All German-language bands that play ominous industrial-rooted music are bound to be measured against Rammstein -- whom no one is really able to beat at their own game -- and Eisbrecher are no exception.

At first glance, the group's an even worse copycat than most similar acts that actually go to some lengths to make themselves stand apart from the pack without losing that aggressively decadent vibe that is the real fun about "the new German hardness." Good chunks of Eiszeit play as if they are ready-made to be used as replacements in case a Rammstein album is not available -- the same bouncy militaristic rhythms, crushing staccato guitars playing very simple but catchy riffs, and male vocals that talk about all kinds of dark things in a slow and deep drawl.

Some song titles ("Engel" and "Supermodel") sound like deliberate quotations from Rammstein -- but this is a provocation, not an homage, because Eisbrecher have their own stylistic gimmick after all: as the album progresses, it becomes evident that the "electronic trip-rock" tag that Eisbrecher slapped on their music back in 2003 still means something.

No trip-hop is to be found anywhere on Eiszeit, but while the album always sports plenty of guitars, it also borrows a lot from Funker Vogt and other likeminded masters of post-apocalyptic robot dance parties.

The synths and the beats are as important as the riffs here, and while taking cues from EBM is an obvious trick, it is not very often encountered among Rammstein followers and gives the record just enough identity to differentiate from its counterparts.

However, that still doesn't elevate it above also-ran status, because in the end Eiszeit faithfully re-creates the same atmosphere that German "dance-metal" had been propagating for over one and a half decades by 2010, even if it uses slightly different means to achieve the effect.