dEUS - The Ideal Crash

Take some time to listen to this!

"This chapter closes with third album, 'The Ideal Crash' (1999), recorded in Spain with David Bottrill at the helm. By now, name checked by the likes of Radiohead and REM, commanding huge festival audiences and selling out venues across Europe, expectations were running high and dEUS did not disappoint. Their most cohesive album to date once more explored new musical directions and sounds, including brass instruments, strings and even the little used mellotron into their distinctive mix. As immediate as it was experimental, Ideal Crash, vindicated the philosophy that to make successful music you needn't dumb down creatively. Singles 'Instant Street', 'Sister Dew' and 'The Ideal Crash' surfed the airwaves of Europe for months on end adding to the ever growing collection of dEUS classics. Their final live shows became celebratory events, the addition of a third guitarist (friend Tim Vanhamel of Millionaire, ex Evil Superstars and Josh Homme's Eagles of Death Metal), the trademark violin of Klaas Janzoons, fire eaters and dancers created a spectacular tour de force that would stay in the memory of anyone lucky enough to be in attendance. dEUS had reached their greatest heights and had done so on their own.

This is where the story freeze frames.

With the exception of the release of their singles collection 'No More Loud Music', which underlined their position as one of the most creative bands of the last decade and desperately compounded the heartfelt desire for their return, dEUS became a collective of individuals pursuing fresh vistas and ideas - a five year long busman's holiday if you will."

The above is some information that can be found on the dEUS-website. This album is the one that has taken me the longest to appreciate. At first, I was disappointed because they sounded so different... I actually started listening to it again because of all the raving German reviews... I think this is the album that made Germany discover dEUS. Yes, it sounds a lot smoother than the previous ones, but it is absolutely fantastic. The guitar riff at the end of Instant Street has become (a) classic. Belgian and French audiences sing along with the guitar during concerts. So, buy it!
March 30, 2006

disappointed by the fans reviewing this album

I think this album as well as the other dEUS albums are of 5 star-quality album material.. It appalls me to see while reading some of the posted reviews here that "let's see who goes down first" for example, the ninth track on this album, to be considered a failed one.

Personally, I would go far as to say that this is probably one of the best european pop/rock album releases of 1999. Sure, it's different than the other two previous releases, a bit mellower on some tracks perhaps, more elctronic on some others... WCS was left raw, crunchy, distorted and ideal crash is much more dependent on production work.

Nevertheless, this album turned out to be quite the production success.. a triumph in that matter. The album's released singles are by far not the only good ones, or even the better ones. All songs are equally beautiful, each in its own way.

I remind everyone, and all those interested in purchasing this album that dEUS is one of those bands you'll start appreciating only after the 10th time. As i recall a review mentioned during its release, you'll spend and lose weeks in the hands of the Ideal Crash.

And for all you dEUS fans outhere, the new album "pocket revolution" is just over a month away from being released. (sigh) ... Finally :). July 27, 2005

Dream Sequences

dEUS` third (and last?) album is as good as their previous efforts, but here the band shows a more mellow and contemplative sound, reducing the harsh, noisy and ultra-experimental elements of the songs. Still, there are explosive moments to find here, like the addictive and visceral "Instant Street" or the opening song "Put the Freaks Up Front". The belgian group creates some captivating pieces of tender, intimate music in "One Advice, Space", "The Magic Hour" or the haunting "Dream Sequence #1", dealing with the common relationship problems in a subtle and personal way. The songwriting is great, the lyrics dead-on and the voice emotional enough. This record isn`t very catchy at first, though it keeps getting better and deeper at every listen. These are love songs, but good ones. January 25, 2004

dEUS saved my life

this album apperaed in my grubby little hands one day from a friend of mine who insisted i give it a listen, i had already heard instant street in all its unashamed pop glory ("i'll put on a movie i'll play somethin' groovy") but the rest of the album completely blew me away, that was nearly 5 years ago now and it still sounds just like it did then, i could almost be staring into space instead of revising for my gcse's. dEUS have a way of tapping into your veins and flushing you with cold water, whispering into your right ear while screaming into your left and stamping up and down on your chest, nobody can fail to take notice.
i also met tom barman and he was a vey lovely man... so buy it... good bike! January 7, 2004

a different style of music

This is dEUS' most poppy work to date and it's better than their previous album but not as good as WCS. It seems that together with Stef the chaos left dEUS' songs (except for the end of 'instant street') . A lot of fans think they are sell outs but I don't agree. This band has evolved.
the first 6 songs are very close to perfection (it's no coincidence that the 3 released singles are number 2,5 and 6 on the album) The worst song on the album is 'let's see who goes down first' and I think it should have been replaced by 'you can't deny what you liked as a child' (released as a bonus track on the digipack version)
But the other 9 tracks are excellent.
conclusion: This is a great dEUS album.period. April 20, 2002

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