After a thirteen year hiatus from the studio, Die Krupps just released a new eight-track EP “Als Wären Wir Für Immer” (I believe this translates as “When We Were Forever”) which serves as a teaser for a full-length that is supposed to follow sometime next year. The new EP contains five new tracks (with the track “Dr. Mabuse” being a remake of Propaganda’s 1984 single) and three remixes.

This release marks a return to Die Krupps’ EBM roots and the heavy-metal guitar sounds from the band’s past releases are either muted or gone. Three of the tracks are sung in English (“Beyond”, “The Chameleon Man”, “Dr. Mabuse”) and all three have memorable synth lines that are powered by pulsing mid-tempo darkwave, dancefloor beats. The most memorable of these three tracks is the catchy buildup and exploding chorus of leadoff track “Beyond” on which Die Krupps collaborated with Chilean industrial band Vigilante. The remaining two new songs (“Die Macht”, “Als Wären Wir Für Immer”) are sung in German and these tracks are clanging, angry industrial tunes (which never cross into heavy metal territory). All five of these tracks go a long way toward making this EP memorable. The problem comes at the end of the disc with the three remixes as, while they aren’t bad, they aren’t that different from the studio tracks.

While Die Krupps doesn’t break any new ground with this release, they continue to excel at their brand of industrial dance music which makes their forthcoming 2011 release something to look forward to.

Links:
Die Krupps Fanbase Site