3年后发布了第五张专辑——The Golden Age of Grotesque。同时直到2003年，摇滚乐——尤其是重金属，正强烈需要一个有着高贵形象和宏伟的雄心的艺人，而Marilyn Manson正是这么一位。毕竟，The Golden Age对于日耳曼艺术、歌舞剧艺术以及早已衰弱的Hollywood30年代的魅力，意图通过用节奏强烈的重金属重新加以诠释，为其赋予现代化意义从而能跟上时代的潮流。但在如今这个年代，摇滚艺人对于80年都没有什么印象，更不用说是30年代了，而人们常常会忽略这个因素，尽管音乐不是他们的事业。
从音乐上来说，Manson并没有抛弃他们最本质的音乐特征——他仍在不懈坚持Holy Wood中最根本的音乐元素——但这张由他本人第一次担当制作的专辑却显得肤浅而轻盈，尽管音乐仍笼罩于扭曲和吼叫之中。Manson已从反复处于众人的关注之中解脱，他的音乐也随之变得更加外向。这种新的自由空间也让他有时候显得有点糊涂可笑——比如在“This Is the New Sh*t”中那毫无意义的声音，以及在“Mobscene”中对Faith No More的“Be Aggressive”的借用还有其中的歌词“You are the church/I am the steeple/When we f*ck we are God´s People”——但所有这些并没有为专辑摸黑，而且从其他方面说，也成为专辑的一个显赫之处。专辑所营造出来的那宏伟而壮丽的气势却是压倒Manson所有同行的，而且也不差于他前先的专辑。The Golden Age中也带有稍许的诙谐幽默成分，这也为专辑本身舔色不少。 老美以行动向恐怖教主Marilyn Manson/玛莉莲曼森乐团宣示效忠，单单美国一地至今已累积6百万张的总销售天量，这支哥德式工业摇滚团体在乐界开创惊悚视觉与听觉的地位绝不亚于文坛的恐怖大师史蒂芬金。 向来以惊世骇俗的扮相与挑釁卫道人士的言论著称的Marilyn Manson，’96年首次出辑《Antichrist Superstar/离经叛道》就因鼓吹反宗教无神论而引爆争议，也树立起Marilyn Manson无与伦比的毁灭者形象、’98年苍白人妖鬼魅造型的《Mechanical Animals/机械化动物》更缔创空降Billboard流行专辑榜冠军佳绩、横扫全美，之后再以20世纪末的超猛天碟《Holy Wood/亡命圣林》激销全球150万张，虽然´99年时曾发生Manson崇拜份子扫射校园师生事件的憾事，但他们挑战世俗眼光的大胆言词与创意仍然毫不妥协。 阔别两年全新专辑《The Golden Age Of Grotesque/惊世骇俗》的创作概念是Marilyn Manson发想自30年代好莱坞的灵感，由Marilyn Manson与Tim Skold制作、Ben Grosse混音。首打“Mobscene”夺得英国摇滚单曲榜No.8 (5/4)与德国排行榜No.8；“This Is The New Shit”更雀屏中选为基努李维主演卖座电影系列续集《骇客任务：重装上阵》的电影主题曲绝对值得珍藏

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.

-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.