Music truly is a universal language. If you ever need proof of that, all you have to do is surf youtube for footage of your favorite band touring through any country that doesn’t speak English as it’s first language. It’s incredible to see thousands of Japanese fans screaming every word to Slipknot’s Spit It Out or an auditorium full of Brazilian fans singing along with Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless during Just Tonight. The same can be said of the U.S. fans when Rammstein passes through the states, or when we’re lucky enough to have Dir En Grey travel through on tour.
If you’re a fan of the music, it doesn’t matter what language it’s being sung in, you’ll find a connection. People know what a great band sounds like, even if the words are expressed in a foreign language.
That’s how I feel about B.O.S.C.H. I know so little about the band. That’s a hazard of finding yourself primally drawn to a band that’s half a world away. They’ve been a constant part of my life since MySpace first suggested them to me almost 5 years ago. Since then, I’ve listened to this band grow and evolve from a few demo tracks, to releasing two full length albums. Each perfectly produced and engineered.
Even though the band’s music is almost sung exclusively in German, the emotional meaning is clear. I may not fully know exactly what lead vocalist Max is singing about but his tone, coupled with the music of the band, invokes so many feelings on the band’s second full length release, “Apparat”.The conflection in Max’s voice easily transcends the language barrier for those of us who don’t speak German. You can clearly hear the anger and frustration in Max’s voice throughout each track on “Apparat”. Let’s be honest, the raw metal and industrial genres sound better when sung in German and Max’s voice holds its own against the likes of Slipknot/Stone Sour’s Corey Taylor and Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe. For those of you wanting me to compare B.O.S.C.H. to bands that you’re more familiar with, I hear a touch of Cradle of Filth and early Drowning Pool in the music, while Max’s vocals hint at being inspired by Dez Fafara.
Much like on “Einsam”, the crashing guitars and thundering cymbols combined with Max’s gritty vocals and the industrial noice to form a brutal aural entity but those emotions are more focused and precise on “Apparat”. Max’s vocals run the gauntlet of gutteral growls and pummelling screams, to harmonic chords and taunting melodies. Apparat is music in it’s most primal form.
Musically, “Apparat” picks up where the band’s debut album, “Einsam” left off. Each track is raw and gritty. B.O.S.C.H. has mastered the perfect combination of the metal and industrial genres. The cold electronic aspect of the band’s music gives such a sense of dread and fear throughout “Apparat”, that each track harbors such an intense sense of urgency laced into the organic chords and melodies. But the album isn’t all doom and gloom. The female vocals on “der sturm” and “ein augenblick” hint at the band’s softer side and give the music a touch of Beauty vs The Beast.
To be certain, “Apparat” takes the best parts of the heaviest aspects of several musical styles, whips them into a frenzy and smashes into your ears.
The question that’s been on my mind since first hearing the band’s demos on MySpace was what b.o.s.c.h. stands for. Is it an acronym with deep meaning? “Well, this is a little secret we want to keep, but nothing upsetting,” Loz, b.o.s.c.h.’s drummer, programmer and founding member told me in a recent email. Some secrets are meant to be kept.
www.bosch-music.de
