"AugenBlicke" CD by Illuminate

After Johannes Bertold presented himself solo for the first time last year and released two remixed records as "best-of's", the expectations for his new studio album were quite high. Two years have passed since the great "Kaltes Licht" album and the creative phase in between seems to have done Illuminate good. On "AugenBlicke", the seventh studio album, they present themselves very fresh and open. The production is more powerful and more dynamic, like the songs having more power and dramatics, too. Emotional hymns, like "Meine Zeit" and the gloomy, romantic "Am Ufer" immediately get their hooks in you and let you drift off on black clouds. The poetic lyrics of Johannes Berthold make their way to the listener's heartand touch him on the deepest inside, his words radiate pleasant warmth like the whole album does. "AugenBlicke" is the most variable and most experimenting album of Illuminate. Each of the 8 tracks (plus intro and outro) turns out to be an earwig and has an unmistakable atmosphere. It's an album that is both mass-compatible and a genre highlight for the fan of the classic (Dark) Wave and should also serve fans from Lacrimosa to Rosenstolz. "AugenBlicke" could finally break it for Illuminate. (Markus Wosgien - September 2004)