No, the Cologne death-rockers COLUMBIA OBSTRUCTION BOX don’t make it easy for their audience. How can they call their music simply „death rock“? On their debut CD A Single Rat’s Record the five-piece gathers influences beginning from Goth, punk and rock to dark electronics.
Listening to tracks like Blood In Me, Alone or Shot Goodbye one cannot help think of a „light“ version of The 69 Eyes, like: Brand New! With 50 % less kitsch! or something like that... In some other places (1 m 2) they sound more like Danzig, The Doors and even a little bit like Type O Negative. But unlike many of their colleagues in the sinister rock genre, they really revel in grooves. Alone spreads comfortable cemetery-shivers like a horror b-movie. In 1 m 2 a rock-organ crackles, larger-than-life-strings provide as a background to Broken Nose, Winter’s Bed offers chilling vibraphone-sounds, just to be overrun by angry punk-beats. What’s more, the five-piece doesn’t take itself too seriously. How else can lyrics like „wave your hands in the air, like you don’t care“ be explained? And, who the hell yells for a nurse, just because he doesn’t speak Swedish?! That isn’t even a „worst case scenario“!
This record really rocks, the songs are versatile. But in spite of that, none of them may really commit to one’s memory. The (absolutely positive!) impression of those tracks lasts just as long as they last. The search for sounds, melodies, that burn themselves into one’s mind for a longer time seems in vain. But nevertheless, a remarkable work for a debut, indeed.