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Kerrang! 29-Jan-05 : Review of Ohne dich EP

Rammstein break new ground with stunning Remix EP
Rammstein
Ohne Dich EP
(Universal)
KKKK

If you're not an actual Rammstein fan these are the things you probably know about the band. 1: They sing in German. 2: They play a kind of industrial-metal crossover with huge riffs and overblown arrangements. And 3: They like to set each other on fire.

Correct on all counts as it happens, but there's far more to them than that, and 'Ohne Dich' displays a sensitive side that you might well be totally unaware of if all you'd heard was 'Amerika' or 'Du Hast'. Originally recorded (and rejected) for 2001's 'Mutter' album, the song finally surfaced as one of the stand-out tracks on last year's 'Reise, Reise'. Included here are six (count 'em) versions of that one song, in a format that was originally released as a maxi-single in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The album version you might have heard. Rammstein do irony in a way that xenophobic Brits often suspect is beyond mere foreigners but 'Ohne Dich' (or 'Without You') is a straight-up cry of heartache and loss. There are witterings about silent birds and empty forests but Rammstein are somehow better if you don't know what the hell they're on about and just listen to the sounds.

And the sounds are fantastic – from the string-laden pomp of the album edit through a majestic take featuring just vocalist Till Lindemann and a genuine church organ, to a male/female duet remixed by oddball Slovenian collective Laibach. There's not a duff version on the disc in fact. Of course, whether you actually need this EP in your life depends on just how obsessive a fan you are...

Paul Travers.

Essential Rammstein Tracks:
'Seeman'
An evocative early power ballad to match 'Ohne Dich'. Unfortunately, if you're British singing plaintively about 'Seemann' it just sounds, well, gay.
Find it: 'Herzeleid', 1995

'Du Hast'
The band's breakthrough hit and still a guaranteed floor-filler. 'Du Hast' ('You Have') remains Rammstein at their rampant best
Find it: 'Sehnsucht', 1997

'Engel'
Best use of steel guitar, whistling and a female vocalist called Bobo in the industrial rock lexicon? Quite possibly...
Find it: 'Sehnsucht', 1997

'Mein Herz Brennt'
Could the orchestral intro be any more dramatic and overblown? Answer: no. And then it all explodes like a frog in a microwave. Only bigger.
Find it: 'Mutter', 2001

'Links 2-3-4'
The sound of jackboots marching over your spine as the band concoct a militaristic sense of momentum and gleefully play up to misconceptions.
Find it: 'Mutter', 2001

'Amerika'
Sledgehammer rhythms and mountainous riffage with a simple yet utterly addictive chorus that tunnels into your frontal lobe and stubbornly sets up camp.
Find it: 'Reise, Reise', 2004

'Los'
A divider of fans, some hate the acoustic Latino-flavoured 'Los' with a passion, but there's something perversely appealing about a Rammstein track so utterly un-Rammstein in every respect.
Find it: 'Reise, Reise', 2004

'Sonne'
If only for the video, which features a dwarf-spanking gold-dust-snorting Snow White. Nice riff too.
Find it: 'Mutter', 2001

'Adios'
Rammstein at their most ferocious.
Find it: 'Mutter', 2001



© 2005 Sue Lindemann