Industrial metal as a genre was just getting started in the 80s and whatever it was doing must've leached into the water because by the 90s, you couldn't swing a poorly programmed synthesizer without hitting a new industrial band.
The positive side to this profuse proliferation? A lot of these bands... were really fuckin good. Sometimes, even ground breaking.
Enter…
Band : Rammstein
Album: Sehnsucht (1997)
# of tracks: 11
Neue Deutsche Härte
1997s SEHNSUCHT is the follow up studio album to Herzeleid and is responsible for not only making RAMMSTEIN stars, but also introducing the world to this new type of German Metal.
Speaking of German Metal, Gottfried Helnwein, the Austrian artist who created the cover for The Scorpions BLACKOUT Album, did six different covers for Shensucht. Each cover is the face of a band member and seems to be either an homage or riff on the Blackout cover.
“New German Hardness” is the term coined to describe RAMMSTEIN's first album HERZELEID. It, along with the second second OOMPH! album, SPERM, are credited with establishing an entire new genre of German style industrial metal.
The first song and title track, Sehnsucht ("Desire"/"Longing") has a simple but brilliant layering to it that tells you exactly where it's from, even before Til starts singing. The track / album starts off with a processed, yodeling sample on a loop, followed by synthesizers setting the tempo. TAT TAT TAT The drums and guitar drop, kicking the song into a mid-tempo groove, so catchy you wanna head bang around all the heavy machinery here in this German Warehouse you now find yourself in. The judicious use of the synths and samples balances well with the louder parts of the song to create a bouncy, fun, foot stomper.
Engel ("Angel") Opens with a lilting whistle melody, followed by a synthesized bassline. These set the tempo for the song and continue throughout the track. The drums again kick the party off, but where the first track is high impact energy, this is more of a slower, deliberate groove that will still make you wanna move.
Though perhaps less headbangin' and more hip swingin' with your honey.
The guitar and drums have plenty of punch and only add to the innate swagger of the song. Til's powerful almost operatic voice is a stark contrast to the quieter, almost ethereal chorus performed by German Singer Christiane "Bobo" Hebold.
The oscillating synth lines at the beginning of Du hast ("You Have”) belie the pounding industrial beat that's about to drop. The synthesizers keep building until they crescendo in to arguably one of the most recognizable industrial metal hooks ever put to tape. It's crunchy, loud, punchy and above all else CATCHY as fuck!
Whether you speak German is irrelevant by the second half of the song, as you're likely DU HAST!-ing along with the rest of us. That infectious catchy nature is likely part of the reason why there were so many club remixes over the years. A rare thing indeed, a heavy song that can still be danced to.
Electric keys serve as a lead in to Eifersucht ("Jealousy") setting a speedier tempo for the song. The staccato guitar riffs pick up this tempo and when paired with the drums give the song a marching military feel. Not to be outdone, the synthesizers keep up with the tempo using syncopated rhythm and electro flourishes.
While there are some sing-able moments, the vocals really lean into the deep, pseudo-spoken word rumble Til is able to pull off to great effect adding to the already dark and moody feel of the song. This technique along with a penchant for marching militaristic beats became hallmarks of the Neue Deutsche Härte genre.
Küss mich (Fellfrosch) ("Kiss Me (Fur Frog)") Proves the point that even the most innocuous of phrases in German said with enough Oomph! sound like a call to battle. Fists in the air we shout along, “Küss mich!! (Kiss me!!)” Meanwhile Til makes it sound like he just cursed your ancestors.
There's big catchy riff work on this track that plays well with the programming and samples used. It all comes together in a sort of whimsical adult Germany Metal Fairy tale about the mythical Fellfrosch (Fur Frog) longing to be...lavishly, luxuriated upon. It's the last track on the album (unless you snag one of the many special editions) and is almost a culmination of everything that preceded it.
It's the perfect chuckling wtf, sendoff for a unique (especially for 97) industrial album.
While it may not be as fast or heavy as some of their later albums, Sehnsucht is widely influential across a multitude of Metal sub genres and is still a helluva lot of fun to listen to now.
In fact I dare say you can to this day probably find a club somewhere that has some version of Du Hast in their inventory of songs.
Some things are forever, like those embarrassing drunk photos of you online, or like a groovy, groundbreaking, game changing German industrial Metal.
