Almost a year after their incredible Reise, Reise album, one of the most peculiar German acts (in a unique kind of way), Rammstein, are here once again with their brand new Rosenrot release; here to give me the willies of uncontrollable excitement...
Refreshing the past (excerpt taken from my previous Rammstein review): It all started one cloudy German day (...I'm just presuming it was cloudy) somewhere in East Berlin. In 1993 Paul Landers (guitar) and 'Doktor' Flake Lorenz (keyboards) who were both band members of Feeling B created Rammstein. Shortly after, they were joined by Till Lindemann (ex-First Arsch drummer) as their vocalist, Richard Kruspe-Bernstein (Orgasm Death Gimmick) as second guitarist, bassist Oliver Riedel (ex-The Inchtaboktables) and former Die Firma drummer Christoph Schneider. Two years later Rammstein released their debut album, Herzeleid, through Motor Music, instantly making their way into the German music charts (#8).
Their unique blend of Metal/Industrial/Atmospheric/Electronic ideas together with their mother tongue (German) and a futuristic/rebellious attitude started spreading the word...Something really interesting was born in Europe - something worth saying never heard this before and it fuckin' rocks!. Then, in 1997 came Sehnsucht (with its worldwide hit-song Du Hast - the album hit #1 position in the German charts), in 1999 came Live Aus Berlin (by Polygram), then came Mutter (personally my favorite Rammstein album - went #1 in Germany, #2 in Sweden, #7 in Belgium and also Finland) and in 2004 it was time for the exceptional piece of work entitled Reise, Reise. Though 2005 is bearing its end, Rammstein had yet another marble in their pocket, well kept for all of us to gaze in awe...
And back to the present: Rosenrot is here and if you're wondering whether four hippos fit inside a small Fiat Cinquecento or not, simply click on your CD player's play button and let those poor thick skin beasts be... So, what's so special about Rosenrot? Well, for starters if you compare it to Reise, Reise you'll find it swimming pretty close in terms of heaviness. Maybe the songs are a tad more complex in intermixing new sounds with the heavy-as-fuck guitars and have a more open sounding production (even though the band always did have quite a top-notch production on every album they've released). I think Reise, Reise was a more straightforward album, a more direct punch in the face. But you know what, with Rammstein you can never be too sure. They always find ways to add something new to their sound (just check out the outstanding Te Quiero Puta! which is sung entirely in Spanish - Translastion: I love you, you whore!) and of course what makes it always interesting is the use of the German language, which isn't your ordinary everyday things unless you speak German.
And though I know the band wouldn't agree that they have much to do with Metal, I find it hard (as I found it hard on all their previous albums) to ignore heavy guitar sounding songs like Mann Gegen Mann, Hilf Mir, Zerstoren, Te Quiero Puta! and of course Benzin. Of course Rammstein are not only about heavy guitars. Computerized sounds (courtesy of the always weird keyboardist Flake Lorenz)  - like on Wo Bist Du - trumpets and what not are spread out in every song. Yup, that's Rammstein all right and that's why I like this band so much.
Although Rosenrot may not have the same effect albums like Mutter had on me, meaning that I'm not glued to every single track on this album, it definitely ranks up there among my personal favorites for 2005.
The DVD included in the Deluxe limited edition features 3 live videos from three different concerts. Simply breathtaking, this band is all about their stage appearance/performance when it comes to playing in front of a live audience. You have to get the limited edition to see for yourselves what I mean or buy Live Aus Berlin (even though they've evolved even more since then).
So, until the ice starts cracking, we're pleasantly stuck on the Rosenrot ship and our stay already seems to be quite... interesting!
- Album Highlights: Te Quiero Puta!, Benzin, Mann Gegen Mann and Hilf Mir