Peppering Mutter with a large dose of orchestral influence blended with eerily voiced lyrics and a healthy dose of grinding guitars, creepy samples, and superbly formatted songs, the group from East Germany manages to step up in their creative ladder and form a refreshing sound that brings memories of their past albums but does not become a stereotypical cd.

In this album Rammstein address the public/critics' views of their music in the song Links 234 (the critics once accused Rammstein of Nazism, this is their cleverly disguised retraction to the false claims). Gothic, classical influence is pleasantly explored in Sonne(Sun) and Nebel(Fog)to extremely good results. A sense of fantastical horror is meticulously threaded in the tunes, Mein Herz Brennt(My Heart Burns) and Spieluhr(Music Box)which, in my personal opinion are the paragon of the album. Fast metal, with a new and crunching melody, can be found in fascinating Zwitter(Hermaphrodite), Rein Raus(In Out), Adios(a very successful punk sound is played out here), Feur Frei(Fire!!), and the incomparable Ich Will(I Want). A very dramatic mode of metal is accomplished in the title track Mutter(Mother) which seeps with sorrow and a heavy pessimism but also has a very important message behind it.

Overall this album proves Rammstein's most intriguing work as the band delves into musical lands they had yet to uncover and do so with no failure. Fans of the past will find the album refreshing and most astounding. Newcomers will discover Rammstein as no one has ever seen them before, fully matured in their music and at their height(so far, at least) of their talent. Mutter has been waited for for nearly four years and Rammstein did not fail their fans in delivering the goods. A definite MUST BUY!! Even for those who are not particularily partial to German music this proves to be an album on which to make an exception. Fantastic, overwhelming, and spellbinding, don't miss it!!!


Rammstein Takes A Step -- And Succeeds   April 4, 2001
 26 out of 26 found this review helpful

Garnering some national attention after their song "Heirate Mich" appeared on the soundtrack for David Lynch's "Lost Highway", the German outfit Rammstein has sold well in the States, despite the lyrics being exclusively in German. The intense guitar riffs of songs like "Buck Dich" and "Engel" served to be popular, and the video for "Du Hast" even got some MTV airplay. Rammstein seemed poised to break into the American market big time.

And with their latest album, Mutter, they have done everything right. Containing their powerful, trademark guitar as well as more diverse music and lyrics, this is Rammstein's best album by far. A few songs contain a string orchestra, and Till Lindeman does more singing than his previous gutteral growls. Fans of their previous albums (Herzeleid and Sehnsucht) will feel right at home with "Mein Herz Brennt", the single "Sonne", and "Feuer Frei!" -- these licks are as exhilirating as anything they've done. However, the songs are not reliant on the guitars, as the orchestral arrangements and further use of electronics contribute more mood to the songs. This musical experimentation is a rousing success -- another step that's not too ambitious, but just right.

Lyrically, Mutter is incredible. A great album just based on the music, when the songs' meanings are discovered, it becomes one of the best albums of the year. Rammstein fans should do themselves a favor and get a German/English dictionary -- you'll gain new respect for these guys. The lyrics are just as diverse as the music: the creeping evil of "Mein Herz Brennt" (one of Rammstein's best songs ever), the Apocalyptic imagery of "Sonne", the eerie and haunting "Spieluhr" and "Nebel." And in case you were wondering, yes, the sexually deviant content is here as well: the hilarious "Zwitter" ("Hermaphrodite" -- trust me, it's a riot) and "Rein Raus".

Rammstein's Mutter deserves to be a huge hit. Perhaps a song in English would have been welcome to further their exposure, and an album with such fantastic music just cries out for an instrumental track or two, but despite this, Mutter is by far the most accomplished, diverse, and powerful album by Rammstein to date.


Spine chilling delights   May 10, 2002
 17 out of 17 found this review helpful

In Mutter, Rammstein breaks away from the almost one-dimensional onslaught of their previous albums to create a powerful, diverse album of exceptional musical quality.

The opening track, Mein Herz Brennt, is a ripper. The lyrics speak of demons, ghosts and black faeries creeping through children's bedrooms and is backed up by a powerful melody that just blows you away once it gets into full swing.

Almost every track on the album from here on features something that makes it memorable. Just a little change in pace here, a little change in melody there, some powerful chorus sections on most and you soon find this album growing on you every time you listen to it.

Tracks like Links 234, Feuer Frei and Rein Raus will satisfy fans of Rammstein's pacy metal style used in their previous albums, while Sonne, Zwitter, Ich Will and the foot-stomping head-banging delight that is Adios oozes with a classy assembly and finish that are often lacking in this genre of music.

Rammstein also shows a gentler side with the tracks Mutter and Nebel, slower paced but no less brilliant.

