A review of the CD Scheissmessiah by Hanzel und Gretyl.
Hanzel und Gretyl - Scheissmessiah
Metropolis Records
by Wa
Loopy’s signature slashing, gritty guitar, electronic mayhem, and Vas Kallas’s barking distorted vocals, remind us fondly of the Psalm 69-era music of Ministry and that is of course why they were chosen to open the recent Ministry tour. Despite use of the German language in their lyrics there is no misunderstanding the thrust of Scheissmessiah, not with song titles like "Fikk Dich Mit Fire (fuck you with fire)", "Blood! Sex! Fire", "10th Circle", "Hellalujah" and "Disko Fire Scheiss Messiah (disco fire shit messiah)". In light of current U.S./International relations there is the mandatory dressing down of President baby-Bush in the thoroughly entertaining Bloodhound Gang-esque "Burning Bush".
After listening to their releases it might be surprising to learn that Von Loopy and Vas Kallas are not German, they are actually from New York; and that howling voice that sounds remarkably like Al Jourgensen is actually Vas Kallas the feminine half of the creative duo.
Scheissmessiah is an condemnation of our current society using blue collar language through the metaphors of Handel’s Messiah and Dante’s Inferno representing of course, heaven and hell. It is an ambitious reach, but one they pull off brilliantly as they plow their way through ten tracks of glistening metallic rapture! After years of being told that they were going to hell for their raucous behavior they decided to relent and make a visit of the lower levels to see what it was really like. Scheissmessiah was the bombastic result.
Hanzel und Gretyl official site: http://www.hanzelundgretyl.com
Metropolis Records: http://www.metropolis-records.com
see also Ministry, Das Ich, and Rammstein
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