Here’s a band that hasn’t crossed my radar in several years. Lets flashback to 2007 when an up and coming band from Wilhelmshaven, Germany reached out and asked if I’d listen to some of their demos and write up a bio for their band. Just for fun, I’ll also throw in the review I wrote in 2012 of their first full length album.
Here’s what I came up with.
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 a performance of ‘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 primarily 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 Lutz 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 inflection in Lutz’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 Lutz’s voice throughout each track on “Apparat”. Let’s be honest, the raw metal and industrial genres sound better when sung in German and Lutz holds his 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 Lutz’s vocals hint at being inspired by Dez Fafara.
Much like on “Einsam”, the crashing guitars and thundering cymbals combined with Lutz’s gritty vocals and the industrial noise to form a brutal aural entity but those emotions are more focused and precise on “Apparat”. Lutz’s vocals run the gauntlet of guttural growls and pummeling 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. 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. “Apparat” takes the best parts of the heaviest aspects of several musical styles, whips them into a frenzy and smashes into your ears.
