"Slime have officially disbanded, there will be NO reunion."
Such statements and similar ones were long found on the homepage of the punk rock veterans. It was meant to serve as a kind of online gravestone for a legend that has significantly shaped the punk rock movement and now seemingly passed into the eternal rock hunting grounds. All the more surprising is that suddenly tour dates and a new album adorn the lines of their homepage. What happened there? Did the gentlemen (as publicly announced) perhaps weaken and actually want to once again "have fun and entertain the younger fans" in Germany? Or did the love of money call?
Ultimately, it doesn't matter what the reason was; the new album "To Comply Means to Lie" gladly fits into this mixed history.
“Mixed” also aptly describes the new album, as my opinion regarding the new silver disc is quite divided.
On the positive side, there is the good quality, the musical abilities of the band, and also a few individual songs that come out of the speakers with great atmosphere and a good mood. I would gladly include the songs "Rebellen," "Ein Bett aus Lehm und Jauche," and "Bauchweh," which I find myself listening to more and more often. Additionally, the singer has "developed" linguistically, which is noticeable in his word "choice." The lyrics sound like poetry and have a pleasantly high level. Coupled with some very well-sounding instruments, several nice songs emerge that are definitely worth listening to.
The downside is that the aforementioned word choice does not necessarily make for a "good" text (more on that later). Here, the Hamburgers again strike the old, dusty chord and pull out old clichés that deal with politicians, business bosses, and soldiers. The old, fluttering flags are drowned in other trivial topics like alcohol, "We-are-the-scum-of-society," or calls for resistance to finally spark a revolution. A few decades ago, this might have still been authentic or, in the broadest sense, "cool," but after countless years, it now comes across as almost laughably pretentious. The song "Revoluzzer" is probably the only one that brings something a bit new, describing an almost funny story of a lamp cleaner within a revolution. Unfortunately, this song is an exception among many almost monotonous rule cases. This naturally ensures that a large part of the songs no longer brings any fun after a short time, leaving only a sad, small, and above all, distinctive remainder that barely keeps the album afloat.
The saddest part is that the lyrics were not even written by them. They were taken from the poet "Erich Mühsam" and set to music in the Slime style. In itself, this is a nice idea, but it's many years too late, as it is definitely no longer contemporary or authentic. Slime have already commented on this often enough, thus offering only cold coffee.
In the end, there is actually little left. The album will likely draw its success (or sympathy) from old sympathies and a glorious band history, rather than impressing with convincing qualities. If the name "Slime" did not serve as the title of this album, I would even go so far as to claim that any other band would have fared worse with these released songs.
While not much came out, at least a few good individual songs and 5 points emerged. Even the additional live songs do not compensate for the disappointing reality. It's a shame that a great band can only put such small rolls on a plate with limited foresight. A glance over the edge would surely not have hurt.
