FB 1964 - 2021 - German Steel

(72:37; Bornkamp Records)

Track list:
01. Hoch Auf Dem Gelben Wagen 1:44
02. Evil 2:46
03. Neon Nights 6:50
04. How Many Tears 7:07
05. Frame of Mind 7:21
06. When the Rainbow Meets the Eye 4:35
07. Crazy 3:38
08. Ragin' Water 4:56
09. Dreamer 6:03
10. Save Yourself 5:56
11. Trisomie XXI 5:52
12. We'll Burn the Sky 7:50
13. Behind the Mask 3:55
14. Chains and Leather 4:04

Line-up:
Frank Badenhop - guitars
Hanno Kerstan - drums
Mirko Gätje - bass
with:
Becky Gaber - vocals
Jimmy Waldo - keyboards
Ally Storch - violin
Dethy Borchardt - guitars
Giulia Marta Vallar - guitars
Raphael Mendes - vocals
Juan M. Varona - guitars
Gabi Weihmayer - vocals
Alex Häbell - guitars
Ronnie Romero - vocals
Tamas Petro - guitars
Michele Dr. Viossy - guitars
Iago Pedrosos - guitars
Britta Helm - vocals
Andreas Kowalzik - guitars
Graham Bonnet - vocals
Liv Jagrell - vocals
Eric Scheufele - guitars
Uschi Hertzberg - vocals
Eric Wirsing - guitars
Tim Ripper Owens - vocals
Andres Nunez - guitars
Brian Maillard - guitars
Michael Angelo Bato - guitars
Lea Diekman - vocals
Ivan Mihaljevic - guitars
Karin Badenhop - vocals
Ugur Dariveren - guitars
Juliana Wilson - guitars
Yiannis Papadopoulos - guitars
Charlie Parra - guitars
Johnny Gioeli - vocals
Julia Kosterova - guitars
Victoria Glück - vocals
Oleg Rudych - vocals


Prolusion.
German project FB1964 has been around for just shy of a decade at this point, releasing material covering a fair bit of stylistic ground over the years. The fifth and most recent album by this project, "German Steel", was released in the spring of 2021 through the project's own label Bornkamp Records.

Analysis.
While FB1964 have dabbled in progressive waters on earlier albums, this isn't the case for this 2021 album. As a matter of fact this is a strict covers album, where main man Badenhop and a minor army of guest musicians have recorded their versions of songs by more or less well known German metal bands, with a slight emphasis on material that was first released back in the 1980's. Scorpions and Helloween are among the better known bands that are covered, while bands like for instance Waxx and Mandrake to my knowledge are a bit down the ladder as far as being well known is concerned.

As an album experience my impression is that this is a pleasant experience more than anything else. I know and like my metal, and while not all the bands or all the songs were familiar for me I generally enjoyed what I heard. With many seasoned and skilled musicians participating the quality level will obviously be secured, and the guitar solo runs in particular were engaging listens throughout. This is one of those albums were nothing is wrong, an album you could pull out ten or twenty years from now too and say that yes, this is still a fine album. But there's not too much present that gives me that desire to play the album or the individual songs again straight away either, nothing that manage to engage me on a deeper level.

The pulling power of the guest musicians will obviously attract some listeners to this album, and for fans of the bands covered here it will obviously be interesting to hear what a different cast of musicians are able to pull off with material they are familiar with. I do not think that anyone that checks out this album will be disappointed with the contents, and many will be swayed by some excellent performances too. But for me, at least, this is a covers album that ultimately doesn't manage to impress enough to make it a production I will revisit frequently.

Conclusion.
Fans of traditional heavy metal and early power metal in particular will find a lot to enjoy on this latest album by FB1964, a straight up covers album exploring better and lesser known German metal bands from the 1970's and onward. Well made and well executed, and featuring an intriguing array of fairly well known guest musicians too. While this one didn't manage to engage me on a deeper level, I would suggest that fans of classic era German metal bands may want to investigate this one a bit closer, as that audience most likely will be the ones with a higher interest in the contents as well as how it has been explored on this album.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, June 2021

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/Bornkamp.Fearless/