Artwork used with permission from Neverland Music Inc.
Rammstein
"Rosenrot"
Rating:
Reviewed by:
Sebastian Bullhorn
I used to love Rammstein. I got the debut “Herzeleid” when it came out as an independent release and I played the shit out of it. Like them or not, there hasn’t ever been a band that sounds like them. They were pure innovation, and despite all the bands trying to copy them over the years, they’re still quite unique. Sadly, the second album “Sehnsucht”, which made them big even in America, pretty much sucked compared to “Herzeleid”. I lost track after that until they released the album “Mutter” (only missing one live album, I think), which frankly kicked “Sehnsucht” to the curb. The first album still has a major nostalgic value for me, but trying to be objective, I have to say that “Mutter” was probably Rammstein at their peak. I missed the following album “Reise, Reise” completely, aside from the good songs “Mein Teil” (a song about the kick-ass German cannibal Armin Meiwes who was sentenced for eating some other guy’s penis by mutual consent before killing him), “Keine Lust” and the cynical “Amerika”.
And then, just when you thought they’d rest on their laurels for a couple of years, like after the second album, there’s a new CD, “Rosenrot”, coming out of nowhere. The first song “Benzin”, which has been aired on the music TV channels for a while now, leaves a lot to be desired. And after hearing the whole album I can’t understand why they picked that song as the first single. It’s not horrible, but it’s easily the worst one on the whole album. It’s like they wanted to pick their heaviest and darkest song to cater to the new generation. Not a smart move. If the kids want to listen to heavy stuff there’s plenty of Nu-Metal crap for them to choose from that will get them going more than Rammstein ever could. This song does nothing for me either way.
The second song makes up for the weak start right away. A cool catchy bass line starts off the verse of “Mann Gegen Mann”, a rather provocative song about gay love. The chorus is very strong as well and the butch lyrics fit the lyrical theme perfectly. After a great bridge Till starts screaming the word “Schwuler” (German term for a gay man), and if you’re familiar with the language you can’t help but laugh your fucking ass off. It sounds like some drunk skinhead yelling “FAGGOT!!!” in the middle of Poet’s Night down at the veggie cafe. Yeah, I know, if I really paid attention to the subtlety that is a Rammstein lyric, I would never say that but face it; the striking simplicity of some provoking words is what makes the general public notice them. And I admire that about Rammstein because they’re fucking brilliant at that. No one else can piss off a whole nation with two or three words like Rammstein. Then the song gets interrupted for an awesome calm part before wrapping it up with a furious rendition of the chorus again.
The title track, coming up next, is great as well. The only thing I would have liked to change about it is its position on the album, since it basically has the same structure as its predecessor with the bass-only verses, and the choruses just adding heavy guitars. This makes both songs stand out less than they would have otherwise. The song itself is probably even better than “Mann Gegen Mann”. Very catchy. This could become a classic! I couldn’t name any Rammstein track I like better off the top of my head.
“Spring” (“Jump”) deals with people gazing at the site of a suicide. A creepy song with monotonous riffs throughout the whole song, topped off with cool keyboard melodies and some clean guitars. Typically for the band, the lyrics are written from the perspective of the people it’s targeted at, making them sound rather offensive. A couple of years ago this would have been considered a blunt invitation for kids to kill themselves. But I have to say I got bored half-way through the song as opposed to the next one, “Wo Bist Du” (“Where are you?”), which is a definite hit, while still being likewise slow and gloomy. It’s a beautiful, diverting song that’s over as soon as you start to realize how good it really is.
And on it goes with the highlights of this album. The next song is rather untypical for Rammstein. It’s called “Stirb Nicht Vor Mir/Don’t Die Before I Do”, and according to the booklet the female singer who takes on half the verses in English is called Sharleen Spiteri. I have no idea who she is but she makes for a nice counterpart, taking turns with the characteristic vocals courtesy of Till Lindemann. If I had to compare this song to any other Rammstein song it would be “Seemann”, which stood out on the debut as well. What can I say? Both of them are awesome. This one is carried by acoustic guitars, making it one of the mellowest songs Rammstein ever wrote. In my opinion, they should focus on their softer side more instead of trying to compete with the real metal bands.
“Zerstören” (“Destroy”) is your typical run-of-the-mill nu-metal stuff, something you’d expect from “trendy” Rammstein these days, if it wasn’t for some fancy high vocals and keyboard melodies. It even contains something like a guitar solo. Just when you start thinking that this song is way too long and uneventful there’s a placatory break that sounds pretty cool, but a few seconds into the next chorus you realize you were right from the beginning. It is way too long.
Track #8 is better. “Hilf Mir” (“Help Me”) has an eerie feel to it, but in a good way. I’m too lazy to pay attention to the lyrics but this track is definitely one of the better songs on here so far.
Following “Hilf Mir” is the biggest surprise on the album. It’s a weird piece called “Te Quiro Puta!” (I have no clue what it means since they decided to piss on my home field advantage and sing in Spanish or something like that all of a sudden – my guess is it’s something about a hooker – It’s “I want you, whore” I think – Editor’s note from up on the high horse). It starts out with trumpets, reminding the prejudiced foreigner of bull fights, paella and warm beer. The trumpets seem rather out of place at first, but as soon as you get used to it the song emerges as a great change from the usual stuff. Especially some vocals toward the end, mimicking a Spanish chick, sound hilarious. They definitely succeeded with this experiment.
“Feuer Und Wasser” (“Fire and Water”) starts out very quiet with spoken vocals accompanied with a clean guitar. Heavy distortion sets in, he starts to sing, out comes a cool anthemic song with the potential to become a hit. Not that that would ever happen since they just released “Benzin” here already, and they can’t afford to tour with the album in America anyway. But hey, that’s not my fucking problem after all.
The album closes with “Ein Lied” (“A Song”). There’s no percussion, just an acoustic guitar, bass and spooky synths. It sounds like a lullaby. Good night.
All in all, the album is pretty good for a Rammstein album. I like it, and despite not being a real fan I would consider buying it. That said, it’s too weak for Germany’s musical export number one, the only internationally known Kraut rock band after the Scorpions. At least the latter used to be fucking great for almost 15 years. But to be fair, that’s nothing Rammstein ever tried to accomplish anyway. The internationally successful rock band thingy that is, not the being great-part. I’m pretty sure they’re going for something like that. And I can’t even say they failed miserably.
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