Rammstein Album: “Herzeleid”

One thing that constantly happens in this modern world of wonder and spectacular music is that we hear music from a band we like, so we buy their album and we love it, we cherish it and then we simply just can't get enough. We need more! The only thing to do with a band you like when you have their latest album is to travel backwards across their music evolution and get their earlier cd's. This is always a gamble because the further back you go the rawer the sound and music gets. Thank god that Rammstein was perfect from the start and only got better (how they improved upon perfection is beyond me, I just know that they did). The first album I had of this band was "Sehnsucht"- which is great- and so I got "Mutter"- which is better- and so then I had little choice but to get their first album for more. I was blown away by it- what a debut!

1: Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flamen Sehen (Do You Want to See the Bed in Flames?): This is a great opening song for a marvelous cd. I put on this cd thinking the opening track could make or break the the album. It starts off with this catchy distorted guitar rythem and then just gets harder and catchier as it goes. A relief to me.

2: Der Meister (The Master): This song is actually really pretty during the chorus. Till does a great job singing here- but this isn't the prettiest song on the album. Actually this cd contains the prettiest song they've ever made (I think) but it's not this one. This on is super addictive and has smashing bass on it. Gotta love bass....

3: Weisses Fleish (White Flesh): Ooooh the song about... well it's either raping a girl or something along the lines of forcing himself upon her. It's so hard and has this clever warpy guitar solo that leads into a clever drum solo. Very addictive as well.

4: Asche Zu Asche (Ashes to Ashes): Looooove this song. It's so freaking brilliant. It's driving rhythm and clever words. My favorite part is where in the verse Till repeats himself as a whisper in the background, sounding more and more gruff and angsty. Angsty- that's exactly the word for this song. "Ich komm wieder!"

5: Seemann (Seaman): Okay, THIS is the prettiest song on the cd. One reason I wasn't too scared about getting this album is because I own "Lichtspielhaus" and saw the videos to this song and the next one after this. They were both really good and so I wanted the album for these to songs alone. I was just pleasantly surprised at how I much I love the whole album. This song is so sad and even more driving than track four- in a more earnest way instead of an angsty way. Till sound so pleasant here when he sings. Not a spoken word in this song- sung from start to end! Great guitar and bass duet too.

6: Du Riechst So Gut (You Smell so Good): This song is the most techno on the cd I think. Not that that's bad at all- infact it has one of my favorite guitar duet/solo's in it. Yes, it sounds like one guitar playing it but let me assure because I play guitar: there are TWO playing that damn thing! It drives me crazy- oh. Sorry, getting off subject. Um, this was I think their most popular single from this album, and if not the albums pics and theme is from it's video. This song was re-released in '98 and has a GREAT music video for that version too.

7: Das Alte Leid (The Old Sorrow) My favorite line in this song is where Till screams out "Ich will F******!" Which is German for the F word and together means "I want to F***!". It repeats and goes up higher and higher and higher until fades away.(Eeya! Thanks to Svesteli pointing out that in the background they sing "Nie mehr" so it does mean "I want to **** no more" or it can go with the last line "Nie mehr, Das Alte Leid" or "Never again, the old sorrow") It's really addictive as well- man if this album was an illegal drug we'd all be in trouble, wouldn't we? It's chorus is a brilliant mixture of being half sung prettily and half spoken (gruffly of course). It's very good.

8: Heirate Mich (Marry Me): Oooooh! LOVE- THIS- SONG. When I saw the live performance of it on my affore mentioned DVD it soon became one of my ultimate favorite songs. This song is about odd grave robbery of a loved one. Marry me? I most thoroughly enjoy the filter on Till's voice during the opening and ending.

9: Herzeleid (Heartache): This is my favorite song on this cd... I don't know why, I mean, it's not the best, but whenever I put this song on I just feel complete. The slowly spoken verses are drilling and the part where he screams out "Herzeleid" is beautiful to me for some odd reason. Like he really is in pain...

10: Laichzeit (Spawning Time): Ah, the song of raging hormones (I suppose -_-) The lyrics are both disturbing and amusing to this one. Any song that proclaims "He loves his dog" deserves special note for being different >.>

11. Rammstein: This is a song about an actual accident at the Ramstein (with one "m") airbase. Lovingly commenting about how brightly the sun shines over the utter chaos. This song is actually very catchy when I stopped and really listened to it. It's the PERFECT finish of this album.

So, there you have it. I'll leave you all with a warning: Get this version here with them all shirtless and with the flower in the background. I unfortunately own a version that has wonderful pictures of their heads on a white background, but inside two of the songs lyrics ("Das Alte Leid" and "Herzeleid") are written down in french. I saw this and was like "What the heck?!" I mean, I'm not french- they don't sing in french- why are these two tracks lyrics in french?! There are lots of sites online with both the german lyrics and the english trans. if your like me and want to get the real GERMAN words. Honestly! So beware the white covered version (onless you don't care).

after i got sehnsucht, i was so blown away by it i went and

picked up this album. herzleid is quite a bit 'crunchier', and

although it's not any heavier than the other albums, it's more

agressive. there's not a whole lot i can say about it, so i guess

i'll describe the songs-

1. wollt ihr das bett in flamen sehen- starts out with a cool

keyboard driven pattern that breaks into the same pattern on

the duel guitars. awesome writing on this song, the way it's put

together. heavy, but not their heaviest. still a good song to

get hooked on rammstein with.

2. der meister- one of the fastest songs rammstein has ever done,

it has an awesome main riff, and the vocals are wicked how the

music stops so he can sing a line then picks up the fast main

riff again. cool all the way through, still not a 'heavy' one.

