Die Apokalyptischen Reiter
Riders on the Storm

THE REVIEW

I am about to talk to you about what, in my modest opinion, is one of the best metal bands (and not only!) currently.

Authors of a series of excellent albums, their sound is a fusion of various metal genres. Starting with more pronounced death sounds (as in "All You Need Is Love"), but always with melodic inserts, their style has gradually evolved towards a more melodic sound, reaching its peak in this sense in the latest album "Licht". Even their singing, initially predominantly in English, has been replaced by singing in their native German, which makes their songs even more melodic. Some early fans did not appreciate this transformation; for me, however, this ability of the band to change significantly not just from album to album, but also to offer a good variety among the songs within the same album, while still maintaining their recognizable basic imprint, is incredible; a lot of variety, therefore, without this, among other things, going to the detriment of quality.

Riders on the Storm is one of the band's compositional peaks, the tracks are a succession of great songs, a cauldron in which punk choruses, hard rock riffs, heavy anthems, South American elements, death-leaning outbursts, folk melodies, and 80s synths boil. Added to this is a good performance by the versatile singer, Mr. Fuchs. The album kicks off at full speed, the first seven songs are a succession of great tracks, among them the title track and "Revolution" (which I would cite as the most representative tracks to get an idea of the band's eclecticism), but everything maintains a good level until the end.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this band to anyone who doesn't completely disdain this type of sound, the album manages to be catchy from the first listen but also lends itself well to a more in-depth analysis, gaining even more as the various songs are assimilated. Anyone who appreciates this album can delve into the rest of the band's discography without fear, as it is worth it without reservations; for those who love heavier sounds, I recommend the already mentioned "All You Need Is Love", at the opposite extreme is "Licht", and finally, a good compromise between these two extremes can be found in "Samurai".