ALBUM REVIEW: Rammstein- Rammstein
It would be hard to think that it has been a decade since RAMMSTEIN had released an album due to their ever-growing popularity and successes. Their live shows sell-out globally, they hit the front covers of magazines, headline some of the biggest festivals in the world. Their name has been on lips throughout their studio absence, which is by all means a testament to them as one of the most unforgettable bands. Now we have been graced with the follow up to Liebe ist für alle da, the expectation was always going to be high, but have the band been able to produce possibly their finest album to date?
RAMMSTEIN‘s single Deutschland saw the band return in an extraordinarily chaotic way. Both single, and video received not only praise, but criticism for what the band were actually trying to portray. Exploring German history and displaying reenactments of Nazi regime, if they were trying to up their shock-factor, they did just that and then some. It seems only fitting that Deutschland kicks off Rammstein, a statement that even after ten years, they have strengthened their personas and served a reminder that they still don’t care what anyone says or thinks, they aren’t going to rein anything in.
As always, the lyrical content that RAMMSTEIN supply can be subject to interpretation. To non-German speakers, reliance on translations is high, but it doesn’t stop each word Till Lindemann utters from hitting something. The slower tracks on the album such as Hallomann and Diamant still find a way to strike a chord in emotions, and they serve as a reminder that even though not everyone shares the same language, music has a powerful way of creating levels of understanding. Something RAMMSTEIN have always been exceptional at is story-telling, and whether it is sinister truths of historical events, or just a bit of nonsense, you can paint a picture, understanding or not.
One thing you do know as a listener of RAMMSTEIN is that they are forever controversial, be it their lyrical subject matters, live performances or videos. They’ve never been a band to apologise for their actions, or bow down to a system that can be challenging when someone answers back. It comes as no surprise when tracks such as Zeig Dich are plated up, a theme of the hypocrisy of the church. A subject matter that has been approached plenty of times prior, but the intro of Latin choral voices throwing you into what can only be said as one of the most sinister feeling songs the band have put out, really takes it up to another level.
Puppe follows the suit that Zeig Dich does with its sinister tones. Without knowing the lyrical content, you can still sense that this track is dark, and it isn’t going to be fun, it is going to be angry and raw. Once you pair the lyrical content to the sound on the other hand, you are blasted into an abyss of depression and what can be described as true despair. Rough translations show that this is a story about child abuse in the form of prostitution, and trafficking. That one child can hear the abuse her ‘little sister’ is enduring, and is able to murder the abuser who beat her sister to death. Truth be told, knowing the subject matter makes for a difficult listen, but this is the rawest you will probably hear RAMMSTEIN. It is controversial, but it is damning and real. Child abuse has been heard before by the likes of MOTÖRHEAD‘s Don’t Let Daddy Kiss Me, and Pat Benatar‘s Hell Is For Children, and of course RAMMSTEIN in the past, but Puppe once again goes past the line. It is terrifying, especially as Lindemann‘s vocals throw out desperation. This is RAMMSTEIN at one of their darkest points.
One thing RAMMSTEIN have always excelled at is balance. There has always been darkness, and anguish that leaks out of their music. Puppe is one of the finest examples on Rammstein delivering something so emotionally heavy, but the album does not go without the trademark upbeat sounds that the band have been issuing out since their beginnings. Ausländer is one of the stand-out tracks on the album that really highlight how well this iconic band can go from one to the other without sounding all over the place. With heavy pop-induced synths and a catchy chorus, this is what should be a contender in Eurovision, and potentially a winner. You thought the party existed before Ausländer? You thought wrong.
Rammstein may have been ten years in the making, but it has felt like it has been around so much longer. Their identities still remain the same, if anything more fired up. Despite subject matters that are based around paedophilia, necrophilia, sexual violence, religion and much more being in the band’s catalogue for many years, everything feels darker this time around. In some moments it almost feels too heavy on an emotional level to listen to, but it’s near impossible to draw yourself away. In other moments, it is the same RAMMSTEIN we have become used to since 1994. Fun, upbeat, catchy, dangerous, rule-breaking, a force to be reckoned with.
RAMMSTEIN have undoubtedly released what is going to become a staple in their career, like every other release they have ever put out before it. There is a reason why this band can do no wrong with their sound, and it is simply because it is their sound. There is no other band like this out there, and those who try, never can quite nail it on the head. This isn’t a dramatic return because they haven’t put out a studio release in ten years, this is a dramatic return because it is RAMMSTEIN, controversial as ever.
Rating: 9/10
Rammstein is out now via Universal Music Group.
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