Well I’m old enough to witness the rise and fall of this artist. I can even say I saw this one at Pukkelpop during daylight (surrounded by Dog Eat Dog and Rammstein), fighting with some electrical black-outs whilst screaming I am the god of F…. Well since then it all went fast and then his star became a fading one, scandals arise, internal fights, … I noticed this album almost by accident and decided to listen to it and review it …
One Assassination Under God sounds vocal wise different from the first albums: softer and cleaner. I adore the melancholia in the sound. I hear a poppier sound and ok there are hard hitting drum parts and rambling guitars in it, but still. It’s clearly a radio friendly sound. Towards the end we get the more typical sound from the early years (for a short while).
No Funeral Without Applause is a great one that grows slowly and clearly leaves a heavy mark on your soul. I can feel the sadness and the desperation. It’s one of the best tracks on the album. It feels a bit like his last song and fits the end of a gig.
Nod If You Understand is almost an old school MM track: screaming, harsh moments in the sound, a good tempo and hammering drums. A heavy one
As Sick As The Secrets Within mixes sadness with blues and metal (screams), just as some electronical parts (almost Techno minded).
Sacrilegious brings us back to the regular and typical lyrics for this band, same goes for the sound. I just hear now and then a bit of a change withing the vocals (softer and cleaner).
Death Is Not A Costume is another great track with a roaring bass guitar and great vocals (like in the good old days).
Meet Me In Purgatory starts with a nice bass guitar, slowly building up the song, adding different layers … It’s a mellow rocker with a soft side and a harder side (Ying and Yang).
Raise The Red Flag is for sure not the best track on this album: I simply don’t feel it until halfway the song. It takes a lot of time before you can actually appreciate the song. There’s a sparkle missing in the beginning and there are too much mellow parts in the song.
Sacrifice Of The Mass is a soft acoustic track filled with sadness and melancholia. Some sound gives it even a catchy touch. They add more layers, more instruments to the global sound: creating a crescendo ending but yet still going for the soft ending. Not bad as a last one! It feels like: look at me this is my end and I’m actually saying goodbye to you all!
Well it’s a good album, not as explosive as expected but also not as mellow as feared. I heard some great tracks, some skippers, some changes and a good vibe. This would be a good last album as the title says: No Funeral Without Applause!
