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Kerrang! - Review of Reise,Reise

Kerrang – 18 September 2004 German industrialists raise the stakes once more Rammstein
Reise, Reise
(Universal)
KKKK

While less can indeed be more on occasion, in the world of the grand, arena rock gesture, no-one ever got anywhere by thing small. Where would Metallica be without their three-hour mosh-core marathons? The Darkness without their catsuited histrionics? Or Muse without their operatic overtures? And where would Rammstein be without their flotilla of fireworks, small bombs and performing sex toys?
Few bands have taken things as far as the German industrial crew. 2001s ‘Mutter’ tour was an exercise in provocative theatrical overstatement that didn’t just outdo Marilyn Manson with gallons of synthetic ejaculate and a flourish of flamethrower, it also delivered a seething, metallic punch to anyone who thought German rock began and ended with the Scorpions. But it also begged another question – where on Earth do you go once you’ve gone over the top?
The fourth studio album from Till Lindemann’s crew suggests you step sideways. The Wagnerian doom thrusts of the opening title-track make for a familiar grand entrance, but ‘Reise, Reise’ is very much an album of contrasts. Away from the rigid euro-techno stylings of ‘98’s ‘Sehnsucht’ or the baroque gestures of ‘Mutter’, this is their most diverse offering yet. For every trademark mechanical onslaught that tracks like ‘Keine Lust’ deliver, there’s a sweeping, melancholic ballad (try the achingly beautiful ‘Morgenstern’) to match it. Or a slinky curveball groove (the way-cool ‘Los’) to freak to. The album works best, though, when it’s at it’s most shocking. Current single ‘Mein Teil’ is an industro-metal blitzkrieg of (quite literal) bad taste as it recounts the tale of real life cannibal Armin Miewes against a backdrop of knives being sharpened and Lindemann’s assertion that “you are what you eat.” Brutally comic and stupendously heavy, it’s one of the best things they’ve put their name to. Meanwhile, the deliberately obtuse ‘Amerika’ boats an instant sing-along Anglo-German chorus that is possibly the only instance you’ll ever find of ‘Wunderbar’ being rhymed with ‘Wonderbra’ – proof if you still need it that the German sense of humour is alive and blackly well.
They end with the gentle lull of ‘Amore’ – presumably a love song, (although Lindemann could probably recite the phone directory and infuse it with a carnal, primordial lust) and leave safe in the knowledge that, on the strength of this, they’ll be able to keep themselves in exploding toys for some time yet.
Download: ‘Amerika’
For fans of: Nine Inch Nails, Ministry.
Catherine Yates.

Rammstein: The Lowdown Who?
: German kings of industrial rock with a neat sideline in pyrotechnics and pump-action dildos.
Essential Album: ‘Mutter’ (Universal, 2001) – dark tales of love, loss and sexual deviance set to an epic backdrop of military riffs and stompingly good tunes. Phenomenal!
Essential Download: ‘Du Hast’ – a bruising and sexually menacing techno-industrial masterpiece.
Next Move : A European Tour, but no UK dates as yet. Boo!
Did you know? : Pre-Rammstein, singer Till Lindemann made a living as a basket weaver. He was also once an Olympic swimmer1 for the former East Germany.

1: Not strictly true – Till was in fact an Olympic Standard swimmer and did not actually compete in the Olympic Games.

© 2005 Sue Lindemann