Review: Rammstein's Smart, Lewd 'Zeit' Has Big Boobs, Cock Rock and More | Revolver

Review: Rammstein's Smart, Lewd 'Zeit' Has Big Boobs, Cock Rock and More

German band's quarantine record balances slow-burning beauty with industrial-strength power
rammstein PROMO 2022 bryan adams, Bryan Adams
photograph by Bryan Adams

Score Rammstein vinyl, including the limited-edition "Zeit" 10-inch maxi single, at Revolver's store.

With a 10-year break between Liebe ist für alle da and their 2019 untitled LP, few were expecting a Rammstein record to arrive anytime soon — especially considering the challenging COVID era we've all be living in. Yet, the quarantine seemed to have lit a creative fire in everyone's favorite flame-throwing German hard bodies, who have emerged with more bellowing passion than ever on their new and eighth LP, Zeit.

Aging rockers have a notoriously difficult time grasping relevancy as they bypass middle age, often leading to mid-to-late career stumbles that leave fans cringing. Rammstein attacked and avoided this conundrum with full force by utilizing their signature surrealist visual style on lead single "Zick Zack," a lighthearted jab at the vanity of plastic surgery in a world that often demands eternal youthful perfection.

The video's commitment to the bit is beaten only in absurdity by this standout lyrical couplet: "Belly fat in the bio bin/The penis now sees the sun again." The track bounces hard across sparse, leaden riffs and lets the catchiness of the percussive synth introduce the over-arching theme you'll find throughout Zeit: repeat listenability.

This is not to say the album is a poppy trip through recycled greatest hits, though. (It actually relies less on callbacks than even their last record's front-runner "Deutschland" did.) Zeit kicks off with a slow-burning dose of grandiosity via the opener "Armee der Tristen," shifting gears quickly with the Western-tinged romance of the title track. German for "time," the song evokes the sort of achingly nostalgic feeling that might sweep over you when pondering the passage of eras or lifetimes. Rammstein's brusque edge softens beautifully on tracks like this where Lindemann's voice is welcome to soar. His rough, low-end growl is pure ASMR here, a piano-bellied lullaby punctuated by chainsaw riffing as only Rammstein does it.

"Schwarz" is next, rolling in as a perfect partner to its predecessor and cementing the holistic and thoughtful construction of the album's order. Its stunning piano licks in the verse and bridge parts are seductively sweet, allowing for minor chords that build tension toward a victorious mid-song chorus that hints at power-ballad territory without the syrupy nausea of stadium metal's worst. 

The softness ends here though, and we get a three-track run of Neue Deutsche Härte hitters that practically write their own pyrotechnical choreography. If "OK" isn't the breakout hit of the album, I'll be shocked – it's the sort of arrogant cock rock that seemingly nobody does with any deftness these days. To add insult to injury to the young pretenders who wish they could, the swung breakdown at 3:13 hits harder than most OSDM worshippers who peaked three years ago could dream of creating, showing you only need a few good notes played cleanly and with style to dominate. 

My only axe to gently grind comes with "Angst," a track I actually love because I have already loved it a few times in Rammstein's catalog. The classic 'stein elements are all on display here: eerie string refrains haunting the background, four-on-the-floor rock licks on the kit, and a chugging tempo that begs for banging heads. But it's slightly stale amid an album of more inspiring work, however fun it may be.

And speaking of fun, next up is "Dicke Titten," literally translating to "big boobs." As an owner and appreciator of the things, I feel confident in letting them slide by on fairly basic songwriting in lieu of what sounds like a worthwhile celebration of generous knockers everywhere. 

The closer "Adieu" breathes life into the band's 11-track formula with a campy, slinking tempo that gives them the chance for a long goodbye. They punctuate the last note with an upward inflection, quite literally ending on a high note that sounds great whether you choose to loop it back for a repeat listen or simply sit and meditate on the experience of Zeit.