Oomph!
Oomph!

THE REVIEW

Extremely underrated, eclectic, intelligent, and endowed with that typical German sardonic humor; these are the qualities that most distinguish Oomph!, a power trio originating from Wolfsburg; a steel formation, never subject to squabbles, lineup changes, and divisions, considered as the pioneering band of Neue Deutsche Harte, whose influence has been recognized even by the absolute masters of the genre, those very Rammstein to whom our band owes a certain "reflected" popularity but in comparison to whom they have remained, somewhat unjustly, relegated to the background. Oomph! was formed in 1989: a vocalist-lyricist-drummer with great vocal qualities, undeniable charisma, "physique du role" and a talented songwriter, Dero Goi, and two excellent multi-instrumentalists, the guitarist-keyboardist Andreas Crap and the bassist-rhythm guitarist Robert Flux.

Compared to their more celebrated "cousins" from the former DDR, the Achilles' heel of Oomph! lies, in addition to a lesser stage impact, especially in the overall quality of the repertoire: their discography is much larger than that of Rammstein but not always up to par; in their career, but also often within the same album, there are many ups and downs, a sign of a precision not always "surgical" in selecting and evaluating their material, but on the other hand, it must be said that the stylistic evolution of Oomph! has been much more complex and fragmented than that of Rammstein, leading them to express themselves in a very wide and varied stylistic range, with numerous influences and even sudden changes of personality. For example, in the album that bears their name, the metal component is not even present, which later became a foundational pillar of their sound.

Oomph! appeared on the record market in 1992 thanks to a courageous independent label from Berlin, Machinery Records, and the final result immediately highlights the great potential of the Wolfsburg trio: the album itself cannot even be called immature, it is simply different, but not too different, from what our band will produce later: no guitars, only electronics, pulses, industrial rhythms and a characteristic tense and dirty atmosphere, vaguely acidic that exudes alienation and anger; yes, because metal is not yet there but harshness is very much present. A great strength of this album is undoubtedly Dero's vocal charisma; forget Till Lindemann's stentorian, pompous, and theatrical tone, he is more "animal," relying entirely on instinct, on the emotion of the singing, which alternates semi-recited verses into obsessive and hypnotic litanies to violent outbursts, roars, angry and guttural tones. With only ten songs, the album is well-structured and fluid, which is not a given for Oomph! and gives the clear impression of being an album that, with superior financial means and promotion, could have aspired to much greater commercial fortunes, because the band is already well-oiled and does not disdain a certain aptitude for melody, easily detectable in the single "Der Neue Gott", where the more electronic and hypnotic component of their sound is brought to the forefront, producing a sarcastic litany centered on the theme of religion, which our band will tackle repeatedly throughout their career, as in the danceable "Me Inside You", but dominating the scene are more strictly industrial episodes full of anger and tension, above all what is perhaps the pinnacle of the album, namely the raw and straightforward "No Heart No Pain", in which Dero growls "If there's no heart then that's no joy, if there's no heart then that's no pain if there's no mind I'm not insane".

Regardless of the songs, the whole album works perfectly: English and German alternate without affecting the cohesion of the album, the electronic bases are always perfect thanks to the great work of Crap and Flux, and the final result is indeed commendable, from the martial and tight rhythms of "Gleichschritt" and "Wir Leben" to the more "quiet" and decadent "Breathe" to more "radio-friendly" episodes like "Mein Herz" and "Purple Skin" to conclude with the closing "Ich Bin Du", slightly more elaborately structured compared to the rest of the album, dark, obsessive and decadent, ending with a surprising coup de theatre, sealing in the best way the great debut of a great band, an album of excellent quality, of great personality presented in an excellent graphic design, very evocative and well representative of the album's content, which is always a plus. Guitars, crossover, then gothic, big singles, "shock" music videos are all excellent enrichments that will come later but the base, the essence, the foundational pillar of Oomph! is found in this album.