Review of KADAVAR's new album "Rough Times"

Today the rock overlords from Germany, KADAVAR, released their much anticipated album titled "Rough Times" via Nuclear Blast Records. When I woke up early this morning I thought I would just put this record on in the background. I figure that I would just focus on the vibe coming off the music as I sat and enjoyed my first cup of coffee of the day. Rather than going into an inside, track by track, review of this album I thought it would be good of me to start from distance and work my way in. We writers are always trying something new to get the narrative juices going.

The deep and nostalgic tones coming through my studio speakers have a warmth to them that are quite inviting paired with hot cup of joe on a chilly Friday morning. The ethereal melodic phrase perched way up high above the heavy earthiness of the bass and guitar. The outer space hum reverberating from an old Hammond organ in the middle. Last but certainly the backbeat groove of the rhythm section tying the entire soundscape all together. There is also the presence of a 'rough' muddiness to it that I thought was spectacular. I'll be damned it this beautiful presentation of music isn't recorded via analogue.

As I continue listening to this album over and over it doesn't get old. I get a small sense of having my head in sky while my feet are firmly are planted on earth. It just takes a small portion of this into my ears to bring me to a place where the only thing that matters is what's coming out of my studio speakers. This record is as heavy as it is mind numbing. That being said, it is important for me to note that I have not put any mind or mood altering chemicals into my body in quite some time.

After a few rotations of this album I can't help but wonder if something extraordinary was happening in a space time sense - as if the universal law of vibration and correspondence were procreating something new and unique for the first time as these songs were being written, performed and recorded. None the less, this is some good shit. For the time being I will just let the music do the talking.

Into The Wormhole

Die Baby Die

Tribulation Nation

This album echoes of a time when rock and roll experienced the advent of "studio as an instrument" when studio production values increased dramatically in the mid-sixties. It was a time in history when as musicians, engineers, and producers began to explore the possibilities of multitrack recording.

It's important for me to tell you that the approach wasn’t to just write songs and record them. Employing a much more dynamic approach they make this music all their own. The drummer had this to say about the creative process. “We have been giving it quite a lot of thought, how we want to continue after the last album,” says Tiger. “Maybe I try not to only be a musician, but to think, write and play like an artist. It sounds corny, but I mean it in the way a brick layer differs from an architecht. Not to only lay brick by brick, but create a nice vision of a house with different rooms.”

Midstream of typing this review I stumble across these incredible videos that really tell the story. It was at this point that I realized that my previous conclusion that this amazing album was recorded via analogue rather than digital was validated. The following album trailers put a fresh perspective on my experience of this record and have increased my respect for this band and the fantastic work they put into it.







Tracklist: 1. Rough Times 3:38
2. Into The Wormehole 4:17
3. Skeleton Blues 4:24
4. Die Baby Die 4:18
5. Vampires 4:48
6. Tribulation Nation 5:04
7. Words Of Evil 3:37
8. The Lost Child 5:52
9. You Found The Best in Me 4:58
10. A L'Ombre Du Temps 3:57


KADAVER is:
Christoph 'Lupus' Lindmann - Vocals and Guitars
Christoph 'Tiger' Bartelt - Drums
Simon 'Dragon' Bouteloup - Bass


Copies in physical and digital formats via Nuclear Blast Records HERE!

KADAVAR live:
30.09. UK London - The Dome
01.10. UK Sheffield - HRH Doom vs. Stoner
20.12. D Bremen - Tower
21.12. D Mannheim - Alte Feuerwache
22.12. D Münster - Sputnikhalle
28.12. D Chemnitz - AJZ Talschock
29.12. D Siegen - Vortex

w/ MANTAR, DEATH ALLEY
12.10. D Essen - Zeche Carl
13.10. D Hamburg - Markthalle*
14.10. D Leipzig - Conne Island
15.10. B Antwerp - Desert Fest
17.10. F Strasbourg - La Laiterie Club
18.10. F Paris - Le Trabendo
19.10. F Rennes - L’Ubu
20.10. F Bordeaux - La Krakatoa
21.10. E Madrid - But
22.10. E Barcelona - Bikini
24.10. F Lyon - Feyzin
25.10. CH Monthey - Pont Rouge
26.10. CH Aarau - Kiff
27.10. D Munich - Backstage
28.10. A Vienna - Flex
29.10. A Graz - PPC
30.10. HR Zagreb - Mocvara
01.11. H Budapest - A38
02.11. PL Warsaw - Progresja
03.11. PL Krakow - Kwadrat
04.11. CZ Prague - Nová Chmelnice
05.11. D Nuremberg - Hirsch
07.11. NL Amsterdam - Paradiso Noord
08.11. D Hanover - Capitol
09.11. DK Copenhagen - Pumpehuset
10.11. S Stockholm - Debaser
11.11. N Oslo - Bla
12.11. S Gothenburg - Pustervik
13.11. NL Deventer - Burgerweeshuis
15.11. D Cologne - Bürgerhaus Stollwerck
16.11. D Wiesbaden - Schlachthof
17.11. D Stuttgart - LKA Longhorn
18.11. D Berlin - Columbiahalle
*no MANTAR

Facebook: HERE!
Instagram: HERE!
Twitter: HERE!
YouTube: HERE!
Band Website: HERE!


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Tags:  KADAVAR, Rough Times, Into The Wormhole, Die Baby Die, Tribulation Nation

Brian Biggerstaff    September 29, 2017