I am a very positive guy with a very wide interest in Heavy Rock/metal. But sometimes I like things to be a little more melancholy. That is where this review comes in. First I need to issue a word of warning: If you already of a heavy disposition, I would advise you to NOT listen to “Zweckpessimismus”, the debut album of the German Dark Rock/Metal band SCHÄDLICH & SÖHNE, because this will probably push over you over the edge of the cliff you are currently balancing upon. If you, on the other hand, love some pessimistic sounding music and messages, then I would ask you to really consider giving this album a good few listens.

What I always have found, and which is definitely accentuated and confirmed on “Zweckpessimismus” is that the German language surely is the best one to select when you wish to get across your messages across in a very dark and menacing way. The fact of the matter is that whether the music is slow and deliberate, like on the opening track “Schädlich & Söhne”, or a bit faster and with more rock, like on the next song “Pathos, Mein Freund?”, it makes the statements made to sound grave, expertly adding an extremely serious undertone. And if you have a vocalist who has a very dark voice, which sounds just as good when he is very soft spoken as when he results to shouts like Till Lindemann (RAMMSTEIN) uses, and he has the ability to demonstrate the same kind of intensity, you know that you might have a winner. Whether this is the case is down to the quality of the music that SCHÄDLICH & SÖHNE produces.

Let me put your mind at ease; there is nothing wrong with the songs on “Zweckpessimismus”. This is very well put together Dark Rock/Metal. What I can say is that there are no fillers on CD1, as all of the tunes have a good build, make sense and feel just right when you are listening to them. The same goes for the first song on CD2. The only two songs that don’t make sense to me are the remixes. They really don’t add anything to the experience. On the contrary, I can’t help but feel that they break down the subtle and precise build up that has lifted “Zweckpessimismus” above average, almost making the positive experience to crash and burn. Thankfully the first eleven songs on the album are strong enough to withstand the demolition. I am very curious what SCHÄDLICH & SÖHNE will give us next time. Just leave out the remixes, please!