Review STAHLMANN ‘Quarz’

Quarz’ is already the seventh album of the Göttingen based band Stahlmann. Two years following ‘Kinder der Sehnsucht’, the quartet is trying to get another album into the charts. As a representative of the second wave of NDH bands, Stahlmann have certainly had success, even if their music is not really inventive.

Stahlmann have listened to Rammstein albums more than once. Harsh guitars, phrasing, the ‘R’ and thundering beats, along with an industrial chill, that’s what made Rammstein famous. Stahlmann pick up on these elements and don’t move too far away from their idols. Songs like ‘Gegen den Strom’ show quite clearly where the roots can be found and the same goes for song titles like ‘Wollust’, ‘Sünder’ and ‘Der Sturm’. Or listen to the lyrics of ‘Tobsucht’. You can’t really find originality on ‘Quartz’. However, why should the band change their sound when there is a large number of fans demanding for this kind of music.

One reason why ‘Quarz’ can tie in with the success of its predecessors is, besides a stomping catchiness, the album’s powerful production. Here, the record can definitely score points.

‘Quartz’ will satisfy the band’s supporters, but also doesn’t have enough potential and originality to attract new fans. I think that 2021 has enough musical highlights to offer even without ‘Quarz’ and in a direct comparison, the new album by Hämatom turns out to be the better choice.