Industrial Revolution (Mutter - Rammstein)

Member Name: Hunting_Bears

Product:	Mutter - Rammstein
Date:	17/06/02 (503 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cool rock music

Disadvantages: German Language

I was first introduced to Rammstein when I bought the superb soundtrack to David Lynch's paranoid film noir mystery "Lost Highway" (1997). There are two Rammstein songs contained on the "Lost Highway" soundtrack and at first I was laughing because I was used to songs in the English language and Rammstein are from Germany and sing in their own language. After a while I stopped laughing and started rocking. Rammstein produce some cool industrial metal and though not a big fan of heavy music, these guys are awesome. A few years past and last Christmas I bought Rammstein's "Mutter" album. Mutter is German for mother. It cost me £17 (why do record stores always put up the price on foreign music?) but on an impulse I purchased the album and was very glad that I did.


This album is a techno-metal album that really is begging for classic status. Rammstein are not that well known over in Blighty but their reputation is growing. They recently toured the U.K. and it was a successful tour. They also make great music videos and they are always shown on the Kerrang music channel. So who are these maestro's of mayhem? I will tell you all that I know (or think I know, excuse the Star Wars reference).


Rammstein are:

Christoph Doom- drums

Til Lindemann-vocals

Oliver Riedel-bass

Paul Landers-guitar

Doktor Christian Lorenz -keyboards

Richard Bernstein-guitar



These guys dress up in all kind of weird clothes, sometimes bondage stuff, sometimes suits, sometimes not much at all. They are every bizarre and have a different style every week. In a recent photo album I saw, they were all dressed in normal clothes but had deformed faces. They looked like freaks and probably act like lunatics. They do create superb music but they are bloody weird. A recent live prop was a giant penis that squirted out white foam onto the crowd. They seem to
have a weird sensibility.


Rammstein videos


"Mutter" was released in 2001 and was their biggest album to date, like I said before their fan base is growing all the time. The band released four singles from this album and all were accompanied with truly amazing videos. The "Ich Will" video centred around a high-tech bank robbery. "Sonne" was an expressionist version of "Snow White" and the band play the dwarves. "Links 2,3,4" was a live video that showed what an amazing live band they are. The lighting rig has to be seen, too be believed. The latest video is for "Mutter" and is a very dark and creepy video. All of these videos are on heavy rotation on the Kerrang music channel. My personal favourite is "Ich Will".



Artwork


I have to mention the artwork because it is so damn freaky. The band are in various states of being genetically grown in test tubes (told you they were weird). The photographs recall "Alien Resurrection" and the front cover is a spooky genetically grown baby's face. The booklet also contains the lyrics, but they are all in German. I know the words by listening to them but I haven't a clue what the some of the song titles mean. If any Germans read this please let me know what are singing about.


I have been told that the band got their name from a military base called Rammstein. But I have also been told that Rammstein was the name of a Nazi armaments plant. I haven't discovered the truth but I don't think either of those suggestions is correct. If they are well then I am a fool.



"Mutter"

The album contains eleven brilliant tracks that are perfect for dancing like a madman too.



"Mein Herz Brennt" 4:39


The album opens with a keyboard and string intro and Til sings "Nun liebe k
inder gebst fein acht". It starts off very quiet and moody before turning into a heavier intro. The verse contains a cool bass sound and the drums really thump. Til shouts "Mien Herz Brennt" during the chorus and the guitar chugs along with the string section. It is a really cool song.



"Links 2,3,4" 3:36


This is one of the best tracks on the album and starts with soldiers marching and then moves into a cool guitar riff that really makes you rock your head. Again the song features a soft verse with a heavy chorus. This song has a marching effect on the body and you will find yourself parading around your house shouting the chorus. The drums and guitar are amazing on this track and are backed with some cool industrial metal keyboards.



"Sonne" 4:32

"Sonne" starts with a countdown in German before the guitar kicks in with a breathtaking riff. The album continues with the same style of mid-tempo verse with heavy chorus. It's quite interesting because the band make each song sound very different from each other, but follow a certain pattern. This song is an anthem and again the keyboards give the song an extra dimension, by having a weird high pitched warble over the guitar, bass, drums and vocals.


"Ich Will" 3:37


This song is my personal favourite and it truly will make your hi-fi speakers shake like there is an earthquake. I love this song because it features an odd section were a crowd sing along with Til. It has the feel of an anthem and is the standout track of the entire album. The drum treatment is also superb and the bass is just out of this world.



Fever Frei! 3:08

This is the first fast song on the album. It is a guitar led track and the production of the instruments is perfect. The band produced the album along with a guy called Jacob Hellner. The song calms down before
picking up energy and thrashes around. It is a very violent sounding track without it being thrash metal.


"Mutter" 4:28

This is a soft song to start with. It features an acoustic guitar (on an industrial album) before rocking out in the chorus. It has an epic quality and can sound funny because it's quite soft and Til is singing in a quiet voice. I think it's a brilliant song and the music video that accompanies it is fantastic. The guitar solo is cool too.


"Speiluhr" 4:48


This is my second favourite song and starts with a creepy introduction that sounds like a twisted nursery rhyme. The best thing about this song is the sing along chorus. It has a weird computerised voice singing along with Til and it's actually quite frightening. Rammstein write some bizarre tunes. The piano towards the end is scary. It's just a scary song. I bet he's singing about his girlfriend or something but to me it sounds creepy.


"Zwitter" :417


This starts with a grinding guitar riff and drum and bass combo. A computerised voice repeats "Zwitter" over and over before things slow down a little and Til begins to sing. It's a bit like "Fever Frei!" in that it is a fast paced song but slows down and builds up again. This is a cool track to run too.


"Rein Raus" 3:09

The grinding guitar style is used yet again but this sounds sinister and I think it's a scary song because Til's voice is really deep. It's perhaps the weakest song on the track but it's saved by a great keyboard part and a cool wah-wah peddle solo.


"Adios" 3:48


This song is a thrash metal number with some cool drumming and bass work. The band work around a pattern and then build from that. The song finishes with a rousing anthem style and staccato guitar part before speeding
off. It a good little song that would do well in a nightclub, when everyone can create a moshpit and punch the air.


"Nebel" 4:54


The album closer is a slow song with a pulsating bass-line. The song features a soft string section and piano. The keyboards give the song a haunted synth feeling that really makes the song memorable and really cool. The chorus is big but not loud. Compared to some of the songs on this album, this final track is very subdued. The song finishes and "Mutter" has been forty-five minutes spent in the company of some great but insane musicians.


Conclusion


Rammstein are a really great band that may one day over take bands like Slipknot and Limp Bizkit. I hope they don't because I like them due to the fact that they are not well known and also because they aren't afraid to sing in their own language. I don't think they would ever do an album in English because they sell millions of records without the help of MTV. They don't need to be popular like some many other rock bands. Rammstein quite simply are the best metal band around. If you disagree then it's your loss.

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