Der Tod ‎– I Scream / Indecisions

This group took their name from EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN's "Der Tod Ist Ein Dandy", but fall well outside their musical style. This is Rock with an intelligent, experimental approach and enough hook & tune to forge a niche for DER TOD - they have an ability to suddenly change form & tempo which I haven't heard since the last thing I received by VOODOO MUZAK - except for the extreme tempo changes of people like BABYLAND (and they are a whole different ball game!). The changes are sometimes so subtle, especially on "I Scream", that you get the odd sensation you might feel be stepping off a gently-moving automated walkway onto (R)ock solid terra firma - a sudden sensation of unexpected change. "Indecisions" starts as a slow, almost ballad-like piece before kicking into a light but grizzled slow Rock piece. On this track, although the music dwells in a half-life between light & medium heavy Rock, the vocalist brings some of CHROME's earlier works to mind. It would be interesting to see whether they'd develop or disintegrate in the wider vessel of an album. Time will, hopefully, tell.

Originally reviewed for Soft Watch.