I remember being kind of allergic to German music in the past. This bias was probably based on the horrible accents of most lead vocalists and the fact that the German language is not my favourite (the thought of my German language teacher still gives me shivers). The last couple of months I definitely had to adjust my vision towards our eastern neighbours. After great albums by Superfly 69 and Thorn.Eleven and an impressive live performance of Perzonal War, I had the pleasure to review the new Schandmaul album, Wie Pech & Schwefel. The fact that this is the first album sung in German I like, actually says it all.

The music on Wie Pech & Schwefel is characteristic for Schandmaul; a combination of rock and folk.

The music is much more powerful than for example the music of their British counterparts Mostly Autumn or other folk rock bands. The biggest strength of the album lies in the interaction between the rhythm section and lead singer Stefan Brunner. Brunner combines warmth, power and emotion at the same time, the vocal melodies are brilliant and suit the rhythm section perfectly. The title of the opening track “Leb!” (Live!) might give you the best impression of the forcefulness of the songs, as does the great album cover. The only point of criticism I can think of concerns the ballads on the album that aren’t very convincing. Wie Pech & Schwefel is a great album that will also appeal to non-German speaking folk rock fans.