I think it is fair to say that Rammstein are presently the biggest German band in the world. The new album reached number 13 in the US charts, 1 in at least 6 countries in Europe and racked in massive sales throughout the world. Also let’s face it we do not go finding ourselves writing words like ‘Universal’ into the label header on our reviews very often. There has been one hell of a lot of media attention paid to the band in the run up to this. Firstly there was the single ‘Pussy,’ which was thrust upon a somewhat surprised public by the video, which is possibly the first single to ever have a hardcore porn clip representing it. Arena concerts were announced and brisk ticket sales were made, I personally have never yet caught the band live and hope to in February but from what everyone tells me the pyrotechnic display and shows are about the biggest live musical extravaganza out there. Then of course comes the new album ‘Liebe ist für alle da’ (Love Is There For Everyone) with a title like something out of the flower power era. They really have tried to spread the love too as special editions of this are going out with six dildos reportedly modelled on the band members errrr members!
From arguments I have seen amongst Facebook friends I think it is fair to say that you are either going to love Rammstein or absolutely loathe them. I am in the former category but how could I not be as one of my favourite bands is Laibach and my point being if it were not for our long running Slovenian troupe I would have to question the very existence of Rammstein; controversial point perhaps but I stand by it! There are so many nuances and ideas found within the industrial tumult of the German band (and of course the added cheese factor that the boys and girls from the NSK are renowned for) that it is somewhat impossible to ignore. Of course Laibach are far more cult and underground than Rammstein and perhaps this is a good thing for all concerned.
The first thing that you get to with ‘Liebe ist für alle da’ is the fantastic fold-out album cover. Think Peter Greenaway’s ‘The Cook, Thief his Wife and her Lover,’ The Last Supper and The Marquis De Sade, either use your imagination or go and see it for yourself. This combined with the gold lettering on black background is really going to stand out on your CD shelf and no doubt in the bedroom if you buy ‘that other’ version.
The normal one disc has 11 songs and runs 46 minutes which is perfect in this day of long overstated albums. First track ‘Rammlied’ is my favourite; it is the pounding anthem of the album with the band’s name gutturally and brazenly belted out with Teutonic zeal. It kind of reminds me of the statement made by Laibach with ‘Wat’s’ stomping ‘Tanz mit Laibach.’ It is one hell of a fist-pounding song and really marches forth out the speakers, giving the listener a good old slap round the chops with a leather glove. The militant and austere vocals are excellent and Til Lindermann is particularly theatrical and over the top in his performance. Perhaps they peak to early with this, certainly nothing betters it on the album in my opinion and I can see why this one was the single B-Side that’s for sure. The masochistic ‘Ich tu dir weh’ (I Hurt You) has a nice keyboard intro, a bit Kraftwerk (even dare I say Kraut Rock) before going into a schlager-etched ballad vocal number with drums and bass pounding away on the heavier parts. The language barrier may well be a factor for those of us not speaking German but it is easy to find yourself singing along here, the worrying thing considering the songs title is just what exactly are you singing?
Sounding like a one track record I know, but the horns at the start of Waidmanns Heil (Hunter’s Salute) are again pure Laibach, just listen to ‘Opus Dei’ and I promise this is the last mention I shall make of them in this review. This track has a mid-paced beat infectiously driving its way through and another anthemic chorus that completely takes you over. There is also another clean vocal section and the track is all done in a scant 3 ½ minutes leaving you wondering just what suddenly run up and kicked you in the balls. Haifisch ‘Shark’ starts with a melody that cheekily reminds me of ‘row, row, row your boat’ (listen to it) and cheesy keyboards straight out of Depeche Mode’s hits of yesteryear. Again this is one where the drums and vocals are the main focus and although it is not fast as a shark it does have a bite about it and when horns come in a jaunty and quirky melody. I can imagine this one as a video with the band rowing frantically away from a rubber shark. ‘B*******’ apparently does not translate to Bastards but a made up word ‘Bückstabü’ for you to interpret however you wish. This has some really heavy parts to it and an almost Ministry edged judder coursing away, of course it’s nowhere near as fast but there is a real feeling of weight behind the instrumentation. ‘Frühling in Paris’ comes complete with lyrical input from Edith Piaf and one can only wonder what the chanteuse would have made of it all. A gentle acoustic guitar and vocals make this into a heartfelt and almost beautiful ballad building into a gloriously uplifting chorus. I can imagine everyone in the audience singing along to this with lighters held aloft. I reckon Edith would have actually approved.
Without having intended to do so this is one of those reviews that has spiralled out of control and with the distinct personalities of each and every song it seems now necessary to carry on with a track by track synopsis. ‘Wiener Blut’ (Viennese Blood) naturally waltzes in and goes onto deliver sledgehammer and bludgeoning instrumental assaults with in-between sinister vocal parts. It kind of goes well with the albums front image and suggests butchery at play. ‘Pussy,’ well you must have heard it, combining English and German into a Metal Englisch delivery it’s daft, rude, cheesy industrotechno and ultimately annoying as damn hell. Comparisons have to be made to ‘Amerika’ from ‘Reise Reise’ and this has to be the song that every club DJ worth his salt is spinning on a nightly basis. Has anyone played this to an unsuspecting female visitor and had it work for them? Answers on a postcard, we are genuinely interested. The title album track comes almost as a relief as the guitars scythe away and the song jumps up and down on your head, it really reminds me of the totally underrated Die Apokalyptischen Reiter more so than Rammstein themselves and I think I might fail a jukebox jury if I had this one played to me. The keyboard section is particularly noteworthy even if it does sound like it’s escaped from a 70’s prog album. ‘Mehr’ sounds like an internet instant message of apathy but actually means ‘More’ and is another one that is an industrial pounder repeating the song title and drumming it into you. If the band had some piping and machinery to whack this would be a great modern interpretation to the guide-lines set in motion by the likes of Einsturzende Neubauten.
I do not particularly like the whistling at the beginning of last number ‘Roter Sand’ (Red Sand) and if you pick up the two disc version of the album it carries on into some of the extra songs. This one is a slightly gloomy and maudlin number to go out on and to be honest I would have probably preferred the album to finish on a blaze of glory with the preceding number. Still it does kind of work and here I could probably really do with a translation as sure lyrical interpretation would uncover the whole point of this number and its placement.
So there is little more to be said really. I am sure if you are one of The Rammstein haters that you will have skipped this review entirely and expect most fans of the band will already have it by the time they read this (it was leaked all over the internet and friends had downloaded it before I was kindly handed this to review by the label representative around the time of its release). Hopefully you may have enjoyed reading this as much as I have listening to the album and attempting to interpret it.
http://www.rammstein.de
http://www.myspace.com/rammstein
