MEGAHERZ

Everybody knows that Germany loves heavy metal. Less widely known but equally true is that Germany also loves industrial metal and has effectively kept the genre alive over the last few decades. For most of the world, RAMMSTEIN remain the benchmark, but MEGAHERZ are also a pretty big deal in their native land. Formed in 1993, the Eichenhau crew have released ten albums and several EPs, earning themselves a huge following in Europe and a solid reputation as a great live band. MEGAHERZ remain an underground concern away from home, and "In Teufels Namen" ("in the Devil's name") is unlikely to change that, but this is still a devilish and diverse entry point into the band's long-established world.

When all is said and done, great riffs will always make the difference. The opening title track is an outright anthem, with a magnificent central riff that quickens the blood every time it appears. The song itself sits somewhere between KILLING JOKE circa "Pandemonium" and the heavier, more bombastic end of the RAMMSTEIN catalogue. But there is more metallic bite here than either of those bands could muster, and the chorus has a brooding, pitch-black MOONSPELL feel to it. Many, many gothic and industrial boxes are being ticked here, but MEGAHERZ have been doing this for 30 years, which means they probably wrote most of the blueprints anyway. They also write great pop songs, albeit of a very dark disposition.

"Rabenherz" ("Ravenheart") could be a PSYCHEDELIC FURS tune, if the robust thud of MEGAHERZ's wall of guitars was toned down a bit. "Engelsgesicht" ("face of an angel") embraces a classic glam stomp, adorned with the now ubiquitous '80s synths, and is thunderous and uplifting in equal measure. "Freigeist" ("free-thinker") goes darker; almost into synth-led PARADISE LOST territory, and with a bullish disco pulse and EDM FX a go-go.

This album evokes the Devil for a reason, though. Whether one can understand the lyrics in the first instance or not, MEGAHERZ are always compelling and always rooted in metal and related dark things, no matter how lavish and overwrought their ballads are. "Kannst du den Himmel Sehen" ("Can you see the sky") is a particularly preposterous showstopper, but it works because MEGAHERZ bring the riffs.

That iconic MANSON / ZOMBIE stomp returns for "Der König Der Dummen" ("King Of The Stupid"),  but this time it's a gnarly, hell-bound groove that morphs into grandiose gothic metal and back again. Electronics play a greater part in "Amnesie" ("Amnesia"),  a slithering, synth-driven hymn to memory's loose grip that still packs a powerful six-string punch.

Meanwhile, "Alles Arschlöcher" ("All assholes") is unnervingly boisterous, like a swarm of robot thugs at a football game, and guaranteed to make large crowds jump up and down. Closing with the somewhat typical industrial rock strut of "Menschenhasser" ("Misanthropist") and the phones/lighters-in-the-air arena goth of "Auf Dem Weg Zur Sonne" ("On the path to the sun"),  "In Teufels Namen" is a classy march through black's many shades, and MEGAHERZ are storied veterans on the finest of form.