Das Monster aus dem Schrank

Das Monster aus dem Schrank (German for "the monster from the closet") is the debut full-length studio album by German deathcore band We Butter the Bread with Butter. It was released on 21 November 2008 by Redfield Records. After an initial self-release of 100 copies. The album was also released simultaneously in North America.^[2] The total print run is therefore well over 5000 copies.^[3][4] It is the band's first of two studio albums to feature lead vocalist Tobias Schultka.

In 2007, Marcel Neumann and Tobias Schultka began emulating their musical idols, such as Suicide Silence and Crystal Castles. This led to their first song, initially without lyrics.^[5] The song "Backe, Backe Kuchen" (Bake, Bake a Cake) originated from the idea that the syllables of "In der Küche riecht es lecker" (It smells delicious in the kitchen) fit the music well. This gave birth to the idea of reinterpreting children's songs. All the songs on the album were recorded entirely at Marcel Neumann's home. The band refuses to record in a studio because they believe it stifles creativity.^[6] The album, from writing and recording the songs to designing the cover, was created entirely during the semester break.

Many songs are reinterpretations of well-known German children's songs or at least partially incorporate their lyrics, but placed in a new context (such as "Godzilla," which partly consists of the lyrics of "Auf der Mauer, auf der Lauer"). The vocals are mostly guttural. They range from high screams and pig squeals to low growls. The guitar playing is rather technically oriented. As is typical in deathcore, breakdowns and blast beats are frequently used, but electronic elements can also be heard, which is not standard for the genre. Certain genre-typical playing styles are deliberately exaggerated (e.g., "Extrem"). The band themselves describe their style as "Deathcore-Electro-Nursery-Buttercore".^[7]

The following is a review of the album from hardkern.de:^[8]

We Butter The Bread With Butter deliver brutal metalcore here, which rolls forward with considerable force and makes no compromises. Add to that vicious growls, pig squeals, and razor-sharp screams that, figuratively speaking, almost freeze your blood. However, even the funniest joke eventually gets old, and 'The Monster from the Closet' loses some of its initial fascination after two-thirds of its runtime.

bloodchamber.de writes:^[9]

This album has everything it needs: riffs, double bass and growls galore, brilliant and imaginative lyrics, a killer cover with a fitting name, and a killer production, where only the vocals of the mastermind behind the mic could have been a bit more powerful. - (9.5/10)

• Tobias "Tobi" Schultka – vocals, drums, programming
• Marcel "Marci" Neumann – guitars, bass guitar, programming

• Das Monster aus dem Schrank at AllMusic