Debuting Through the Rough: Herzeleid

SCORE: 95/100

Rammstein's debut album packs a heavy punch, thus starting the steady conception process of Neue Deutsche Härte - something no other band would ever be able to pull off; even over three decades later. Although 'Herzeleid' doesn't have the overall polish that they would soon find for their secondcoming, this album is a solidification of their sound from a very early point into their careers - and this album has much more grit than what you get with some of their other work. 

This album came with a lot of issues for the band due to the language barriers and change in customs across countries where the group had to work - with the recording of this album taking place in Stockholm, Sweden. Issues arose due to the band not sharing a language that they could speak with the producer, making it increasingly difficult for them to get their ideas across. The confusion of finding a producer due to this not being a common custom in East Germany made the process that much more perplexing for the members of the band, but they eventually settled with Jacob Hellner for the producorial work of this album. The band originally wanted to work with either Bob Rock or Rick Rubin, but they were told to go for something less ambitious by Motor Records, and although they did listen, the overall sound of this project didn't become any less ambitious.

The recruitment of Ronald Prent made it so that the band could have a sort of "middleman" to express the band's ideas to Hellner, eventually leading to this album having the sound that the band desired. Frustrations had arisen especially in the early stages of work on this album due to the band being dissatisfied with how Hellner was making them sound - but Prent made it so that Hellner could know what the band's wishes were without having to worry about a massive barrier in language and a general inability to communicate almost at all. 

Rammstein's heavy, kick-fueled German sound is something you simply will not find from any other band. Their work is deeply ambitious and full of delightful variety throughout each and every project, with this album having a very sharp and heavy edge that keeps it high-energy and highly entertaining throughout it's runtime. The band makes themselves known and makes a name for themselves throughout this entire project, introducing themselves and creating something that made for a lasting, everchanging yet constant image for the band and its members.

The first track created for the album took the band an entire week to create due to their constant disapproval of the way Hellner was making them sound with his production - leading to the members holding what they referred to as "German meetings" outside where they would come to agreements on their sound. These meetings would last anywhere between ten minutes to as long as two hours, and the outcome led to an album that became incredibly fine-tuned to what the band wanted for their sound and image. Despite the hiccups and grievances held by the band in regards to Hellner, he would go on to serve as their producer until 'Liebe ist für alle da' was released in 2009.

'Herzeleid' mixes fast paced industrial metal with something more fueled by dance and elements involving synthesizers and different forms of musical experimentation that make this album feel fresh decades later. The sound held by this album is something you could truly dance or mosh to - and there's this steady in-between that only Rammstein could make sound this effortless. They make it sound like it came easy to them; and it's more than likely because it did, even despite the hiccups they went through to create this album. Their refusal to appeal to Western audiences by speaking their native tongue always is something you won't find from other foreign mainstream bands, and it's one of the things that make them so truthfully great. 

There are some slower moments on this album ('Seemann' being particularly slow in tone) that shift the tone and keep you guessing for what is next to come within the album. The softer sounds are still blended with heavy, distorted guitarwork that keep the band's sound true to themselves while helping to pave the way for songs that would appear on their projects that came after this one - it's a striking start to an incredible discography, and this album truly shows that they knew where and what they wanted to be from the moment they launched into the industrial scene. 

Fan's of the band are sure to love this album - although it isn't quite as polished as 'Sehnsucht' came to be, it's a phenominal start that completely paves the way for the band's other material. It has a lot more rugged grit to it than some of their other work due to it being much less polished in an overall sense, but the outcome is a heavy, raging album that thrives through originality and harsh versatility that make this a project that is impossible to ignore.