RAZZIA

Featuring a killer closing epic in the form of the nine-minute rock-synth-opus 'Razzia', which, coincidentally, happens to also be the name of the album, this 1982 album finds former- symphonic prog teutons Grobschnitt in full-blown, hard, hard, hard, eighties rock mode. Gone are the carefully-created symphonic keyboard passages, fairy-tale jingles and fantasy trimmings, in comes German lyrics and vocals(awkward and slightly ragged, yet somehow powerful, gritty, highly-aggressive, and very, very cool) edgy, metallic guitars and a whole heap of pent-up anger that gives some of 'Razzia's meatier number some real hair-on-the-back-of- the-neck power. The weaker, softer, and more synth-orientated material may be utterly un- progressive in it's inception, but those rock fans out there who appreciate a killer riff and don't mind the decade that fasion forgot, a.k.a. the 1980s(and not in that silly, retro, hip way that's seen everybody from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to Franz Ferdinand and The Arctic Monkeys suddenly using synths of their new material) might well warm to late-period Grobschnitt. Obviously, their first five albums are the real crowns in the eclectic Grobschnitt crowd, yet, somehow, these later, more commercialy-orientated efforts - which was only released in central Europe, not in the UK or the USA - such as 'Razzia', eminate with a surprising power and inventiveness that belies their poor repuations amongst prog fans. Dated might be the term used to describe this brand of prog-tinged 80s hard-rock, but that doesn't stop it from being bloody good fun for those who can take it. Dodgy it may be, but for once, this reviewer doesn't really give a damn. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2011