“Zum Einem Neuen Licht,” loosely translated from German means something along the lines of “a better future,” which is emblematic of Arbeit’s bleak and yet poignant sonic message detailing the intrinsic struggle for hope and light in a world beset by unparalleled darkness. Opening with a wailing air raid siren and the sound of marching boots, Arbeit’s ominous prologue details the onset of an enormous, inhuman, and inconceivable war (particularly referring to the Second World War); while the epilogue – comprised of foreboding and yet militant dark ambiance - reveals the raw struggle of the human spirit as it attempts to survive the aftermath.
Arbeit utilize guitar, piano, keyboards, kettledrum samples, and myriad of other instruments including spoken German passages to create a truly haunting, monstrous, and depressive ambiance that breathes to life the memory of some of histories darkest days. This brilliant debut is entirely confrontational with its stirring and exhilarating martial industrial technique, while also retaining the more emotional and provocative dark ambient elements. At times the music oscillates between those extremes, alternating between suffocating and crushing light-devouring sounds, bullets whistling close by and the agonizing screams of wounded soldiers; to the almost ephemeral sunshine-lit post-war scenario; a Spring, a new beginning. With their debut, Arbeit have crafted a magnum opus that any listener, regardless of your genre preferences should want to hear.
Brilliant.
Thank you for this nice review !
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