'The Machinists of Joy'
Lurking away in the forgotten oil terminals of sin and iron
works of rhythm, a hammer strikes again between man and machine, to deliver
another gallon of sweet petroleum tones from Dusseldorf. Die Krupps give out the heart of past and a message that the machinists of joy are not dead yet.
The old school noises of EBM are rough and raw in the first
half of the album; sixteen tracks are awaiting the beholder to judge.
The melody of electronic pace and guitar strokes start the
chant in ‘Ein Blick Zurück Im Zorn’ and we are off with a very instant thud to
the chest. Frankly not what was seen coming, but I guess this oil refinery had
to start up with the bang.
EBM electronica reigns supreme in the slow lather of
‘Essenbeck’ geared up in the grease back in tanzfabrik. ‘Im Falschen Land’ strips
the head into trance and then Stop!
Noises are heard from the back of the factory; echoing of
beat and bass creeps in with the snow outside…
The Slow scraping wood on metal beat makes for a dark dirty noise
from ‘Part of the Machine’. The fuel from the heat cracks the muscles wide open
into the black creature. Throwing gliding scrapes amongst the rhythm expels a
heap of lead fumes from the body, allowing those besmirched sounds to grind in snowy
rubber soles to feet.
Keeping the Carcinogens alive in the lungs as you breathe
down the tar of the previous track, the light chime of a gelid wonderland of warm
steelworks, snow and love is burnt in with ‘Eiskälte Engel’. The song could be
described as a gentle waltz for an iron pumping machine in the winter. The
rhythm is sped up and the backing of synthetic electronica makes it ever so
more dark and crisp.
The guitars make their way back in ‘Nocebo’ against white
tiles spiting vodka at an angry strobe light.
‘Sans Fin’ grinds back into that lush scent of heavy blast
furnaces you walk past in the factory, but even the raging scold of melting
iron ore can’t keep you warm . The melodic tones of a lost winter breathe in as
you walk out into the snow and away from the factory.
The epilogue is made by ‘Industrie Mädchen’ returns to a
hard beat to end the album, a bit blunt for the end of an album, as it feels
more made for the middle.
Machinists of joy with its combination of two tone EBM electronica
with a hint of winter destruction is an achievement. Taking aside the kick drum
beginning and middle-feel ending, the feet of Jürgen Engler and his partners in
crime still is worthy of those blades of grass that encompass the three rings
of Die Krupps.
Review by Dominic Lynch (DJ LX-E)