Single Slam: Hinter den Mauern der Stadt by ROME

Carl Fisher 2 min read

Coinciding with The Dublin Sessions, ROME has also released through Trisol Music Group, a 2-track single entitled, Hinter den Mauern der Stadt!

When East-Berlin punk band DIE SKEPTIKER (formed in 1986 in the GDR) released their first official album “Sauerei” in 1991, the young Jerome Reuter, who was a devoted listener of many underground punk bands of the era, bought a copy in far-off Luxembourg. Reuter was impressed by the band’s singer Eugen Balanskat who had a remarkably unique delivery and unusually poetic lyrics to go with the punk arrangements of the band.

DIE SKEPTIKER managed to incorporate the poetic Weltschmerz of classic German poetry (notably of authors like Hesse and Heym) into their grippingly raw punk rock – a juxtaposition which certainly proved quite influential on Reuter’s own musical universe years later. The song “Hinter den Mauern der Stadt”, dealing with the difficulties of coming to grips with the clash of the two German cultures and societies after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, particularly stood out on the SKEPTIKER’s release.

To celebrate this year’s 30th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, it is a distinct pleasure and honour for Jerome to collaborate on giving this classic song a new coat of paint with the band’s original singer Eugen Balanskat.

Being completely unfamiliar with the original, I have no perceived notions of what I should be expecting from this track. However, its historical significance isn’t lost on me. Nor is the importance of the re-release/reimagining to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the fall of the wall.

Less about punk but certainly delivering a powerful listen, the aforementioned unique voice of original vocalist Eugen Balanskat is what really stands out here. That and the tightly-wound tension that exists in the soft but bombastic music. It feels positively ready to erupt at any stage but is filled with hopefulness and not hopelessness.

ROME – Hinter den Mauern der Stadt Full Track Listing:

1. Hinter den Mauern der Stadt (feat. Eugen Balanskat)
2. Anderswo (Single Edit)




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Hinter den Mauern der Stadt by ROME
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