For me the best song on the album has to be Spieluhr though. Superb, yet eerie lyrics talk about a child being buried alive by accident with a music box in his/her hands. The chorus is fantastic, just about the catchiest thing I've heard in any form of music in a long time, and the whole song is just brilliantly put together like all the other tracks on this album.

To summarize:

Best tracks: Mein Herz Brennt, Sonne, Spieluhr, Adios

Worst track: Rein Raus, if you have to push me for one

Mutter as an album delivers an incredible musical experience and every song deserves its place on the album - no fillers here. The deep, thundering sound demands a pair of decent speakers - turn up the volume and prepare to hear the windows rattle.

Rammstein is a band on the rise, that's for sure. The mere fact that they broke away from their one dimensional metalish sound on the previous two albums and ventured into a smarter, more orchestral and melodic, yet still pleasurably hard and heavy sound (yep, the parents will definitely worry about you if they find you listening to this lot in a dark room!) for Mutter shows us that this is a band with massive potential. I can't wait to hear their next effort - hopefully they stick to German. Rammstein in English just won't be the same.

Check out [URL] for English translations of the German lyrics.


The Best Rammstein Album - A Masterpiece   April 8, 2001
 16 out of 18 found this review helpful

This album is excellent. It has all the elements of a great CD. Musically it is very well organized and textured. Lyrically, it is wonderful even though it is also in German. They have dropped the crude subject matter of before with the exception of zwitter which pokes fun at homosexuals which would offend homosexuals much more than eminem because it is much funnier; whereas eminem is just plain stupid. The lyrics of the other songs are pure poetry. No, I am not talking about the "i'm lonely and my parents hate me poetry" of american rock bands like godsmack and cold. This has style and beauty. Let me give a review of each song with a rating on a scale of 4.

Mein Hertz Brennt (My heart burns)-4/4-fun to listen to. violin arrangements and a nice beat accompanying the melody.

Links 2 3 4 (left 2 3 4) -3.5/4- An amazing industrial-metal song. Reminds me of KMFDM. Awesome riff.

Sonne (sun)-4/4-Melodic song with Till Lindemann going from an angry voice to a powerful melodic voice in the chorus. It also uses a cool sample of a female voice singing.

Ich Will (i want)-3/4-Typical Rammstein song with a strong edge and good angry vocals.

Feuer Frei (fire!)-4/4-Heavy, violent, tough song. enough said.

Mutter(mother) - 4/4-A song about the singer's mother. Heartfelt and powerful.

Spieluhr(game of time)4/4-Gloomy feel and good music.

Zwitter(hermaphrodite)-4/4-Awesome riff and funny lyrics make this a winning song.

Rein Raus-2.5/4-I forgot what the lyrics were about and what the song title was in english. This is a decent song, but doesnt stand out among the other great songs on here.

Adios (spanish for 'bye)-2/4-Most generic song on the cd. It still rocks though.

Nebel(fog)-4/4-Great closing track!!!!!!!!!!

This album is a masterpiece. No songs are bad and every time I listen to it I listen to the whole thing. I strongly advise you to buy it now.


Burning Down the Language Barrier   January 22, 2003
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

Proving that even the heaviest anthems can drift into mainstream circulation with the proper mixture of video elements, technotronic outletting, and a need to set things ablaze, Rammstein managed an exorbitant amount success with their last outing, Sehnsucht. This wasn't without reason, either, because the performance was solid, reading like a book of anthems in a language I find myself struggling to dissect because my understanding of German isn't what it once was. Still, Mutter goes father into both the industrial spectrum and the more driven side of music as well, adding both the splendor of the beautiful into works where you wouldn't normally expect them as well as providing the pulsating hammer to drive their works further and faster.

The album begins with the spoken word piece, "Mein Herz Brennt," giving one the impression that perhaps this album will lead into more tamed pastures before the heavier, pulsating sounds of "Links 2 3 4," introduces the listener to what would be a fairer assessment of what to expect next. Other things are to the fray later, such as the beautiful sounds of the chorus in "Sonne 4," combining a strangely angelic sing-a-long into the background at uneven intervals, or the ballad-rich tempo of "Mutter," holding the attention well as the wheels of the industrial machine grinds on. This, combined with the terminal beat that infects the album, keeps it pressing forward in ways that throw interesting entanglements of sound effects, heavily crafted guitars, and beats into a dance-rich German barrage.

If you've yet to check into Rammstein, perhaps this wouldn't be the first album to start with, but it would definitely be something worthy of acquiring along with their last release. Both are enjoyable in their own right and give one an idea of the progression the band has undertaken on its road to stardom, not to mention how a pyromaniac German band continues on the road to success.