Tokio Hotel: Scream : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

It's official: these guys are the greatest German bubblegum-neo-glam-goth-emo boy band. Ever. On their English-language debut (they're already huge in Deutschland), the four fresh-faced lads from Magdeburg unveil a genre-and gender-bending act that justifies superlatives. Much of the credit goes to lead singer Bill Kaulitz, an 18-year-old androgyne whose stupendous electroshock hairdo stands a good six inches taller than Tina Turner's Eighties coif. Kaulitz is a technically limited vocalist, but he has the charisma of a natural frontman, delivering both yowling rockers ("Scream") and sentimental ballads (the acoustic weeper "By Your Side") with an audible twinkle in his eye that suggests he's not entirely serious. (His dodgy English diction — he pronounces the word "eyes" like "ice" — adds to the charm.) The taut power-trio arrangements mix the whisper-to-a-scream dynamics of post-grunge with glam-rock chords and a big dollop of emo's teen psychodrama. ("Ready, Set, Go!" has already soundtracked an angsty scene on The Hills.) And then there's "Love Is Dead," which sounds like a lost Eighties hair-metal chestnut. With some strategically applied spandex, Kaulitz could become the rock god Bret Michaels always wanted to be.

JODY ROSEN

(Posted: May 15, 2008)

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5of 5 Stars

I got this CD well before it was released (10 months actually). I still listen to it everyday because it is catchy and they are young with a perspective of the music business, so they know what works. These songs are captivating in German as well and TH has never disappointed me. (Best song: Love is Dead)

Jul 21, 2008 12:42:31

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