Blutengel – Damokles (CD Album – Out Of Line)
Genre/Influences: Dark-pop, wave-pop.
Background/Info: Blutengel started the year with the “Un:Gott”-album, which by the way was a truly masterpiece, and now ends the year with already another new opus! Mastermind Chris Pohl assisted by Ulrike Goldmann, remain ultra prolific and this After twenty years of Blutengel success stories. The album has been divided in two parts; the “Damokles”-chapter featuring six songs plus one remix and the “Un:Gott – The Lost Chapters”-chapter featuring five more songs and one remix.
Content: Let’s start with the main part of the album, the “Damokles”-part, which is revealing a rather classic Blutengel sound formula. Blutengel stands for a kind of sweet darkness, mixing melancholic electro-pop together with carrying choruses. The main evolution probably is the empowering guitar playing, which especially comes through in the choruses. Chris Pohl remains the lead singer while Ulrike Goldmann sings a heavenly way. A remix has been accomplished by Caisaron.
The “Un:Gott – The Lost Chapters” can be understood as songs that didn’t get featured at the “Un:Gott”-album. It remains pure Blutengel music. The album ends with a remix of Massive Ego.
+ + + : Blutengel holds on to its good-old sound formula, which is carried by strong leads evolving in captivating choruses and the charisma of singer Chris Pohl joined by the grace of Ulrike Goldmann. This album will not enter into history as the band’s major work although it reveals a new brilliant song entitled “Disobedience”. This is a genius cut featuring a solid chorus on, which electronics and guitar create a sublime fusion. Another noticeable song is “Fire And Ice”, which catches the attention for its melody. I also have to mention the cool remix of “Hourglass Of Life” by Massive Ego.
– – – : This album has something weird; it’s filled with new stuff, but it feels a bit like a less inspired version of “Un:Gott” featuring a few exceptions. It appears to be an album for the die-hard fans, but not a masterpiece!
Conclusion: I have some mixed feelings with this work; it features a few outstanding songs next to tracks, which sound like having been composed in the automatic pilot mode!
Best songs: “Disobedience”, “Fire And Ice”, “Hourglass Of Life – Massive Ego Remix”, “Hourglass Of Life”.
Rate: (7½).
Artist: www.blutengel.de / www.facebook.com/BlutengelOfficial
Label: www.outofline.de / www.facebook.com/outoflinelabel
About Blutengel
Blutengel formed in Berlin, Germany, in 1998 as a project by Chris Pohl. The current core line-up consists of Chris Pohl and Ulrike Goldmann, signed to Out Of Line Music.
Early releases include “Child Of Glass” (1999) and “Seelenschmerz” (2001), followed by “Angel Dust” (2002) and “Demon Kiss” (2004). The discography continued with “Labyrinth” (2007) and “Schwarzes Eis” (2009), alongside EPs such as “Soultaker” (2009), then “Tränenherz” (2011), “Omen/Save Us” (2015), “Leitbild” (2017) and “Un:Gott” (2019).
“Damokles” followed “Un:Gott” later in 2019, pairing six new songs with a five-track “Un:Gott – The Lost Chapters” companion set. The band’s later studio albums include “Erlösung – The Victory Of Light” (2021) and “Un:Sterblich – Our Souls Will Never Die” (2023).
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