ASP - Requiembryo
Requiembryo is the fifth and final entry in Goth giant ASP’s “Schwarze Schmetterling” or Black Butterfly, group of albums. ASP stands for “Alexander Spreng Projekt”, which is the name of the lead singer and face of the band. Since their first album in 2000, ASP has become one of the top groups in the gothic music scene in Germany. All of their lyrics so far deal with the Schwarze Schmetterling, the opposing sides of ones personality. Namely, A light side and a dark side. To date ASP has released 5 albums and numerous EPs and Singles.
Requiembryo is massive album, clocking in at 101 minutes and 26 seconds. This massive spread makes it difficult to listen through but very rewarding. Like “The Wall” by Pink Floyd or “Antichrist Superstar” by Marilyn Manson, Requiembryo is a concept album; every song is based around the Schwarze Schmetterling theme. ASP also uses quite a few shorter instrumental pieces throughout the album. They often are used to set the mood but more than that they tend to drag the whole album down a little, making it feel even longer and more sluggish then usual. Of the 20 tracks on Requiembryo 6 of them are instrumental breaks. Also ASP breaks out an epic on this album, “Hymnus: Heaven / Exsequenz: Hell”. The track is 27 minutes long, attributing a large chunk of this album. Unlike a lot of lengthy tracks “Hymnus: Heaven / Exsequenz: Hell” is always moving. There are no drawn out instrumental sections and the singer is always involved. The song has dramatic arrangement changes to keep you guessing and is more like a collection of 7 or 8 tracks then one long one. Also ASP has a couple English songs on the album “Coming Home”, and “How Far Would You Go (The 6th of September)”. The singer is capable with the English language but you can tell it is not his native tongue. The number of songs and its length doesn’t detract from the high quality on this album though. “Coming Home” is a pretty straight ahead rocker with very easy singable lyrics and a fun chorus. “Duett (Das Minneleid der Incubus)”, one of the singles of the album, features a classical violin and reminds of early Letzte Instanz or Subway to Sally with its verses and riff. Also “Ich Bin Ein Wahrer Satan”, the first single of the album, and a chart hit in Germany is a strong rocker with heavy gothic influences with blowing wind sound effects and choirs. Lastly “Biotopia”, which is a ballad song near the end of the album, it features some great singing and a great chorus.
Requiembryo, is a great album that could only be improved with some pruning of the instrumentals and poorer filler songs, but the large amount of songs worth listening to saves this album. Requiembryo is overall a very impressive effort and a good way to end this phase of ASPs career.
8/10
Reviewer: Lord of Entropy
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