RAMMSTEIN

The Mighty Rammstein has returned with their first new music in a decade! (Review starts on Paragraph 4) I've been a fan of Rammstein for a long time, around 15 years. I really didn't start getting into them heavily until 'Liebe ist für alle da', their wonderful work from 10 years ago. I even took German in high school to understand Rammstein(Didn't work by the way). Once I had the capital, I bought all of their albums. I was very fortunate to see them in 2012 when they embarked on their US tour after returning to the US for the first time in a decade to a sold out Madison Square Garden show. It was the most amazing show I've ever seen and probably will ever see. Rammstein, for me, hasn't ever put out a bad album. I think this largely has to do with them really starting the band when they were grown men. While most of the members had been in bands before Rammstein, they were all in their late 20's and early 30's by the time they unleashed 'Herzeleid'. Rammstein has evolved greatly over time, never the less, you can always tell it's Rammstein you are listening to. These guys are the German Metallica, only they haven't put out a terrible album or had any member changes. It may help these men came from a strange era, growing up in East Berlin. They are also very varied on their opinions and likes. During 'Mutter' and 'Liebe ist für alle da' the band almost broke up over musical direction and creative process. Yet they have persisted. They also don't rush the process, putting an album out on average every four years, which in turn means they haven't put out a bad album. The band isn't afraid to push the envelope, but most importantly, they make the music they want to make. It has never been so apparent as on this appropriately Untitled release. Richard, lead guitarist, said that they really wanted to make music forefront of the effort, as he felt their shows spectacle overshadowed the music they produced. While I've never felt that way, I understand what he means. The entire band is a lot more active than on past outings, but I would say the effort is very much an evolution of 'Liebe ist für alle da'. Flakes keys are more apparent than ever, adding insane vibes all throughout the album. His parts are easily over looked, but he clearly elevate the songs atmospherically. Ollie on bass gets his own little piece in Zeig Dich. Doom(drummer) is using is double bass very creatively, his impact is felt throughout the music, always delivering interesting beats. He and Ollie lend their weight to all the songs. Elevated more than even Flakes Keys, the guitarists are front and center. Richard and Paul are lead and rhythm guitar respectively. There hasn't been a time in Rammsteins history that the leads stood out like on this record. Paul himself beautifully supports Richards leads, either by strumming with Ollie in rhythm or by playing his own lead esque parts. These two really sealed the deal, playing that heavy tearing distortion that is to be expected by Rammstein and even playing great acoustic on Diamant. Overall, the music is more dynamic than it's ever been, each song almost specifically it's own feel, while simultaneously keeping that same quality they have been known for over their 25 years. It was a treat to hear them not only explore new realms of music, but also that no song feels out of place throughout. That said, we have to talk about the elephant in the room. That of course is the iconic front man, Mr. Till Lindeman. I never want to take any credit from the band members, but while Rammstein musically is unlike any other, Till seals the deal. His deep, angry and tragic vocals are unlike any other, so proves he belongs in Rammstein. The madman is ever present here, performing in every one of his personalities. Tough guy vocals in Tattoo, sorrowful in Deutschland and angry in Puppe(puppet). While I didn't read exact lyrics, I read synopsis and needless to say, he is as lyrically clever as ever. Till is the oldest member of the band, but you would think he was still the same age as when they released 'Mutter'. His voice delivers soft highs and guttural lows, even growling and screaming from time to time. His voice sounds like it did decades ago and he still has something worth saying. The band is as heavy as they've ever been and as dangerous as ever. I'll put it very clearly, this album is worth the wait. The music is more dynamic than ever, but still very much Rammstein. Till is still as scary and emotional as ever. I must address that the Deluxe was a bit of surprise, it doesn't have any extra tracks, but it still has a very cool DVD sized case, with individual pictures of every member. If you don't need that, feel free to buy the standard edition, but I'm not disappointed. Overall, the album is wonderful. It's something you haven't heard from Rammstein before, while also being everything the band is. The Legends have returned, and more importantly, they've raised the bar. PICK THIS ALBUM UP!

