Hailing from the heart of the infamous Ruhr-Area, THE VERY END have always been a wayward bunch...no categories, no boundaries, not your standard heavy metal game. Even after more than seven years since the release of their last album "Turn Off The World", this has not changed for sure. If anything, the band are stronger and more unique than ever before. With a new line up and a brand new album titled "Zeitgeist." The album contains twelve tracks.

"Teratoma" opens with soft and melancholy piano notes, leading to some heavy and harmonic rhythm and lead guitars. It segues into "Light the Lows," which opens with furious vocals and a super-tight rhythm section. It slows just a bit in the chorus, with augmented lead guitars, but picks back up. The entire song is just...well, sad, and angry at the same time. "On Parole" begins with some clean guitars mixed in with distorted guitars. The clean guitars bring an outer-worldly feeling with them. Harsh vocals in the verses lead to semi-cleans in the chorus. This song is a real banger. A raucous guitar solo accompanies the song.

"Zeitgeist" goes for broke out of the gates. The raw energy is unleashed as the vocals are harsh screams. The main riff is both choppy and weighted, and the song is unrelenting in its delivery. "Truth & Tremor is just a little slower in pace, but no less intense. It opens with two long screams that will curdle your blood. It takes an ambient pause after the half-way mark, with a soulful guitar solo. "Short Cuts Deep Wounds" is a faster moving track, with some moments of galloping kick drum. The mix of both clean and harsh vocals provides some diversity to the track. However, a lot of the album is beginning to run together just a bit for me.

"Brave New World" features some despondent tones, especially in the clean vocals and guitars. They lay on the E chord throughout much of the song. The chorus is touching in a way, and it brings another element to the table. "Anechoic" begins with some dreamy strings, as fade in begins. Soon, it rises up and punches you in the mouth. Some clean vocals mix in the chorus, but again, the sound is quite similar to many of the other tracks on the album. "The Day it all Went Black" is a slower, more grinding song with tones of sadness and the melancholy. This song does bring a different sound, so that's good.

"Sorrow No More" opens with big guitar strikes and some melodic lead tones. But old habits die hard, as you can interchange this song with nearly every other one on the album. The guitar solo is an exception...very nicely done. "From Boone to Bane" is another song with similar riffs and length. This is getting quite old. "Until There's Nothing Left of Us" closes the album. The longest song on the LP begins with some bass notes. Although the song has a longing quality to it, it's unfortunately more of the same. The sad fade-out is nice, but it's not enough to save the album.

Overall, this was an intense listening experience, by clearly talented musicians. They found a sound that they like, and are sticking with it. However, many of the tracks are identical in length and even in sound. With a renewed line-up, the band has to find way to sway from old tendencies and embrace a more diverse sound. Twelve tracks are a lot to get through when the sound is this similar. It's a shame too, because a stellar production along with accomplished musicians is somewhat wasted because the album just could not break loose of the same sound, track after track. It's a good album, but could be much better.