Written Before Listen
Rammstein is….Rammstein. They are one of the most popular metal bands but they are also one of the most unique. Even with my musical knowledge, there is nothing remotely similar to Rammstein. I guess the closest thing I can say is if Rob Zombie and Nine Inch Nails produced Kraftwerk and even then, it wouldn’t sound like Rammstein to this day. With that being said, am I big on their sound? Not really. I like it, but there are only a couple of standout tracks I revisit from them, but I am excited to review this project so without further ado, let’s get into it.
Rammstein's Place In Metal
Before really getting into the review, I want to mention the place in metal they have. They came in a time when artists like Slipknot, Korn, System of a Down, etc really took American metal to a whole new level. Rammstein was not only from a different country but took different influences to the table. They took those alternative metal sounds and combined them with the industrial metal scene that was blowing up at that time. Later in their career, they did experiment with a more gothic aesthetic which made their music sound larger than life at points. They then took a 10-year hiatus and didn’t return until 2019. I never listened to that album, but it did give suspicion on whether or not it was a fluke or not, and here we are.
Production
The production is a pivotal part of the Rammstein sound. Chugging guitars, modulated bass, heavy drums, and digital-sounding synthesizers. I’ve always thought it was a cool sound, but it does border on overproduction. I think that what they did back in the day was groundbreaking, but people taking this sound to make overproduced metal makes this sound overproduced to me because they take their sound with modern production.
Genre-Bending
I’ve already mentioned that Rammstein knows how to blend industrial metal and alternative metal well, but they have seemed to take the gothic approach way more seriously on this track. Especially with songs like the title track, “Schwarz” and “Meine Tranen”. There are also a lot of tracks that embrace the more industrial sounds of Rammstein, especially the opening track. Other than that, there is certainly genre-bending, but it's the genre-bending that we already know Rammstein has. A lot of these tracks are just your typical Rammstein. Is that a bad thing? Not really but it doesn’t get me wanting to listen to it more.
Vocal Performance
Rammstein is Rammstein. Most people I know, just don’t know the names of the members. On the other hand, the frontman’s name is Till Lindermann. His vocal performance is iconic to the Rammstein sound. The spoken word-like delivery he brings makes it sound like he is spewing information that needs to be fed into my brain and his operatic vocals are the sugarcoating aspect of it. I will say right away that his vocal skill is what kept me intrigued throughout the album.
Predictability
One thing I said already and I’ll say again is that…it’s Rammstein. You aren’t going to get anything new. It’s nothing more than what to expect. With that being said, It’s Rammstein.
Verdict
Overall, I didn’t get anything new from this album, but what I will say is that Rammstein’s sound overall, is something I enjoy. It’s enjoyable throughout but I would be lying if I said I plan on revisiting this soon