Ok, so today I received, from the Amazon Prime truck, this CD, Rammstein. First, I would like to quickly disagree with the person who said their sound had changed, that Deutschland is the closest in sound that matches their other CDs. What I could play of the CD, which was all but one song, is very catchy after a couple of rounds, and TIL saves the whole damn thing! The keyboards are annoying, and Richard's guitars are not standout. Now, to the actual physical product. My CD was so F**&%&^ up that there's no way the Prime driver did this. See pictures. It was crushed in half from the back. The plastic inside was totally shattered, and the reason I couldn't hear the 11th song is because the actual CD is BENT! I definitely called Amazon and got a refund on this POS. I may order or buy this CD elsewhere, but not through Amazon. I believe Amazon got a massively damaged shipment and should seriously take this up with their supplier. SMH It's just incredible. I've been buying CDs for about 30 years, and I have NEVER seen anything so damaged and f'd up! I'd like to give the CD 4 stars, and the packaging, which I'm sure someone with Rammstein had control over a 1 or NO star. It's just flimsy. It's thinner than any paper cases I have EVER seen. So, if you buy it here, be prepared to return it. I would get it in person, if that were even possible anymore, to be sure it's not f________ crushed! Another day later and endless re-listens, on computer, stereo, car, and another stereo.... Alright, I like this one better than LIFAD. Standouts, and anyone that remotely understands German would agree: Deutschland, Zeig Dich, Auslaender (quite danceable), Sex (great song!), Puppe (finally, a new, original headbanging song! Am sure there'll be major concert theatrics with this song), Was Ich Liebe (great!). Weit Weg is good. Richard finally perks up the guitars, but the retro sounding keys is a bit meh. It is a good song, however. Tattoo is another basic hard rock song. "Show me yours, I'll show you mine." It's a jammer, OK! Diamant is a short, slow ballad. Enjoyable enough. The songwriting/lyrics are up to par, as ever. Basic enough for marginal German speakers to understand and appreciate the lingual twists and turns. The music is good enough for anyone that has no idea what Till is singing. I will say and stick to that sometimes the keyboards are suitable, and sometimes cheesy, but what are you going to do. Still can't believe the condition of the CD I received, and no, I was not able to press out the distinct bend in the CD. So, can't review Hallomann. Beware how your CD may show up. However, the WORK is priceless to the Rammstein lover. Actually, it ranks quite high in German hard rock, whether you're a Rammstein fan or not. I have always loved the pronunciation and rolling of the R's that Till does. Good luck finding that in everyday society (over in Deutschland). I'm sure everyone in the band contributed well, but sorry, Rammstein IS that voice. They couldn't do it without him. Enjoy!

I am not going to lie. I had some concerns going into this album. I watched closely as band members were interviewed, and hints were dropped. At one point something along the lines of this being a different album for the band. Which in all honestly this Album is a huge departure from traditional Rammstein albums. I feel like that might be the reason why you see some bad reviews here and there. That being said listening to the album for the first time I was really impressed. I was going to write review after listening to it once, but decided to hold out. While the album was great the first time through you definitely need to listen to some of these songs a couple times. The album starts with the already released singles of ‘Deutschland’, and ‘Radio’. Not much I can really add to what's already out there, but both songs are solid. The next highlight for me was ‘Zeig Dich’. The song is powerful with a choir singing in the back ground, and fast heavy guitar rifts. The next song ‘Ausländer’ is probably going to be the song that divides Rammstein fans up. The song is.. Dear I say it.. very pop musicesque. . I mean literally this can be played in a dance clubs around the world. Which might be a turn off, but give the song a chance. It's really catchy, and I would catch myself singing it to myself after listening to it. The song ‘Sex’ is another departure for the band. The song actually sounds very Southern Rockish. This is followed by ‘Puppe’ Till's raw vocals will give you chills. The song is probably the darkest on the album. Now my only complaint about this is album is the other songs as of now are not as good as the first half of the album IMO. They are still good and catchy, but don't hold up to the first half of the album. That being said it could be that I need to listen to them more. With the Album "liebe ist fur alle da" the song "Haifisch" was the song I would constantly skip. They then released the music video, and I was lucky to see it perform lived. It ended up becoming one of my favorite songs from the album. I always hear people complain that there are no good heavy rock/metal/industrial music. I highly recommend giving this album a listen to. Rammstein are one of the few bands that have been able to stay consistent with their albums. You can tell they put a ton of love, and work into this.

