GAS - "Rausch"

GAS is the Electronic/Ambient project of German producer Wolfgang Voigt.  Ever since the mid-90's, he's been pushing out some seriously dense, seemingly incredibly vast and dark material.  I first got familiar with his work on his 1997 album "Zauberberg".  Now, getting into a new Ambient of Electronic artist is usually not the easiest task in the world.  But I quickly latched on to GAS's music.  This album was absolutely dark, and just so inhuman sounding.  There were banging house beats, hidden under layers of noise and ambient sounds, which made for a chilling effect.  It's one of the easier album's of this genre to get into, despite being an hour and 20 minutes, and it's more than anything hypnotic.  GAS returned a few years later with "Konigsforst".  For the most part this had a lot of the same qualities as the last GAS project.  But to me, it was even more immense.  The beats were heavier and the atmosphere was even more hulking and crushing.  It was becoming apparent very quick that Voigt was an absolute master of this sound. Voigt returned in 2000 with "Pop", ironically his least Pop-oriented album yet. This album for the most part is an ambient album, at least in the first half.  Some of the later tracks had GAS returning to his sound that got him on the map to begin with.  But the majority of this album wasn't as exciting for me.  Sure, it was beautiful and such a wonderful atmosphere.  But man, I just was sort of sitting around waiting for more to happen.  Voigt then took a whole lot of time off, and returned in 2017 with "Narkopop".  Now, I think this is certainly a better album then it's predecessor.  I love how dramatic it gets in parts, and just how solid the more Ambient works were here.  But overall, I still wasn't nearly as into this as some of his early work.

Like every other GAS album, this album has a bunch of different movements, all titled "Rausch".  Right off the bat with "Rausch 1" I have to say, I love how much more hulking and ominous this one is.  I mean, if you're familiar with GAS's work, you know what to expect.  There's a strong ambient sound, some nice rainy sound effects and tons of glorious Drone underneath.  It's honestly much more hulking and gigantic than anything I can remember off of GAS's last album "Narkopop".  There are some eerie synths right out of the book of like, Nils Frahm, or maybe Tim Hecker.  But it really gets you on the edge of your seat.  It's ominous, with each backing instrumental really catching you off guard.  It's all so patient, from the cymbal taps to the drones that are just so hypnotic.  It's a weird intro, one that almost makes you imagine sounds and you can't always remember what you actually heard and didn't hear.  But it's breathtaking, right until that last minute where it almost sounds like something even more hulking is about to pounce.  But with "Rausch 2" we almost get some relief from all of the pressure, with some airy synths and sweet pianos.  Plus, those drones aren't nearly as piercing. It still remains beautiful, and then all of a sudden you hear that beat in the distance.  That's right, just like old times there's that obvious banging beat nearby.  But it's just so shrouded by everything else.  It sounds like it's coming from another dimension which hell yea, is super cool.  Obviously this one isn't going to get you out on the dance floor exactly.  But it's just so good at encompassing you completely.  It's sluggish, massive, and almost sounds like it was all done in slow motion. But it makes you take notice, and it's actually quite beautiful.  All of this of course, while remaining genuinely eerie.  Like, there are some disturbing synths that come in that will seriously grate at your nerves.  It's wild really, and as this one rolls on the progression is fantastic.  With each layer of synths, this one gets more mysterious.  The music of GAS remains an anomaly. The very hulking, massive sound of this album rolls on with "Rausch 3".  There's a lot of sound-play here.  But of the tracks we've gotten so far, there seems to be a lot less going on here.  At the very least, this sort of sounds like an extension of the last tune.  It's alright and all, but i need a little mix up.  The beat is still hulking though, and the very otherworldly sounds of this just works so strong.  There's a very cinematic feeling as well.  But this is slowly getting further and further away from where I really want to hear GAS. This may still be massive and it works to an extent.  But it is certainly missing a certain simplicity.  However, I do like the sort of glistening synths towards the end.  On the other hand, "Rausch 4" seems to have some real trouble brewing underneath these synths and that atmosphere.  It's hazy, hard to place, and probably the most legitimately intense track here.   But "hard to place" is easily the right way to describe this one.  The instrumentals here sound inhuman, the fact that his is man made is ridiculous.  Each instrumental just sort of floats into one another and it's really often hard to remember if you've heard them all or are hearing them for the first time.  I mean, good luck describing this to anyone ever, but it's a monstrosity that you need to hear to experience correctly. 

Up next, "Rausch 5" has almost a playful sort of beat in the background that's truly something to behold.  It's got almost a bounce to it below one of this album's lighter atmospheres.  It's almost a little too light, to the point where the fact that this isn't as massively hulking makes it stick out like a sore thumb.  But I think the mystery of this one adds to the drama behind it all.  You keep thinking something is going to come blaring through, and I swear if something did I would probably scream.  But it's really interesting to hear this very chilly orchestra just out of reach.  It almost reminds me of the works on Prurient's "Frozen Niagara Falls".  Just, you know, way less instantaneous and not nearly heavy.  This one has some interesting stuff going on deep down.  I just really wish this was a little heavier.  On the other hand, "Rausch 6", which is instantly an entirely different animal altogether.  It's much more euphoric, and almost sunny and a little positive.  But over all of that there's this grinding drone that really doesn't let up at all.  So much so that this is practically heavier than half of the metal I've heard all year.  And as this one goes on, it just gets darker and less sunny, to the point where it's just this churning, unadulterated noise.  It's not pretty, but at the same time it's almost reassuring.  Clearly, I have a whole lot more to say about this album than GAS's project from last year. Which I know some may not agree with.  But this track absolutely rattles me to my bones.  And then that same beat that we had earlier works it's way back in, so hell yea this works.  But this album is far from over.  "Rausch 7" once again has these shimmering synths that once again just don't come even off as human.  At the end of the day, Voigt is a master of sound.  This finale is easily one of the most exciting tracks here, with all of these very alien instrumentals floating in, making for this clash of sound that I don't even know how to describe. But of all the tracks here, I can't say I remember any of them being this experimental and truly out there.  It's actually pretty flooring.  All with that same, patient beat floating so close yet so far.  It's a truly indescribable finale, but if you're patient with it, it's eye-opening.

Rating: 7.7/10

Give A Listen To: " Rausch 1",  "Rausch 2", "Rausch 4",  "Rausch 6"

Least Favorite Track: "Rausch 3"

Genre: Ambient / Drone

Overall Thoughts:  GAS doesn't make music for people who aren't patient, let's start with that.  People were shocked to see Wolfgang coming out with an album only a year after he returned with "Narkopop".  But to be honest, I have a whole lot more to say about "Rausch".  This album isn't the waiting game that his last album was, even though that wasn't a bad thing.  But this album is so much more monolithic, with so much more Drone influence and some seriously noisy parts.  The two longest tracks here are a little disappointing and are maybe just a little too ambient for my taste.  But this album overall is a surprisingly very exciting album from GAS.