Oomph!
Plastik

The vast world of metal, to which Oomph! also belong, has always been characterized by a certain, so to speak, conservatism: many highly celebrated bands have based all their fortunes on the meticulous repetition of canonical and immutable style patterns, change is often viewed with suspicion, with mistrust: just think of the attempts at renewal (read: refreshment) by Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, promptly met with a barrage of boos, rejected after a couple of albums in favor of the great return to dear, old (stale?) and reassuring certainties; Dero, Crap, and Flux were facilitated by belonging to an innovative and progressive fringe of the aforementioned world, but to implement a profound change in their sound and even their image, they must really be convinced of it, seize the best moment and still maintain certain inexorable principles of coherence, and that of Oomph! is one of the few cases of a "great turnaround" of a relatively well-established group with some pedigree that has been maintained and carried forward with determination.

If you haven't missed the previous episodes, you probably already know that Oomph!, from their debut dating back to 1992 until "Unrein," have followed a philosophy of continuous evolution, refinement, and gradual addition of new elements; somewhat like what in Japan is called Kaizen, the training, the practice that step by step brings you closer to perfection. We are in 1999, Dero and his colleagues have reached the threshold of their thirties and boast an extraordinary record: an excellent debut, "Sperm" the pioneering album of Neue Deutsche Härte, "Defekt" and "Unrein" great records, "Wunschkind" masterpiece: so what to do? Rest on their laurels, continue to churn out copies of the aforementioned inevitably becoming more and more bland and caricatured as the years go by? No, it would have been like betraying their philosophy, so something more is needed, another evolution is no longer possible, it's time for a revolution. Call it, if you like, a pop turn.

Three stars, never was a rating more fallacious and deceptive, but when summing it up, it's the most accurate for "Plastik," the second album of the Virgin period, the album of the great turnaround. Praiseworthy in intent, controversial in the final outcome, with "Plastik," Oomph! offer songs that are structurally simpler and more direct, with a more electronic background and cleaner and more accessible sounds. Dero's vocal approach also changes, with his ursine screamer nature put into the background in favor of the brighter side of his voice. "Plastik" finds two cardinal points in the emblematic songs of this change: "Das Weisse Licht", accompanied by a beautiful video, partly inspired by that of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun," shows the complete change in Dero's look as well, it is truly something magical, extraordinary, and totally new for Oomph!: a hypnotic, velvety melody, of a sonic elegance hitherto unknown; the arrangement is simply perfect, flawless, and Dero amazes by displaying a deep, baritone, seductive, crystal-clear voice, with an alienating charm. To this overdose of light contrasts the passionate whirlpool of "Fieber", enriched by the prestigious presence of the Diva Nina Hagen, here too orchestrations and sound effects dominate the scene creating an almost gothic, intriguing, engaging atmosphere, with a touch of morbidness, highlighting in the best way the juxtaposition of two extraordinary vocals like those of Dero and a very sensual Hagen.

"Das Weisse Licht" and "Fieber" enter by right into the Olympus of the highest peaks reached by the trio, they are two dizzying peaks that alone are worth the price of the album and consequently steal a bit of the scene from the rest of the album, which nevertheless presents other exquisitely crafted songs like the hypnotic and decadent "My Own Private Prison", built with only electronics, featuring another masterly performance by Dero, the midtempo "Kennst Du Mich" and the fast, intense, and varied "Mein Traum", excellent pieces that stand out for the perfect blend of sounds and strong, convincing melodies, of great impact that somewhat represent the paradigm of these "new" Oomph!; "Plastik," with these cornerstones is an album born with the stigma of the masterpiece, too bad the rest, well, is absolutely not up to the best episodes, and if "Scorn" and "Keine Luft Mehr" can still boast a good hit songs like "Goldenes Herz" or "Hunger" slip away without leaving a trace, even "Nothing Is Real" ends up becoming almost irritating with its cold, monotonous, and generic thrash-like riff. These blanks end up inevitably affecting the overall judgment of the album, without taking away from its crucial importance.

Considering that Virgin is a major label, that major labels are notoriously money-hungry, and that "Plastik" sounds radically different from its predecessor "Unrein," dating back just a year earlier, it's easy to suppose that the band was forced in the making of the album, and this ended up worsening their chronic "inclination" towards fillers; the disastrous outcome of the subsequent album "Ego," which (fortunately, I would say) will mark the end of the relationship with Virgin, further supports this thesis, but this should not diminish the value and importance of a record like "Plastik," which further demonstrates the qualities and chameleon-like nature of Oomph! with a majestic Dero at the helm.