Ten years. Ten freaking years! Thats like a full decade! No, its not like. It is! An entire decade has passed. People have been born in that time! Do you even realise how long 10 years is? I was 24 ten years ago! And you? Probably still in nappies!
Ten freaking years its taken for Rammstein to remember that music is a thing. And a thing they are very good at. And then after remembering that, actually putting out a collection of songs. Something I like to call an album.
And what do we get after 10 years of waiting? Well to me, what sounds like one of Rammstein’s best albums. Seriously. This album is fantastic from start to finish.
RAMMSTEIN, not the band, the album, see, the album is called RAMMSTEIN and the band is called Rammstein. Confusing I know. So anyways, RAMMSTEIN shows the band experimenting a bit more with electronic beats, and sounds in a way they haven’t really committed to before. Du Hast, Du Reich So Gud and others have touched on this in the past, but this album sounds like the electronic music is the real backbone to this album.
All these guys must know how good it is – all the songs are in caps, just like the album name. So while I am excited by this album, when I am typing in all caps, I am not yelling random words at you. Its the song names… And I am yelling them at you in excitement.
After a decade of waiting, there’s no intro. There’s no pomp. Its straight to fantastic first single DEUTSCHLAND. And you’d be confused for thinking you stepped into a rave in the first 13 seconds. A slow build up and then just the awesome head banging classic Rammstein sound you know and love. The video for this song is an artistic masterpiece.
Überheblich (Overbearing)
Deutschland – Rammstein
Überlegen (Superior)
Übernehmen (Take Over)
Übergeben (Surrender)
Überraschen (Surprising)
Überfallen (Attack)
Deutschland, Deutschland über allen (Germany, Germany, over all)
RADIO carries on the electronic theme, and is a fantastic song, with an even weirder music video. Its a very catchy, almost radio friendly, track. And I am surprised it was not the first single to be released. But then again, DEUTSCHLAND, and the video, is just a perfect way to announce a return to form.
And then the album carries on with the signature Rammstein sound that you know. ZEIG DICH brings in some choir to differentiate itself, but it could have come right off of Rosenrot or Reise, Reise. The next most interesting track is AUSLANDER. Way more electronic than we’re used to hearing from this band, and reminds me of that Blade scene. If you could ever see yourself getting into hard EDM, this track would be the gateway drug.
In fact, with some of the direction Rammstein seem to be going with this album, if their next album is pure EDM, I wouldn’t be all that surprised. They use it much better than Korn were able to pull off on their Twisted Transistor album…
The song that really stands out for me on this album is PUPPE. The first time I heard it was over bluetooth to some crappy car sound system. And it was still so good, I went back and listened to it again and again until I arrived at my destination. Then I came home and played it on my Sonos system to really get the feel for this song. From the way its put together, to Till Linderman’s voice as he sings and then goes full raw vocals. Even though I can’t understand the lyrics, and Google translate is a poor substitute, I can still hear the emotion behind it. His raw vocals and the drums work together is ways I want to hear more of. Its by far my favourite song off the whole album due to this.
DIAMANT is a slower song but quite beautiful to listen to. These slower songs really show the dynamic range of this band, and Till’s vocal work. I really like hearing him sing as he is able to convey emotion in his voice in ways many can’t. And all while not understanding a thing he says! Even more impressive. TATTOO is that pure Rammstein sound. Its the sound that attracted me to the band when I first heard Ich Will back in like 2001. But with all the learnings of a band that has really matured their sound.
And then you get HALLOMANN. It certainly does not sound like the last track of an album. Typically, the last track tends to be a wrap up of the album and not just another song. It tappers off with haunting echos in the last 30 seconds, and then its done. Thats the album. A very quick and sudden stop – just like their dive right in first song.
Personally, this album comes across almost like a concept album – Rammstein, honing their craft, but also pushing themselves into different areas. Its been 10 years after all, so of course certain things will be different. To expect otherwise would be madness. I like this album. I am glad Rammstein are still around, and by the sounds of it, have another 25 plus songs ready and waiting. Will we get a surprise RAMMSTEIN II later this year, or even next year? I hope so. Its the feeling I got from the last song of this album.
Then again, this is Rammstein. And they have never been ones to do the things expected of them. So who can tell? For now, we have a brand new Rammstein album, full of new and exciting tracks, and thats exactly what I wanted!
