RAMMSTEIN [VINYL]

Many thanks.

Great band

Front to back this album is absolutely outstanding. The sound & productionis top notch. I just love how Rammstein combine such heavy guitar & drumswith beautiful keyboard & piano parts. Radio, Auslander, Zieg Dich, Tattoo &the amazing Diamant are standouts for me but the whole album is brilliant.Buy it.

I was looking forward to this album arriving as soon as the 'Deutschland' video dropped. That song sounded like pure Rammstein to me, heavy, melodic, dark and with a heavy keyboard / electronic influence. I was expecting the album to continue with that same sound, but Rammstein being Rammstein...you can never really predict which way exactly they're going.Although, the album's reception has been both critically and commercially successful, I had heard some rumblings that they had 'gone pop' - which isn't true, but this is a noticeably different sounding Rammstein and it's probably their least guitar-driven album so far, riff-wise anyway. Saying that, some people have said that the guitars are gone completely..which simply isn't true, both 'Radio' and 'Tattoo' are (after 'Deutschland') very much riff driven songs. 'Puppe' is guitar driven, but in a different way to what we're used to from them, it's not as 'sledgehammer to the head' heavy and obvious like 'Sonne' or 'Mein Teil', but rather subtle and hauntingly heavy...creeping almost.I personally keep returning to 'Weit weg', which sounds like a psychedelic Deep Purple keyboard riff on steroids, which kind of encapsulates the whole album for me - more electronic driven than usual but still with that pounding Guitar/Bass/Drums combination driving it forward and harder. 'Auslander' is similar and equally great too, but somehow also the 'poppiest' track here.At 46 minutes it's a great length, I have had this CD in my car for the last couple of weeks and so listen to it daily, with no intention of removing it yet, so replay value is high - just don't listen to it once, it's a grower and needs a few listens to 'get.'It's not perfect though, I found the track 'Sex' to be quite average really, kind of like 'Pussy' part two, just not as good and sounding pretty generic, like an atypical sleazy Marilyn Manson number, it's ok, it's just there. 'Diamant' is probably the band's most mellow moment ever, it's more or less a straight up ballad and it's pretty good, but, not to every fan of the band's taste.Overall, a very welcome, if slightly out of left field return from one of our best loved metal bands. Don't expect 'Reise, Reise!' Part Two, just give it time and you WILL love it!

Great gift idea

The new Rammstein album is just about what you'd expect. If you like Rammstein, you'll like this album. Continuing on with their slightly gothic take, they've brought it back with the dance beats that made them popular in the first place which, essentially, makes this a showcase of the best of Rammstein's qualities.The album starts with the epic Deutschland, followed by the second single Radio. The rest of the album is...fairly average. It's not bad, by any means, and Rammstein still know what they're doing, but the more reserved take on their style doesn't quite give the album the oomph that their earlier stuff did. Auslander is surprisingly catchy, Puppe is downright chilling on par with Hilf Mir and Mein Teil, while Hallomann is so beautifully composed it's my personal favourite despite how dark the song actually is.But the quality is a little inconsistent and much of the album is fairly forgettable, which is a shame. I'm lucky that I only got into Rammstein in the last few years as I feel I would be a little disappointed if I'd waited the full 10 years. Also, because the only retail edition is the deluxe edition, there's no way right now to get it in a box that isn't essentially a DVD box meaning it doesn't fit on my CD shelf. If you're a diehard Rammstein fan then the price is somewhat justified but if you aren't it might be best to wait for it to drop.

Firstly, to those complaining about any band's album not being 'Heavy Enough', what a strange point of view. Music is music, metal is a wide-ranging genre that thrives on pushing boundaries and evolving and, as bands age, they usually mellow. If your mindset is that music 'has to be heavier', go and listen to a heavier album by another band that have not reached the stage in their career when they want to expand musically and stop whining. Rant over 😉This is the first Rammstein album I've bought since 'Rosenrot' for no other reason than I have more music than I have time to listen. On first play, its excellent, the sound of a mature band who are making music for enjoyment and to be musical, combining pop choruses with an overall heavy sound. Its filled with hooks, catchy choruses and great riffs, which provides a contrasting background to Till Linderman's low-growl, almost spoken-word style. Backing vocals are worked into the songs well and keyboards provide anything from classical sounds to 'techno-lite' and work really well, adding some musicality to the overall sound.After first play, I've come back for more and had a good few of the songs, riffs and hooks stuck in my head, always a sign of a decent album. Its one I will keep playing and coming back to. 4 stars is not derogatory, I just reserve that for mind blowing one-offs. This is a great album and my collection is all the better for it.The Vinyl itself is well priced by comparison, plays at 45 rpm on 4 sides and is nicely designed. There are 6 x 12x12 art print photos of each band member, gatefold inner and 2 Lyric and notes inner sleeves. Nice to know that a band puts out a good package without charging a fortune, so overall this is 5 Stars for me. 👍

excellent