Pleasuredome

When this came out I was disappointed. The last remains of death metal had vanished and I found the album to be mid paced and dull except for the happy song “Where Can I Park My Horse”. Eventually I even sold my copy to someone I can’t even remember. Years later a friend of mine kept telling me how much he loved this album and how he couldn’t understand I’d once sold it. Shortly after I got my hands on it again and gave it another chance.

Well, I have aged in the years that passed and also the scene has changed a lot in the years. For some reason this album is like learning to appreciate olives after years of disliking them. Once you hear it at the right time in your life, it hits you and you fully understand it.

As said the average pace is low. There’s no death metal nor furious fast music left but Martin Messner still plays his parts with finesse. Patrick’s vocals have become raw instead of grunting. The riffing however is more excessive than on previous records. This may sound contradictory since they were a brutal death metal group a few years before this, but it is the truth.

Early Disharmonic was about brutal death metal on which the drums and the overall intensity of the compositions did 75% of the work. Patrick’s riffs always had this melancholic touch but they’ve never sounded as fully developped as they do right here on “Pleasuredome”.

The album is filled with one melancholic or sad riff after another. Together with Herwig’s prominent bassplaying (and sound) this results in beautiful eerie music. For instance do try “The Silence I Observe” on which the interaction between guitar and bass is most obvious. The start of “The Sick Deepunder” even sounds like Kyuss until the vocals and rhythmical drums start on the verses.

Some songs like “Feel Like Fever Now” and “Overwhelming Tranquility” still sound a bit like their previous experimental death metal album “Not to be Undimensional Conscious” but the lighter vocals (especially the incidental clean sections) result in these songs fitting this album as well.

On the titletrack the are no drums but the bassguitar and another guitar improvise around two simple riffs on clean guitar. It’s a very experimental but laid back tune which gives the listener some time to relax.

“Stuck In something” is one of the most accessable songs on the album with some clean guitars and catchy riffing. It still sounds like the typical melancholic approach on the rest of the album though. The cachiest tune however is the earlier mentioned “Where Can I Park My Horse” which sounds pretty different from the rest of the album. Apart from the happy title the song itself also is a very happy tune which has a certain punkrock feeling surrounding it.

The lengthy “Off the Ground” combines the essence of this album with verses that (apart from the vocals obviously) could’ve come straight from Expositionsprophylaxe. It has a very dynamic middle section with an excelling Martin Messner on drums and furthermore a really weird doom section with some lamenting clean male vocals. A certain highlight on the album.

Just like the titeltrack in the middle, closing song “Sunday Mood ” reduces your heart rate. An excellent way to end this melancholic yet groovy experience.

Ohw yes, if this album hits you at the right time and right angle, it is overwhelming. This album sounds like nothing else. It simply has a lot of character

Stand out songs: I Hyperact, Where Can I Park My Horse, The Silence I Observe, Off the Ground, Stuck In Something.