I was sitting back in my chair, mind numb from the repetitive ceaseless EBM droning away, when something interesting finally broke out over the speakers surrounding the dance floor.
From the moment I heard the first lines of sequencing in the song, I knew it was :wumpscut:. There are several bands like that, bands that you can immediately hear and know it couldn't be anyone else. :wumpscut: has always been one of these.
And I knew immediately, as well, that this must be a song off of the new, upcoming album. At this point, you have to consider, it was something of a rapture, as it was early September and the release of "Wreath Of Barbs" was still a long way away.
But, upon hearing that song, I knew that I had to have this album, to hear it as soon as possible. The song was infectious. It was the culmination of everything Rudy Ratzinger had been working toward for years.
So, after some searching and pilfering, I managed to hear the album early and have since received a copy in the mail.
After a month of listening, these are my thoughts:
Rudy, my friend, you have much talent, but I would be in error if it let it go at that. You squander your talent with gay abandon, tossing away what could be compelling albums in favor of lackluster instrumentals and infuriatingly bad songs.
"Wreath Of Barbs" is a good album. "Opening The Gates Of Hell", that song I heard that night in the club, is by far the best :wumpscut: song I've ever heard. It will live in my mind as the perfect example of what Rudy could aspire to.
But "Wreath Of Barbs" is not a great album. It contains some of the worst compositions I've heard on a :wumpscut: album since the debacle that was "Born Again".
Aside from the chillingly good "Opening The Gates Of Hell", the album opens well. "Deliverance" follows on its heels and, despite it being less impressive than "Opening The Gates Of Hell", it manages to warrant being the album's first sequel. It is a nicely danceable EBM track, almost a march, but the choruses are laced with robotic vocal effects, giving it a strange and cold tone.
