The Very End - Zeitgeist (2021)

The Very End’s music has never been about exploring extremes, but somehow “Zeitgeist” is the band’s most extreme album to date whatsoever. From spitting-with-rage thrashers like “Light The Lows” or the eponymous “Zeitgeist” to pounding, death metal influenced grooves like “From Boon To Bane” or “The Day It All Went Black” to the catchy rocking chorus of “On Parole” or the epic broadness of “Until There’s Nothing Left Of Us” – The Very End spell out clearly that “Zeitgeist” is all about the song, not about cliches or expectations. The fresh spirit that comes along with the new members Jerome Reil on drums and Marc Bräutigam on guitar tells in the acoustic cornucopia that “Zeitgeist” really is. Without missing The Very End’s typical trademarks, of course!

The lyrics on “Zeitgeist” are – in good ol’ The Very End fashion – like dancing with bare feet on barbed wire. But while you could still catch a far-off rainbow somewhere on the horizon on the bands former albums, the only colour on “Zeitgeist” might be the crimson red on the floor that’s running from your nose after the relentless tracks of the album rolled all over you.

Especially the title track, which is completely sung in German language and may raise a question or two about your very own relation to the overall Zeitgeist, is a perfect example of The Very End in 2020: Daring and uncompromising but still focused on the song, open minded and contemporary but still metal to the bone.