RamTatTa - GOTTKAISER – ditto.

In the headline of the CD promo information sheet of the Hamburg band GOTTKAISER, it boldly states "Old Pros – New Sounds". And this seems to be justified. The band members of GOTTKAISER have previously played in quite well-known punk bands: Singer Fred once sang with COMBAT SHOCK, guitarist Hagen was also with BUT ALIVE, and bassist Silvia already played with RASTAPOPOULOS. Drummer Carsten has previously played with COMBAT SHOCK as well as EMILS, RASTA-KNAST, and O.H.L. Guitarist Björn seems to come more from the metal corner. However, I strongly doubt whether the band members can truly be called the "Who is Who" of German punk history, as stated in the promo info. In any case, the five now have a new band and apparently want to make a professional breakthrough in the German punk scene with their new sounds. Unlike their band colleagues from RUBBERSLIME, they do not want to rehash old songs from their previous bands, but rather forge new paths.
After a first short demo CD, I now hold the debut album in my hands. At first glance, I like the presentation. A stylish, simple, and appealing cover image that does not rely on burning cars or the typical street battle images of the scene.
The CD starts with a fast and powerful instrumental intro. You can tell that there are truly no beginners at work here. The band masters their instruments excellently and fortunately seems to have real ambition overall.
Far removed from German-language punk rock clichés and slogans, this CD offers 15 songs with partly personal and unusual lyrics. Also, sound-wise, it is a very mature punk rock production overall.
Everything I write here sounds quite positive at first, but I have a massive problem that I also had with COMBAT SHOCK. I just can't quite get along with singer Fred's voice. Somehow, he has a very unique way of delivering the songs. He often (seemingly intentionally) does not follow the melody but rather changes his pitch up or down, making it reminiscent of monotonous spoken word at times. It's hard to describe. You have to listen for yourself. Unfortunately, this makes the album, in my opinion, quite mediocre even after multiple listens, and it probably won't land in my CD player very often. I can imagine that many might particularly like this style of singing, but tastes do diverge.
It’s best to check out the band for yourself. GOTTKAISER will soon play at the Sonic Ballroom, and perhaps the vocals will come across differently live? I will see... My favorite song on the CD is definitely "Rückendeckung," which will also be included in the next Plastic Bomb CD supplement. Give it a listen and decide for yourself!

The debut album by GOTTKAISER will be available in stores starting September 4.

http://www.gottkaiser.info
http://www.myspace.com/gottkaiser
http://www.sunnybastards.de
http://www.brokensilence.biz

@Sunny Bastards: Change your bank details! Having to read something about Deutsche Bank at the bottom of every info sheet seems quite inappropriate for a punk rock record!

(Niels from Punkstelle for RamTatTa)

GOTTKAISER

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