Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

Rammstein:

A sextet of Germans who sing about death, blood, and sexual trauma entirely in their own language, backed by thunderous metal guitar chords twinned with the synthesizers of dance music, would seem an unlikely act to find an audience in North America. But Rammstein merged several disparate elements going on inside the European music scene and achieved huge success there as a result; a spectacular stage show involving numerous pyrotechnic stunts also added to their reputation and helped create a buzz about them overseas. Though extremely successful in Germany and across Europe’s northern lands, Rammstein has been criticized in the press as a "fascist" band, a charge they vehemently reject.

Rammstein took their name from an infamous 1988 air-show disaster in Germany that killed several onlookers. Its members—guitarist Richard Kruspe, singer Till Lindemann (a onetime Olympic swimmer), drummer Christoph Schneider, bassist Oliver Riedel, second guitarist Paul Landers, and keyboardist Flake Lorenz—all hail from the Berlin and Schwerin area. With the exception of Riedel, all were well into their twenties in 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down as the Communist bloc collapsed. The following year ceremonies were held that officially rejoined the states of the former Communist-bloc East Germany with those in its affluent European Union counterpart in West Germany. An array of new social ills was the unexpected result, and the resentment simmering on both sides led to a rise in the number of violent right-wing groups. Their fury found a target in Germany’s large immigrant population. Numerous incidents of terrorism and violence carried out by a well-organized network of fascists of varying stripes and allegiances became a staple of the nightly news. Western Germans commonly blamed the disenfranchised youth of the former eastern lands for Germany’s shameful new reputation as an emerging neo-fascist land, but the skinhead movement was not without disenchanted teens on the other side as well.

Rammstein grew out of such social and economic ills, and their huge commercial success as well as vilification in the media owe to this divide. When they formed in Berlin in early 1994, they were already seasoned musicians in the thriving German metal-goth-industrial scene. In an interview with Christopher Pearson for the Dartmouth Review, the band noted that before they coalesced as Rammstein, "we were each playing in different bands but we found that each of us was frustrated in their band. We couldn’t express what we wanted to express musically in our old bands."

The members of Rammstein liked the hard, synthesizer-based music of contemporary bands like KMFDM—a sound very popular in Germany and referred to as "EBM," for "electronic body music"—but shared a passion for metal as well. When they were teens, it was extremely difficult to obtain rock records in the heavily-censored climate of East Germany. As Kruspe told Paul Gargano in an interview for Metal Edge, "You didn’t have records at all…. You had to make tapes from second or third copies. KISS, for example, was an absolute phenomenon. They represented capitalism in its purest sense, and every child was KISS infected because they were so big." Kruspe also recalled that to even write the band’s name on one’s notebook at school could be grounds for expulsion. "I used to have a poster of them in my room," Kruspe told Gargano, "and when I was 12 years old my stepfather tore it down and into a thousand pieces. I was up all night trying to put it back together, and you can be sure it was hanging the next day."

Conquest of Europe
Rammstein was taken on by a management company in the spring of 1994, and signed with Germany’s Motor Music, a part of Polygram Records, in early 1995. In March of that year they traveled to Sweden to record their first album, Herzeleid. The first single, "Du riechst so gut" ("You smell so good") was released in Europe in August of 1995, and the entire LP the following month. They then toured Germany with a popular EBM act, Project Pitchfork,

and in early 1996 opened for the Ramones. They spent the following summer playing the massive openair festivals that are an integral part of the German alternative music scene, and found success in countries like Holland, Sweden, and Norway.

The seeds for Rammstein’s invasion of the American alternative/metal scene were planted when two of their songs appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 David Lynch film, Lost Highway. When it came time to do their first video, as the band told the Dartmouth Review, "we thought of whom we would most want to direct it and we came up with the name of David Lynch. All of us like his work a lot. Then we contacted him and sent him one of our tapes, asking if he would be willing to direct our video." Lynch was busy with his film at the time, but liked Rammstein’s sound so much he included two songs, "Heirate mich" and "Rammstein," on the soundtrack to his film, which, like other odd works of his, was a hit with disaffected youth.

