Formed 30 years ago in Germany, by Marcel Braun, who takes care of vocals, guitar and bass on this album, and drummer Carsten Pickbrenner, they were joined by guitarist Florian Triska. The trio are listed as the current line-up, even though there’s a note in the press release saying the album was recorded by Braun with Eryc Botz on drums. This is their second album, with the debut being released in 2000, followed by 2 EPs in 2003 and 2008, with the band going into hiatus after the tragic death of their then bassist Boris Stellmann in 2012. Stylistically it’s Teutonic thrash bordering on death, but I’d say it focus more on being slow and heavy with a groove rather than fast and brutal. The brutality of the songs is in their lyrical content which is a sombre look at society.
The album opens with the title track “Soulfucker”, which is based on the novel “Seelenficker”, which sounds like it ought to be a harrowing read, the vocals have a harsh anger with an undercurrent of sadness to them that the guitar riff emphasises, especially during the lead break over the anguished cries for help.
Beginning with a lead “To Be The Odd One Out” then proceeds to a stop start riff which the drums match perfectly for timing as does the vocal cadence making the silence as much of an instrument as those being played.
While it feels like the pace is going to increase when the cymbals hits become more dramatic during “Punisher”, it never happens as the snare beating remains constant throughout, as the vocals increase in angry intensity.
The nice choppy guitar rhythm used on “The Time Before Death” is punctuated by the steady staccato tempo and growled vocals, while a pleasant melody guitar comes to the fore for each chorus before fading out again, adding to the melancholy feel of the song.
As a complete contrast, “Damned Liars” sounds extremely upbeat as the chanted vocals and open guitar riffs work towards the growls and faster pace as the song crescendos.
An additional increase in pace brings us to “2025”, which has hints of Fear Factory in its delivery with precision drumming and heavy riffing interspersed with roars to go with the harsh vocals.
The pace is tempered slightly for “Inevitable” where is feels more like it’s plodding along again with the occasional spurt before returning to the regular speed, the song also includes one of the few lead solos on the album.
The steady double kick on “Virtopsy” is a thing of beauty, as one the guitars is chugging along frantically to keep pace, while the other is full of squeaks and squawks as it follows the rather angry vocal pattern.
For some reason, the phrase “Quo Vadis” immediately has me thinking of Asterix comics, but in this case it’s a short instrumental that takes us into the final track “Mesentery”, where it starts off slow and heavy with vocals that sound more like raspy shouts, ala Mille Petrozza, before a more melodic undertow carries through to give the song a different character entirely.
While enjoyable, there are times when the similar pace of most of the songs does cause a little monotony, but then I have been listening to it on a loop for the past 6 hours, so that shall take its toll no matter what.
(7/10 Marco Gaminara)
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