Search - Rammstein :: Reise Reise

My second favorite Rammstein album.

John McClung | Freehold, NY USA | 12/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rammstein's 4th album 'Reise, Reise' continues the evolution of the German metal band's sound, bridging the gap between Mutter and Rosenrot (although it sounds more like Mutter). Like Mutter, this album captures Rammstein at their best, in my opinion. 'Reise, Reise' begins with the title-track, which manages to be both heavy and melodic at the same time, featuring plenty of guitars along with some accordion playing. The second song, Mein Teil, is very heavy and has vocals that come close to the style of death metal at times. This was the first single from the album. Next comes Dalai Lama, which has some heavy guitar moments but is a ballad for the most part. It features very smooth and soothing singing in the chorus and is the longest song on the album. The next song, Keine Lust, was another one to be released as a single. The first half of Keine Lust is nothing special, but after the second chorus it gets really good. The 3 songs at the center of the album really stand out from the rest. The fifth song, simply called Los, is extremely experimental for Rammstein. It is mostly acoustic and features interesting guitar solos, creating somewhat of a classic rock vibe. Amerika is heavy and is sung mostly in German, but also in English and features some choir arrangements. Moskau contains German verses, but choruses sung in Russian by Viktoria Fersh, giving the song somewhat of a pop vibe. It also features more accordion playing. The eighth song is Morgenstern, which isn't very heavy, but isn't exactly a ballad either, even though it contains more choir-singing. It's a song that gets better the more you listen to it. Next comes Stein Um Stein, which starts out slow but then gets heavy. Till Lindemann lets out a good scream on this song. The album ends with a pair of ballads, Ohne Dich and Amour, the first of which was released as a single. Ohne Dich is a beautiful song featuring near-operatic singing by Lindemann, as well as strings, mandolins, and even an oboe. I don't know the lyrics, but it very well might be a love song. The same can be said about Amour, but unlike Ohne Dich, it gets really heavy toward the end and actually features a guitar solo - a great way to bring the album to a close. Overall, 'Reise, Reise' is an amazing album that is only a little bit less heavy than Mutter. If you like Mutter, you'll probably like 'Reise, Reise' as well."