Jurgen Engler and his band have been innovators in their field, pioneering electronic rock and 'industrial dance' since back in the late 70's. But he/they have made some major stumbles in the past. Their disastrous (and mostly laughably pointless) electro-recreation of Metallica back in the early 90's spawned a great deal of scorn and laughter among metal-heads and industrial kids alike.The band's mid-late 90's phase involved an endless stream of remixes of the same songs...and to make it all even more confusing, the American pressings shuffled the songs and mixed it all up even further. But we can likely blame Cleopatra (their then-US label during this period) for that.
Here, after a hiatus (when the band recorded under the name Dkay.com), Die Krupps returns with a double-CD of remakes of their past work. A curious idea, if the songs were much different. Sure, the production is much better now - old songs like 'Gladiators' or 'Metal Machine Music' have a more pronounced bass kick, and more distinct electronic layering. And although 'Fatherland' (easily my favorite DK track from the past) is smoothed out a little too cleanly, the band's trademark 'Germaniac' is still plenty powerful and heavy. And who can't like the classic anthem 'Machineries Of Joy', which features guest vocals from Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy? The whole thing ends up memorably with a fun and faithful cover of Pop Will Eat Itself's 'Ich Bin Ein Auslander'.
But in general, 'Too Much History' is simply a 'best of' comprised of remakes and remixes. There are a number of different DK 'greatest hits' compilations already available. This re-hashing seems opportunistic and unnecessary. (Metropolis)
Die Krupps website
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