GOTTHARD-#13

Nuclear Blast Records

Most of the Gotthard studio albums made it to number 1 in the Swiss charts. Obviously the band is popular in their home country and the rest of Europe but I wonder if their new opus will make it to that first position as well. It is not that the band disappoints completely on ‘#13’ but mediocrity has crept in dramatically at some point. I mean a cover of Abba’s ,,S.O.S.’’ or the very disappointing track ,,Missteria’’ is not what we expect from a band that has always delivered a certain amount of quality. Two flukes on an album is maybe acceptable for a fan but there are a few more questionable songs there as well, making the balance between familiar sounding and very melodic hard rockers and mediocre songs almost fifty percent each. Especially the first half of the CD makes me raise my eyebrows although the second part is much stronger even though the ballad ,,Marry Me’’ is a bit on the soppy side. Nic Maeder’s vocals are as usual excellent and at times the band impresses (,,The Last Time’’ really rocks out as does ,,No Time To Cry’’). It turns out that the group had a writing session with The Hooters main man Eric Bazilian but that might not have been the brightest idea. The Hooters and Gotthard are two very different cups of tea. It might be one of the reasons that this latest Gotthard album overall sounds not as heavy and rocky as some of its predecessors. Hopefully it is just a phase as we are used to better from Gotthard. As fan from the first hour I am slightly upset.

#gotthard #hbls #headbangerslifestyle #awayoflife