Customer Reviews

Sternenstaub

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

 

 

Melotron is one of Germany's most beloved electro bands. Until now, none of their releases have ever made it to a domestic US record label. Sternenstaub is an excellent introduction for fans who have yet to get ahold of some of their material. The music is purely electronic and lands somewhere in the realm between synthpop and ebm. Their lyrics are exclusively German (which is rare for German bands of their type, oddly), so it's best enjoyed by those who have at least a basic understanding of the language. The first 6-7 tracks on Sternenstaub are all great, with exciting build-ups and thundering bass. Kein Problem, Folge mir ins Licht, and Der Anfang are most likely to become the fan favorites with their club friendly beats. Unfortunately, with the exception of Manchmal, the songs found on the later part of the album are mediocre and forgettable. Even so, 7 good songs are enough to ensure that Sternenstaub will get it's share of play time with fans and DJs alike. If you're a synthpop/ebm listener, it's worth the purchase.

Superb! From beginning to end: awesome! Melotron are a force and phenomenon who know what to do to get you to bust a move or two. Now this is Industrial Dance! Just when you think Andy Krueger, Kay Hildebrandt and Edgar Slatnow can't take you any higher in "Folge mir ins Licht", Julia Beyer joins in with the voice of an angel gracing you with German light!

I've been a fan of Melotron for a few years now, & quite often have gotten into addictve phases to where all I'll spend a whole afternoon or evening listening to nothing but their music. But not a lot of people know about them because it's hard to find their albums here in the states. And then there's the foreign language factor, which maybe a lot of people don't wanna deal with. It also makes it difficult to remember what they're singing about, & sing along to, of course. But this never bothered me, & because of this, I know a little German now, & I've looked up lyrics many times... but I still forget. Even before I knew what they were singing about, I just dug their sound & how they mix in the sounds of synthpop & EBM beats without totally catering to either one... which seems to be a gripe of some 'generic sounding' bands by many fans of these genres. After a first listen, they simply remind you of a dancey German version of Depeche Mode, but after repeated listening, they're more than that. And if you like other groups like And One & Beborn Beton (which you probably do if you're reading this), you'll most certainly like this. I've compared a couple of other Melotron recordings, & still listen to this one the most. Here's a song to song synopsis, esp. since there really needs to be a track listing AND sound clips:

1 - Kein Problem - ein problem with the possibility of them doing shows here in the states is just not enough people know about them here :( anyway, this is a great opener... sure to get you tapping your foot. hard.
2 - Folge Mir Ins Licht - I've heard this at a goth club, I'm sure many of you have too... so I already liked it. I overplayed this the most after listening to the whole album a few times, it's just really catchy & fun to sing along to.
3 - Sternenstaub - moody instrumental filler
4 - Der Anfang - Ich LIEBE dieses! sets a great moody intro & then BAM, the hard beats sink in your feet. You must crank this one... & try not to dance in your dark room ;-)
5 - Der Kosmonaut - a little calmer than #4, but still good
6 - Wunsch Mich Nicht Zuruck - mmmm, toe-tappy & moody... I like it a lot
7 - Erwartungen - another upbeat dancey track, & the fastest one on here
8 - Immer Noch - a dreamy, slower track... sehr gut, a standout
9 - Kein Morgen - picks up the pace
10 - Manchmal - ahhh yes, gotta love the catchy Depeche Modey synth lines... one of my favorites
11 - NGC 1006 - another sound scapey instrumental
12 - Mediensturm - slows down the album. I'm not always in the mood for this one, but when I am, it's very nice; the dynamic also picks up halfway, which I like
13 - Das Letzte - ends on a slow note, which is just fine with me... I like the ups & downs of the album, which breaks up any monotony that people don't like

Overall, this is really good stuff... Sie mussen dieses haben!!

Yet another "Must Have" for synth-pop/ebm (yes I know it's a stretch) fans! Sung in German, but very enjoyable! Melodic vocals, dancy tunes, good synth riffs, A+ production - crank it!

I would rate this a 4.2, but oh well...I'll just have to give it five ;)

Yet another "Must Have" for synth-pop/ebm fans! Sung in German, but very enjoyable! Melodic vocals, dancy tunes, good synth riffs, A+ production - crank it!

I would rate this a 4.2, but oh well...I'll just have to give it five ;)

Everything Raquel wrote about is correct, except that the track ordering is incorrect. There are 12 tracks on the SPV release of Sternenstaub. Folge mir ins Licht is NOT included on this album. Also, the auto-naming services will not label this album correctly when you rip it to your computer.