The name might not be familiar, but Megaherz are one of Germany’s original dark industrial metal – or ‘Neue Deutsche Härte’ – bands. Formed around the same time as Rammstein, they never reached such explosive heights but Komet could help them crash-land outside Deutschland. Bigger, bolder and harder than its predecessors, album number 10 is insanely catchy and packed with foot-stomping anthems influenced by their heavy peers. There are nuances of Pain, Eisbrecher (original frontman Alexander Wesselsky’s current band) and Deathstars, not to mention lashings of Rammstein-ness. Megaherz were definitely listening to Mutter when they wrote Horrorclown; frontman Lex Wohnhaas even borrows Till Lindemann’s distinctive enunciation on the explosive track, which appears to be about a certain American president. There’s even a hint of The Sisters Of Mercy’s 1959 on the mournful Von Oben. Komet is a treat for fans of German ‘hardness’.
Megaherz - Komet album review
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Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.