By this point Rammstein were a huge commercial success in Germany, but were critically disparaged in the music press. Assumed to be right-wing Ossies, some of the band’s pronouncements and imagery played into such rumors, but much of their music revolved around nonpolitical themes of sexual lust and dysfunction. Guitarist and spokesperson Kruspe even went to far as to term the German media irresponsible when he was interviewed by NY Rock. "Accusing a band of having fascistic tendencies attracts a fascistic audience even if the band is not fascistic at all," Kruspe said, comparing it with the far less wary reception they received in America. "Germany can be really uptight about things… a show with a lot of pyrotechnics is simply that—a good show. Not everything is political, but it is a very German thing to try and find the proverbial fly in the soup. Plus we’re German. So, of course, they can’t like us," Kruspe joked. Rammstein also became infamous for its treatment of the media in return: in one reported incident, the band taped an MTV Europe employee to a chair and set off a smoke bomb near him before a show in Germany.

After the Lost Highway songs attracted a cult fan base overseas, it was decided to release Sehnsucht ("Longing"), their second LP, as Rammstein’s debut in North America. Sehnsucht was already a huge success in Germany. It debuted in the States in early 1998, and by the following summer had sold over 100,000 copies and broken the Billboard Top 100. Perhaps most surprising of all was the amount of radio play its first single, "Du Hast" ("You Hate"), received on both rock and alternative stations. The group was also beginning to court controversy Stateside as well: a video clip for "Du Hast," roughly based on the Quentin Tarantino film Reservoir Dogs, was initially rejected by MTV because of its heavy gore content.

Hit a Nerve with U.S. Teens
Rammstein made their U.S. concert debut at the College Music Journal (CMJ) Marathon, an insider convention well-known for launching new bands, in New York City in September of 1997. They returned to Germany and played numerous shows that year, and in December of 1997 came back to North America for another brief tour. By the time they came back for a third visit, in the spring of 1998, Sehnsucht had been selling well and the media was ready, fed by rumors of an unbelievable live show in which Lindemann set himself afire in a special 140-pound chain-mail suit coated with a flammable paste. As he erupts, the singer makes reference to the air-show disaster as he intones, "Rammstein is the placewhere hope crashed to the ground." Such sentiments sound particularly ominous delivered in the German language in a deep voice. Even more enthralling to Rammstein’s growing number of fans were the mock sado-masochistic and homoerotic rituals that band members perform on one another.

Yet again, the media were anything but complimentary. In one of his milder statements, New York Times writer Ben Ratliff called Rammstein "a prolonged, not-soclever caricature of the German temperament’s dark side, all severity and kinkiness." Ratliff termed them a Teutonic send-up of Gwar, the theatrical metal band, "but Rammstein isn’t nearly as loony or inventive." Village Voice writer Sia Michel also reviewed the same sold-out show at the Roxy in New York and lauded the band for their marketing savvy, for "without the smoke and s/m hijinks, no one would pay much attention to yet another bunch of angry young men combining cockrock riffage with pedestrian techno-industrial flourishes, especially ones who sing solely in German," declared Michel.

Their American label, London, asked them to re-record one track in English, and they did so because they just wanted to hear what it would sound like. Yet in a surprising turn, the radio DJs preferred to play the German version. Kruspe told NY Rock that during their live shows, he was "really surprised how many people could sing along. But, you know, most of us grew up behind the iron curtain. When we started to listen to music, and especially American music, we didn’t understand the lyrics and it wasn’t really important. I think the feeling they get from the songs is what is really important. Maybe hearing them in another language helps to add some mystery."

~ Answers

Немецкая группа «Рамштайн» образовалась в 1993 году.

Исходный состав:
Тиль Линдеманн (4.01.1963) — вокал;
Пауль Ландерс (9.12.1964) — гитара;
Кристиан «Flake» Лоренц (11.06.1966) — клавишные;
Рихард Круспе — Бернштайн (24.06.1967) — гитара;
Кристоф «Doom» Шнайдер (11.05.1966) — ударные;
Оливер Ридель (11.04.1971) — бас.

Группа, впоследствии названная Rammstein, была образована в начале 1993 года Рихардом Круспе, Кристофом Шнайдером и Тилем Линдеманном. Костяк команды был собран весной 1994 года, после чего состав ни разу не менялся.
За все тексты взялся Тиль, а музыкой занимались коллективно. В 1994 году их заметила фирма Motor GmbH, и ребята занялись поиском названия.
«Мы были вынуждены быстро придумать какое-нибудь название. Кто-то из нас сказал: Rammstein. Это название сочли очень хорошим: Ramm („таран“) и Stein („камень“) выражают движение, силу и твердость».

