If you've got it, flaunt it. We've known that at least since Muhammad Ali used to tell his opponents what round to expect to go to sleep. So it should be no surprise that Stuttgart's Nu-Metal heroes, Farmer Boys, have officially declared: The World Is Ours. And the proof is undeniably evident in their new album of the same name.
Here Comes The Pain, the first single release from The World Is Ours (Motor/Universal) clearly demonstrates where the Farmer Boys are headed in 2000: Right in your face - but with feeling. And that's why Matthias Sayer (vocals), Alex Scholpp (guitar), Dennis Hummel (keys), Till Hartmann (drums) and newcomer Tony Ieva (bass) are able to go precisely where so many metal bands before them have never been before - the Farmer Boys perfectly span the bridge between the brutal metal of the new millenium and the British pop music of the 80's, with all that this entails; charming bombast, glamour, solemn melancholy and unmistakable hooklines.
With recording on the island of Malta and in Hamburg, Stuttgart and Hagen, Germany these Stuttgart natives have assured that the album title, The World Is Ours, is soon to be reality. And this was one of the reasons that they took their time with this, their third LP. Then it was already clear in the pre-production in Malta with Steve Lyon (Depeche Mode), that the Farmer Boys weren't just going to make any album; they were making THE album. They polished the record further in Hamburg's Homestudios with Siggi Bemm (Grip Inc.) adding the final touch in the mix at Woodhouse Studios in Hagen. And all the work paid off, because the Farmer Boys have never rocked in a more compact, fresh and ambitious way before.
Those who think the description Nu-Metal is a contradiction in terms will be forced to eat their words by the Farmer Boys this time around. Stompers like Here Comes The Pain, End Of All Days, While God Was Sleeping, Farm 2000 or Like a Dart In Your Face push the Farmer Boys right out into the forefront. This quintet knows, despite their heaviness AND love for pop, how to stay focused on serving the song and avoid getting tangled up in pure self-indulgence. This is how metal should sound in the 21st century - hard, sincere, genuine and as subtle as a bulldozer in a pedestrian zone.
These Stuttgarters haven't just been working on this vision since yesterday, with admirable success demonstrated by their debut, Countrified (4/96), and the follow-up, Till The Cows Come Home (9/97). They toured the States on the Vans Warped Tour, played innumerable headlines shows at home along with support slots for Metallica, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein, Bush, Killing Joke and H-Blockx and their videos for Farm Sweet Farm, Never Let Me Down Again and When Pigs Fly were consistently to be seen in rotation on all the major music programs and video channels.
With The World Is Ours, Farmer Boys are going to continue along their chosen path, but not down a dirt country road. Farm 2000 lies directly on the highway and heads out from Stuttgart in the Autumn on the Here Comes The Pain tour, with the Boys demonstrating their live muscle. And while VfB Stuttgart, the Farmer Boys' favorite soccer team, didn't quite make it into the Champions League, they can feel free to ask to Boys themselves what it's like at the top. Because one thing is sure - with The World Is Ours the Farmer Boys have qualified for Division One.
Source: http://www.farmerboys.de/english/classic/farmer/farmset.htm
