It’s been a long time since I covered something that wasn’t in the metallic hemisphere. However, it’s the day of the resurrection of Jesus (For those that believe at least), and that means taking a look at some religious themed music to celebrate the occasion. This time around, I wanted to show all of you a group that’s rather odd. Really odd. A group that takes Techno/Electronica, Gothic, Industrial, and Gregorian Chanting & religious imagery, then puts that into a blender to wiz it up, and baked into one of the strangest cakes you’ve ever seen. Despite the strangeness of this combination, it somehow works incredibly well, and then you realize that this could have only come from Europe. So, grab your nearest Easter basket, pray to the heavens above (Again, if you believe), and enjoy my review of E Nomine’s first release, Das Testament. Let’s begin!
Background
Taken from Wikipedia:
“E Nomine was founded by German producers Christian Weller ("Chris Tentum") and Friedrich Graner ("Sir Fritz") in 1999 after the huge success of the song "Vater Unser" (Our Father), which was included on their first album released that same year (Das Testament) and their most famous work as well. The project combines electronic sounds with recitations by guest voice actors, operatic chants and choirs, all performed by the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the same from the also German musical project Lesiëm.”
I do want to say one other thing: E Nomine is incredibly obscure. Outside of their native Europe, they are regulated to cult status in other areas of the world. Here in the United States, they are most definitely an example of a “Cult” musical group. Outside of comments on the American branch of Youtube, you’d be hard-pressed to find an E Nomine fan in the United States (Not that it’s impossible. More like it’s rare.).
Basic Description
Strange....but in a good way.
In one corner, you got the Techno/Electronica, Gothic, and Industrial. Then in the other corner, you have the Gregorian Chanting & religious imagery. Both sides work well on their own, but when they combine into one musical force......somehow......someway.....it works. You got the standard beats & rhythms of late 90s Techno/Electronica, the metallic nature of Industrial, the atmosphere of Gothic, and the singing style of Gregorian alongside the religious imagery. Again, this should not work, but it does. In a strange way, I’m sort of reminded of John Larken, a.k.a. Scatman John. He was Techno, but mixed in his past of being a Jazz/Scat artist (Not that kind you sick monkeys), and in the process created something that should not have worked but miraculously did.
Best Track
Though I love practically everything on this album, I gotta admit that the self-titled track may be my main favorite. There is a preview before the song starts, which creates the atmosphere of a church with a rainstorm, and some thunder can be heard once in a while. Afterwards, it enters the song proper, and right away you know it’s late 90s Techno/Electronic. It’s not too fast, but it’s not too slow either, and there’s a nice groove to it. The Gregorian Chanting is used precisely when it’s needed, and when there isn’t any of that, there’s speaking-like singing in German (This is done throughout the whole album, alongside Latin). It’s oddly kind of hard to describe, as this entire song sounds like something that should fail, but miraculously works. Click on the link below, and hear what I mean!
E Nomine
Worst Track
It’s kind of hard to think of something bad about Das Testament. Perhaps the main issue is that Techno & Electronica were never the biggest styles here in the United States, but were hugely popular over in Europe. The whole album feels distinctly European, and I have a suspicion that it would only catch on among niche fans of that style outside of that part of the world. Further complicating things is that finding their records digitally is a surprising challenge. There’s certainly a link or two out there, but you’d be amazed at how many of them come across as rather skeevy (Except For Spotify). Fortunately, finding this record in a physical manner is a little easier. The version of the album I reviewed was the Digitally Remastered edition from 2002, which has almost double the amount of music when compared to the original 1999 release. There’s only 21 copies, but they’re spread out roughly between new & used, and the pricing isn’t terrible either.
(Just put “E Nomine Das Testament” in the Amazon search bar, and you’ll find it)
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this, then click on the link below:
Das Testament
Overall Impression & Rating
Das Testament upon first listening is such a weird experience. Two sides of music, that you think wouldn’t work together, end up being surprisingly excellent partners. This style of music is definitely not for everybody (Especially if you don’t like the religious imagery), and it may be a little difficult to find physically, but E Nomine show that they can be unique in a medium that’s already kind of unique in the first place. If you can set aside some time, I suggest that you give Das Testament a listen. You certain won’t forget it!
Das Testament gets a 8.5 out of 10.
And that was my look at the curious case of E Nomine’s first album, Das Testament. Again, this is an odd album, but one that sounds great, and it does leave somewhat of a lasting impression when you’re done. I’ll review the band’s other two albums in the future, but in the meantime I hope you have a nice rest of the day. See you soon!
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