RAMMSTEIN: Herzeleid (INDUSTRIAL METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

It's hard to imagine the style of the German band Rammstein when you see the cover of their first album. In front of magnificent giant sunflowers, the band poses bare-chested, their muscles oiled and turgid. A rare condensed of ambiguous and shifted communication as the music of Rammstein is at the antipodes of this imagery. Indeed, "Herzeleid" (heartache) is probably the most violent album of the band to date.

The music proposed is indeed very brutal and is based on a Heavy metal centered on overpowering rhythmics and largely mixed with industrial and techno sounds. If we can risk to make some parallels with what Ministry or Nine Inch Nail had done before, the result is here much more metal oriented and especially the mode of expression is much more direct and basic. As such, we can consider that Rammstein, with this first record, has really been innovative and especially at the origin of a new musical style at the crossroads of different movements.

In fact, if the efficiency and the power seem to be the leitmotivs of the group, it is rather this side crossover / fusion which appears interesting. During the period that covers the release of its first two records, the band gathered fans coming from all horizons, Techno, Metal, Industrial, Gothic... thanks to an exceptional sense of riff and melody.

Indeed, if the bet to sing in German, to propose a very martial and violent music and to adopt an imagery as provocative as disturbing seems as courageous as suicidal, the assets are fortunately numerous. Starting with Till Lindemann's hoarse and low vocals whose power is reinforced by the sounds of the German language but also the sharp and robust guitars which privilege the basic riffs to the detriment of the very rare soli. 'Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen' (Do you want to see the bed on fire? ), 'Heirate Mich' (Marry me), 'Du Riechst Su Gut' (You smell so good), 'Asche Zu Asche', 'Der Meister' (The master), 'Das Alte Leid' (This old pain), so many tracks whose structure is essentially based on overdriven guitar riffs and unstoppable choruses, all of which are embellished with little melodies coming from the keyboards or the vocals.

Some of these songs are now classics of the band, such as 'Rammstein' which evokes an accident that occurred during an air show on the American military base of Ramstein in Germany or the ballad 'Seemann' which halfway presents Rammstein under another facet and which will be a few years later the subject of a very beautiful cover by Nina Hagen and Apocalyptica.

Despite a sound that lacks a little bit of modernity, "Herzeleid" is a real musical success and presents a very efficient and powerful band. The album still lacks some subtlety and variety to be considered as a timeless record, but as far as provoking headbanging and serving as an outlet is concerned, it is difficult to do better. - Official website

RAMMSTEIN

HERZELEID

XIII BIS

INDUSTRIAL METAL