KADAVAR: Rough Times (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

It took the Germans just one album, the first one, to establish themselves as the leader of vintage (hard) rock. Since then, some people have been wondering about this success, believing that the trio doesn't deserve this dazzling ascent any more than anyone else. Yet, perhaps even more than its predecessor, the rightfully acclaimed "Berlin", "Rough Times" provides the answer to this question. Behind the basic character of a raw form-release music, which is also its strength, is lurks a goldsmith's writing which never forgets that a good title is the one that clings to memory.

Yet the discover of this third round leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, especially for those who witnessed the atomic performances delivered on stage by 'Lupus' and his henchmen. One waits feverishly for these guitaristic protrusions of which Kadavar has the secret, but one must (almost) wait until the orgasmic 'Die Baby Die', which was not chosen for nothing as first single, to see the temperature rise a notch. A little further on, 'Tribulation Nation' explodes the erectometer with its steamroller rhythm and repetitive chorus.

In comparison, the rest seems at first disappointing, unfinished, almost giving the impression that some songs have been castrated ('Into The Wormhole'), are clumsy ('The Lost Child' and its whistling finale) while others have an air of "already heard" ('Words Of Evil') or at least seem strange, like 'A l'Ombre du Temps', a weird conclusion spoken in French.

But Kadavar is definitely not a band like the others and this (falsely) badly rough and clumsy aspect hides in fact an admirable spirit of synthesis which allows the Teutons to sum up everything in the space of three or four minutes, rarely more, where many of their competitors let themselves be carried along on long roads, asleep by the soft scent of a water pipe. To this tight format is added a brutality, which first of all transpires from Lindemann's tense guitar playing, resulting in an extremely hard, abrupt and mineral rock.

As its name suggests, "Rough Times" shows musicians who are increasingly trying to get rid of the superfluous in order to capture an almost primitive dark energy, which is reflected in the eponymous, pachydermic and rough primer. And in the end, it is from his clumsiness and his more raw character than ever that "Rough Times" draws its strength, making it the most personal and tortured work of its creators. - Official website

KADAVAR

ROUGH TIMES

NUCLEAR BLAST

ROCK