UMUR
"Die Liebe (feat. Das Ich)" is an EP release by German metal act Atrocity. The EP was released through Massacre Records in November 1995. Along with the "Calling the Rain" EP from July 1995, it bridges the gap between the band´s 3rd and 4th full-length studio albums "Blut (1994)" and "Willenskraft (1996)". "Die Liebe (feat. Das Ich)" is a collaboration release with German electronic music group Das Ich and is another departure in sound from the band´s early death metal releases.
In only 5 years Atrocity have gone from playing technical deathgrind, to playing goth/groove metal, to the neo-folk excursions on the "Calling the Rain (1995)" EP, and now this...
..."Die Liebe (feat. Das Ich)" sees Atrocity playing an industrial/electronic tinged metal style. About half of the tracks are sung in the band´s native language, and although Atrocity as a band predates Rammstein, this particular release came out only a few months after Rammstein´s debut album "Herzeleid" was released in September 1995, and it´s hard not to make some comparisons. Atrocity are a bit more experimental than their fellow countrymen and not quite as catchy either, but the premise of hard pumped rhythms, industrial sound effects/keyboards, and heavy angular guitar riffs are similar on the two projects.
While some of the material featured on the 9 track, 40:37 (album length) EP are new, Atrocity have also included some altered versions of tracks from "Blut (1994)", including another version of the rap metal styled "Miss Directed", which is retitled "Misdirected" on this release. Atrocity are skilled musicians and adventuruos musical souls too, which their creative songswriting approach bear witness to, but "Die Liebe (feat. Das Ich)" is not their most shining musical hour. I praise the boldness of the idea, but this experiment just doesn´t work. The material is simply not well written or catchy enough. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.