staub
1994, Danse Macabre

reviews (in german) are also found within the discography on Das Ich's site.

The music found on this album is created with beautifully orchestrated haunting synths, drum programming, and catchy electronics. All of the harmonies found here are extremely melodic and powerful. This is dramatic soundtrack music for a stylistic horror film. Overlaying the music are emotional vocals that sing melodically as well as scream with anger and rage. However, all of the singing is in German. Even though I can't understand a damn word, the lyrics are sung with so much emotion and passion that I can't help but be drawn to them. This is some of the most powerful, emotional, and well done music that I have ever heard before. Each song is extremely catchy, and pulls you into its morbid world.
Darklight, on wrappedinwire.com

This album was initially released in summer 1994 to Europe. Greatly anticipated, the two and a half year wait between Das Ich's prior album "die Propheten" and "Staub" (German for Dust) did not disappoint. The release proved Das Ich darkwave pioneers, not a one album phenomena. Not only was "Staub" more musically articulate, but significantly more of an intellectual work in lyric and subject.

The hard rough-cut rhythms and intensely passionate vocals of Das Ich's vocalist Stefan Ackermann are still present as fundamental aspects of the music. Yet, all of the works have become full-blown symphonics with "Staub". The resulting sound is as if classical composers Wagner and Weill's concertos had been sampled, amplified, cut-up and nailed together with sharp industrial noise, electronics and rhythm. The sound is both as unexpectantly passionate as it is intelligent. A violently calculated and well thought out (and even sporadically beautiful) assault, more akin to a brutal electronic-classical music than traditional industrial.

The subject matter and lyrical content are paired with the music perfectly. Ranging from isolationism to the nihilistic, from "Unschüld Erde" proclaiming our over abundance as a (human) race on this "Infant Earth", to "Gier" a macabre tale of man without morality. "Sagenlicht" introduces with a burning assault, through to the ultimate nihilistic conclusion of "Staub", finalizing the album with the statement that all of humankind's workings and cumulative history shall end as dust. Other outstanding songs include the well chosen single for the album "von der Armut" which encompasses all of the varying sounds of the album, from piano to noise, in one song. Also, the most aggressive and industrial-like track on the album "Dein Leben" is ridden with fast rhythm and blaring synth-horns. With the domestic release of this album, select tracks from the import single "Stigma" have been included and added to the end of "Staub", Along with single-only song "Der Schrei" and the much darker (reverse edit) version of "von der Armut" as well as a new track "dem ich den Traum". Den Traum probably being the most aggressive and brutal single song ever produced by Das Ich.
As if the music and subject of "Staub" were not challenging enough on their own, for non-German speaking persons, this album begs for translation to be fully comprehended. (Not only contemporary German, but medieval as well). Though, even without German language skills, the potency of Das Ich is not lost on the listener. If you seek to be engaged, intellectually challenged and emotionally moved by music (Gothic/Industrial or otherwise) and have an appreciation of hearing a new innovative sound founded on a history of philosophy and classical music, "Staub" is a true realization of this ideal and one not to be missed.
Jefferson / Cathedral e-zine
(site no longer available)

coming Summer 2010:
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