NEANDERTHAL NEIN

This is an experimental newcomer outfit from Munich in Germany, picking you up for a real rollercoaster trip when it comes to their debut album 'Neanderthal Nein'. You know, sometimes bands are exaggerating when entering the stage and trying to develop something unique and special. But this guys rule! The album features 13 tracks, which are delivering a 70 minute adventure in total. Hereby Wolfgang (guitar), Roman (bass), Stefan (keyboards) and Fabian (drums) are acting as if they were a longtime experienced crew, thus I really do wonder what will follow hereafter.

Those who are keen on categorizing bands, just be it the (prog) style or the implementation will simply fail here. Blessing or curse for a reviewer? Is there any chance to be satisfied with your writing in view of that? So what, try to take it easy ... some trends are obvious though. The prog metal proportion is represented by a lot of guitar riffs, partially violent, moreover equipped with an industrial touch here and there. This by strictly avoiding simple noise, that's for sure. A balancing act, I mean either offering complex and tricky songs and still recording something accessible on the other hand.

Hence you will also detect mellow acoustic driven parts with singer/songwriter appeal, art rock a la Steven Wilson, hypnotic moments reminding of krautrock bands, even jazz, trip-hop and lounge feeling. My top favourite is the track Leer - literally seen more than contrasting of course, anything but empty. Nowadays everybody is able to experiment with samples, but this is art really. While adding such an intriguing 'Gute Nacht' example, they've put the cherry on the cake. Very ambitious and successfull. Might have been a contender for the album of the year 2015 ... if I only had been aware of this early enough - 4.5 stars.