There was a time when I was drawn to bands with outstanding technical ability such a Rush and Dream Theater; these bands that helped me to discover just how cool music could sound in odd time signatures with densely choreographed instrumentals. For a while as a teenager, I really thought Dream Theater was the peak of musicianship and that no one could surpass their technical ability.
Later on, I discovered there are no shortage of bands who make Dream Theater’s musical chops sound like the Beatles. One of the premier examples is Panzerballett, a Munich-based jazz/death metal group with a panache for playing punishingly difficult songs while keeping things light with humourously dark covers of well-known tracks. When I first heard this group on their fourth album Tank Goodness, I assumed they must be a silly bunch, but their Live at Theatron Munich 2013 DVD showed me that they took their work very seriously, with formal introductions to each of their songs. It was rather unlike any gig I’d seen before.
Two decades after their inception and five years since their previous studio album Planet Z, Panzerballett now return with Übercode Œuvre, a title that demands to be copy-pasted lest one lacks a foreign keyboard. The punishing musicianship is evident from the very first track, a mind-melting take on Meshuggah’s Bleed, which shows the musicians have no intentions of slowing down.
The band also take on classical music with two pieces: Vivaldi’s Summer from The Four Seasons is given the thrash-metal treatment to extraordinary effect, while Beethoven’s Ode to Joy is presented in two forms, one with vocals and one without. While the melody is recognisable, it’s distorted through odd time signatures and note transposition into something quite ghastly and nightmarish yet fun.
Perhaps more accessible is the ridiculous take on the Average White Band’s infectious Pick Up the Pieces, where the classic melody is modulated through 5-tuplets and 7-tuplets in a way that is guaranteed to make your head hurt if you even try to think about the mathematics behind it. Fortunately, the band also included the score in their music video, so you can see what’s going on; it hardly seems to help, though. My favourite cover, however, is Alien Hip Hop; originally by contributing drummer Virgil Donati’s supergroup Planet X, this rendition is more challenging and mathematical with a sci-fi Zeuhl edge that keeps you hooked. Readers might be interested to know he’s not the only high-profile drummer on this album, as Kaipa’s Morgan Ågren and the ubiquitous Marco Minnemann also lend their talent to several more tracks.
A few originals make it in as well, with the funky Seven Steps to Hell taking the listener on a relatively simple journey in 7-time. Andromeda gives the listener some respite with a more languid and relaxing jazz journey that is still light years beyond what most bands could technically achieve; the band can’t help themselves, there are still a few metal workouts here, too. Last but not least is The Devil’s Staircase, a piece where the electric guitar and bass seem to increase pitch over an uneven rhythm unendingly until the middle of the track, where more madness ensues.
These are expertly composed experiments which demonstrate how the boundaries of jazz and metal can be pushed mathematically, and they are certainly delightful and entertaining. But after listening to the album, I’m not tempted to hear it again because it’s such a mental workout, and there’s nothing I’d look forward to hearing again. I can guarantee this album would make a phenomenal live show, but perhaps I’m also learning that there is a limit to how much musical technicality I can withstand in my day-to-day listening.
TRACK LISTING
01. Bleed (6:25)
02. Seven Steps to Hell (3:12)
03. The Four Seasons: Summer (4:31)
04. Alien Hip Hop (8:47)
05. Andromeda (6:01)
06. Ode to Joy (vocal) (4:15)
07. Pick Up the Pieces (5:31)
08. The Devil’s Staircase (5:16)
09. Ode To Joy (instrumental) (6:24)
~ Digital bonus track
10. Andromedaron (5:59)
Total Time – 56:17
MUSICIANS
Jan Zehrfeld – Guitars (all tracks), Pick Bass (1)
~ With:
Drummers:
Sebastian Lanser – Drums (1)
Morgan Ågren – Drums (2)
Marco Minnemann – Drums (3,5,6 & 8)
Virgil Donati – Drums (4 & 9)
Anika Nilles – Drums (7)
Aaron Thier – Drums (10)
Anton Davidyants – Bass (all tracks except 5 & 10)
Robin Gadermaier – Bass (5 & 10)
Florian Fennes – Saxophone (1,2,4,7,9 & 10)
Georg Gratzer – Saxophone (5)
Andromeda Anarchia – Vocals (6)
Conny Kreitmeier – Vocals (6)
Chris Clark – Keys Solo (4)
Michael Hornek – Keys Solo & Gimmicks (9)
Joe Doblhofer – Guitar Solo #2 (1)
Rafael Trujillo – Guitar Solo #3 (1)
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Independent
Country of Origin: Germany
Date of Release: 25th April 2025
LINKS
Panzerballett – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram
