Reise, Reise

Rammstein - the famous German industrial metal band - are back with their fourth album, Reise Reise. In my agenda, Reise Reise is one of the most awaited album for 2004. Mutter entered in my all-time favorite albums ... so I had very high expectations for this new studio album. After the first spin of Reise Reise, I was down on my ass. I could not believe this "sh*t". Of course, a couple of songs scored immediately, but the disenchantment was big and the "mainstream music" feeling was the only thing I kept in mind. Hopefully from the start, I promise to myself that I would review Reise Reise after many many spins because Mutter kept growing in my heart month after month. Consequently, I knew that comparing Mutter & Reise Reise would be anyway a very difficult task. My advice after this commitment week devoted only to Reise Reise is this one : dive in, play this album as many times as possible because this record is one of the most complex album I have heard since ages. Reise Reise is definitely not the kind of mainstream music you have in mind after the first spin. In fact, it is a treasure island. The more you give time to Reise Reise, the better the reward. So what is good and bad here ? I'll try to make a short review for each song and highlight the hits: Reise, Reise: This is a great opener ... with a soft start however. The chorus and the string arrangements are awesome. Rammstein's heaviness seems to have disappeared but in fact excellence replaces heaviness. What an epic track!!! The first hit of this fourth album. Mein Teil: Read the EP review. It remains for me one of the strongest songs (if not the best one) on this new album. Rammstein should have started with America for their first single and come with Mein Teil afterwards. Daila Lama: I said that this album was very complex. The first track is full of surprises and Daila Lama is another lesson of complexity. Rammstein enhance their industrial music. It is funny at this stage to use the word "enhance" considering the impression left by the first spin. The secret is however revealed : melody. Whether it comes from the guitar, the piano or the chorus, the melodies on Reise Reise grab you by the balls. The hidden crunching riffs - once discovered - hunt you days and nights. Keine Lust: The HIT. Supported by a vicious riff, we are diving here inside the legendary Rammstein's sound. This is industrial metal at its best, as we use to know it. The gear is so complex, with so many different ambiances connected each other and where the orchestra knocks you down. The more I listen to Keine Lust, the more my balls hurt :) Los: The experimental track. I am sure Rammstein could add dozen of Mein Teil or Keine Lust in this album, but Rammstein hate the easy way. With Los, Rammstein took the bet to reproduced their sound ... acoustically. It sounds like a bluesy track but the German lyrics and the talent of the musicians is once again revealed. I told you before these two words : treasure island. It proves that Rammstein like to takes risks. America: The future single, the radio hit. To make a story short, my kids sing this one and they listen to the album only twice. I like soooooo much the sarcastic lyrics. The chorus is top-notch and once again the melody grabs you by the balls. Less heavier compare to Mutter's hits, but vicious as hell. English lyrics paves the way of this song, especially the controversial "This is not a love song ...". We knew Rammstein like to provoke and this is the case with these ironic lyrics. The keyboard solo in the middle of the song drives me mad. Gosh I like this track. Moskau: One of my favorite track. I like the voice of Viktoria Fersh (teenage girl) added to the background. If you remember Speiluhr on Mutter, Moskau is another track where Rammstein excel using children vocals. I can't explain you why but this track reminds me somehow Scorpions. Morgenstern: The chorus hunted me day and nights (Du bist hässlich). The choir arrangements, the string arrangements, the melody, here everything fits magically together. This is a powerful and heavy track. Two thumbs up !!! Stein Um Stein: Another track constructed around a vicious guitar riff. This is the Rammstein phenomena, the one we have already discovered on Links 2,3,4 or on Feuer Frei!. The song starts very slowly - like a ballad - but when it gets to the chorus, the heaviness is unleashed. A traditional track should I say. The album ends with two love songs: Ohne Dich and Amour. Ohne Dich: This is a "wunderbar" ballad, where the orchestra and the choir make once again all the difference. However, this is an unconventional track for Rammstein. I mean this could have been written (almost !) by any German bands out there ... especially if the goal is to hit German radios. The trademark here ? Guess what ? The melody of course. Amour: The last track on Reise Reise is a ballad. But the complexity behind this title is endless. Each time I listen to Amour, I discover an instrument here, a structure there, a new melody in the back. The electric guitar takes place later on, but once it enters the show, what a pleasure. The swapping ambiance between the acoustic and electric guitar is first-class. Once again, this highlights the talent of this love or hate band. I would not be astonished to see Amour flooding on the radio sooner or later. And what a fantastic end !!! May be the hidden single. The orchestra on this album leaves me speechless. Never too loud, never too lazy, never too simple. A special mention for the arrangement (orchestra, choirs, strings). The production is enormous, like it was the case on Mutter. Finally, let's end this review with the question that all Rammstein's fan have on their lips. Is Reise Reise better than Mutter ? Honestly, I can't answer to this question. At least, not now. But I can tell you one thing for sure : this album is as good as Mutter ... sending Rammstein on the top of the Olympia.