''Über alles'' is the third studio album by American

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of Heavy metal music, heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating Heavy metal guitar, metal guitar riffs, sampling (music), sampling, synthesizer or music sequencer, sequencer lines, and Distor ...

band Hanzel und Gretyl, released on May 20, 2003 via

Metropolis Records Metropolis Records is a record label that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania ...

. The album was critically well-received and is generally regarded as the group's most prominent and identifiable work to date. The album is the first of a highly conceptualized trilogy of DIY

operas that denote a distinct change in style for the group marked by aggressive metal style guitar

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

s, gritty orchestral sampling and

guttural Guttural Phone (phonetics), speech sounds are those with a primary place of articulation near the back of the oral cavity, where it is difficult to distinguish a sound's place of articulation and its phonation. In popular usage it is an imprecise t ...

German spoken vocals.

Track listing

Credits

*Vas Kallas & Kaizer von Loopy: vocals and instrumentals *Mixed by Bryce Goggin at Trout Studios, New York City *Mastered by Fred Kavorkian at Absolute Audio, New York City

Critical reception

Rick Anderson of ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' said that in spite of the nazi imagery, the album is a "genuinely well-thought-out fusion of techno and industrial sounds with lots of guitars and tight, crunchy beats." Rick Sanchez of ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' said the band "mastered the pounding guitar and sample sound and lifted the genre to an interesting level" and compared the tracks on the album to ''

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

'', ''

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

'' and ''

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...

'' among other acts. Ewan Wadharmi of ''Hybrid Magazine'' said of the album that the band "has left a trail of

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

samples, hardcore riffing and synth buzzing. The booty-shaking beats are creative, and plenty of sirens blast the compound for death-ravers to make the Great X-scape." In a more critical review, Coreen Wolanski of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' called the band a "shtick act" and that the album had "nothing more to offer than Rammstein on a bad, bad day."

References

External links

*https://hanzelundgretyl.com/ *http://www.metropolis-records.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Uber Alles Hanzel und Gretyl albums 2003 albums Metropolis Records albums 2000s concept albums Industrial albums