If you google EXPLIZIT, you'll find all sorts of definitions and a few cover bands. This doesn't match the cover and the sound. Then you notice there's a hyphen in between, so EX-PLIZIT. Is the emphasis on the EX or the PLIZIT? Or is this a forced wordplay that the band from the Heidelberg region had to come up with to avoid a bloody nose from some wedding bands?
Now the album is being released on Burnout Records, and it's called “Set Yourself Free“. If you don't immediately think of the term Deutschrock, then you don't know the label. So here we have another new dose of music from the controversial genre.
I can no longer stand the sound that calls itself Deutschrock. So the signs weren't good for the band to receive a proper review from me.
The sound is typically Deutschrock in its approach, although I must say that the guitar playing and the use of various distortion effects are not entirely genre-typical. The band puts the guitar playing prominently in the foreground, which is a proper step for the technicians on the string instruments. Tobias and Steffen on guitars know their craft. However, the other musicians are also not to be underestimated. The songs are quite well arranged, which is already more than many Deutschrock bands can manage. Additionally, the lyrics are varied and constantly deal with the lonely, unjustly treated underdog. The band also addresses environmental destruction and the dangers of nuclear power. Other themes include (of course) past, unrequited, or unpleasant romances, and then the underdog and genre-typical topics like songs about gasoline in the blood. However, the band manages to stand out from the mass of bands, especially with the songs that are not genre-typical in terms of lyrics. Songs like “The Suffering“, “No Longer Blind“, and “2012“ are outstanding in the genre.
Another plus point is Dirk's vocals. His voice is characteristic, but also varied and distinctive. Combined with the sound and the lyrics, EX-PLIZIT is a German-speaking rock band; I wouldn't even call it Deutschrock, as it pleasantly stands out from the crowd.
It could have all ended positively if it weren't for “Sweet Death“ as the last song. A brash lyric that doesn't fit at all with the other songs and lacks much of what the band did well in the previous tracks. Aside from this song, “Set Yourself Free“ is not bad, and that's worth a lot in times when many people get nauseous just at the word “Deutschrock“.
