You may have heard of Rammstein. The heavy German industrial rockers have a good name for themselves outside their native country. With three albums aside from Mutter to their name they are not new kids on the block. So with my limited German knowledge (I can say “Where is my monkey? In the Church / Cooker?”), and an afternoon to spare, I picked up the “Mutter” CD.

Combining a classical music / orchestral sound with heavy industrial rock riffage, synthesiser-driven breaks, and choral samples Rammstein provides a viable alternative to the rap-rock scene that currently dominates the “alternative” charts. Most likely you have heard “Du Hast”, included on the Matrix Soundtrack, or one of their latest singles, notably “Sonne” from this album.

So what does the album sound like?

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Mein Herz Brennt;

A slow monologue introduction leading to a majestic, orchestral, full bodied assault on the ears. The translation of the title means “My Heart Burns”. The entire song is very full of bass and down-tuned guitars. This has a true German classical music feel to it. A perfect introduction to the album, maybe the band if you’ve never listened before.

Links 2-3-4;

A pounding song, leading you through tumbling choruses with guitars piled up and distorted. The video for this song showing ants marching in war-like patterns. This is one of the better songs on the album – Showing you what Rammstein do best - Rock

Sonne;

This was one of the albums singles. A distinctive tune, opening with 1 to 10 counted in German, then a head banging riff. The verses are almost spoken-word, with an operatic chorus / hook, with female accompaniment. Great imagery with is mirrored in the video for this single which depicts a drug-taking snow-white, surrounded by the dwarfs (played by the band). The imagery of dwarfish-industrial work fits perfectly with the theme of the song.

Ich Will;

“Ich Will” meaning “I Want”, consists of a synthesiser-riff, followed closely by steady guitars. The verses are broken down to the drum beat, bass and the synthesiser – Leading to the guitars for the choruses and bridges. The chorus pieces are mixed in with crowds of people “answering” the expressions of the main singer. This gives a real pseudo-military feel to the song.

Feurer Frei;

This song goes off like a gun. “Bang! Bang!” the lead screams and the drums boom out. The verses kick with synthesiser-driven backing, sounds of sirens and wails interspersed throughout. Muted guitars build up, only to be stopped by a melodic “singing voice”, rather than the harsh aggressive tones normally used. The main guitar riff storms back in. The song finishes with a pause and a final “Bang! Bang!”. This is one of the better songs on the album for me, along with the first three.

Mutter;

Starts off with a more acoustic guitar progression and the sounds of children. The singer then opens with a decent tune, not at all like the screaming in the other songs. The verses fade in with the chorus singing “Mutter”, which I’m led to belive means “Mother”, whilst the guitarist noodles away. Some of this may sound a tad ridiculous to the casual listener – The intonation in the singers voice takes some getting used to in the quieter bits – Either take it as a bit of fun or try, like the rest of the album, to take it seriously. Pretty hard if you’re not a German language speaker.

Spieluhr;

Opens with another monologue – Sounds strange and pointless if you don’t understand the language – A guitar riff pounds in – Sounding like a cross between their famous “Du Hast” and “Links” from this album. This song doesn’t storm through as much as the others on the album. A strange digitised voice appears on the chorus “answered” by the lead singer.

Zwitter;

Classic Rammstein-style guitar riff with a quieter voice calling “Zwitter, Zwitter” in the background. The song also reverts to the growling to shouting vocal style that is employed on their heavier songs. This song is also very syth-driven on the verses with the guitars fading in for the second half of the choruses. This song bugs me in the chorus, and is not really more than filler on the album. Appropriate filler, but filler still.

Rein Raus;

Following the tried and tested Rammstein way this song also has the growling vocals, synthesiser breaks, steady guitar riff and choral choruses (!). This song does have a screaming guitar bridge in it, however, it doesn’t offer much more than “Zwitter”.

Adios;
A quiet acoustic opening, drum roll then a more classic-rock guitar riff – Lots of palm muting, slightly reminiscent of Metallica’s early stuff. The interesting, quick and quirky drum beat gives added effect to what would be a standard Rammstein song. The song breaks down into the singer “singing” rather than growling over the acoustic guitar. This is then repeated over an electric version of the same.

Nebel

A quiet start, with wind-like effects, leading to a slow bass riff quietly along to sparse drumming circling around. A slight wail and it starts to build up with more airy samples in the background. A guitar arpeggio appears for a short while – Muttered sampled voices – A slight pause – The strings fade in, moving to plucking during the verses. The drums become more aggressive in their beat – The singer singing once more, verging on a growl on the stronger parts.
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It’s quite hard to overcome the language barrier – Constant German lyrics aren’t easy to adjust to, especially if you have no idea at all what they’re saying. The titles are fairly basic German, and the attitude presented in the song gives a pretty good idea of what it’s all about. There is the gap presented in the music though by not picking up on the nuances that are built into the lyrics that only a native German speaker may understand. Don’t let this put you off though, it may be hard, but its different and interesting.

You can look at Rammstein in two ways, as a deep, serious rock band – Or as a bit of heavy fun, to be taken lightly. With a great stage show, involving lots of fire and pyrotechnics you can more likely take this as great entertainment. The lead singer frequently sings whilst being covered in fire.

This interesting album shows what Rammstein are capable of, and tries to package and wrap their sound up, with clean production - it is more acceptable for the wider audience. If you want to find it, its cover is dark, with a close-up photo of a baby’s face.

Give it a try, you might like it,

Jamie