The ten-year-long silence between ‘Liebe ist für alle da’ and ‘Rammstein’ did nothing to slow the German powerhouse down; quite the opposite in fact, as they continued to dominate Europe and slowly take over the States as well. They are undoubtedly one of the biggest European bands, by far the greatest non-English-speaking one, largely due to their incredible live show.
Their new album won’t do anything to alter the aforementioned status, what remained to be seen is whether it can bring the band’s music back to the forefront, temporarily stealing the spotlight from the various flamethrowers and giant foam-ejaculating penises. If judged by opening juggernaut ‘Deutschland’, it certainly can, as that song is classic Rammstein. Unfortunately, however, the rest of the record doesn’t match it. ‘Zeig Dich’ is great, ‘Puppe’ is deliciously disturbing, but there’s a lot of filler as well. There’s a lack of riffs, excitement, the raw power of their best stuff, maybe even a lack of hunger, motivation and good relations between band members.
Taking into account the long wait, the band’s capacity to perfect and fine tune the album, and the fact that it’s 46 minutes long, ‘Rammstein’, despite its good or interesting moments, isn’t the fulfilling comeback we were hoping for.
