Rotersand – Welcome To Goodbye

Welcome To Goodbye
Dare To Live
The Last Ship Pt 1
Almost Wasted
Storm
By The Waters
The Last Ship Pt 2
Exterminate Annihilate Destroy
Undone
Would You Buy This?
Alive
All In All
Angels Falling

Rotersand are a German band formed in 2002 by Rasc and Gun, veterans of bands such as The Fair Sex, 1am and Warm. One year later, the duo invited Techno and Electro underground producer Krischan E.Wesenberg to join them. Welcome To Tomorrow is their debut album on Dependent Records, following their initial single release of Exterminate Annihilate Destroy.

The album kicks of with the understated intro of Welcome To Goodbye before hitting us very swiftly with the club bass and beats of Dare To Live plus an addictive synth-line. The Last Ship Pt 1 sounds like Covenant at their best (as I mentioned also with their Rearranged version on the single) and is a superb track with pumping bass and growling vocals.

Almost Wasted is a track of two opposites, the first few minutes slow and atmospheric with a persistent bass, before building to a cacophony of noise for the final minute. Storm follows with pumping bass, choral synth and masses of big drums – a very impressive track.

By The Waters straddles the line between ballad and club track, something that is not unique on this album. Seeming to borrow a few chords from the Sakamoto/Sylvian track Forbidden Colours (in my mind anyway), the synths are joined by lilting guitar before morphing into a club track. Next on the setlist is a slower more atmospheric and moody version of The Last Ship, aptly titled Pt 2.

Next up is the Dalek-tinged first single. This is clearly aimed at the industrial crowd, but a direction the band seem to pulling back from on the evidence presented so far. Undone sees the return of the Covenant sound, a style I don’t think I will tire of – even if the band themselves tire of the comparisons. They do this type of song so well.

Industrial-lite beats and rhythm come at us again with Would You Buy This? It’s a simple track with lyrics that seem to come from a Psychiatry 101 manual. Alive is also aimed at the industrial crowd, but it looks like their days are numbered as only three tracks from thirteen dip into this genre on this album, which suggests the band don’t see their future into distorted beats and even more distorted vocals.

We finish off with two ballads. All In All follows the same sort of formula as By The Waters, so it starts as a slow piano-driven affair before the club beats kick in at a minute and a half with swirling keyboards. The last track Angles Falling, though, catches you completely off guard. This ballad actually features singing (and quite good too…), which is a bit of a shock, but then just when you’re expecting the beats to come in………they don’t and the track just ends suddenly. Nice finish and against expectations.

After the single I was hoping for more of the Covenant inspired sound and also something similar to the best track on there (Caustic Greed). I got it and it makes for a cracking album.

Added:  Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Reviewer:  Si Wooldridge
Score:
Related web link:  www.rotersand.net
hits: 908
Language: eng