Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Rammstein - Reise, Reise (2004)

Rammestein were the last band I saw live at the start of the noughties before I stopped going to gigs due to a damaged ear drum.  I had befriended another metal head in a call centre where I worked at the time and we went to a couple of gigs.  I recall American Head Charge were the support act and they were actually quite good.  Rammestein though were superb, full of theatrics and drama, displaying a real passion for their art.

I never owned an album by the band, think I bought a t-shirt at aforementioned gig but that was the extent of my merchandise.  Stumbling across the band in the depths of the Metal Academy and then seeing them in the feature section for this month got me interested enough in finally sitting down and listening to a whole album by them.  I am glad I did.

A couple of things got me off-guard if I am honest.  Firstly, how riffy Reise, Reise is.  It is chock full of the beggars making the album memorable and leaving me hungry for each track.  Secondly, how well the drama and theatrics that I witnessed on stage nearly two decades ago transpose brilliantly to the recorded output without becoming showy or needless.  There’s real atmosphere here, stabs of near symphonic keys and choir-like backing vocals that all add real depth to the sound.  I was also pleasantly surprised by how the emotion of the songs comes across so well.  Considering I speak no German the passion and eloquence of the songwriting really gives a real sense of expression and of intensity being shared.

Somewhere amongst the industrial edges and no-metal musings, Rammestein deliver a heartfelt and enlightening album, balanced in pace just enough to keep it interesting without sacrificing the memorability factor.  It’s only real flaw is that it is too long and needs a trim on the track listing.