Sometimes it happens, unfortunately not that often I desire…but there are moments we all know: we insert a CD of an unknown band we never heard of before and we get caught by the music immediately. I was quite surprised because I had no expectations concerning WELTENBRAND, but this turns out to be an advantage. I have to admit that I don’t know many Dark Wave bands, but if this musical genre has to offer more groups in the vein of WELTENBRAND I should change this instance immediately.
In a time nobody has got time to sit back and to enjoy the silence, WELTENBRAND offer nearly an hour of wonderful music with great melodies and atmospheric songs. The sounds flow gently and in the same time they swing, there is darkness and light, despair and hope, weakness and power. I can’t pick out one song; they all harmonize best and create a homogenous unity. Dina Zambelli and Ritchie Wenaweser perform very nice vocals and the musical side is nothing less convenient. All songs have a certain dance-floor potential and flush in the auditory canals easily without being too constructed or easy going. That’s exactly what WELTENBRAND’s secret is made of: the way of composing is catchy and commercial but not too simple. There is also some energy floating, so that The End Of The Wizard never gets boring or dull. I think WELTENBRAND managed to convince a listener like me who does not know much about the Dark Wave scene to get in contact with this genre a little bit closer and this is more than one can expect I assume. Another interesting aspect is the lyrical one: WELTENBRAND uses some mythical scripts of their home country Liechtenstein. That’s not an every day approach and I rate this for advantage.
For all those who like emotional music, The End Of The Wizard will bring some nice moments; also listeners who are not familiar with Dark Wave and want to experience darker sounds are welcome to join WELTENBRAND’s musical microcosm!