Masscare Records – Out Now.

The Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the most culturally and linguistically varied areas of the Germany, bordering with Belgium and Luxembourg. It is quite natural, then, that this area would produce a band like Unherz – a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal combo which first appeared on the scene in 2010 and whose music incorporates a huge variety of contrasting style and sound elements, many of which are fairly unusual.

Following a hectic touring schedule last year which saw them perform at a number of local festivals, the quartet began working on ideas for their third studio album, one that consists of eleven (if you obtain the limited edition) compositions and which is…controversially entitled “Die Wahrheit Liegt Dazwischen” (check out the album cover, translate the title into your language of choice and you will understand what I mean).

Massacre Records, the band’s label advertise “Die Wahrheit Liegt Dazwischen” as a Heavy Metal release, but I disagree, since that would only describe a couple of the compositions on offer. To me, Unherz are a typically German Hard Rock ‘party’ band – the kind that is not really bothered with long and technically demanding compositions but whose sole aim is to create catchy sing- along tunes that their fans can sing along to after a long day at a festival site, whilst being totally intoxicated.

This, together with the fact that all songs are performed in the band’s native language, clearly suggests that the target audience for “Die Wahrheit Liegt Dazwischen” is, by nature, quite limited and, together with their decision to try out themes and sounds that are ‘unusual’ for this style of music, makes the process of listening to their third full length release a fairly challenging endeavour.

The album kicks off with the simple but also dynamic Punk Rock riff of “Schmerz Neu Definiert” and things get much heavier when “Mein Weg, Mein Wille, Mein Leben” appears. Sadly, “Seite An Seite” is not the kind of song capable of keeping the momentum going and from that point onwards the album is clearly divided between songs that are “decent” but lack flamboyance and those that are just pretty average and undeserving of a second spin.

Compositions of the first type are the 80s sounding Hard Rock tune “Benzin”, its heavier cousin “Paranoia”, the emotional and cleverly crafted ballad “Nur Wenn Du Traume Hast”, as well as the short acoustic piece “Alles Was Ich Will” – all filled with simple, generic, yet quite enjoyable to the ear melodies.

Then, of course, you have songs like the party-style “Dieser Traum” and the accordion-led “Leuchtfeur” which, though portraying the quartet as a daring and musically educated unit, fail to impress and kind of undermine all the good work in half of the album’s material.

Based on what I’ve read in the accompanying press release and on the…erm… “strength” of the album cover, Unherz are a group of musicians that like to do things their own way and are not keen on taking themselves too seriously. This, of course, is to their credit but it also means that “Die Wahrheit Liegt Dazwischen” will have limited appeal with the Hard Rock and Heavy Metal community around the globe.

If you are looking for some light- hearted background music for your next Metal party then this might just be the album for you – just make sure that your wife or girlfriend doesn’t catch a glimpse of the album cover as this might just end up being your last party!

John Stefanis

Rating: *** (3.0/5.0)

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)