Но в одном из интервью, Тиль все-таки признал другую версию образования названия: «Наше название произошло от крупной катастрофы в Рамштайне (военная база — прим. автора), где американцы устроили авиа-шоу. В результате аварии было ранено и убито свыше 80 человек. И наша первая песня была как раз об этой трагедии. Кругом только и было слышно: „Рамштайн, Рамштайн!“, и само слово прочно засело в наших головах. Поэтому мы просто немного изменили название, добавив вторую „m“…»

Свой дебютный альбом они записывали в Швеции на «Polar Studio» (Стокгольм) под руководством Якоба Хелнера (продюсера Clawfinger). 17 августа 1995 года появился первый сингл — «Du Reichst So Gut», а уже 24 сентября вышел альбом «Herzeleid». Начались гастроли, и для того, чтобы удивить публику, немцы стали придумывать свой личный стиль живых выступлений: грохот, огонь, извращенческое поведение. Страсть к огню объясняется пиротехническим образованием Тиля и Кристофа. Однако ни один концерт не обходиться без обожженных пальцев, а то и чего похуже. «Когда Тиль обжигается огнем, он стискивает зубы и задерживает дыхание — это помогает, но когда — горячим газом — говорит Кристиан Лоренц, — тут он чуть не в окно прыгает»

Разослав свой альбом многим известным режиссерам, для того, чтобы снять клип, немцы оказались в руках культового режиссера Дэвида Линча. Таким образом, в саундтреке к киноленте «Lost Highway» прозвучали композиции «Heirate Mich» и «Rammstein».

1 апреля 1997 года вышел новый сингл «Engel» ко второму альбому «Sehnsucht», 21 июля — второй сингл — «Du Hast», наверное, самая известная песня у Rammstein. Альбом сразу же прыгнул на первую строчку в немецком хит-параде. А тем временем группа отправляется в свое первое американское турне, поддерживая выступления KMFDM.

29 октября 1999 года в личной жизни одного из участников группы случилось знаменательное событие: Рихард Круспе женился на красивой еврейской актрисе Карен Бернштайн. Сразу же был нанесен удар по обвинениям в фашистских идеях, Рихард взял фамилию жены (по закону это можно), а церемония бракосочетания проводилась по иудейскому обряду женщиной-раввином.

В этом же 1999 году композиция «Du Hast» была использована кинорежиссерами братьями Энди и Ларри Вачовски в саундтреке к нашумевшему потом фильму «The Matrix».

С января 2000 года группа засела в душную студию. Запись проходила на юге Франции («Studio Miraval»), а также в Бельгии («Galaxy Studios») и Германии («Nukleus Studio»). В итоге получился самый успешный альбом — «Mutter», треки для которого выбирали фанаты на сайте www.rammstein.de.

Не на шутку группа подошла к оформлению диска. Фотосъемки проходили в аквариуме с неприятной зеленой водой, которая была еще и густая.

Сейчас Rammstein, еще совсем недавно никому не известная группа из Восточной Германии, входит в элиту мирового шоу-бизнеса. Их пластинки проданы тиражом более трех миллионов экземпляров. Они номинанты «Грэмми», лауреаты европейских и американских премий.

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

Rammstein's second album, Sehnsucht, finds the German prog metal band making a great leap forward. While the group still sounds a little unfocused in places, their blend of industrial noise, grinding metal guitars, and operatic vocals is staggeringly powerful. No other European metal band sounds like Rammstein, nor does any American metal group – this is powerful, gothic metal that is unlike anything else in late-'90s metal. Sehnsucht may be an acquired taste, but it's one worth acquiring.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

With the first Rammstein album you hear, it's hard not to be slightly amazed by the sheer chutzpah of it all. The German lyrics, the prog rock tendencies, the classic metal guitars, and the ridiculous basso profundo vocals – you either fall for it, spurn it, or are utterly bemused by the extremeness of it all. Unless you're a fanatic, it wears a little thin the second time around. And for most listeners, Mutter, the group's third album and sequel to their inexplicable commercial breakthrough Sehnsucht, will be the second time around since it's their first release since becoming a high profile act. Thing is, if you've heard that record, you've pretty much heard Mutter, since all the trademarks are in place, without much noticeable variation. Yes, there are slight differences, chief of which is the cleaner production, which streamlines everything so the guitars don't seem as heavy, the songs not as epic, and the whole enterprise not as ridiculous. That's not the same thing as stripping the group to the basics, however; it's more like wrapping up the music in nice, shiny paper and putting a ribbon on it. That's not really good for a group like Rammstein, but it doesn't dilute their impact, either, because they are what they are and no amount of polish will make them mainstream (nor will it make it possible to take them seriously). So, that does mean that Mutter isn't as good as Sehnsucht, but it isn't a stumble either – and if you liked the first, you'll like this (not the same thing as being amused by the first – in that case, this will try your patience). That still doesn't answer the question whether anybody outside of diehards needs more than one Rammstein album, but that's just a question of personal taste.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

