Back for good
I love 'And One' since the early 90s. With the album 'Virgin Superstar', which was more than major label infected, they has screwed it quite a long time with me. With 'Military Fashion Show' and the EP 'Zerstörer' they have some well done on the ground again.
The first time I heard that 'And One' is going to release an album with such a huge content, I'm expecting the worst of it. My second thought was something like: "Well, when they release an album with 30 (!) songs, then there will be at least enough good songs for a regular album size.
God damn, I'm so happy that I was totally wrong with my concerns. With the album 'Magnet (Trilogie I)', 'And One' has found it's old strengths and that's a good thing!
Magnet
This is the most classic part of the trilogy. It sounds somewhere between 'Spot' and 'I.S.T.', but perfected. This is the album where I've been waiting for all these years.
The greatest tracks on 'Magnet' are: 'Zeit Ohne Zeit' and 'Love Is Always On Your Side'. Furthermore I recommend to listen to the songs 'Fake Of Pleasure' and 'Unter Meiner Uniform'.
Propeller
"Dancefloor I'm coming!":, shouts the 'Propeller' part. Classic EBM beats mixed with Synth Pop tunes. The opener 'Black Celebration' is a bomb of a track, followed by the even harder EBM songs 'Männermusik' and 'Synchronizing Bodies'.
Beside these superior songs I strongly recommend the german songs 'An Alle Krieger!' and 'U‑Boot Krieg In Ost-Berlin'. Especially the last one is lyrically so wonderful absurd without becoming ridiculous.
Achtung 80
The expected time travel to the 80s doesn't work that perfect as I expected for the 'Achtung 80' part, but that's absolutely fine for me. The opener 'Let's Get Higher' is more a mid 90s pop song with a slight Euro Disco influence. I fell in love with the songs 'My Angel' and 'She's Triple 6'.
'The Fighter' is a special track on this CD. It could be easily fit on the 'Propeller' part, because you can't ignore the relationship to the EBM genre. But 'And One' mixed it with some classic 80s synths sounds that sounds really cool.
Summary
Big congrats and respect to 'And One'. You are still on it, and the best part is that you have me disabused. Because death predicted live longer. All grief is forgotton and I will leave the 'Virgin' years behind. This is a true magnum opus!
By the way, this album also made it into our article ‘The best Synth Pop and genre-related albums 2014‘. Read now.