretched a bit too far to be as effective as it could’ve been.
rotersand shows such amazing talent and versatility in their music, avoiding
the pitfalls of burrowing into a standard ebm niche and standing out as unique.
no doubts the band has achieved a solid reputation with only two albums, and
will gain a higher hailing and recognition in the genre quickly. by teri a.
jacobs
www.sickamongthepure.com
Nachdem sich Rotersand mit ihrem Debütalbum „Truth
Is Fanatic“ in derartig beeindruckender Weise
aus dem Stand einen der besseren Plätze in der
nationalen Electro-Liga gesichtert haben, war eigentlich
klar, dass da noch einiges großes nachkommen
wird. Diese Vorahnung ist nun in „Welcome To
Goodbye“ aufgegangen, mit dem das Trio aus dem
Ruhrpott seine eingeschlagene Linie weiter ausbaut
und die perfekte Verschmelzung von Popsong und Technogebretter
zelebriert, die Futurepop immer sein wollte. Wenn sich
in dem das Album betitelnden Opener die dumpfe, dunkle
Basslinie das erste mal ihren Weg durch die dramatisch
stehenden Streicher bahnt und der Song beginnt, ist
das bereits für einen Gänsehautmoment gut,
und es wird nicht das letzte mal bleiben, dass man
sich beim Hören von „Welcome To Goodbye“ an
die Zeit erinnert wird, in der Acts wie Juno Reactor
oder Underworld noch echte Innovatoren waren. Wo diese
sich nur noch selbst kopieren, gelingt es Rotersand
jedoch scheinbar spielend, deren alten Ansatz der Symbiose
von Song und Track zu neuem Leben zu erwecken und in
die Gegenwart zu transportieren. Harte, adrenalinschwangere
Beats aus der Großraumtanzhalle, pulsierende,
sägende und gesichtslose Sounds treffen auf warme,
atmosphärische Zwischenspiele, Akustikgitarre
und die um einiges gereifte Stimme von Rasc, die dem
ganzen die Seele einhaucht. Das ganze erstrahlt in
einer Produktion, die man nur erbarmungslos nennen
kann – so fett klingen sonst nur Alben, bei denen
fehlende musikalische Substanz vertuscht werden soll.
Zum Vergleich mit „dubnobasswithmyheadman“ fehlt
ihnen zwar leider noch ein „Dirty Epic“,
ansonsten kann man aber festhalten, dass wer zu einem
solchen Album fähig ist, zu etwas sehr großem
vorherbestimmt sein muss.
Pee Wee Vignold
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