HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: ON THIS DAY: Mutter – Rammstein

Take away METALLICA. Take away IRON MAIDEN. What band is the biggest metal band in the world? It’s RAMMSTEIN. Legacy and influence aside, the German sextet is the biggest metal band in the world. Their live shows alone sell out in minutes and their spectacle is unmatched by any band or musical act. Period. But how did they become the modern juggernaut that they are in this day and age? The answer lies with the band’s inarguable masterwork, 2001’s Mutter. Seeing it on its 20th anniversary as of April 2nd, it’s immediately clear that this is the album that not only set the template for RAMMSTEIN‘s sound on every album following it, but it also catapulted the band to superstardom with a sense of style, texture, and melody that hooked the ears of a global audience in a way the band had never before.

The band’s 1998 effort, Sehnsucht, put the band on the map. Du Hast is a song most everyone knows to some degree, heavy music fan or not, and through the tones of that record the band made their first viral spread through radio stations and TV screens everywhere. But the record itself is still rooted in a very dated sound, with a guitar tone that whines and grinds in tinny fashion and synth tones that, while fitting the tone, feel like they could be found on any decent Casio. It was very much a slightly beefier, more fleshed out and polished Herzelied, the band’s debut record. Mutter, from it’s very first note on its very first song, Mein Herz Brennt, finds RAMMSTEIN on another plane entirely.

To start, the sound of the album is a titanic step forward. Jacob Hellner‘s production and Stefan Glaumann‘s mixing sounds absolutely huge. Guitars are chunky and thick, and the drums crack and crash with a force that previous albums can’t match. In short, this is the record that created the RAMMSTEIN template. To some degree, every album following Mutter pulls from this sound and production. But beyond the board, the creative choices on this record made it a landmark in the band’s history, and again cast ripples on the band’s future. Guitarist Richard Kruspe, who ostensibly had about 80 percent of the creative control on Mutter, describes those choices in a 2001 interview with esteemed journalist Martin Popoff for Lollipop Magazine:

“The big difference between the second and third albums is that the second one had a strong dependency on electronic instruments, computers, samplers, and keyboards. It sounded kind of cold and programmed. With Mutter, we tried to go back to conventional instruments and only use electronics to reinforce the music. The songs are more mature and there’s less dependence on electronics.”

That mentality is what made Mutter a game changer. Live orchestra, huge guitars and drums, and perhaps most importantly, a growing vocal prowess from front man Till Lindemann all defined the next four RAMMSTEIN records. Mutter where it all started. But where the band truly progressed the most was their songcraft. A whopping six singles were released from the album, a record that still stands in the band’s history, and that is a testament to the staying power of these tracks. Mein Herz Brennt, Links 2 3 4, Sonne, Ich Will, Feur Frei, Mutter…that’s the first half of the record. Every one of those songs is now a live staple of the band at nearly every show. Is there a better first half of a record in the early 2000’s? It’s certainly debatable.

Both big and small, the band polished the hell out of these songs. The vocal hooks are instantly catchy on nearly every song and sound even fuller thanks to Till’s improved singing voice, and the band took the groove and hook mentality of Du Hast and applied it across the board. The riffs are now iconic, from the legendary Sonne to the underappreciate slam of Rein Raus and Zwitter. The B sides alone could be an album of A sides.

The details here are also now very famous RAMMSTEIN-isms. The haunting child vocals and whispers of Spieluhr most surely influenced songs like Puppe on the band’s latest self-titled record, and the aching pace of Nebel brings to mind Ohne Dich off 2004’s Reise, Reise. It’s a total commitment to forge a new sound that sounds very much of the new millennia. Before this record, the band’s sound feels rooted to the 90’s: very tight and industrial with not much room to breathe. But Mutter threw the doors wide open and gave the band space to still sound like themselves, but the 21st century version of themselves. The hints of early RAMMSTEIN are still there. Songs like Feuer Frei and Links 2 3 4 have the feel of band’s previous work in tempo and rhythm, while utilizing the band’s new sonic palette.

The songs from this record made RAMMSTEIN the stadium band they are today, no question. Feuer Frei alone ended up on the soundtrack for the massive action flick XXX, opening the band up to an even more massive audience. But with the number of radio singles, combined with the immediate hooks, the band embarked on their largest tour yet. They began to headline arenas on the strength of their third record, which seems unheard of today. But the impact the songs had were undeniable, and the fervour for the band rose at a fever pitch. It’s at about this point that the band made themselves scarce in the USA, leading to an ever increasing demand from that audience to get a glimpse for themselves of this wild German band with the skyscraper riffs. And from here…well we all know the story. RAMMSTEIN built their show with fire and blood and became the greatest metal show on Earth, which they remain to this day.

Looking back across the band’s discography, Mutter stands singularly tall. It’s the record that defined what RAMMSTEIN is; their very fabric, their core. The sonic portrait that it paints feels wholly unique and within that painting can be found the tones and colours, both in large swatches and tiny brushstrokes, that set this band apart from almost every other. There is no other band that truly sounds like RAMMSTEIN, and Mutter is the reason why. Front to back, it is the band’s masterpiece and always will be.

Mutter was originally released April 2nd 2001 via Motor Music and Universal Music. 

Like RAMMSTEIN on Facebook.