This year has proven to be a bumper year for good rock music, and the great rock albums of 2017 just keep coming… this time out of Germany. It hasn’t taken long for Kadavar to really cement themselves on the European rock scene. Four albums in seven years and a heavy touring schedule has meant that Kadavar has become one of the most sought after rock bands in the world. And after just one listen to their brand new album, Rough Times, I have to say that they are only going to win over more and more fans with this absolute beauty.
Rough Times kicks off with two heavily distorted tracks – “Rough Times” and “Into The Wormehole” – and in some weird way that distortion only enhances the vocals of Christoph ‘Lupus’ Lindemann and clearly shows why he is one of the best rock frontmen going around at the moment. Then there is “Skeleton Blues”, a track that sounds like it could have been recorded by the great Ozzy Osbourne… yes Lupus’ vocals really are that great. Once the eerie noises subside on “Tribulation Nation”, it too sounds like it could have come from the Black Sabbath back catalogue.
Ever a band willing to try something new, “Die Baby Die” and “Vampires” are as catchy as all hell and are clearly two of the best rock tracks of the year. Then there is the raw opening of “Words of Evil” that promises something great and then delivers it with yet another amazing rock track that makes this album a must have.
Both “The Lost Child” and “You Found The Best In Me” are slower paced with the former really embracing a blues/country guitar style that is further enhanced with some cool whistling as well. Rough Times then closes with the ambient spoken word track, “A L’Ombre Du Temps” during which the instrumentals show that if they ever set their mind to it, Kadavar could match either Sigur Ros or Radiohead in their own style of music as well.
Rough Times is an absolute killer rock album that shows that Kadavar is just getting better and better as time goes on. It is going to be pretty hard to knock this off as one of the best rock albums of 2017.
