Pyrotechnics, German words, big loud guitars. It could only mean one band - the mighty Rammstein.
THE BAND
Rammstein formed in 1993 in East Germany. They took their name from the location of a German air disaster. They are usually pigeon-holed as industrial but there is rock, metal, electro stuff all in there and its rounded off with a punk attitude. They sing in German too, but don't let that put you off.
Rammstein are :- Till Lindemann - Vocals Richard Krupse-Berstein - Guitars Paul Landers - Guitar Oliver Riedel - Bass Christophe 'Doom' Schneider - Drums Christian 'Flake' Lorenz - Keyboards
DISCOGRAPHY
Herzeleid - 1995 Sehnsucht - 1997 Live aus Berlin - 1999 Mutter - 2001 Reise, Reise - 2004 Rosenrot - 2005
This album is their 2001 offering - Mutter; the album that probably kickstarted their rise to fame. Its on the Motor Music label which is a division of Universal Music.
TRACK LIST
1. Mein Herz Brennt (My Heart Burns) - 4.39 min
This song is about a bogeyman/sandman. Think of it as a German 'Enter the Sandman' by Metallica. It starts with an orchestra of violins blasting out at you. Till then growls and snarls his way throughout the song. A great
opening track but he orchestra/violiny bit reminds me of James Bond music.
2. Links 2 3 4 (Left 2 3 4 ) - 3.36 min
The track opens with marching noises and this is carried on with the lyrics. The mighty guitar riffs in this track are just so big and imposing.There is just so much going on in the track acoustically but it somehow just all sits effortlessly together. The song slows in places just long enough for you to catch your breath before it fires up again. Excellent!
3. Sonne (Sun) - 4.32 min
Eins, zwei, drei......you are counted in (in German of course) before the explosive guitars crash in. This is probably the most well known Rammstein track. It is certainly the first one I heard and it got me hooked right from the very beginning. It is a somewhat dark and menacing song with a heavy industrial feel to it. The lyrics are quite simplistic ( Hier kommt die Sonne - Here comes the sun) but that just adds to its menace and foreboding.Not even the operatic warbling in the background ruin this track.
4. Ich Will (I Want) - 3.37 min
Ich Will growls Till menacingly. This to me seems like a big list of I wants and indeed that is what it translates as. A great sing-a-long track with powerful guitars. There is an audience sing-a-long at the end which I don't usually like. It sounds great here though.
5. Feuer Frei! (Fire at Will!) - 3.08 min
After a quiet start, the blasting siren noises at the beginning of this track just whack you in the face. Bang, Bang screams Till - this track is certainly fast and furious. It was featured on the xXx soundtrack (did you see the clever link there?) The track swaps from its gentler melodies to frantic, full-on, in-your-face riffs right up until the final bang bang.
6. Mutter (Mother) - 4.28 min
The gentle and calmer opening stands in stark contrast to the previous track. This is a slower song but its BIG, angry and powerful. Epic guitar riffs accompanied by Till's growls of 'Mutter' make this a worthy and memorable title track. It's not a particularly nice ode to mothers, with one of the verses translating as, "For the mother who never gave birth to me I have sworn tonight I will send her an illness and afterwards make her sink in the river" - charming!
7. Spieluhr (Musicbox) - 4.46 min
The track begins with Till speaking before the heavy guitars come in. I'd always liked the song but I wasn't sure what it was about so I looked up the translation. It is about a child buried underground with a little music box. I'm not sure if they were playing dead or not. Anyway after I had read the translation of the lyrics and relistened to the song, it sent shivers down my spine. I had always thought that it was Pinky and Perky that turn up to do a bit of singing but I know that it is supposed to be the child singing in a nursery rhyme type way.. The song ends with the sound of the music box stopping. It is a very powerful and moving climax to the song.
8. Zwitter (Hermaphrodite) - 4.17 min
There seems to be a taunting nature about the cries of Zwitter, Zwitter at the beginning of this track. With its pounding guitars and drums, it has a faster pace than the previous track.
9. Rein Raus (In Out) - 3.09 min
oooh eeer, I wonder what this one could possibly be about? If you hadn't guessed then the cries of 'tiefer' (deeper) might also be a give away. However, if you didn't know the translation, the sexual nature of the song wouldn't be obvious. Alright the pounding rhythm might be a clue but it doesn't sound dirty or sleazy. Great guitar solos and keyboards.
10. Adios (Goodbye) - 3.48 min This is a very fast paced song. The drums on this one are exceptionally good.
11. Nebel (Mist) - 4.54 min
This is quite a haunting track that slowly builds up. It starts off subdued but you are just waiting for it to burst into life. When it does happen it doesn't disappoint all those melodic keyboards had just been teasing you. A cracking end to a cracking album.
On paper you would think this to be crap and in truth it should be. A German metal band just conjeurs up images of Eurovision to me (and strange images of David Hasselhoff but lets not go there).
However, Rammstein are something else. They are big and they know it. There is such a fullness to their sound yet they still maintain a raw, powerful and rugged edge. They generate such an immense industrial/rock/electro/metal sound that they just have to be listened to.
This album is quite simply amazing. There isn't a duff track on it It doesn't matter that its in German and I don't know what the hell he's on about. He could be singing about what he buys from the shops for all I know but it still sounds great.
Till's vocals just suit this style of music so well that I think the fact that it is in the very gluttral German actually enhance the songs. The vocals are just so strong and powerful that you can't fail to be impressed.
I can not recommend this album strongly enough. If you are a rock or metal fan I think that you will love this album.
Thanks for reading, Vicki
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Formed in Germany in 1994, this industrial rock six-piece gained notoriety when they were ... more
found to be fave raves of the Columbine High School killers. Mutter is the studio follow-up to 1998s platinum-selling Sehnsucht, and a very menacing beast it is t...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Formed in Germany in 1994, this industrial rock six-piece gained notoriety when they were ... more
found to be fave raves of the Columbine High School killers.Mutteris the studio follow-up to 1998s platinum-sellingSehnsucht, and a very menacing beast it is too....
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Powerful rock music with strong choruses... Disadvantages: Sung in German, which may put off the casual listener (i'd recommend it anyway.)
DJWally 03.05.2001 (03.05.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Mutter - Rammstein
May 19th, 2006
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