Rammstein — Zeit — Album Review
Industrial | Metal | Electronic
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
I think I said this in my last review of Rammstein, but does the German industrial metal band even need to be introduced at this point? That aforementioned review (for their previous album, 2019’s self-titled effort) can also be credited as the very first album review I did that included a music video.
But something unusual happened in regards to how I felt towards Rammstein’s previous album. In my review of said record, I couldn’t have praised the album more highly. Perhaps it was a case of me being caught up in the heavy splendour of the album, but that feeling quickly died out (and no; I promise The Needle Drop’s 5/10 score of the same album didn’t influence that one bit).
My feelings towards Rammstein’s self-titled album essentially did a full 180; well, maybe not a full one, but I wasn’t nearly as invested in the album towards the end of 2019. Perhaps the hype simply died out.
That being said, I was intrigued to see what my opinion would be towards Rammstein’s future works, now with a much sharper critical mind. The perfect opportunity to do so, came with the recent drop of Rammstein’s eighth and newest studio album, Zeit.
I don’t know what it is about albums with titles and lyrics of different languages, but they seem to intrigue me so much more in regards to what they’re portraying artistically. Nevertheless, Zeit essentially translates to “time” in English, pointing to the free time and fewer distractions that the band had as tools to have more creative input during the COVID pandemic. So in essence, Zeit is the finished product of that creative time in Rammstein’s musical career.
Stylistically, however, I find this album to be a divide between two approaches; one that is slow and balladic, while the other is just flat-out heavy and campy Rammstein fun. I found that the latter really reflects what makes Rammstein such a unique and enjoyable group. With songs like “Zick Zack” for example, one can truly feel just how much fun the band is having.
Where I feel a little less excited about Zeit, however, is with the aforementioned slow and balladic tunes. It is much harder to show the super fun and enjoyable appeal of Rammstein through these more serious tunes (not to mention a lot of them aren’t very melodic either). And as a result, the listener’s enjoyment dwindles a bit; I know that this was the case with me, at least.
Overall, the mixture of enjoyable tunes, and those that aren’t as much, leave me with mixed feelings towards Zeit. This is, after all, a very mixed bag of an album, in my mind. The tracks that do bang, absolutely do! However, I wish that level of enjoyment lasted throughout a bit more of the albums runtime.
Nevertheless, I am still very happy with the tracks that I did decide to keep. And it will be those that I will have to remember Rammstein’s musical 2022 by.
Favourite Tracks: Giftig | Zick Zack | Angst
Least Favourite Track: Lügen
RAMMSTEIN GBR | Universal Music
