Black (album)
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Studio album by 
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | Bellaphon Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, MC, LP |
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Title (number) |
11 |
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running time |
50:17 |
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| occupation | Singing: Kevin Russell Drums: Peter Schorowsky |
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Stephan Weidner |
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Studio (s) |
Sound studio Rüssmann Hennef |
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Schwarz or Schwarzes Album is the ninth studio album by the German rock band Böhse Onkelz . It was released together with the album Weiß on October 4, 1993 on the music label Bellaphon Records . The concept of the two albums with the colors white and black should reflect the duality of life.
History of origin
Regarding the meaning of the concept of the albums white and black , the band wrote in 1994 in the first fanzine for the official fan club BOSC : “It should be a black and a white album! Good and Evil, Black and White, Sun and Moon, AZ. The duality of life, which is reflected in the lyrics, should also be found on the LP covers. They should make everyone think at first sight. "
Many ideas for new songs arose from impressions that Stephan Weidner collected while traveling with Sven Väth in the spring of 1993 in India and Nepal, for example, or from reading books.
During the making of the albums White and Black , singer Kevin Russell was heavily addicted to drugs.
The two albums were the last to be released by Bellaphon Records , as with them the contract, according to which the band was obliged to release three studio albums including a live option within four years, was more than fulfilled. According to their own statements, the band was quite dissatisfied with the Frankfurt label at the time, which is why they wanted to look around for a new contract on the music market.
Cover design
The cover is completely black. On the one hand the name of the band is represented by Braille , on the other hand by the finger alphabet . The band name Böhse Onkelz can be seen in the middle in the typical font.
Track list
| # | title | length |
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| 1 | Know the melody | 4:07 |
| 2 | Once we are angels | 4:00 |
| 3 | So are you (your hell) | 3:10 |
| 4th | Heaven Can Wait | 4:11 |
| 5 | I am who I am | 4:49 |
| 6th | The knife and the wound | 3:17 |
| 7th | 1000 questions | 5:00 |
| 8th | I am you | 3:38 |
| 9 | Words of freedom | 5:28 |
| 10 | The riddle of life | 3:36 |
| 11 | Baja | 8:54 |
Background information on individual songs
- The knife and the wound
Since the alleged murderer of the band's best friend (called “Trimmi”) was acquitted in court, they dedicated this song to his murderer, in which, among other things, “She has blindfolded eyes and the name is justice, how could she believe you is they blindly "at this time? ie. This is an allusion to the personification of justice, Justitia .
- Words of freedom
The song is aimed at the residents of the former GDR and deals with their hopes that were disappointed after reunification in 1990.
There is an experimental version of the song on the best of Hated, Damned, Adored ... the last few years .
- Baja
The title of the song can be traced back to the Baja peninsula , which is the most biodiverse region off the coast of Mexico. Whale chants can be heard at the beginning and the end of the song. The song is very much influenced by the title “Remember Exxon Valdez” from Dance 2 Trance , for which Stephan Weidner recorded the guitar part. The piece is an instrumental .
Chart successes and awards
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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The album entered the German album charts at number 78 in the 42nd calendar week of 1993 and rose to position 56 and top number 12 in the following weeks. In total, Schwarz stayed in the top 100 for 13 weeks.
In 2003 the album received a gold record for over 250,000 units sold in Germany .
reception
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| Rock hard |
  
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| Metal hammer |
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In 1993, Götz Kühnemund from the music magazine Rock Hard rated Weiß in issue no. 79 together with the album Schwarz as a complete work with 8.5 out of ten possible points. He praised the cover design as "original" and interpreted the concept of the two albums as "duality of life, about good & bad and black and white painting in general" and related it to the relationship of the band to the German press, which in his opinion still did not understand what changes the band had gone through and how informative they had become in political terms. He picked up the song Germany in autumn from the album Weiß as an "unmistakable anti-Nazi song". He wrote about the musical content of the albums:
“... but at least one thing should be said: These two new ONKELZ albums are among the best in terms of text that is currently available on the German-speaking market. Let's get to music. The question is: did it really have to be two albums, wouldn't one have been enough? Answer: If it had only been about producing a typical ONKELZ record with consistently dirty Rock'n'Roll numbers, the highlights of the 23 songs could have been put on a longer album - but then one would have have to do without a few musical experiments that have their charm, such as E.g. the UNKELZ atypical instrumental numbers 'Tribute To Stevie' and 'Baja'. Thus the publication of two individual discs is justified. As far as the interaction of the band is concerned, the ONKELZ have become much tighter and more musical compared to earlier records. Guitarist Gonzo in particular surprises with his simple, but invariably accurate solos that don't seem superfluous in any single piece. Kevin, on the other hand, always provides the necessary dirt with his incomparable whiskey tube and sounds more convincing than before, even in quieter moments. Despite the greater variety, the ONKELZ are always best when they really get down to business - as in 'Lieber standing die', 'Reise zum Hölle', 'Deutschland im Herbst', 'Brave New World', 'That's how you are ',' The Knife and the Wound 'or' Words of Freedom '(absolute highlight). The bottom line is that there are only a few failures that cannot reduce the otherwise convincing impression. Impressive performance. "
Andrea Nieradzik from the music magazine Metal Hammer rated the album on December 1, 1993 with five out of seven points and named it album of the month. She wrote about the album:
“... Texts like on the supersong 'Words of Freedom' (the song is probably one of the reasons BÖHSE ONKELZ was given preference over white) are pretty great in their accuracy of purpose. No messing around, just to the point. That sits. A line of text like 'Don't give a shit whether you love me, I like me' ('I am like I am') works in the case of Onkelz, who have walked a long (and certainly not always undeserved) rocky road in their simplicity very authentic. I can understand somewhere why this band is so successful despite all the obstacles: The catchy, sometimes hymn-like songs and the directness of the topics dealt with speak a clear language in the sense of the word. You can reach the kids out there because it sounds neither instructive nor pseudo, but real. Without wanting to play us here as the Onkelz's savior - there were others there before us - one cannot help but acknowledge the important role the band plays in the German-speaking music scene. Incidentally, this is written by someone who has had problems with it for a long time. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Onkelzvinyl - Album "Black". Website accessed on August 19, 2010 ( Memento of the original from May 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Weidner, Röhr, Russell, Schorowski: BOSC Fanzine No. 1 . 1994, p. 25.
- ↑ Edmund Hartsch: In: Böhse Onkelz, Thanks for nothing. Original edition, 1997, p. 212.
- ↑ Edmund Hartsch: In: Böhse Onkelz, Thanks for nothing. Original edition, 1997, pp. 209-210.
- ↑ Album cover on amazon.de
- ↑ Dunklerort.net ( Memento of 11 June 2008 at the Internet Archive ) in the Internet Archive
- ↑ Dunklerort.net ( Memento of 11 June 2008 at the Internet Archive ) in the Internet Archive
- ↑ Dunklerort.net ( Memento of 11 June 2008 at the Internet Archive ) in the Internet Archive
- ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH
- ↑ Black chart tracking at musicline.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Gold Record
- ↑ a b c Götz Kühnemund : Album review: Black & White On: rockhard.de. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
- ↑ a b c Andrea Nieradzik: Album review: Schwarz On: metal-hammer.de. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
