Emigrate, an American industrial metal group, released its third album in eleven years,'A Million Degrees'. As we will see, this American formation is sponsored by a famous German group (no, it's not BMW!) that is evolving outside its parent company's schedules.
Listening to the first notes and riffs of this "A Million Degrees", you would think you could hear the eructations of a little brother of Rammstein, who had just ingested "Sonne". And for good reason, the guitarist is none other than Richard Zven Kruspe, who still plays in the German band! Big riffs that stain and keyboards well in the spotlight, nothing original but an efficient and burr-free rendering. Richard's voice has some nasal accents (a kind of cold Till Lindemann) but is not without vocal power.
On the menu of this record, let's mention the luminous ballad "We Are Together" which radiates our senses, "2014' which finds a jumping momentum on its choruses, "Hide And Seek" which is clearly the alchemy of industrial metal and punk with a Green Day feel to it. Till, who succeeds Marilyn Manson on the previous album, even comes to put his rocky voice in duet on 'Let´s Go', worrying and fascinating electro-pop object where the two voices sing in their languages (German for Till and English for Richard) before merging. The album ends with a new ballad where the warmth of the guitars and the poignant voice will melt the most hardened hearts.
Nevertheless, despite all the efforts of seduction, this more open orientation lacks balance and wisdom, as witnessed by the listening to the dusty eponymous title or the ridiculous chorus of "Spitfire". And worse! Emigrate is self-indulgent and ruins his good ideas: "You Are So Beautiful" which was meant to be the ideal synthesis between U2 and Blink 142, doesn't convince on his dry chorus. 'I'm Not Afraid', a collaboration with Tobias Forge of Ghost, despite its Gregorian atmosphere, is purely soporific, even if the powder finally speaks 1 minute before the lights go out with a short but liberating solo guitar.
Emigrate is the American dream of Rammstein's historical guitarist. If rammstein's influence remains moderately present, this third album ventures into more open terrain, pop, electro and punk.Emigrate has a lot of potential to seduce with this 'A Million Degrees' which seems to be a transitional album shortly before the announced death of the Berlin giant?