Taking three years to release their follow-up to Mutter is a good idea since Reise, Reise is more of the same – the same grit, the same growl, and the same dramatic, orchestra choruses. There's a bit more ingenuity in the production and a little more focus in the songs but not enough for the nonfaithful to pick up on. Unfortunately the lead single, "Mein Teil," is no "Du Hast," but the damning "Amerika" almost equals their breakthrough track. Whether or not Rammstein's label has the guts to release the band's acerbic "Coca-Cola/Sometimes War" view of the States as a single is another question, but it's the key track to the album, an album that has a couple more, minor surprises. The loose, bluesy guitar on "Los" adds some quirk to the band's stern, Teutonic palette, while the sinister "Stein Um Stein" creeps more than stomps in parts. That's it for twists and turns, but few bands can industrially grind as convincingly as Rammstein. Same as it ever was, Reise, Reise won't do much to increase the band's fan base, but being a tight, free-of-filler album, it'll satisfy the faithful.

by David Jeffries, AMG

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

o date, Rammstein haven't been able to equal the excitement and power of their breakthrough 1998 album, Sehnsucht, and while Rosenrot suffers that fate, there's an EP's worth of brilliance and one track that towers above them all. Just as exciting as their massive hit "Du Hast," "Te Quiero Puta!" is a glorious blend of the group's usual Teutonic crunch and mariachi music that earns the exclamation point in its title. It's loco to hear Rammstein with bright horns and Latin vocalists and just about as odd to hear them with Sharleen Spiteri – lead singer for the classy pop act Texas – whose sweet and somber vocals make "Stirb Nicht Vor Mir (Don't Die Before I Do)" sound very dreamy, very Nightwish. The out of control "Zerstören" and "Benzin," with its biting social commentary on the world's addiction to oil, are the final two tracks for the hypothetical four-star EP, since the rest of Rosenrot sounds a bit too formulaic. Most everything is tense during the verses, then blows up during the choruses, but if there's one area the band has made giant steps, it's with the lyrics. Greed, irresponsible hedonism, and modern-day interpretations of Goethe are touched upon through wordplay and metaphor, all of it lost on the non-Deutsch speaking set. It still doesn't make up for the stale turns the music takes on a good portion of the album, but there are signs that Sehnsucht's worthy follow-up is more possible than ever.

by David Jeffries, AMG

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

Anyone familiar with the industrial metal band's dark sense of irony should take one look at the title of Rammstein's 2009 album Liebe Ist für Alle Da (Love Is There for Everyone) and conclude that this one is a mean monster. Combining the tightness and punch of their 1998 album, Sehnsucht, with the musicianship and elaborate textures of their later work, Liebe Ist is a grand achievement, skillfully dividing its time between razor sharp metal rockers like "B********," or the opening theme song "Rammlied" and nostalgic cabaret pieces that conjure the spirits of Weil and Brecht at a goth club. The best of the latter is the naked and haunting closer "Roter Sand," but little touches of a sinister yesteryear are everywhere, like the fake vaudeville music in "Haifisch," or the soundtrack strings of "Wiener Blut," which are eventually overcome by a guitar-crunching juggernaut. This strange mix of styles is more effective here than it has been for about a decade, and there's no threat of the album becoming ponderous, either, as an economical track list and purposeful songs wipe away the sins of their previous album, 2005's Rosenrot. The group's loyal fans have remained loyal throughout the past decade and have braved all the difficult but ultimately rewarding efforts that came with it. To them, Liebe Ist für Alle Da is the big payoff and an instant classic. For the rest of the world, this is that once-a-decade, perfectly balanced Rammstein album that's immediately accessible but wide and deep enough to explore for years to come.

by David Jeffries, AMG

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

AuSpec:

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

Horizontal thick line = 5 khz; thin line = 1 Khz

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close

×

Rammstein - 5 Albums (1997-2009) [7CD and 2 Bonus DVD, Japanese press] Restored

Close