This is a pretty good album but it is intended to be a way for fans to get rare early :W: tracks and remixes. It is NOT the proper place for new fans to start as it does not represent the band all that well. Better places to start would be 'Embryodead', 'Bunker Gate Seven' (or even better the original 'Bunkertor Sieben'), 'MFAST' or the double EP 'Dried Blood of Gomorrha'.

Most of the tracks on Mesner are stripped down, simplistic electro that are somewhat aggressive but not nearly as much so as most :W: releases. The standout track is "Mother". If you like this song then you must get the Haujobb remix version avaliable on 'Remix Wars Part I - Haujobb v :Wumpscut:' - this is one of the best reworkings I've ever heard.

Anyway it is a very good album but meant to complement his collection and not meant to be a starting point or standalone release.


An Intense, Hard-Core, Collection of Tracks   June 9, 2005
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

If you like harsh terror EBM (i.e. electronic body music designed to instill a bit of fear), Rudy's the Mesner Tracks are worth checking out. The CD is made up of a collection of tracks that were released on different compilations in the early 1990s, many of which would be extremely difficult to find today. For the Wumpscut fan, this is a great way to find different remixes / versions of songs you may already enjoy. For a DJ, this might be a way to actually find older material that could be suitable for mixing with or into other material and surprising your club regulars.

It is very easy to really recognize the influence that Denmark's Claus Larsen (Leather Strip and Klute) had on Rudy's early work, as it is presented in the Mesner Tracks. Similarly, this CD was instrumental in influencing the extremely popular (and controversial) German band Feindflug.

My favorite tracks include: the more subdued "Lindbergh", Rudy's take on the Terminator theme "Crate", "Running Killer", and "Cold Cell" which features female vocals. Though I think many people will learn to appreciate the album, I am certain that if you are looking for music that sounds more like Wumpscut's more recent releases, such as Wreath of Barbs, Bone Peeler, or Evoke, that you will not immediately take to this CD. However, this doesn't mean new Wumpscut fans will dislike this CD, but that it is different. Personally, I rarely listen to this as an "album", but instead skip around. This really is just a collection of tracks. Perhaps it is best to first listen to a few of the tracks and decide if you like them.



not an album for the newcommer   April 25, 2003
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I have a hard time describing how I feel about this album. I would definately have bought this album just for the song 'Mother'. which is by far one of my favorite :W: songs. The rest of the album is pretty decent, nothing too spectacular. If you are just getting into Wumpscut, I don't suggest that you buy this album. This is the last :W: album that I bought (meaning I bought all of the rest of his releases first, including Wreath of Barbs). I would suggest looking up some of his other albums like "Music for a Slaughtering Tribe", or my personal favorite, "Bunker Gate 7".
BE WARNED: This is not EBM. I don't know why everybody calls :W: EBM, but they are all wrong. His music is much harder and much grittier than EBM.