Between their artistic persona, German lyrics, and heavy metal, hardcore industrial charge, it’s hard to believe that Hanzel und Gretyl grew up in New York and not in Munich or Berlin. The duo’s third release, Uber Alles, takes us on their distorted space journey where they battle evil dictators to save the earth.
Synth effects are taken to a different level when distorted and mixed with screaming vocals and sadistic guitars. And in the words of Dieter from Saturday Night Live, “Let us dance!” With every track lies a deep, creepy groove that’s hard to resist. Vas Kallas could easily go head to head in a ferocious vocal battle with En Esch from KMFDM, while a pure power surges from the throat of the mighty Loopie, enough to scare Nina Hagan into a corner.
Track titles “Third Reich From The Sun” or “SS Deathstar Supergalactik” may raise a Hitler suspicion, but the group states in an official press release, “To those who are experiencing our music for the first time, we would like to state for the record that we are neither Nazis nor fascists.” This may have been released after they were banned in Europe and rejected by German distributors, who knows.
I don’t know German and therefore, have no idea what Uber Alles means. But I do when I threw it in, my speakers exploded with an overflowing sound that I have not heard from an industrial band, if you can call them that, in quite some time.
Hanzel und Gretyl will take on Denver Tuesday, July 22 at the BlueBird, performing with Voodou, Hate Dept and The Undun.
