REVIEW: Die Apokalyptischen Reiter – Der Rote Reiter

When the last tones of “Wir Sind Zurück” hit my speakers, I hear the final words of the lyrics: “Seid ihr bereit?” Fuchs sings (translation: Are you ready?). After listening to only that one song, I can’t help but thinking: “Well of course! Ich bin so bereid! Hell yeah, bring it on!” With their tongue-in-cheek music Die Apokalyptischen Reiter in homecountry Germany is quite an established name within the scene of Neue Deutsche Härte. While perhaps their colleagues of Rammstein are perhaps a bit more known worldwide, they do have a huge following of Reitermania and are always ready to conquer the world even more.

And here they ride towards us again. Three years after their “Tief. Tiefer”, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter surprises us with a new release “Der Rote Reiter”. The new album contains 13 tracks, which up till now is their longest album ever. The first word that pops into my mind when listening to “Der Rote Reiter” is diversity. All tracks are very diverse and there is a lot of different things going on. Influences from heavy metal, trash metal, death metal, black metal, punk and sometimes even jazzy sounds, you can find everything on this album and the best part is that the album became thus a never-boring-you, mindblowingly fantastic album that captivates from the beginning and engages you even to hit replay straight after you listened to it.
Several tracks are standing out to me, beginning with the opener “Wir Sind Zurück”, which has perhaps a more typical Die Apokalyptischen Reiter sound to it, but definitely serves as a great first track. “Folgt Uns” has a similar style, integrating more melodic sounds to a lot of interesting thrash metal riffs. Brilliant riffs and fast-paced and enthralling drums. “Auf Und Nieder” is a very catchy song that offers us a great melodic riff and is one of the songs that will definitely get stuck in your head afterwards. “Hört Mich An” is perhaps one of the darkest songs on the album, making it also one of the most captivating ones. The album ends surprisingly with a beautiful ballad “Ich Werd Bleiben”. If you wonder if this means that there is different vocalists working on this album, no just the one. It isn’t thus a big surprise that lead singer Fuchs has a very versatile voice and is a great singer. He can literally do anything!
All of these songs are very different, lean towards very different genres, but all-in-all serve as a good whole. Needless to say that the album is open to every kind of metalhead. The lyrics are also beautifully put together, an excellent sample of good songwriting. If you don’t understand German, don’t let it disencourage you, the atmosphere and general attitude say a lot about the music and lyrics. This album is a strong addition to their current discography. And if you are looking for an epic album, with a combination of punk, metal and brutality, “Der Rote Reiter” is definitely worth to listen to!

Tracklist

1. Wir Sind Zurück 3:57
2. Der Rote Reiter 4:50
3. Auf Und Nieder 2:55
4. Folgt Uns 3:56
5. Hört Mich An 4:33
6. The Great Experience Of Ecstasy 3:37
7. Franz Weiss 3:30
8. Die Freiheit Ist Eine Pflicht 3:27
9. Herz In Flammen 4:54
10. Brüder Auf Leben Und Tod 3:56
11. Ich Bin Weg 3:50
12. Ich Nehm Dir Deine Welt 6:07
13. Ich Werd Bleiben 4:49

Line-up

Fuchs – vocals
Ady – guitars
Volk-Man – bass
Dr. Pest – keyboards
Sir G. – drums

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