Rammstein
Mutter

THE REVIEW

Four years, that's how long the gestation of the album destined to inherit the heavy legacy of "Sehnsucht" lasted. A fairly long period that allowed Till Lindemann, the Ink King of metal (alongside Ronnie James Dio and Dani Filth) to write some of the most beautiful lyrics of his career ("Meinz Herz Brennt", "Spieluhr", "Mutter", "Zwitter", and "Nebel" above all) while the rest of the band expanded their horizons, approaching gothic and collaborating for the first time with a symphonic orchestra. All this gives rise to "Mutter," a masterpiece of disarming beauty, a record with a powerful yet refined sound, deeply introspective and with brilliant melodic insights, that does not renounce the band's past and anticipates its future.

The work begins with an orchestral overture, which seems to come from some abyss of the unconscious, over which Till Lindemann's unmistakable voice emerges, starting off muffled, distant, and gradually becoming stronger, perfectly interpreting lyrics that speak of the night: speaking of nightmares, demons, ghosts, and dark tales: this is "Mein Herz Brennt", a marvel among marvels, the pearl among all pearls, an epic and dark song at the same time, reaching its peak in the galloping riff always accompanied by strings, creating a sort of Kashmir effect and passing as it came, fading away like the world of dreams at the break of dawn. The dawn, indeed, lends its name to the third song of the album, the perfect negative of the first: however, it is a black hole sun, a sort of evil entity that burns, blinds, and oppresses, that never sets and prevents rest, a true source of alienation celebrated with a granitic and hypnotic riff and an intense, marked chorus, creating the magic of this authentic milestone of the Steamroller, its hallucinated mood reinforced by a superb video featuring a Snow White quite different from the classic fairy-tale iconography. The journey through the universe of this album continues through stages of absolute beauty like the title track "Mutter", a truly touching ballad; music and lyrics that give you goosebumps, for which any rock band would be willing to kill, or "Zwitter", a gritty heavy metal track with no frills, hiding an original hymn to narcissism. Between these two songs, there is another gem like "Spieluhr", a kind of ride made very hypnotic by the background music boxes and a distorted child’s voice (computer modified) that duets with Till. A perfectly executed experiment of almost unreal beauty, just like the story narrated in the lyrics. The song that closes this masterpiece is called "Nebel" (fog), a very appropriate title for this semi-ballad offering moments sustained solely by keyboards, diffused to the limit of psychedelia, with a very calm and somewhat blurred flow, perfectly in line with the lyrics.

The ones I mentioned are the most characteristic songs of the album, those that offer the most evocative atmospheres, but as we know well, Rammstein can also hit hard, and they demonstrate this extensively in "Mutter" with performances like the famous "Links 2 3 4", a fast march supported by a very beautiful and gritty riff. I am less convinced by Till's almost growling singing. Overall, much better is "Ich Will", which in its obsessive use of keyboards recalls the first album, "Herzeleid," made sharper by a heavier approach as well as better production. Even better is "Feuer Frei!" which, apart from electronic arrangements, presents a dynamite riff and a general grit in execution that would make any thrash metal band envious, while "Rein Raus" (reminds me of something by Judas Priest from Demolition) and "Adios" (beautiful arpeggio and lyrics) introduce the concept of a powerful but tormented and dark ride that would be developed years later with "Rosenrot".

In conclusion, this is without a doubt one of the albums you must listen to before you die, a masterpiece finding its strength in the intrinsic ability of this band to create very simple songs (Nebel, the longest, doesn't even reach 5 minutes) yet always original and interesting, particularly in the specific case of "Mutter", which bases part of its charm on the contrast between dream and reality, and in which each song has its own special story to tell. As far as I am concerned, it is an essential classic in the history of metal and rock in general, so...

SCORE 10/10