-review by drjeep

Rammstein is one of those bands you either love or hate. They've had their share of success thanks to a few hit singles and became notorious after being cited in the Columbine High School murders. On their 3rd album (not counting the excellent Live Aus Berlin) they avoid potentially controversial lyrics and sing about bunnies and fairies instead. OK, maybe not...

For those of you who's German isn't up to scratch, Mutter is German for Mother, but we'll get back to that later. Lyrically Mutter is a step up from Rammstein's previous efforts. I mention this because they've been criticized for writing "silly" lyrics in the past, mostly by people who translate it directly and view it out of context. The production on Mutter can only be described as huge. Take the pounding bass lines and grinding guitars, throw in some strings and keys here and there and mix it with industrial rhythms and you'll pretty much understand what Mutter is about.

The album starts with the haunting intro to Mein Herz Brennt (My Heart Burns) and builds up to the track's explosive chorus. The next track Links 2-3-4 (German army chant for marching) contains everything down to the marching footsteps and war sirens in the background. Sonne (Sun) is my favorite track on the album and also has one of the coolest music videos I've ever seen, even by Rammstein standards. The title track Mutter is another personal favorite. The lyrics are dark and almost disturbing, but it makes for one of the best tracks on the album.

Spieluhr is a haunting song about a music box and the perfect example of why Rammstein's lyrics are sometimes misinterpreted. It's filled with expressions and cultural references you can't possibly understand if you don't know German culture. Zwitter is one of two sexually-themed songs on the album (I'll leave it up to the reader to find out who or what a zwitter is) and plays out with the coolest guitar riff on the entire album. The last track Nebel, is a sad but very cool ballad in the vein of Seemann.

Basically, Rammstein fans won't be disappointed with this, their best album to date. It's a great album to mosh to, but if you have some time I dare you to look a little deeper into the lyrics. A definate thumbs-up.

Review by Dream_Taster

1997’s “Sehnsucht” is the second studio album from the most exposed German singing band on earth, Rammstein. In their characteristic style, quite difficult to label, but I guess close to Industrial Metal. Those six former East-Germans reached a status of international stars with this very album, especially in the United States, all of this starting after some of their songs were selected for a movie soundtrack ['Lost Highway' by David Lynch]. Then, this album just overwhelmed everybody who had the chance to listen to it, and all of this despite of the fact that all the songs use the natural language of the band, German. It even became mandatory for the band to sing in German since it has become one of the trademark of their music.

After you’ll unpacked the CD from its freaky artwork, it’s nearly impossible to put it back in there as it’s so unusual and transporting! Repetitive chorus, slow mechanical rhythms, hypnotic lyrics and odd keyboard lines make “Sehnsucht” into a curiosity that only the discovery of their first album “Herzeleid” can tied.

“Sehnsucht” is a collection of eleven songs, all around 4 minutes, and all so indispensable to the ambient atmosphere of the album. From the eponymous opener to the controversial “Küss Mich Fellfrosch” [I won’t translate that one, find out by yourself!], every song is an oeuvre d’art. True radio hits, especially in Germany, ‘Engel’ and ‘Du Hast’ are both amongst the best songs ever written by Rammstein. But it’s almost impossible to find a weak link on this album! ‘Eifersucht’, ‘Spielt Mit Mir’,... every track is worth a thousand words. My personal favorites are still ‘Klavier’, a odd ballad through the eyes of a sick mind, both heavy and melodic, and ‘Sehnsucht’, catchy as hell.

Rammstein is a phenomenon that needs to be checked out quickly if you still don’t know it. While their first album “Herzeleid” is probably better in the whole, “Sehnsucht” is without a doubt a great introducer to their music. Dark and complex lyrics add to the mystery that [still] follows the band, twisted emotions arise and Rammstein prevails.

German industrial metal legends Rammstein's fourth album, 'Reise, Reise' (Travel, Travel) doesn't have any surprises when it comes to their sound. What it does have is even more ball crunching riffs than the band have ever had before and they've even thrown in a sense of melody.

The Rammstein phenomena exploded across the world as non-German speaking audiences still managed to sing along to every word at their concerts in a way never seen before. Now that people have jumped the language hurdle, people either dismiss them as "not their sound" or take their immense sound straight to their heart.

The single 'Mein Teil' ("my cock") is written about cannibalism, from the perspective of the one being eaten. The chorus roughly translated means "you are what you eat and you're eating my cock". Translation isn't necessary for 'Amerika', as Till Lindemann sings "We're all living in Amerika, coca-cola sometimes war!"

Berlin natives Rammstein aren't appealing to any new fans, but their brutal sound will woo the older fans back time and time again. While their heaviness might sometimes suffer in the name of experimenting with female vocals or in one case a gospel choir, when they're on, they're on!

-all right by UNDERCOVER.com