The Gratification of Neue Deutsche Härte: Rammstein's 'Mutter'

RAMMSTEIN: MUTTER

SCORE: 100/100

A fusion of Neue Deutsche Härte and gothic metal, 'Mutter' is one of the most sought after and acclaimed Rammstein projects, marking a significant jump into intensely identifiable artistry that would help to bring their career up even further than where 'Sehnsucht' left off.

This is an album where I had heard almost every song of off it prior to reviewing it, with many of the songs that make up the 11-track runtime of the album being some of my favorite songs of all time. Obvious highlights of the album like 'Sonne' and 'Feuer frei!' are hugely well known and acclaimed, but the lesser talked about tracks on the album allow for the band to shine on all fronts to a very high degree. 

It's an album that manages to be so incredibly consistent and mind-blowing that it is almost an intimidating topic to tackle - it's impossible to truly describe the art-filled aggression found throughout 'Mutter' in its entirety, and it's an album that you must hear from front to back to take in appropriately. 

The album was recorded throughout the spring and summer seasons of 2000 before being released in 2001, with 'Sonne' prefacing the album's release as the lead single and most popular song from the album - a track that would go on to become one of the band's best and most popular songs throughout their career. The album as a whole is one of the most important cornerstones in the band's career, and the resulting project is one that will never grow stale. This project works as the all-containing Rammstein album, as it contains everything that had made their first two albums so iconic while creating something new and diverse, reigning in new intensities, a harsher lyrical scale, and signature pieces of the band into something entirely iconic and immediately recognizable. 

Even non-metal fans are sure to adore this album, as it contains so many different elements that span all genres. It's symphonic with orchestra and opera-esque leads ending the harrowing 'Sonne', and the aggression through various heavy and high-energy songs are something that could introduce newcomers to metal incredibly well. Lyrically, the album is highly experimental and contains various different themes that are dark and conceptual in nature, with this album being one of the band's most lyrically complex bodies of work as well as one of their most sonically intense and complex.

Every song on the album is sure to please, and it uses a wide range of sounds to make every single song on the album just as memorable as the last. Rarely will you find an album where every song will sick with you, but this is one of those albums. It's a project that you simply cannot miss out on - and it's one that every music lover should have on their to-do list if they haven't heard it already.

'Mutter' is widely considered to be Rammstein's best project, with a sound that reigns in their previous two albums to create something even more polished and larger than life. With more melodic and ethereal soundscapes that blend gothic and industrial sounds to create something unique and ripely full of life - 'Mutter' is one of Rammstein's most definitive projects without a doubt, and it manages to sound completely new and ahead of its time almost 25 years after its original release.