VON THRONSTAHL

"Sacrificare"

Cold Spring - 2007

CD / CD boxset - 1000 copies

Von Thronstahl are back with what is surely their most convincing work to date. Definitely (and fortunately) abandoned those elementary collages of fanfares, propaganda speeches and sampled riffs, Josef K. and comrades present a highly enjoyable collection of songs and ballads, this time strongly oriented towards the classic neofolk matter. Acoustic guitars, electronic drumming à la Death In June of the late 80s', synthetic trumpets recalling of Laibach and Borghesia, Crass samples, catchy melodies and rhythms: that's the rich menu of "Sacrificare", an album sounding surprisingly fresh, almost exalting in a few passages.

Typical melancholic neofolk ballads, such as "The Age Of Decay And Democracy" or "Gloomy White Sunday", alternate to the fiery marching hymns of "Molti Piu Onore" (a pity just for the embarassing spelling mistakes in the Italian lyrics...) and "Ganz In Weiss Und Ganz In Eisen", the interesting exotic guitar sounds of "Occidental Identity", the hauting melodies of "Mother Of Mercy", the orchestral opus of "Sacrificare" and "Palästina". There's even room for a striking "pop" anthem like "The Four Anthem Of The Apokalypse", and a Joy Division cover, or, better, a Blood Axis one: "Dressed In Black Uniforms" reprises their version of "Walked In Line", with the replaced lyrics "we walked in line" instead of "they walked in line".

The weak part of this new Von Thronstahl's release is undoubtedly the lyrics: Europa, occidental identity, many enemies bring much honour, Rome, the Empire, and similar topics, typical of the neofolk genre, are treatred in a rather superficial and stereotyped way, saying nothing new or interesting in a scene that has already gone quite sterile. Anyway, despite that, "Sacrificare" remains a very good album and unarguably Josef K. and friend's best to date. Die-hard fans will love it, but there's enough variety and fascinating musical content to convince even the more disaffectioned neofolk follower. A special boxset edition limited to 1000 copies comes with a special 3" CD featuring an exclusive track.

- Simon V.

Website: http://www.vonthronstahl.de