Die Krupps ~ III: Odyssey Of The Mind (album review) ... Music for your mind, body & soul!

Style: electronica, industrial, body rock
Label: Cleopatra
Year: 1995
Home: Germany
 
Members: Jurgen Engler ~ vocals/guitar/keyboards/percussion
Lee Altus ~ guitar
Ralf Dorper ~ sampling
Christopher Lietz ~ drum programming
Rudiger Esch ~ bass

DK have become known by many for its dark industrial meets electronica tribute to Metallica that gives the band an amazing facelift, even if at times the electronica bubbling & vocals gets a bit annoying. Personally, I find more interesting when DK gets out of tribute mode & do their own music ... though, ironically, on III: Odyssey Of The Mind it sounds like Metallica gone industrial. Lou Reed was a poor choice of collaborator. This album brings out the guitars & drums much harder than before, becoming more of an industrial outing than pure cold electronica that DK had fashioned before & largely built their early reputation on. It was their Metallica tribute that introduced guitars & their name to a metal audience & now it's continued all the way. Though, this is still an electronica band with bubbly sounds & a looping mentality, but because they've honed in on Metallica & not another industrial band as their template it sounds interesting in a way later similar industrial & sampling groups don't. It's not necessarily breaking any boundaries musically. While later albums would lose the Metallica & be more mainstream industrial with sound effects, with the songs losing much of their memorable features but sounding great next to The Prodigy. For those that only know DK through their Metallica tribute this album might be a shocking one to hear as its very different. But, between the two albums one gets a great holistic view of DK & this is the best of their later more industrial sound. DK is known for being an innovator in the genre of body music in the European rock scene, styled with dense synth electronica & harsh vocals.

Die Krupps ~ A Tribute To Metallica (EP) ... Metallica should be jealous they didn't make this!

Style: industrial, electronic, hard rock, progressive, experimental, tribute
Label: Hollywood
Year: 1992
Home: Germany

Members: Jurgen Engler ~ guitar/synthesizer/vocal
Ralf Dorper ~ keyboards
Rudiger Esch ~ bass

Additional: Bjorn Lucker ~ drums

Die Krupps is an electric/industrial band that has swung the pendulum from the electronic coldness of Gary Numan to the industrial attack of Rammstein to find an interesting mix with their covers EP of Metallica. As might not be a surprise, it also verges on the ege of being a lot more interesting that than Metallica has been since they dawned black nail polish, loaded, reloaded & took the gun apart to clean it. A Tribute To Metallica includes the classics "Enter Sandman", "Nothing Else Matters", "The Unforgiven", "Blackened", "Battery", "For Whom The Bells Toll" & "One". Now, 'interesting' is the keyword because Metallica fans are greatly mixed on whether this is better or worse. If you don't like Gary Numan or similar techno artists you probably will find this as awkward as if Britney Spears played heavy metal. If, on the other hand, you understand that dark music is defined differently when played by Metallica versus Charlie Mingus you might find this an enjoyable experiment. One of the problems is that with slashing guitars replaced by keyboards/electronic drums it loses the intensity & speed of Metallica along with putting a heavier focus on the vocals, plus nothing can quite replace the full sound of two slashing guitars & bass. But, those who follow Die Krupps know they can be just as heavy but here have chosen to give Metallica a complete workout by reigning in their industrial leanings. What's the point of just playing Metallica but just with electronic drums? Metallica have probably already thought of doing that themselves. Certainly, it wouldn't have been above Megadeth at one point in their goal to be more commercially viable. James Hetfield is the better singer & the slower pace does affect weaken some songs (ie "Enter Sandman", "One"). But, that being said, "Nothing Else Matters", already a ballad, is highlight not to be missed that is a haunting walk through the song. While "Blackened" & "For Whom The Bells Toll" are probably the most distinct interpretations from their originals, particularly with the synthesized vocals of "For Whom The Bells Toll".