This is absolutely magnificent! Kaizers Orchestra’s third effort is more controlled musical madness compared to debut ‘Ompa Til Du Dør’ (2001) and ‘Evig Pint’ (2003), but still very much in tune with the Balkan-folk influenced soundscape that made them stand out from day one. A concept album about fictitious (thank all Gods) insanity asylum Dieter Meyers Institusjon, ‘Maestro’ is still rich on the trademark pump-organ, upright bass and banging of oil-barrels and car rims, but this time around it seems more thought has also gone into the actual songwriting.

‘Knekker Dig Til Sist’ draws you in with its ompa-beat, spaghetti-western guitar, glockenspiel and the ominous message: They will break you in the end! The paranoid-schizophrenic ‘Dieter Meyers Institusjon’ is nothing short of genius, ‘Delikatessen’ is controlled aggression spiced up with mariachi horns, and album closer ‘Pa Ditt Skift’ is just evil as fuck.

The obvious reference when it comes to Kaizers Orchestra has from the beginning been Tom Waits and while there certainly are similarities, the Norwegian sextet are so very much their own. Something they’ve proved on every album since the record breaking debut, ‘Ompa Til Du Dør’ (“Ompa Till You Die”), and not least as perhaps the best live act to come out of Scandinavia. Actually, if you’re brand new to KO we highly recommend you check out the live DVD, ‘Viva La VEGA’ (2006), recorded on the Maestro Tour at VEGA in Copenhagen. That is the full Kaizers Orchestra experience!

Genre: Rock
Who: Kaizers Orchestra
Title: Maestro
Label: Universal
Year: 2005
Country: Norway
Language: Norwegian
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Recommended tracks:
KGB – Maestro – Knekker Dig Til Sist – Dieter Meyers Institusjon – Delikatessen – Pa Ditt Skift