Akrea. Lugenkabinett. CD.

On their hopefully still very long journey through life, ”Lügenkabinett” is a next step which AKREA have taken together with Victor Bullock again. The Triptykon and Dark Fortress guitarist (also known as V. Santura) took care of AKREA’s transparent sound at his Woodshed studios, despite his love of detail always keeping an eye on live performances, so AKREA will not have to go without fundamental arrangements or have to use samples. The inclusion of piano passages, for example, has been restricted to the instrumental, ’Zwischen den Welten’, which, together with the other instrumental, ’Ach was bist Du schön...’, will in all probability remain but a studio recording.  The melodic elements have been reserved for the guitars. The opening track, ’Vier Sonnen’, gets down to business without preliminary banter and is from start to finish interwoven with lead guitar motifs. Stephan Schafferhans’ solos show his blues and rock background on ’Wilde Flut’ (the finale of the regular album edition), among others. But AKREA not only define themselves through the different facets of his and Fabian Panzer’s guitar: ’Bühne Frei’ flirts with black metal sound aesthetics, and the already mentioned harmonic, ’Ach Was Bist Du Schön...’, which is initially ruled by a clean guitar intro, is followed by ’...So Schön’, featuring thrash rhythms on its verses.  The combination of the latter two song titles indicates, even without knowing the words, the biting irony which rules Sebastian Panzer’s lyrics. The cabinet of lies as an overriding concept describes a not necessarily human power which feigns an ideal world to us here on earth. Panzer unmasks and criticises that manipulation, at times in metaphors, at others in an open reckoning with the information, fun and couch potato society which is choking on its contradictions. His vocals, somewhere between massive growls and variable screams, is certainly no less committed than on the album’s predecessor, if slightly deeper and more controlled. The introduction to ’Versprochen Ist Versprochen’ may hint at a (semi-)ballad, though melodic vocals are currently not a priority for the band. But who knows which direction the quintet’s lifeline may still take them. You should never feel safe when it comes to AKREA: they’re much too open as musicians and songwriters to ever be predictable. Released on Drakkar and available October 22nd, 2010. <