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Hanzel Und Gretyl - Scheissmessiah album artwork
Review: Hanzel Und Gretyl – Scheissmessiah
National Music Reviews
Hanzel Und Gretyl
Scheissmessiah
Metropolis Records
Years ago, I lived in Logan, where music stores were limited. In a desperate craving for new music, I went to Hastings, spotted a Hanzel Und Gretyl disc and decided to give it a shot. Got the CD home and skipped through the tracks and in less than an hour I was back in the store returning it. That was the first and only time I have done that. Expectations were pretty low for the latest HuG, Scheissmessiah, and the hardcore metal act didn’t win me over this time (do they even own a keyboard?).
Now I am contemplating how relevant this music is for a label like Metropolis. From time to time, I run into somebody who claims to be a huge fan of industrial and then they talk about Rammstein, Marilyn Manson and the likes. Metal fans call it industrial and the industrial connoisseurs reject it because it is metal. There are bands that are excellent live, but just don’t translate well onto CD. Novelty acts like Hanzel und Gretyl and Genitortures and Slipknot are just that. If metal industrial rock is your thing, this might be fun. One track manages to break through the clutter—“Hellelujah,” a cover of Handel’s Messiah complete with choir, guitars and drums. It’s like the metal Mo Tab choir.
This review originally appeared in Modus Operandi, March 2005, Issue 195.