Beissert - The Pusher

Beissert, the wonderfully eclectic German band, is back in the ring for another round with their sophomore release The Pusher.  The album, without a doubt, reconfirms that the band has not lost their edge while pushing their genre bending musicality even further to the borders of comprehension.  Take some big ole Clutch and Pantera groove riffing, a mix of hardcorish growling gang chanting, and a touch of avante garde and you have a simmering stew of gooey goodness.

The band seamlessly cross-pollinates the English and German languages; resulting in their own bastardized lexicon.  Frankly, I forget at times I am singing along in German.  As a listener, I like being challenged to think in new ways and be exposed to different sounds and approaches to the rigid metal mold.  For the tried and true ardent fan of straight up metal there is absolutely nothing here that will appeal.  Those who are open minded enough will delight in the band’s ability to fluidly switch between a variety of genres which include sludge, doom, thrash, stoner, hardcore, and blackened death ‘n roll. Did I leave anything out there?

How can you go wrong with the fist in your face rock of ”Die Dunkelheit Uns Mit Sich Nimmt” that taunts like a schoolyard bully until you give in and join the spastic fray or the down and dirty rock of ”Uphillfight Against the Sun” a la any Aussie hard rock band?  It’s the bravado that works magic in getting attention but the riffs and heavy beats the get your foot tapping and heart a racing.  The cleaner more traditional singing tends to be one of two weak links here.  The other instance being ”Die Fabelhafte Welt Der Agonie” which is a piano driven instrumental that comes too early in the proceedings.  It is a bit of a buzz kill to the momentum that is built, but thankfully, it’s so short it doesn’t completely derail the fun.  Hints of swamp boogie swagger even slip in when you least expect it.  There is also a sense that the band has been overdosing on Down and Crowbar from time to time but never dangerously close enough to be outright imitation.  For a WTF moment, you get Indians in “Unaussprechlichen Kulten” but maybe by this point you will realize it’s these unexpected flourishes that make Beissert one of a kind. All of it is done with such class and professionalism that you simply can’t ignore their ingenuity.

Beissert’s derring-do attitude is admirable and they are clever enough musicians to effectively mesh styles and genres brilliantly when everything seems impossibly unruly. Daunting as it may be, but when it comes to breaking longstanding musical barriers, Beissert rise to the occasion and become The Pusher. 

Release Date: May 25, 2010
Label: Agonia Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  The Pusher
2.  Die Dunkelheit Uns Mit Sich Nimmt
3.  Die fabelhafte Welt der Agonie
4.  SaxonBloodRock
5.  Uphillfight Against the Sun
6.  Unaussprechlichen Kvlten
7.  Durch die Haare in das Kind
8.  Eerie Discipline
9.  Aal ins Gekroese
10.  Yggdrasil
11.  Bloodsown
12.  Gedanke und Erinnerung

Total playing time:  50:24

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*Comments:

Reviewer: M.J.

June 16, 2010