Antikörper

Eisbrecher | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 24, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dancing Ferret Discs
• ASIN: B000IU3XSS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,181 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but it's no masterpiece, October 27, 2006

By 

Rumpelstilzchen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Antikörper (Audio CD)

Rather than falling into repetition by rehashing what's been done before, Eisbrecher has a louder and more aggressive approach for this release, and is much darker in both its lyrical content and its overall ambience. Tracks such as Adrenalin, Antikörper, Entlassen, Phosphor, Kein Mitleid, and Eiskalt Erwischt make this album worthy of being heard by themselves, but that's only half of it.

The new sinister electronic mood of the album makes songs like Antikörper and Kein Mitleid powerful and addictive, but it has had the unfortunate side effect of producing a lot of overly dramatic ones as well. The "darker" aspect of this album is both its strong point and its weakness.

The biggest example of this weakness would have to be Kinder der Nacht (Children of the Night), a truly melodramatic and uninspired piece of work by any standard unless you consider yourself to be a goth. And I am not talking about the good, Rome destroying Goths. I am referring to the "I am the Prince of Sorrow" type of goth. I poke fun at stereotyping goths here because the song is really that bad. If you're wondering, Kinder der Nacht basically chants on about how "the children of the night" feel that a dark power separates them from life and how it feels like black blood shooting through their veins and that they're "sealing a pact for all eternity" and... I'm feeling like I should put on some mascara already, so I'm stopping there.

My point is that some of the songs' lyrics are ridiculous to the point that I think they're satirical, but I fear they are not. In either case, it hurts the integrity of the album to have such weak links. If you don't speak German, however, consider yourself lucky! You'll be totally oblivious to the lyrics when they're bad, and enjoy them all the same when they're good because the album sounds good otherwise.

I hope Eisbrecher keeps the heavier edge, but I really hope that they won't slice their own wrists open with it next time.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eisbrecher's back with a totally new sound, January 4, 2007

By 

Jonathan Ditmer (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Antikörper (Audio CD)

"Antikörper", Eisbrecher's second album (composed of former Megaherz members Alexx Wesselsky and Noel Pix, as well as the two new members Max and René), presents a completely new and changed sound compared to their debut album. Whereas "Eisbrecher" focused more on a more electronic base with minimal guitars and some drums, "Antikörper" relies on heavy electric guitars with hard (and sometimes) fast riffs. The new sound is more of a balance of instrumental and electronical, and Eisbrecher have done well to keep an equilibrium throughout. Some songs, such as "Vergissmeinnicht" and "Entlassen" resemble their original work, while others, such as "Freisturz" and "Phosphoer" exemplify this new sound unique to "Antikörper".

The lyrical content of the songs has also changed quite drastically from the old album to the new one, shifting practically to match the sound. The lyrics just fit: they're darker words which meet the new, harder and darker sound present in this album.

It's a strong album with more metal-industrial roots than the previous one, but Eisbrecher also worked hard to create a masterpiece which doesn't alienate fans of the original sound. It should appeal to both fans of the band, fans of the genre, and people looking for a great and newer band to listen to.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Force Over Function, October 24, 2006

By 

flaviolius (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Antikörper (Audio CD)

Eisbrecher's anticipated sophomore release on Dancing Ferret Discs has finally arrived, and it's sure to please fans of their brand of looming electronic-tinted throaty-vocalled German guitar damage music. Antikorper seems to want to live up to its name and take your ears apart piece by piece - nothing wrong with that, of course! - but something's been lost since the band's superlative self-titled US debut. As good as Antikorper is, it dwells in the shadow of its predecessor.

Vocalist Alexx is certainly no stranger to Laibachian growling, and he does more of it on Antikorper than ever before. It's immediately evident with "Adrenalin" that this is a harder, heavier Eisbrecher, with increased jagged guitar riffs, pounding percussion, and weighty synths. The sky-high energy level continues with the excellent single "Leider", followed by the mind-blowing midtempo jackhammer "Antikorper", which is arguably not only the album's best, but also one of the band's finest songs to date. "Entlassen" keeps the pedal to the metal, and at this point Antikorper is sounding mighty indeed.

Unfortunately, following this lovely cataclysmic beginning, the album seems to lose momentum, although it's worth considering that maintaining its initial power would be a near-impossible task. "Ohne Dich", "Kein Mitleid" (a KMFDM tribute?) and "Kinder der Nacht" are mid-level efforts, and you can almost hear the album slow down and start to wander.

The explosiveness almost returns with "Phosphoer" and "Eiskalt Erwischt", but Antikorper never fully regains the crushing force with which it begins. Perhaps a song or two could have been trimmed in favor of remixes akin to the fine dancefloor reworkings found on the Leider/Vergissmeinnicht single, which would have fit very well with Antikorper's focus.

The strength of Eisbrecher's debut album was its song structure and creativity - "Schwarze Witwe", "Eisbrecher", "Fanatica", and "Angst?" in particular - but it seems as though Alexx and musician Noel Pix left behind melody on Antikorper in favor of pummeling the listener into sonic dust. While Antikorper definitely succeeds in its mission and has moments of true brutal brilliance, one can't help but feel that the band has taken a small step backwards in terms of refining its sound. Perhaps the bar was set too high by the debut!

All this considered, Antikorper is a solid effort that gets the blood pumping, the body twitching, and the head spinning, and fans of Rammstein, et al. will eat it up. Antikorper is certainly worth owning, especially for its dizzying beginning (and title track!), but just be prepared to sacrifice some style for its twenty-ton substance.