Reviews to our 1. Demo »Der Steppenwolf«

Reviews

Ablaze Magazine (This magazine does not grade)   Moondance Magazine (This magazine does not grade)

Nowadays, CDs like »Der Steppenwolf« have become rare, because few bands are willing to invest so much time and effort, not only into the music, but also into the lyrics. Stonehenge’s lyrics are written in German and English, and they are written very well! These texts bare witness to the educational background of the lyricist. The literary inspiration of STONEHENGE lies in the works of the German philosopher Hermann Hesse. Musically, the band presents itself very experimentally. Stonehenge don’t fear the daring mixture of Gothic-Rock and Death Metal. Still, the southern Germans don’t lose track. Instead they develop a melancholic charm that fits the depth of the lyrics very well and leaves me hoping for more.

A strange piece of metal. Lyrically and conceptually I found this to be interesting actually, certainly more challenging than the usual things everybody talks about and nobody knows of. Stonehenge are for the »dechristianization of German politics and against the dictatorship of political correctness«. Quite ok in my book, as well as the admiration of Hermann Hesse, whose work I also appreciate and whose lyrical influence is already present in the demo title. But I have quite some problems with the musical side. This is technical death and thrash metal. The instrumental abilities are above average, and thus there is quite some complexity present throughout the entire effort, opposed to the usual streight thrash stuff. To exaggerate it, this is rather Atheist than it is Slayer. The thing that makes this Demo so unappealing to me, although it offers, objectively spoken, quality, is that there is no real feeling, no atmosphere, not even real aggression. There is just this technical, cold and lifeless sound, riff after riff, including much but heading nowhere.