It’s nice & springy as May comes around. No more cold, no more bleak sky. It’s all sunshine & warmth, not to mention flowers and other nice things from this season. Normally I would dedicate this month to album & game anniversaries I missed, but to be honest I found it annoying in hindsight (Despite some of the work being rather easy). From now on, May is dedicated to taking it easy before the annual summer festival. This doesn’t mean I won’t be putting out anything however. Today’s review is especially important, as it marked what almost seemed like a legend’s final release, and given that their long awaited 7th studio album comes out in just 16 days, it seemed only right to give number 6 a look at. So get out your beer steins, find a nice view of the Danube, and enjoy my review of Rammstein’s 2009 smash success, Liebe ist für alle da. Let’s begin!
Background
The 2000s will always be the heyday of Rammstein. Mutter, Reise Reise, and Rosenrot will always be classics in my opinion, not to mention classics in the minds of other fans. However, last decade was also a chaotic time for the band, as flare-ups between the band members gave the impression that they would breakup at any moment (Hence the 3-year break between Mutter & Reise Reise to cool down). As the decade went on they continued to butt heads, but even among this they still managed to put their noses to the grindstone in the recording studio for 2 years, and on October the 16th in 2009, Liebe ist für alle da was released.
Liebe ist für alle da managed to gain some pretty impressive accolades last decade. In Finland, it actually managed to be certified platinum before its release, while in France it debuted at no. 3 on their charts, making it Rammstein’s most successful band in that country. In the United States, it reached number 13 on the Billboard 200 (Becoming the highest ranked album of the band’s career in the U.S.), although it would fall off the charts after just 4 weeks. In their home country of Germany, Liebe ist für alle da would make it to number 1 after dethroning R&B-singer Xavier Naidoo's new album "Alles kann besser werden", and it would remain high on the charts, until......
Yeah, it’s time to talk about the controversy. As stated by Wikipedia:
“The album was added to the index of the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien (Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons) in Germany, due to the track "Ich tu dir weh" and a picture inside the album booklet displaying Richard Kruspe spanking a nude woman. This means only adults can purchase the album; additionally, it must not be displayed in stores where minors have access (see BPjM for details). As a consequence, the album was re-released in Germany on 16 November in an edited version without the censored track and picture. The band still played the instrumental version song live in Germany until it was ultimately banned from live performances.
Despite the censorship, the video to "Ich tu dir weh" was released on 21 December 2009, on adult website Visit-X, just like the video to "Pussy", after advertisement on the band's official German website. Any references have since been deleted, presumably following German law prohibiting advertisement for media on the index. In Europe, a single was released on 5 February 2010, and in the UK on 15 February 2010.
As of 31 May 2010, the administrative court in Cologne has decided to waive the suspensive effect of censorship (case 22 L 1899/09). The German department deleted the record from the censorship lists on 1 June (Decision No. A 117/10). On 9 June the band announced on their official website that the original version of the album was already available at their shop and that a release of the single "Ich tu dir weh" in Germany was planned in a short period of time.”
Yeah, this was just another example of a country overacting because of their dark past, but as with all forms of censorship & quasi censorship, it only made the music more popular & successful. Far in away their best album of the 2000s, and more than worthy of being a good closer for that decade.
Basic Description
Clean, brutal, and emotional.
I’ll get to the clean part a little later, so for now I’m concentrating on the brutal & emotional parts. Liebe ist für alle da almost comes across as very Devin Townsend-esque with it’s range of emotions, just wearing an Industrial Metal suit. You got the typical German aggression Rammstein is known for, but they tap into nature a little bit, they have fun on some of the songs (Despite the whole album being fun), and everything comes across as the most cohesive the band has ever been in the 2000s. The guitar work is great, drums are calm one moment and thunderous another moment, Flake is a wizard on the keyboard, and Till Lindemann’s voice is top notch. Despite being a decade old this year (Turns 10 in October), it holds up incredibly well.
Best Track
There’s a wide variety of tracks for people to consume with their ears...but kind of like W.A.S.P.’s inaugural release.....I can only think of one.
Pussy (Low Quality)
Yeah yeah, I know it’s cheap to go for the dirtiest track as the best thing on the record, but can you blame me. Up until this point, it’s been a while that Rammstein gave the fans a fun dirty song (Te Quiero Puta doesn’t count!), and they delivered in spades! A great beat, wonderful instrumentation, Till’s gutteral vocal work, and coupled with the incredibly filthy music video, Pussy won’t leave your brain.
If you have the 2-CD edition of the album, might I suggest Donaukinder, or Children of the Danube as it’s translated. Whereas Pussy was energetic, this one is somber, serious, and slower paced. Rammstein actually taps into a real-world tragedy for this tune: On the 30th of January in 2000, heavy rainfall had caused a dam to breach, which in turn caused 100.000 m³ of water to flood a goldmine. Said flood caused 100 tons of heavy metals and sodium cyanide to be brought into the Danube river. Said poisons caused havoc in several countries along the iconic river, drinking water became tainted, and people fled to avoid the poison, which caused all life around the river to die. Though many children had died from this tragedy, Donaukinder is actually about the fish & wildlife within and around the Danube, what with the many play on words contained with the track. It’s a sad song, but somehow there’s a strange beauty within the music. Almost as if some part of the mighty river was calling out to anyone who would listen, and possibly remember this tragic tale.
Donaukinder
Worst Track
I confess when I said back in 2015 that this album sounded a little too clean.......I was pulling straws. Every song on Liebe ist für alle da is good. Damn good, in fact! Even the bonus tracks, despite the last 2 sounding similar to stuff off of the main album, is still wonderful. That being said, if you liked the rough & tumble nature of their previous work, you won’t like this one. Liebe ist für alle da sounds considerably more modern in terms of production, and while that does make the music sound cleaner, something about the feel of Mutter, Reise Reise, and Rosenrot just tickles the nostalgia. In hindsight......I don’t have that much of a problem with it now.
Other
This is the second example of an album I’ve reviewed that I can’t find a good link on Youtube. Their music has always been a bit susceptible to copyright issues, and while I can easily find individual songs, a full album is almost impossible. What else can I say, but go out a give this a purchase.
Overall Impression & Rating
Liebe ist für alle da was a hell of an album to close the 2000s with. Great songs, great production, and overall a great time! It might be too clean for some in terms of the sound, but even those people can’t deny how kickass the whole record is. Quite possibly Rammstein’s crowning achievement.....or is it?
Liebe ist für alle da gets a 10 out of 10. It deserves that rating!
So that was Liebe ist für alle da. Like I said above, their newest album is coming in 15 days, so it needed to be examined. Next week we have another HMO Classic....and it comes from the early days of 2013. See you soon!
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