On disc: Subway To Sally

 
- Bannkrieg
 
- Volker Raabe -
 
 


 
- Hochzeit
 
- Sylvia Kahl -
 
 


 
- Herzblut
 
- Volker Raabe -
 
 


 
- Herzblut
 
- Sylvia Kahl -
 
 

Herzblut

(Mercury Records - 2001)



 
 

 

I saw good reviews and bad ones. And all have some truth revealed. Not easy to get into this one. Herzblut needs more spins to grow... To get used to it. To let you enjoy it. Even if a bit bulky, they didn't got too far from Hochzeit. Development is good for some, others want to hear the same old tunes... So musical progress is a walk on the razor's edge. They use electronical gimmicks - something you probably won't expect - to complete the sound of the emotional songs and create a certain magic. The production is fat and powerful. Masking the music like a person is not showing one's innermost. First the songs are like strangers, but curiosity make you want to know more... And like talking to a stranger to understand the person, listen to the songs let you look into their innermost and probably you fall in love with the stranger. And sometimes you know someone for years and then it clicks and you are in love. But this one isn't taking too much efford to get into. But then it's a friend for life.

A band like Subway To Sally was never easy to listen, they combine past and present. Their music lives from the filigree guitar play of Bodenski. Bodenski is possible best at Herrin des Feuers....

If a band changes musically, coz they feel different and not for commercial reasons, then I can respect it. And I think this album is different, coz they feel different.... It comes from their hearts and so it ain't a betrayal. In my opinion it would be betrayal, if they would play what the fans might want to hear, they would betray themselves. And through this betrayal of their innermost they sound cold. Emotions can only come from feelings. If a band changes or stick to their roots doesn't matter, as long as they do what they want to do. And this one sounds authentical.
 
 










Sylvia Kahl (guest writer)
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)

  
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Herzblut

(Mercury Records - 2001)



 
 

 

The new Subway To Sally in the mail and next in my player. I'm curious, if they can top their last release. Will there be stylistic changes? And after the 5th track I knew that the band from Potsdam created their own memorial with Herzblut! Songs like Die Schlacht, Veitstanz, Das Messer and Drei Engel proof that they know what their fans are longing for. Herzblut is the symbiosis of Hochzeit and Bannkreis where they added some sacral choirs. An album which shows the strong point of the band and which is still interesting after several spins. I give Subway To Sally a high rating for this one, perhaps the next one is their masterpiece...
 
 










Volker Raabe
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)

  
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Hochzeit

(Vielklang - 1999)



 
 

 

I was impatiently waiting for Hochzeit to get into the stores and got it on the release day. For me the music of the Potsdam septet has a certain magic which made me fall for them when I first listened to their stuff.

Lyrically it's again about life in the mediaeval and about love, but it's also about today's life, coz even if many things changed, some are still the same. Usually the woman is the victim of her emotions and her love will give the men power to dominate her. Emacipation changed a lot, but still this scheme is alive. In some parts of the world more alive then in others. They simply tell stories and never try to preach, coz preaching didn't change things, the people learn and sometimes this leads into changes.... Unusal instrumenation as usual. And sounds from malicious to emotional ones. Some mediaeval music, some folk, some oriental sounds and a lot of heaviness. All this you can find in Hochzeit. If you give the album the chance, it'll drag you back in time, back into the dark age. Especially the vocals of Eric Fish hold a certain magic. This one is above the average and perhaps the best genre release in 1999... Definitely one of my faves these days. Can't wait to listen to this stuff live, as one of the best German live bands they make the songs even more alive when they are on stage!
 
 










Sylvia Kahl (guest writer)
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)

  
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Bannkrieg

(Vielklang - 1997)



 
 

 

The band from Potsdam continues on Bannkrieg what they started with Foppt den Dämon. Subway To Sally again deal with lyrics based on the medieval age and still the violin of Frau Schmidt and the egocentric voice of Eric Fish are the trademarks for their sound. The live quality of the band is well known, but critics might argument that Bannkrieg could have been Foppt den Dämon and vice versa. For me they are the most impressive band with German lyrics beside Die Toten Hosen and Die Ärzte.
 
 










Volker Raabe
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)

  
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