Endzustand – Roter Freitag (EP – Echozone)
Genre/Influences: EBM.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Last year Endzustand unleashed the debut-album “Werk Des Krieges”. This German EBM project driven by Ralf Rönckendorf is mainly inspired by Ralf’s soldier experiences on missions in Afghanistan. Back in 2010 he lost three of his comrades while he was victim of a severe injury losing his eyesight. “Roter Freitag” was originally released on the album and deals with that traumatic day.
Content: The sound formula of Endzustand is quite simple and totally into retro EBM. The music is pretty simple, carried by solid bass lines, repetitive dance rhythms, some refined sequences and the deep growls of Ralf. “Roter Freitag” has been reworked into an “EP Version”, but we also get 5 new cuts. The influences remain identical. The last track is featuring Marco Korda –who already made a remix of a previous EP-title song.
+ + + : If you’re into old-school EBM this band is definitely one to discover. It’s great to see this artist has found in music a way to express his traumatic experiences. The sound isn’t innovative, but makes sense and is recognizable because of the artist’s deep, rough vocals. The “EP Version” of the title song is a cool cut, but there’s also something to say about “Soldatenlied” and “Volle Kraft Voraus” while “Hoffnungslicht” feat. Marco Korda is my favorite piece for being a little bit more elaborated;
– – – : The lack of elaboration was the main minus point about the album and still comes through at this new work. “Hoffnungslicht” is a positive step in this evolution.
Conclusion: EBM as a cure to exorcise tragic events!
Best songs: “Hoffnungslicht”, “Roter Freitag – EP Version”, “Soldatenlied”.
Rate: (7 ½).
Artist: www.facebook.com/Endzustand-113743810414367
Label: www.echozone.de / www.facebook.com/EchozoneMusic
About Endzustand
Endzustand is the old-school EBM project of German musician and former soldier Ralf Rönckendorf. He founded the project and released a first track in 2009, before the mission in Afghanistan on Good Friday, 2 April 2010, on which he lost three comrades and his eyesight. According to Side-Line’s 2020 coverage, he later learned to run his own studio with analogue synthesizers and control software adapted to his loss of sight. Discogs has a profile for the project but no biography.
The debut album Werk Des Krieges was released on CD by Echozone on 9 October 2020 and reviewed on Side-Line in December 2020; Achim Dressler of the Wellencocktail Tonstudio in Hanover mixed and mastered it. Its eleven tracks include “Vaterland”, “Roter Freitag”, “Hass”, “Werk Des Krieges” and “Lass Mich Allein”. The download singles “Hass” (2020, with seven remixes and a video), “Werk Des Krieges” (2020) and “Lass Mich Allein” (19 February 2021, with remixes by Pyrroline, Marco Korda, Pantser Fabriek and Genom Staahl) followed.
“Roter Freitag” was released by Echozone on 2 April 2021 as a download and on CD. The six tracks are “Dieser Tag …”, “Roter Freitag (EP Version)”, “Soldatenlied”, “Schau nach vorn!”, “Volle Kraft voraus” and “Hoffnungslicht”, the closing collaboration with Marco Korda that the label describes as a dark electro and synthpop track rather than EBM. No further production credits are listed on the Bandcamp or Discogs pages. Discogs lists the single “Maschinenangst” and the CD album “Macht Gesellschaft” on Echozone for 2026. “Roter Freitag” is the project’s second Side-Line review.
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