Das Scheit

Das Scheit „A Darker Kind Of Black“ Blacker than black For years, the detergent industry tries to convince us that their newest whitewash launders “whiter than white”. Certainly, this is bullshit. Quite the opposite holds true for the very special black, which Das Scheit is promising: „A Darker Kind Of Black“. First, the particular dark darkness is real: Conventional black always does reflect a specific amount of light. In the meantime, nanotechnologists though developed a record black, which absorbs 99,96 % of the radiation. It is used, among other things, in space technology. On the verge of insanity Now, also the creators of the “Superbitch” (2005) do have their very own Superblack at the start, which will not only catch the attention of the Gothic scene: With its opener “Sick”, the Ruedesheimer’s fifth opus leads directly into a darkness of a ripped soul that refuses to sink into self-pity but nags pretty pissed: „I need a world without you“! No doubt: Someone is carried to an extreme by his demons. Maybe the being on the cover is one of this ghouls lurking in our abysses only to drive us into madness? Timo Wuerz, apart from comics and covers, is not only responsible for quite a few John-Sinclair-Covers and illustrations for H. P. Lovecrafts „At the Mountains of Madness“, but also dedicated himself to the visual design of the fifth Scheit-disc which again raises more dust and roisters. Phoenix without a light It may sound trite: „A Darker Kind Of Black“ appears authentic. The band, who celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, meanwhile was indeed „At The Crossroad“. Not before the musicians returned from „Down In The Depths“, there was no think of any further creative activities. Line-up-changes were inevitable to allow a transformation and Das Scheit arouse in unexpected blackness. Like Phoenix from the ashes. But without all the light. Only singer Clint remained and Sascha, handling thick and thin strings and putting sounds together. Michael Stein joined as drummer, Markus Teske, anyway long time unofficial band member stepped in as live keyboarder. The traces of restructuring are unmistakable. While the guys from Hesse recently coquetted with melodic Dark Rock, now clearly the vociferous roots of their initial period come to light. Anyone listening to Clint’s vocal performance who was reminded of Marilyn Manson’s malicious times before, can get exited: He is nagging again. He is croaking again. However, „Goodbye To Tonight“ adds whispering and emotional clean vocals. Pop with riding crop The musical nuances, gained and developed in decades, are not denied but used in different terms. The shape is more edgy. The electronics are more noisy. Who longs to hear melodies will find them. To sound shamelessly catchy on the one hand and energetic on the other, has been a long time skill of the band. In this regard they remain true to themselves in 2016. Most clearly heard at the Scheit-version of Rihanna’s motley homage to gag and riding crop: „S&M“: With so much smirking pop even the black of „A Darker Kind Of Black“ starts shining – sinful as latex. Unpredictable, like flashing eyes in the dark. While the band invited two famous colleagues - Michelle Darkness (End of Green) and Jape Perätalo (To/Die/For)- for their last cover, Patty Smith’s „Because The Night“ they now elicit the scheitanic core out of „S&M“ in a solo run. The pull effect is enormous. DJs can expect crowded dancefloors. But the quartet did not entirely renounce guests an their album: the soli of guitarist Christian Moser (Red Circuit) enrich quite a few songs with a dash of virtuous heavy metal. Jazz piano in hell Das Scheit do without a continuous theme-based concept. The black thread, holding every facet together is the realization, that it can get even worse even if you’re on the ground already. Then the last song comes up. The reprise of „Hollow“, known from the previous record „So Far From God… So Close To You“ (2008) is like a bonus track and appears in the general context like Faith No Mores Lionel-Richie -adaption „Easy“, ending „Angel Dust“ back in 1999 in a congenial manner. Jazz piano in the industrial hell? Saxophone, where there’s no sun? Sounds daring. After the first surprise it shows that the alleged break is indeed not so drastic. Clint’s vocals keep every forgiving approach at a safety distance. He dims the light even at the end of the tunnel. Nevertheless it becomes apparent: It goes on. The best proof is finding “A Darker Kind Of Black“ in your player. Christoph Kutzer DAS SCHEIT official