Album of the Week

This week I present to you Schrei* by Tokio Hotel. This is definitely a shift from all the other albums I have displayed lately and is also yet another shift in genre and language. Post-punk wasn't such a massive thing in Germany but four teenaged boys managed to bring in the style and have since earned their place among the German charts and Austrian charts.

This album was released in 2005 (along with a second version of this album 'Schrei so laut du kannst' which accommodated for lead singer Bill's ever changing voice) and has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. Now usually I'm familiar with indie bands and foreign bands but I had no idea who these guys were until my brother purchased the game Rock Band for the Xbox 360. Their most famous song, Monsoon, was the song used. The original song 'Durch den Monsun' (Through the Monsoon) was what skyrocketed this album into the charts and earning them a no.1 in Austria and Germany.

Keep note that this entire album is in German and it's totally okay if you don't understand the language, but listen to them for long enough and you'll find yourself on a plane to Magdeburg or you'll be speaking fluent German.

The overall sound of this album has stuck to the roots of punk but there are elements of electronic, pop and rock so prepare yourself for a cocktail of awesome.

I'm very honoured to have this included in my collection of CDs, as well as a few others of Tokio Hotel and would encourage anyone seeking some talent from another part of the world, relatively new but traditional punk seekers or someone just looking for an expansion on their music collection to give these guys a go. Obviously like everything, they aren't for everyone but they are well worth singing along to in the car and giving you that boost you need.

Track Listing:

1. Schrei

2. Durch den Monsun

3. Leb die Sekunde

4. Rette Mich

5. Freunde Bleiben

6. Ich Bin Nich' Ich

7. Wenn Nichts Mehr Geht

8. Laß Uns Heir Raus

9. Gegen Meinen Willen

10. Jung Und Nicht Mehr Jugendfrei

11. Der Letze Tag

12. Unendlichkeit

*Schrei means scream.