DER BLUTHARSCH

"The Philosopher's Stone"

WKN - 2007

CD / LP + 7"

Der Blutharsch are back with the second chapter in their new "rock 'n' roll" incarnation, after a "When Did Wonderland End?" that won new supporters as much as it disappointed some of the Austrian troop's old fans. "The Philosopher's Stone" stays true to the latest tradition of the WKN / Hau Ruck! rooster, with the limited vinyl edition coming in different colours and with a 7" featuring one song not included in the regular CD version. The collector's appetite will be certainly satisfied by these new luxurious items, but the most important question concerns the music: which direction is Albin Julius taking this time?

These new eight untitled songs show a remarkable improvement from the raw, unpolished production of the previous album, presenting a more compact sound made of tribal percussions, electric guitar, psychedelic keyboards, and the vocals of both Marthynna and Bain Wolfkind, often duetting, while Albin's voice is to be identified only at times. Call it a dark psychedelia, or Teutonic garage rock, but just forget the words industrial or neofolk: we're talking about rock 'n' roll here, as the CD's sleeve itself seems to clearly suggest. Der Blutharsch sound these days like a post-nuclear version of Sky Saxon & The Seeds: rhythms and sounds are slow and hypnotic, e-guitars took place of the orchestral samples, wind instruments appear from time to time, keyboards play an important role.

Nostalgics of the classic marching Blutharschian orchestral sound should keep distance with the new CD, for nothing at all is left of what once was, on the surface at least. Actually, listening to "The Philosopher's Stone" in depth, the listener won't fail to recognize the same monolithic and epic approach in the songwriting, as well as the characteristic Panzer Division impact in the sound. These features are particular evident in the first section of the last, very long track, where Matt Howden is guest-starring with his magic violin on a powerful background of vibrating guitar strings and distortions. The second part, to be intended as a bonus track, is unfortunately not as interesting, with just Bain Wolfkind reciting on minimalistic electronic beats.

The album's evident weak points are only two: the vocals, that would need an improvement to sound again as striking and aggressive as we were used to, and the general lack of a big instant classic among the still untitled tracks. Each of the eight songs is equally good, but none stands out as a brand-new instant mega hit, like the ones we could find on any of the previous albums and enjoy during concerts. Summing up, "The Philosopher's Stone" is a good release, that you are very likely to enjoy if you appreciated Der Blutharsch's recent turning-point, as well as the neofolk scene's recent shifting onto rocking and electric territories.

- Simon V.

Website: http://derblutharsch.com

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/derblutharsch