Eisbrecher are a German electronic trip rock outfit that consists of mainstays Alexx Wesselsky on vocals and Noel Pix on lead guitar along with touring members Jürgen Plangger on rhythm guitar, Olli Pohl on bass guitar, Rene Greil on drums/percussion and Max 'Maximator' Schuar on keyboards. This album is the fourth by the band following on from titles such as Eisbrecher (2004), Antikorper (2006) and Sunde (2008)

So, where do I start with what is essentially a German industrial metal band? Well my first thoughts prior to listening to 'Eiszeit' were that this would be like Rammstein and go no further, but when I delved into 'Eiszeit' I don't think a Rammstein fan would be that impressed. If anything Eisbrecher's (the name translates as Icebreaker) influences go back a bit further, so what we have got is a band following in the tradition of KMFDM (remember them?) with their industrial metal/dance crossover stuff, Megaherz, and yes to a point early Rammstein, well up until the time they discovered power and pyrotechnics. When you translate the titles of the songs, you get tracks like 'Der Hauch des Lebens' (Breath Of Life), 'Segne Deinen Schmerz' (Bless Your Pain) the more obvious 'Bombe' and 'Die Engel' and the all time classic 'Gothkiller', but there is really nothing new in the subject matter here.

I have to admit I struggle with the German lyrics and vocals, they lose me, and music wise there's a little bit of the Sisters of Mercy about them, circa 'Floodland', a bit of Depeche Mode and a lot of Paradise Lost around the time of their more experimental electronic output, which along with the industrial tag, to me makes this album sound dated. The best bands to come out of Germany for this reviewer are the Scorpions, before they trod the stadium path to mediocrity, and Accept ('Fast as a Shark' must be the best track ever!!!!) so perhaps I'm not giving 'Eiszeit' a fair shout, but I think 'second rate Rammstein' pretty much sums this up, or maybe I'm missing something???

http://www.myspace.com/eisbrecherkommando