3. weisses fleisch- opens with a keyboard increasing in speed,

then a drum beat, then till screams "weisses fleisch!". probably

the most morbid lyrics they've ever done. it's about going into

a school yard and raping and killing people. don't look down on

the lyrics, it's a wicked song. one of their heaviest, and

probably one of the best live. AWESOME solo from richard in it.

4. asche zu asche- a sweet little diddy about crucifixion. the

dude gets crucified, then comes back as a god and crucifies the

dude that did it to him. main riff sounds a little like der

meister slowed down. the best part of it is when the last verse

bleeds into the last chorus- "and i stick my finger in your...

ashes! to ashes!" GREAT song.

5. seemann- a ballad about a sailor. most beautiful bass line

ever. the only 'light' 'pretty' song on the record. still wicked.

6. du riechst so gut- "you smell so good". as far as i can tell

it's about a stalker. really cool keyboard. another good one

live.

7. das alte leid- "the old grief". a slow, mesmerizing song.

i don't know how to describe this one, you just gotta hear it.

this one proves they don't have to go "all out" to be brutal.

8. heirate mich- "marry me". catchies, coolest, best written

song on the album, not to mention the one with the sickest

lyrics. i love it. it's about a dude that falls in love with a

chick, she dies, and he digs up her body... the rest is history.

one of the best songs they've ever done.

9. herzeleid- best written song they've ever done. there is

three beats, then a word, then three beats and a word, and so on.

it's actually a very beautiful song. the lyrics go along the

lines of "every minute we spend together is precious, time is

short, my heartache is great". something like that. heavy as

hell, and an instant rammstein-classic. also the best song live.

10. Laichzeit- "spawning time". this song has the best music on

the whole album. it's actually about incest, but you get used to

that. "he liebt de schwester"- he loves his sister...ya know...

the keyboard in this song is amazing. if you download one song,

let this be it. heavy and fast as hell, scathing vocals and

lyrics. another classic.

11. rammstein- another very slow, very brutal song. he says

"rammstein", then says a line of the song. i dunno what to

say except "brutal". got a GREAT solo by richard at the end.

actually written as a tribute to the 90 (or so) people that were

killed at Rammstein airforce base during an air show. the lyrics

are morbid and beautiful at the same time.

all around, this is an amazing album. no matter what you listen

When Rammstein debuted, they were quickly scrutizied because they spoke only in German and they were an extremely "heavy metal" band. In America, this sort of ingenuity classifies you as Satanic or something.

This is absolutely not the case with Rammstein, they are a truly great band. No one else can sustain the aggresive, searing guitars and tenacity as Rammstein and actually NOT sound the same and monotonous on every track. They should be known for their metal/industrial style, not as just another heavy metal band.

If you are not convinced, here are some interpretations of the track titles. The album title, "Herzeleid" is Heartache in our native tongue. "Der Meister,"a very good track, translates to The Man. "Weisses Fleisch", another good one, is White Flesh. "Asche Zu Asche" is Ashes to Ashes. The track "Seamann" is as mellow you will ever hear these guys play, it is a ballad titled The Sailor. "Riechst So Gut" is You Smell so Good. "Heirate Mich" was the first song I ever heard by Rammstein (from the movie Lost Highway) and it means Marry Me, though the actual lyrics have very little to do with the title. That's something you should look into on your own time! Those are all the ones I could interpret. It was interesting to actually find out what was being said in these songs.

This turned out to be more of a lecture than a review, I am sorry! None the less, there guys are intense. It doesn't matter what they are brooding about, they will have you banging your head.

Being a big fan of "Mutter" and "Sehnsucht", I thought I would complete my Rammstein collection with their first album "Herzeleid". I am a great admirer of the band's work as well as the entire industrial genre. I love the aggressiveness of this type of music, and Rammstein in particular. I may not understand their native language but I can sure feel the emotions the band put into their music. It is probably just as well as that the band sang in German 'cause I wasn't really wild about the english version of their hit "Du Hast". As soon as I popped "Herzeleid" into my cd stereo and cranked up the volume, I absolutely went nuts over the music. I love the sheer aggressiveness of the opening track "Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen". The thunderous drums and searing guitars just collided together to make the perfect song. The aggressiveness of this cd doesn't let up on the second track "Der Meister". What really blew me away was the ballad "Seemann". It was so different to hear Til Linderman croon as opposed to growl. Of all the three studio albums Rammstein has put out, "Herzeleid" has to be the most diverse album I have heard. This is by far my favorite Rammstein album with "Mutter" in second, and "Sehnsucht" in third place.

In all the years of existence I have jumped from band to band being satisfied for a month at a time. Then, on a hunch, I bought the latest Rammstein cd, Sehnsucht, and I could just not get enough. I listened to it constantly: over and over again with my stereo cranked to the possible limits of the machine. I thought I could live forever listening to the cd. Then, as I walked through the isles of a popular electronics store(Buy Best) I saw what I had never seen before. It was beautiful. The first Rammstein cd. I could not beleive it. I bought it right then. No questions asked. IT WAS AWESOME. I listened to it all the way I drove home. The pounding bass, the earth shattering guitar, the thudering drums, and the piercing keyboard made me want to cry. Even more, the lead singers voice made me want to tremble. I will never forget the first time I heard it. It will stick in my mind forever. People have continuously asked me, "Why do you listen to that crap? You don't know what he is saying." I say, "SO WHAT???" It doesn't matter what he is saying. Everyone needs to expand their mind a little bit and listen to foriegn artists that are not The Beatles and that aren't classical. You should go out and buy Herzeleid. No questions asked.