Customer Reviews

Antikörper

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

"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.

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.

I have been awaiting this album with much anticipation, and I am extremely pleased to say that it is everything I had hoped for. This is easily one of the top 3, if not my absolute favorite release for 2006. And, thank you, Eisboys for arranging for a near-simultaneous US release!!! (I wish more bands would do this.)

If you enjoyed Eisbrecher's debut, you will love their second offering. Antikörper is more complex, a little more industrial, a bit heavier, with more guitar and darker lyrics. But it's still very electronic, danceable, and very much Eisbrecher.

The tracks from the singles (Vergissmeinnicht, Leider, Wie Tief?) are certainly the stars of the show, but the rest of the album shines as well. Interesting, moody instrumental tracks begin and end the album proper. The heavier songs, such as Adrenaline and Phosphor, are heavier (IMO) than anything on Eisbrecher, but there are still some softer ones like Ohne Dich and Kinder der Nacht.

If you're not sure yet, go to the band website and listen to some of their samples (under "Media"). And if you don't yet have their first album, get them both today! Really.

I love this album!! The music is really good. This is a first album by Eisbrecher that I ever bought, and I was really impressed with all the songs. However, I think the lyrics leave something to be desired. I just listen to the song and ignore what they're saying. The combination of music and singing is, to me, just amazing, so I can forgive the not-so-great lyrics.

One of my favorite albums in the industrial genre. Anyone who appreciates this style of Rock/Synth that has clear clean vocals and dark subject matter with a modern metal take and in classic German style is very structured and to the point so to speak will really like this group.

I have been a huge Rammstein fan for the last 5 years, for me they are THE band that made up for Metallica after they start sucking (Load, Reload, Ste-Anger). I had been looking for something that would at least give me a break from Rammstein and got some Megaherz, KMFDM and Emigrate (which is from the guitar player and founder of Rammstein). I am not saying that they are bad but it is clear that they are not on the Rammstein level. I kept searching and searching going to music store and browsing the internet and then... BOOOOM!
I saw some comments about Eisbrecher and ordered ''Antikorper''.
I am no longer searching because I absolutely found it. This album is ''HIT YOUR HEAD ON THE WALL UNTIL YOUR TOES BLEED'' kind of good. It is more techno than Rammstein and at the same time heavier. The only disadvantage they might have is that Rammtein has the bigger headstart. It is so good that I would even say it is better than Rammstein. Lets just say that it is the most amazing thing I have heard since the album ''Mutter'' from Rammstein. I must also mention that it sounds absolutely perfect. Every time I listen to it I wonder if I should dance or bang my head (I end up doing both) I hope they are gonna make it big and keep doing wonders. Thank you Eisbrecher.

I've been following Eisbrecher for a while now and their a great band. Their trip rock is outstandin!!! Their new album Antikorper follows in the foot steps of their first one. Very good electronica with hard riffs. Good stuff!!! The only difference was that their music got alot harder. At first i was dissapointed and thought they sounded alot more like Rammstein...Which is not bad but still..Eisbrecher always sounded alot different. But as i listend to it more and more it seperated itself and was truly a good album...If you like a good electronic rock album with good singing ....get this album and their first...

Eisbrecher's album Antikörper reminds me a lot of Rammstein. They're perhaps slightly (just barely) lighter than Rammstein though. The singing is very similar. Eisbrecher uses more keyboards. It sounds very modern. Overall, the album is good and plenty of fun.

i got this cd when it came out on amazon.com and since then i've ripped it onto my computer so that i can play it on my iPod and i listen to it constantly either in my car or walkin around. the musicality of the band has grown since the freshmen album.