TEKKNO

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It’s wacky, unpredictable and arguably one of the funniest releases in recent years, but it just works in so many ways.

It shouldn’t be a shock that they’re willing to offer more than the standard smattering of keys or dance progressions, nor does it ever come from a feeling of obligation. In my opinion, this would have been a welcome change, seeing as new and upcoming rock and metal bands such as Italy’s Måneskin and Finland’s Blind Channel performed at the 2021 contest to critical acclaim. Fuckboi,” featuring all-female Michigan-based CONQUER DIVIDE, is one of the less memorable tracks on the album.

Singles such as “Pump It” and “We Got The Moves” proved how the band sounds in 2021, delivering a decent dose of heaviness at the beginning of their new album and an irresistible chorus that makes “Pump It” a true showcase for the versatility in their sound. It’s got a bit of everything from EDM world (minus dubstep) and at times came across as a bit much to digest in one helping. The juxtaposition of the two core genres in this song set up the expectations for the rest of the album – and as the band have stated in the past, they’re working with genres they love – with the end result proving heavy metal and techno go hand in hand in a weird and wacky way. Furthermore, they are looking forward to a completely sold-out UK tour in September to present their sixth studio album “Tekkno”. It illustrates how thin the line is between an album like Tekkno working, and barely being able to hold itself together.

In an interview with the German magazine FUZE, vocalist Sebastian Biesler said that their lyrics only use clichés in a satirical way. The last section of the track is full to the brim with blast beats and rapid double kicks, as well as growls, screeches, and even a pig squeal thrown in for good measure.Featured on “Spaceman” is German rapper/YouTuber/streamer FiNCH, whose quirky rap segments only add to the fun. And that’s what makes Tekkno actually a fair bit of fun, at least on that absolute most surface level. Still, no matter how chaotic things get, every single song eventually becomes an anthem to sing along to, be it in your car, on a boat, or during the looming zombie apocalypse. The band started recording their second album at Kohlekeller Studios together with producer Kristian Kohlmannslehner in autumn of 2013.

On 22 December 2021, the band announced through Instagram that they were removing old songs from all platforms due to offensive lyrics and that they were reconsidering the band's name. With tons of energy and fun on board, the band from Castrop-Rauxel delivers an unprecedentedly fulminant metalcore-firework that is second to none. First the good: We Got The Moves has an agreeable enough, Rammstein-ish stomp, the chugging bits of opener Pump It are satisfyingly heavy, the keyboardy metal of Mindreader is genuinely good and the best thing here, and closing track Neon is well-versed in the art of the big Euro-metal chorus as perfected by In Flames in about 2004.

At times, it takes you right back to the anthemic pop days of the late 2000s/early 2010s, and at other times it pulls you into the modern day with its djent-splattered metalcore. They have to be; there’s no way to twist this as a serious endeavour anymore, so why not crank up the unrepentant, unapologetic kitsch of it all and just go from there?

It’s very difficult to decipher if this is another intentional choice to mock the state of the alternative scene thanks to the likes of MGK or they really sat down and unanimously agreed this was worth adding to the tracklist. In these songs, it’s also refreshing to hear another language championed in metal and recognise Germany’s contributions to the genre that aren’t ‘Du Hast’.Even if you don’t understand a word of German, you get the idea when he raps, “Wo sind die Jedi-Ritter? All of the aforementioned elements flow quite nicely into ‘ We Got The Moves‘ which could essentially be described as a sibling of ‘ Pump It‘, only this time, the heavy chuggy guitars are the main focus outside of the chorus, alongside forceful drums, hard-style synth beats and easily accessible screams and cleans that go hand in hand like a seasoned moshpit fiend and their pop music loving partner at a local show. I noticed also this is the first album with new singer Nico Sallach after the departure of Sebastian Biesler. Tuonela Magazine described the album as a "mash-up between Eurodance-inspired tunes and brutal djent-sprinkled riffs.