review  by Elisabeth "elli" Kellner____   

Maybe one shouldn’t write a review about the latest release of a band one spent loads of time with a few years ago and knew what kind of music they were doing before they got their record deal.

    “Glamour” is the second release of the German band Schock on their label Zeitbombe. But, unfortunately, the album is neither glamorous nor does it shock anyone, too obvious and predictable are the songs and their structures. After “Erwacht”, their first album, which awoke the interest of the press and the Gothic Rock fans and got the band a support tour with In Extremo and The Inchtabokatables through Germany and Switzerland plus a few showtimes at festivals, the band seem to have gone for the “play safe” option for their second album – too similar to the first one, not daring to experiment.

    The album is well produced, no doubt about that, the musicians are all professionals with their instruments but only seldom do they get the chance to show this. The guitars only play a role during the beginning and the refrains of each song and even then it is always the same thriving riffs both Silvio and Vladimir are playing – the melodic parts of the song all rest with the synthesizers which gets monotonous after a few songs. The songs are not enough set apart from one another, they sound too similar. Even after listening to the CD a few times, there are only two songs that have burnt their own character on my mind “Tanz” and “Viel zu jung” (great background vocals by Enomis). For the first (and only time) Michael shows that he can vary his vocals and can do something more than the soft sing-along tunes. The other ten songs are still an undifferentiated mass. It is like listening to the same song with only the lyrics changing. By repeating the refrains for endless times again and again the listener gets the impression that they are only making for time and even the best lyrics get destroyed by it.

  Hard for me now to find some last words. Surely it is a good album for all those who are into Oomph! and similar bands at the moment – a new band to add to their list, a band that makes solid music. On the other hand it is a disappointment for old fans who have gone a long way with the band and for all those who expected more (but more in the meaning of a development) after the first album. The saying goes “three times lucky” – let's hope that their third album shows the abilities of this young German band. 

Rating: 4/10

[ I Despair ]