Grendel – Age Of The Disposable Body

Flux (Alpha Quadrant Remix) FYI - there is a 2nd "Alpha Quadrant" artist now (from the US I believe) and they did this remix not me (=the original AQ project from Germany).. so remove the credit please.

Its finally time for another Grendel album. Already since Harsh Generation we had to endure very long waiting times between releases. This time it was whole 5 years. Not even a new EP in between, excluding the reissues, which by the way were pretty well done with great new art and well remastered audio! Anyway, due to this, the expectations for many people will probably be kind of high. A warning though, don't expect too much! It is as always a very high quality release of Grendel but people who expected another Timewave Zero or Harsh Generation might have a small let down after the first listen. For me the album really started to get good after several listens. Yes, it is one of "those" albums. So don't put the CD back into your dusty music collection after the first listen!

The name already states what the topics of the album are about. Problems of modern society and the world. At the end we reached Zero Hour and nuclear devastation isn't far away. SEEK SHELTER! Grendel seems to try to leave the future setting, lyric and topic wisely at least. The new album includes music for the here and now.

The sound was kind of surprising. While it isn't a huge step compared to Prescription Medicide and Harsh Generation, it really took the Timewave Zero sound to new levels. I would say that the sound reminds me a lot of Timewave Zero but less cyber-futuristic, a bit slower and with instruments that hugely remind me of Prescription Medicide, spiced up with a touch of oldschool EBM. This is probably why Tucker stated on Facebook that his new album will go a bit towards his older works again. Generally the genre is Futurepop which might, or might not, be to peoples liking. I personally don't really care what genre it is, as long as it keeps me entertained and I can definitely say this about AOTDB.

The album itself comes in a typical Grendel manner. 10 tracks with pure instrumental Intro and Outro, which both sound surprisingly good and fitting, I am usually not much into those type of "fillers". And then 8 full sized tracks. Some might think that this is a bit lacking in size, and yeah, I agree but this is normal for Grendel, plus all 8 tracks are well done. Definitely worth the short amount of tracks for me. I prefer having a small amount of really well executed and thought out tracks, compared to half good and half filler tracks...

In the intro a person speaks to us and tells us about the problems that our world and society suffers from nowadays. A great introduction into the theme of the album, underlined by dramatic instruments. And then, silence, suddenly interrupted by "Severed Nation" which is a dramatic futurepop based track which reminds a lot of the Timewave Zero style. This might be the most futuristic on the album. "Hex It" is the following track which has a great nostalgic instrumental intro which is pure Grendel but it suddenly turns into a oldschool stompy EBM heavy track with a very catchy Chemicals + Circuitry sort of refrain. Definitely my favorite of all tracks. It connects the Prescription Medicide times with Timewave Zero. Absolutely amazing! "Fall Like Rome" follows up and serves us a fine straightforward electronic beat assault with a additional in between instrumental play, which has a lot of epic choruses. Finished off by a refrain. "Flux" starts off with a very atmospheric beat followed by a sax instrument. At this point I was like "reminds me of Heimataerde" and actually the track comes very close to something Heimataerde would put out in my opinion. Imagine the impossible, expect the inconceivable. Describes the track perfect. A very good refrain with a following up in between play with a woman chanting, finishes up the track. The sax really got stuck in my mind. Next is "Far Away", a track featuring "The Invalid". I honestly didn't hear of the band yet but the voice of the front man really stands out in this track. Generally a more futuristic approach with a extremely catchy refrain by The Invalid. I have to check out this band later on. At this point of time we finished over the half of the album and we are reaching the next track, which gives the album its name. "Age Of The Disposable Body" is probably the slowest track of the album, excluding the intro and outro. Generally its underlined by a dramatic and melancholic sound with instruments again. The lyrics also sound depressing and dramatic, perhaps even sad. "Scorn" sounds very oldschool at the beginning but then turns into a futurepop track with a cyborg sort of voice to it. This track generally has a very futuristic feeling which would have fit just fine on Timewave Zero. Power, Control, Consent, Defeat are the words that get smashed into our brain by the next following track named "Dead Inside". A really oldschool sounding EBM track with a touch of futurepop. The refrain and lyrics in general also sound very oldschool, which really get stuck in the head quite fast. We reached it, the end, the zero hour, nuclear devastation is imminent and humanity reached the end of its life cycle. A epic instrumental chorus with sample in it, ends the album very well. Wow, what a jouney!

I have to say that the album really has its own sound even though it often kind of reminds of Timewave Zero. Just a lot darker with a oldschool EBM twist and instruments in it. Right now I think its between my favorite albums of 2017. It is a really entertaining listen, which should please every Grendel fan. Unless you are that kind of guy who wasn't into anything since Harsh Generation. However, the approach is slower than both Harsh Generation and Timewave Zero, so if its the harshness that you didn't like, it might be a good listen to you after all.

I personally can't say much to the remixes. I am sorry but I am not really into remixes that much, unless I really like an artist who did it. I think that simply serving a CD2 with only remixes on it is kind of boring, especially for me, who isn't too much into them. Would be cool to have at least some B-Side tracks or mixes by the artist himself. Not many do this anymore which is sad. I also would like to say something to the CD itself but it seems like Tucker got into troubles with the delivery, that is at least what he wrote on Facebook. I will add those infos once I have the physical signed 2CD in my hands! I also read of a supposed cassette and LP version of the album but no exact info about it yet. Maybe later. If you are fast you can get a signed 2CD copy of the album. It is available in Grendel's bigcartel store. If you are still not convinced to buy this album, consider it anyway, even to just support such kind of music because not many people invest so much time into the production of a release. He obviously doesn't produce it for the money. Keep supporting such great artists so they don't die out! You even have the chance to get a limited signed copy. Isn't that something nice? ;)

I think I wasn't that hooked to an album yet this year. Last time it was surprisingly Reaper's "Babylon Killed The Music", which was released a year ago. My personal favorite Grendel album is still Harsh Generation but this is definitely up to the preference of the listener. You will probably be pleased either way because not many people invest so much time for the production of an album. You really hear that the production is well executed and has the typical Grendel quality. Definitely worth having this piece of art! My favorite track is Hex It. Of course I could say pretty much all tracks but Hex It is my absolute favorite. The track I liked the least is Scorn, mainly because of the cyborg voice which is hard to understand for me anyway.

Rating: 9/10

UPDATE:
Obviously by now I got my hands on the limited 2CD and also the limited tape edition! Honestly I was a bit disappointed about the 2CD edition since it comes in a normal jewelcase. I honestly expected a digipak. Just doesn't feel like anything special to be honest. However, the tape is really cool! Looks very oldschool and even comes with 2 exclusive bonus tracks. Also there are ONLY 50 copies of this tape! So if you really like the album or the artist in general, be fast and get one! It comes with a signed postcard too!