Review Summary: Don't knock it till ya try it.
For years I have been avoiding Tokio Hotel. All of the reviews I've seen for this band have been bad. They are certainty looked down upon in the online rock community. That along with their global success with young teens, them being shunned by hipsters, made me come to the conclusion that they were just another talent-less young pop band. Then one day, I was playing Rock Band 3 with a couple of friends. When I heard the title track "Humanoid", needless to say I was impressed. The song's engaging and dark guitar tone and catchy melody, was something I didn't expect from Tokio Hotel. I then relieved myself from all of my former opinions of this bad, and gave this album a listen.
This band doesn't have mind-bending guitar solos that melt your face off, but they don't need it. The drumming isn't all that impressive either, just a couple of fancy fills here and there. All of that is transparent when you consider the raw emotion portrayed in Bill Kaulitz's vocals. His ability to easily access those high notes in songs like "Automatic" and "The Pain of Love", really emulates his vocal talent. Bill and Tom are the stars of the show here. Tom's excellent sounding riffs on such tracks like: "Humanoid" and "Darkside of the Sun", keeps the listener engaged.
"Noise" is a great opener for this kind of album. From this song, you pretty much know what to expect from the upcoming songs; anomalous electric sounds over some guitar riffs. It's been done many times already. But Tokio Hotel execute this formula in their own creative technique. The band provides us this, along with some very catchy melodies. The title track "Humanoid" is a great example. With those electric sounds overlaying the song, The track also has a very catchy chorus and pre-chorus. It is a highlight of the album.
"Automatic" is another catchy number. But almost strays away from the tone of the album, by it sounding almost poppy. But it is a nice change of scenery. Which brings me to my biggest problem with this album. The overall general Tone of the album far too consistent. Especially after "Humanoid", which is where the album goes downhill. The band recycles the formula from the first track. They rarely switch up the mood like they did earlier in the album with tracks like, "The World Behind My Wall (which is another candidate for best song on the album). That song is emotional, slow, with a nice piano instrumentation. It's a beautiful track. While I of course didn't expect more of the tracks to be like this, the mood becomes redundant after the title track "Humanoid", and almost bores the listener.
There are some heavy hitting track's that appear later in the album like, "Human Connect to Human" and "Hey You". You can clearly hear the Queen influence in "Hey You". With the "boom boom clap" method that has been reused by many bands. This is an exciting and fun track, that has the audience singing along. "zoom Into Me" ends the album gracefully. It is softer than the proceeding tracks, though not quite as emotional as "The World Behind My Wall". The piano playing beautiful, and those electric sounds add's a nice effect to the song.
The overly consistent mood this album has cheats it from it's true potential. But it is still a good listen all the way through. I have learned my lesson. Never again will I let the opinions of others effect my opinion of a band. Sure the teen fan girls are annoying. But it was the same for The Beatles. I definitely recommend giving this album a listen. While this album didn't keep me at the edge of my seat, it certainly kept me from falling asleep on the couch.
Recommended Tracks:
Darkside of The Sun
World Behind My Wall
Humanoid
Hey You
Zoom Into Me
