Band:	Rammstein
Album:	Rammstein
Style:	Industrial metal
Release date:	May 17, 2019
A review by:	ScreamingSteelUS

01. Deutschland
02. Radio
03. Zeig Dich
04. Ausländer
05. Sex
06. Puppe
07. Was Ich Liebe
08. Diamant
09. Weit Weg
10. Tattoo
11. Hallomann

Rammstein have been, in a sense, on ice for a while now. Sure, they've been touring, played some festivals, had a few special releases - they weren't dead - but their last album was ten years ago, and all the Oomph!s, Eisbrechers, Megaherzes, Ruoskas, Raubtiers, and Turmion Kätilöts in the world couldn't fill that void. We needed Rammstein.

I have an inarticulate dislike of bands releasing self-titled albums this far into their careers, but this collection of severe, yet danceable, industrial metal does seem to capture the essence of Rammstein as it evolved over six previous albums. "Deutschland" and "Sex" carry on the stadium-sized grooves that Liebe Ist Für Alle Da specialized in; "Was Ich Liebe," "Weit Weg," and "Diamant" take that sound on a tour through Rosenrot with morose choruses and icy keys; "Zeig Dich" refers to Sehnsucht for its tune and tone, albeit with much bolder vocal lines and a more expansive chorus that 21st-century megastar Rammstein can't do without - and if you miss the robotic simplicity of Herzeleid, "Tattoo" might scratch that itch, or even "Deutschland," that same explosive opener.

Rammstein carries the band into the future, too, sporting some new digs in the uncharacteristically smooth, suave "Radio" and the infectious club atmosphere of "Ausländer," whose fun electro-metal beat brings to mind The SLoT's 200 кВт. And then there's "Puppe": that's a raw slice of fresh-killed meat of the sort that only Rammstein's menacing perversion can bring to fruition. Till's hoarse spluttering and the whining riffs revive a sense of industrial horror that had slithered away from Rammstein after a couple of over-produced pop metal albums. That one will be appended to my personal favorites list for sure; the presence of so many other great songs forces me to conclude that this is an album worthy of the name Rammstein.

In the months leading up to Rammstein's release, I juggled several questions that dampened my enthusiasm and dragged me away from listening. Was this album necessary? Well, Rammstein is one of my favorite bands, but I had become strangely comfortable with Liebe Ist Für Alle Da being their last recorded statement, so I wondered if they ought not play it safe and end on that suitably positive note. Would this album be good? Ten years was a long time to wait, and the non-LP single "Mein Land" from 2011 hardly rated a footnote; "Deutschland" and "Radio" were not strong enough singles on their own to get me hooked, even if their video budget could finance all of Europe for the next five years. Would there be too much Lindemann or Emigrate filtering through? As enjoyable as those projects can be, I'll listen to them if I want to hear them, and I'd begrudge too much crossover.

My worries were hardly warranted; this is pure Rammstein, and a more fitting end than either of the last two albums: more consistent, more retrospective, and more interesting. Rammstein is not as novel or trendy as it was in its early days, but this album is clearly not something they jumbled together out of obligation. Whether it's for a proper relaunch or to mark a definitive finale, Rammstein is undoubtedly a comeback that has a purpose.