Stoppenberg – Frontschlag (CD Album – X-Beats)

Genre/Influences: Techno-body, dark-EBM.

Background/Info: Jan Loamfield will always be linked to his most successful project Noisuf-X and of course the dark-electro project X-Fusion. But the German sound guru is also active under the Stoppenberg moniker and is releasing a new album a year. His newest opus is “Frontschlag” featuring thirteen new songs.

Content: There where Noisuf-X mixes industrial together with rave, Stoppenberg is mixing EBM with raw, technoid sound treatments. The work is also driven by impressive bass lines, which became Jan’s trademark, furious dance beats, spoken samplings and for the very first time predominant vocals. Jan invited Centhron singer Elmar Schmidt to sing on different tracks while the last song features Daniel Graves (Aesthetic Perfection).

+ + + : When it comes to sound and influences I can’t say that Stoppenberg really innovates, but the production process is once again high-tech. I however like the raw sound treatments, the terrific bass lines (Jan Lehmkämper being one of the most talented artists when it comes to create solid bass lines) and the furious power emerging from the songs. The addition of vocals injects some diversity, but clearly sounds as a bonus to the music. There are numerous noticeable songs featured, but I have a preference for “Shake Your Booty”. Especially the chorus of this song makes the magic!

– – – : Sound-wise Stoppenberg doesn’t innovate and even becomes a bit predictable, but in the end no one will complain when getting such a huge amount of dance stuff. A few songs could have been a little bit longer and that’s maybe a little regret.

Conclusion: Jan Lehmkämper is clearly putting more and more efforts in this project, which album after album is becoming more performing and convincing! This is the sound of raw techno-body music.

Best songs: “Shake Your Booty”, “Frontschlag”, “Krieg”, “Bewegt Euch, Pussies”, “Anyone Else”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.stoppenberg.net / www.facebook.com/stoppenbergmusic

Label: www.facebook.com/xbeatspromotion

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