Rammstein
Herzeleid

THE REVIEW

The debut of Berlin's six can be classified as a unique case in the discography of Rammstein, cold, robotic, martial, almost as if to claim a purely German musical identity. Indeed, because in this album there is a concentration of musical influences (Kraftwerk, Einstürzende Neubauten being the main ones) cleverly reworked to give an originality, or rather a signature: Rammstein.

Raised in East Germany under the GDR in various formations like Feeling B, Die Firma, First Arsch etc., they ended up finding themselves together to record a demo after winning a music contest.
And while all their compatriots sang in English (the Scorpions for example), they aimed for the not-so-melodious German language.
Herzeleid, except for the ballad Seemann, sounds like an unstoppable machine, with guitars featuring deliberately repetitive and aseptic riffs, always in low tones, all accompanied by acid keyboards and noise samples, with Till Lindemann’s monotone voice of an android from a dystopian future.
The same Till who isn’t afraid to sing explicitly about pedophilia in Weisses Fleisch or necrophilia in Heirate Mich, because Rammstein likes to showcase how far human depravity can go, a bit like Throbbing Gristle did, without any filter or beating around the bush.
But not only that, there is also room for tragedies, as in “Rammstein,” where the disaster at the NATO base in Ramstein (with one 'm') is addressed, where a display by the Frecce Tricolori resulted in an accident that caused 70 victims. Musically, it’s the best part of the album, the guitars are a destructive mass that overwhelms everything, like the air disaster, there is no escape.

Their first record test encapsulates their essence, their attitude, their uniqueness, in other words, what has taken them from an underground club band to a world-renowned band capable of filling international stadiums.