Liebe Ist Für Alle Da, the latest album by German
theatrical music troupe Rammstein, proves the fires of post-industrial
shock-rock are still burning strong. The operatic “Rammlied” opens the
album in epic fashion with a chorus that undoubtedly alludes to the
first song on the band’s debut album Herzeleid 14 years ago.
Given the eclectic nature of their recent releases, Rammstein’s current
mélange of ballads, heavy hitters, masculine swaggers and even
punk should come as no surprise. This time they include only two
burners (“Waidmanns Heil” and the title track) and opt for yet another
throwaway pop anthem (“Pussy”).
More interesting is their abandonment of trademark grandiose ballads
in favor of more intimate arrangements on “Weiner Blut” and “Roter
Sand.” Singer Till Lindemann delivers his best performance, evoking
sorrow, joy and innumerable shades in between in a language alien to
the majority of listeners. Paired with the band’s fiery stage
productions and characteristic dark humor, this album posits Rammstein
as the bastard heirs to the existential operetta. As they age,
Rammstein continue to use the rock album as a conceptual medium —
something lost on the ADHD Rital-ed twits of the iPhone age. —
Nick DeMarino
This article appears in Oct 21-27, 2009.
The great thing about Rammstein is that if you give them a chance, you find there’s a little something on there for everyone. You don’t need to understand the lyrics to feel the intent, emotion, and mood of the songs, which are quite varied. No two songs on an album sound the same. I can understand a fair amount of the lyrics because of my passable Deutsch, but if it really bugs you to not know what’s being sung, you can find translations here: http://herzeleid.com/en/lyrics
That’s worth checking out even if you don’t care what’s being sung because it highlights the the slang and dual meanings commonly found in the songs. German is a very inventive language, and the band puts it to good use with playful double entendres quite often. (Check out the explantions for the lyrics of “Mann gegen Mann” for example). It’s one of my favorite elements of their music.
i totally agree with sablespecter..i listened to a little rammstein back in high school when i was taking german classes, and didn’t really keep up with them til now. my boyfriend brought home LIFAD and i fell in love all over again. the band sounds and works together as well as they ever did, and their sound has matured so much since the angst-ridden ‘herzeleid’ from back in the day, when i think 5 of the 6 men were going through divorces and breakups..over six albums, their sound has changed so much and always in a good way, but not necessarily for the better.
i love everything they’ve done, and i mean every song..till is an amazingly expressive and articulate poet, never mind his amazing singing voice. plus, he’s ridiculous buff, haha. he’s an artist of language, and while i can pretty much translate the lyrics for myself, if you look up the lyrics, you’ll be surprised at how deceptive the music is in relation to the words. for example, the title track off the album ‘reise, reise’ is pretty militant-sounding and has huge explosive musicality and instrumentation, with till’s signature growling vocals, but what you might not know is that it’s essentially a wake-up call [literally–‘reise’ is low german sailor slang for ‘wake up’] about the state of humanity, and the lyrics are effectively anti-violence. the song ‘haifisch’ [meaning ‘shark’] off the new album might sound like a pounding angry german marching song to the insensitive ear, but the lyrics are a good-natured expression of solidarity between the band members amidst the very public existence they find themselves in, no matter what. just listen and stay open to the messages, and you’ll find so much more than strange words and deceptive themes of s&m, other paraphilia and cannibalism, i promise.