Album Review: Eli Van Pike – Welcome To My Dark Side (DarkSIGN Records & NRT Records)

Welcome To My Dark Side is the debut album from the German industrial/goth metal band, Eli Van Pike. The album was released on April 14th 2017 via DarkSIGN Records & NRT Records.

The project of Thorsten Eligehausen (Schandpfahl, Cradle of Haze), Marc Vanderberg (Devil May Care) & Ken Pike. It’s impossible to not draw comparisons with the German industrial metal heavyweights, Rammstein when listening to Welcome to My Dark Side. In fact, close your eyes & even the most ardent fan of the band would have difficulty pointing out the differences in many songs. It’s always more prevalent when vocals are sung in German rather then English but there is a nice mix.

Made in Germany, Herzschlag & 1-2-Frei are frighteningly familiar especially as some of the vocals sound a lot like Till Lindemann (Rammstein vocalist) at times. That being said, they’re damn good industrial metal songs. Beat heavy with just the right amount of electronics used combining with some hard hitting metal riffs.

Where Welcome to My Dark Side excels are when the vocals are let off the leash & it’s showcased to perfection on World on Fire & the very catchy Tears of War. The comparisons between Rammstein & Eli Van Pike continues to come up but as the album goes on it becomes less obvious.

The heavy beat of Peter, 41 has a particularly exciting style especially the way in which the vocals contrast with the industrial effects.

Unfortunately things begin to go off the rails near the end with the uninspired, Welcome to My Dark Side & Amen. Neither offering much in the way of variety & you can’t shake the feeling that you’ve heard that same drum flourish a few times before.

Welcome to My Darkside comes to a close with the acoustic Valentine’s Day. A nice enough song but one that feels a little flat even though the lyrical content is a lot darker then the title suggests.

“Give me a knife”

There’s a lot to enjoy here, especially for fans of a harder industrial metal sound.

Eli Van Pike – Welcome to My Dark Side Full Track Listing:

1. Made in Germany
2. Herzschlag
3. 1-2-Frei
4. World on Fire
5. Tears of War
6. One Last Rose
7. Peter, 41
8. Welcome to My Darkside
9. Amen
10. Valentine’s Day

Welcome to My Dark Side is out now & available on most major streaming platforms. You can also pick it up via DarkSIGN Records & NRT Records. If you want to find out more about Eli Van Pike check them out on Facebook & YouTube