:Wumpscut: - Women and Satan First

:Wumpscut: is back with another album for ritualistic dancing and reflection. The new album, 'Women & Satan First', is similar in style to the last album, Schrekk & Grauss, but has a few slow danceable songs inserted in it. A few songs are spoken in German and the rest in English and German mixed. The music is very much what you might expect on a dark ritualistic night or creeping through dark tunnels in a hidden sanctuary. The artwork on the CD cover makes the people on the cover look as if they are drawn. It is a freakish style of album cover, but it fits the music perfectly and lets you know what you are in for. It is a night of chanting, women, Satan, reflection and rituals. The music fits perfectly with these themes.

The album has ten tracks on it, opening with "Hallelujah", which includes vocoded vocals, male vocals and some female vocals spoken and choral. The music has a bit of club style to it, but it is still not really danceable unless you are dancing as if in a trance. Moving forward from the lyrics "Hallelujah, praise the Lord", the next song, "Women and Satan First", takes us towards a more Satanic style. The music is similar to the first song, but has a harder beat and is darker.

"Death Panacea" starts off with haunting vocal samples and then kicks into heavy beats and basslines. This song is slow, but has a hard drag to it that makes it very irresistible. "Kill That Little Fuck" is dark, sinister and will have you singing the song title over and over as it goes along. "Burial On Demand" is the most danceable track on the album and has all the dark elements of the rest of the album, but delivered in a more club style and beat. "Grobian" brings in more symphonic elements and danceable beats.

"L'Enfer Noir" is a powerfully dark song, which pulls you in with intrigue and awe. The vocals are powerful and keep sending a message of "The Lord has forgiven you, you must also forgive", and seems to propel the listener into performing a mission. This is not a danceable song, and it doesn' matter at all once it begins. The message and power in this song is undeniable. On my first listen to this song, it wasn't my favorite, but sitting down and focusing on the song and lyrics, it has drawn me in and is too powerful of a piece of work to ignore.

"Blutsturtz, Baby" has a strong dance beat and female German lyrics. This song will be one of the ones stuck in my head today. "Cunnilingus Creutzfeuer" is very similar to "Blutsturtz, Baby", but sung by a male.

The final song, "Kaufe Deine Seele" is a slow song and ties the entire album together and feels like a summary of the journey that the album just took us through. The synthesizers are like the ones used by Vangelis in his L'Enfant album.

The entire album is not merely a music album but is an event which causes you to reflect upon the journey that the album just took you through. It is very mysterious, haunting, powerful and ritualistic. I admit, I normally don't listen to music like this very often, but this album has definitely taken me in and I am pleasantly surprised by it and will listen to it often. Apr 02 2012