Relatively unknown outside Germany, the band Hämatom deliver here their seventh album since Wut, released in 2008. Heirs of Neue Deutsche Härte – a genre pioneered by Oomph! and their pyromaniac counterparts Rammstein in the first half of the 1990s - the group continue in the same vein as their previous work Bestie by the Freiheit (2018), again alternating between German and English. Everything is there: catchy heavy metal-inspired riffs with triumphant power chords (Wir sind kein Band), electro touches in the intros (Boom Boom Boom, Bleib in der Schule) and acoustic and orchestral ballads (Freiheit, Unsterblichkeit). Apart from their masked faces and bad-boy outfits, these musicians have been heavily influenced by their elders. The riff that opens Human could have been written by Paul Landers (from Rammstein), both due to the notes and the sound. Without bordering on pastiche or plagiarism, the album integrates punk and hardcore elements (Da Da Da ich Liebe dich nicht...) which contrast with rather pop-like melodies (the beginning of Boom Boom Boom and the choirs on Da Da Da...). There is a huge variety of contrasting and surprising styles to be found among the album’s 18 tracks. Hämatom strike hard and leave their mark! © Clément Bruni/Qobuz