Rammstein
Herzeleid

THE REVIEW

First album of Rammstein's career. And it is a mini-masterpiece.

Sure, the technical solutions are quite repetitive, the singing is not excellent, the drum machine is sometimes disheartening, but... what this album unleashes goes beyond all these considerations. What these eleven tracks evoke is power, pure power.
The German group found the right recipe in 1994 to finally write something that didn't sound entirely like "already heard" and that entered the listener's mind convincingly. The hardcore imprint and the broad but calibrated use of electronics are the trademark of Rammstein and the resulting atmosphere is decidedly engaging.

The first three tracks immediately make it clear that you are facing a steamroller; monolithic riffs and the singing in German, which is more suited than ever for the music offered by Rammstein. The fourth, "Asche zu Asche", is nothing more than a confirmation, it's simply perfect (in live performances then it becomes simply spectacular). "Seemann", on the other hand, is a surprise. Slow rhythms, bass in the forefront, and furious interludes. Proof that "Herzeleid" isn't made solely of distortions and driving rhythms. "Du riechst so gut" (the band's first single for which the first video was shot) is perhaps the most interesting track. It's the Rammstein recipe brought to its utmost danceable and catchiest form. The second part of the album is perhaps the least successful, riffs much too repetitive that dampen the desire to listen to the following tracks. Overall though, an album that gives and will give oxygen to the heavy environment that was and is suffocating under the wave of miserable nu-metal copycat groups.
Long live Rammstein!

NOTE: Horrible cover, it probably discouraged thousands of buyers. In the USA, one was released that would cause less disgust.