The Ego - Beacon | Album Review

The dark legacy of a German Gothic institution

With Fanal, Das Ich release their first regular studio album in almost two decades, delivering one of the most significant albums in the German-language Darkwave and Gothic scene in recent years. After health setbacks, long creative breaks, and numerous challenges, Bruno Kramm and Stefan Ackermann return with a work that preserves the essence of Das Ich yet feels modern, relevant, and surprisingly powerful. For many fans, Fanal marks the long-awaited return of one of the most important German Gothic bands.

The Band

Since their formation in the late 1980s, Das Ich has been one of the most influential representatives of international Gothic culture. Together with bands like Goethes Erben, Deine Lakaien, and Lacrimosa, the duo significantly shaped the development of the so-called Neue Deutsche Todeskunst (New German Death Art).

While many groups of their generation focused on classical Gothic rock structures, Das Ich developed a unique style early on, combining electronic soundscapes, classical music, industrial elements, and philosophical lyrics.

Albums such as Die Propheten, Staub, Egodram or Cabaret are now considered milestones of the German scene. This is precisely why the expectations for Fanal were enormous.

Feeling

Fanal is not a nostalgic look back at past successes. Rather, the album presents itself as a dark inventory of a world in flux. Between Industrial, Darkwave, Neoclassical, and electronic avant-garde, an intense soundscape emerges that addresses societal crises, personal transience, and human abysses.

Fanal acts as a musical alarm call for a society that is increasingly moving between crises, surveillance, polarization, and disorientation. At the same time, the album addresses individual themes such as transience, loss, and identity.

Musically, Fanal combines numerous elements from Darkwave, Industrial, Neoclassical, Neue Deutsche Todeskunst, and orchestral elements, covering Das Ich's entire career.

The strongest songs

Menschenfeind

The opener sets the album's central theme: disillusionment with humanity. The title continues Das Ich's tradition of not morally condemning human abysses but ruthlessly exposing them. Dominant are martial rhythms, deep synth pads, and aggressive dynamics.

Lazarus

Lazarus is the central resurrection metaphor of the album. The biblical Lazarus is raised from the dead by Jesus. The song gains additional meaning through Stefan Ackermann's serious illness and his return to the stage after life-threatening cerebral hemorrhages. Even if this has not been explicitly confirmed, many listeners see an autobiographical layer in it.

The chorus has a hymnal quality reminiscent of classic Das Ich tracks like "Destillat."

Dantes Hölle

Probably the album's hardest track. Musically, industrial sound and chaotic sound compressions dominate. The song creates less melody than atmosphere. Many sounds appear deliberately overloaded and oppressive.

Brutus

Musically, the title is characterized by its strong dramatic arc. Military rhythms, a clear song structure, and a concise hook achieve a particularly good balance between melody and harshness. The song has an almost cinematic quality and is reminiscent in places of a dark soundtrack.

Genesis (Big Bang)

Despite being almost 14 minutes long, it is the musical highlight of the album.

The title develops in several sections:

1. Atmospheric beginning
2. Building electronic structures
3. Orchestral densification
4. Dramatic climax
5. Extended final phase

Musically, the piece is more reminiscent of a modern tone poem than a classic Gothic song.

The patience of the arrangement is particularly impressive. Motifs are slowly developed and varied over many minutes. This creates an epic character reminiscent of progressive rock or film music compositions.

Conclusion

Compared to previous albums, Fanal is less dancefloor-oriented than, for example, Cabaret or parts of Anti'Christ. Instead, the atmosphere is paramount. The production is significantly more modern, broader, and more detailed, without losing the connection to Das Ich's classical roots.

The album does not feel like a belated comeback but like the consistent continuation of a work that has become even more socially relevant in the last 20 years.

In the context of Neue Deutsche Todeskunst, Fanal occupies a special position. While many genre representatives have long disappeared or changed their style significantly, Das Ich proves that sophisticated, German-language dark art can still be relevant.

Rating 9/10