Prager Handgriff – Das Letzte Gefecht (Album – Infacted Recordings)
Genre/Influences: EBM.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: More than thirty years after their set up and seven years after their last album German EBM duo Stefan Schäfer – Volker Rathmann aka Prager Handgriff strikes back with a new work featuring fourteen new songs.
Content: The sound and global approach plus concept didn’t change. “Das Letzte Gefecht” which can be translated as ‘the last battle’ sounds in the purest German EBM approach of the band. Engaged vocals dealing about the world and politics we’re living in transposed into dark and melodic EBM with deep growls on top.
+ + + : Prager Handgriff is a band you can’t compare to any other. They have this particular sound DNA mixing power and dark melodies with some extra refined treatments on top. Stefan Schäfer cavernous timbre of voice is guiding us through this sonic inferno. Prager Handgriff doesn’t bring anything new although takes me by surprise unleashing great and accomplished songs. The tracks are sophisticated featuring several attention grabbers like “Alle Zeit Der Welt”, “Du Bist Wie Du Bist”, “Enig Vaterland” and “In Moria” which sounds to me as the absolute highlights from the opus. One of the most surprising cuts is “Abschied” which sound-wise sounds as an Electro version of The Cure.
– – – : Definitely one of the best albums of the band from their post-millennium period. Let’s hope the title isn’t prophetic for their own future as a band.
Conclusion: EBM as a critical reflection of the world we’re living in; that’s the trademark of Prager Handgridff!
Best songs: “In Moria”,“Alle Zeit Der Welt”, “Du Bist Wie Du Bist”, “Enig Vaterland”, “Böse Geister”, “Für Immer”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.pragerhandgriff.de / www.facebook.com/pragerhandgriff
Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690
About Prager Handgriff
Prager Handgriff is a German EBM project formed in 1990 in Witten by Stefan Schäfer (vocals, electronic drums) and Volker Rathmann (keyboards, programming). Initially known as “Der Prager Handgriff”, the duo later shortened the name to “Prager Handgriff”.
The band’s music blends EBM, electro, and electropop, marked by deep German vocals and politically charged lyrics. The debut album, “Arglistige Täuschung”, released in 1993, established the duo in the German electronic scene. It was followed by “Täterschaft & Teilnahme” (1994) and “Maschinensturm” (1995).
Later albums include “Schindluder” (1999), “Fossile Brennstoffe” (2000), and “1000 Feuer” (2002), followed by the best-of compilation “Handarbeiten” in 2005. After a hiatus, Prager Handgriff returned with “Arbeit, Sport und Spiel” in 2011 and “Roburit” in 2015. “Das Letzte Gefecht”, released via Infacted Recordings in 2022, followed seven years later and reflects on contemporary political and social issues.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