I own every Rammstein album. The first album I bought with them on it was the Lost Highway soundtrack. I have been lucky enough to see them live twice, the first time was in 1998. So I am a longtime fan. I didn’t listen to Libe ist fur alle da all that much to be honest. It wasn’t bad at all, but I have listened to all their other albums so much that there wasn’t a lot on it that kept it in my CD player. I just listened to their new album and it took me a long time to get through all the songs, because I had to listen to each song repeatedly. With each new song I heard, I couldn’t believe how different it was from anything I was expecting. The first single, Deutschland is about as close to the old sound as this album gets, and it is fantastic. The rest of the album left me in shock. Some of the songs leave you wondering what just happened. Puppe is my favorite song on the album. It has a very raw, desperate feeling to it and when I listen to it I feel like I’m in some kind of horror movie. Totally immersing myself in this album takes my breath away. This is as intense as music gets. I highly recommend anyone interested in Rammstein give this album a spin.

Rammstein just keeps getting better and better, and one can definitely appreciate how the band has progressed in maturity from their earlier albums. Their honesty and purity, as well as their love and angst, as well as the seriousness associated with their country's history comes through loud and clear with the lyrics to Deutschland. Their talent continues on and never disappoints with their traditional fun songs like Auslaender and baudy tune Sex. The easily counterpoint such lightheartedness with their social commentary in Radio and Tatoo. Of course, no Rammstein set would be complete without songs with a dark side, and Hallomann and Puppe deliver big time. This album, however, was quite outstanding with two songs in particular that brought and continue to bring tears to the eyes and heart: Diamant and Was ich Liebe. Oh Till, no one can translate pain into music like you can with your beautiful voice, haunting melodies and heart wrenching lyrics. Schoen, so schoen und traurig (so beautiful and sad). Bitte, please--do not keep us waiting for your next album.

Finally, after waiting two months, I have my Rammstein collection complete. Be careful buying from M+L; they take a long time and provide very little information, their logic is poor, and you have to contact them and the shipping companies a lot. But it still arrived very late, but it did arrive.

These guys only get better with time. This album isn't very tight in terms of overall tone, each song is quite diverse and flirts with getting the band's 'softest' album. With that said, each song has been refined and mastered to perfection, and I would say it's perhaps the best representation of Rammstein's range. Well worth the 10 year wait. as for the packaging itself, I would give that four out of five. It's the deluxe edition of the album and the only difference is the larger cover here with a couple extra pictures. No extra songs, no making of DVDs, etc.

I've been a fan of Rammstein since my high school days. After first hearing 'Amerika' and then 'Mein Teil' I was set forth on a path that would lead me on an Industrial musical journey. Along the way I started listening to other German bands and was impressed at what they had to offer, but to me none could compare to Rammstein. To me this band hits on so many emotions that it's near impossible to have anything from their catalog on a playlist, I mean I don't want to feel too epic when I'm at the gym, am I right? So after 8 years, we were offered a glimpse of a possible new album with the debut of Rammvier at Hellfest back in 2016. Which I think we can all agree had us flocking to whatever search engine we use to do some research on what the industrial kings were cooking up, and sure enough there it was, speculations of a new album were emerging, and of course later confirmed by the band itself. While I can't say that the wait wasn't long, I mean I was still in college when 'Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da' came out, the wait was well worth it. I pre-ordered the vinyl set after hearing the single ‘Deutschland’ which had me feeling chills as I watched the premier of the music video, I was not disappointed. Sure when a band you like takes a nice long break and then they come back with new material you tend to worry if it’s going to live up to the likes of albums like ‘Reise Reise’, or even ‘Rosenrot’. But for Rammstein I did not worry, my favorite band has never let me down, and I knew they wouldn’t. They delivered. The track I keep blasting downtown right now, to the delight of pedestrians, is ‘Puppe’, a song that starts out slow and carries you with a mellow beat, until it hits, Till Lindemann’s harsh vocals, the song then takes a turn that seems to shake you and DOESN’T LET GO! You of course have the singles ‘Deutschland’ and ‘Radio’, which are killer jams and will be on repeat for the entire weekend, I assure you. We were given heavy, mellow, and all around pure musical power, and I couldn’t be happier. The album itself comes as an overall white matte with a singular match stick on the front cover. The inside contains 2 LP “Heavy Vinyl”, and 6 art prints of the band members themselves that brings more to this neat package. We were given more than just music, we were given emotion and art, on a scale that elevates what I’ve already come to expect from this amazing band. In short (too late), if you’re a true fan of Rammstein, I mean a true-try to make people at parties listen to Rammstein and change their lives-type of fan, then purchase this album. Let us show this wonderful band that we are still here and will continue to support them, no matter how long the wait is.