Well, we've reached the impossible. Reise, Reise is easily one of my all-time favorite records, with absolute bangers from top to bottom. When examining the tracklist before writing this, I found myself at odds within on how to properly rank these songs. It's not that each of these songs are my favorite, but as a whole the album is just titanic.
Reise, Reise was released in 2004, and just like the three albums prior, it exploded onto charts all over Europe and in the United States. The band actually had produced so many songs for this record that they were able to pick and choose what fit the "theme" of the record (specifically, the plane crash whose flight recorder is featured on the album cover) and push the rest to their next album, Rosenrot. To me, it gave the band the unique opportunity to be even more particular in what they wanted, and make the best possible record they could have.
Mission accomplished.
Rammstein - Reise, Reise
11. Moskau
Moskau is a decent song musically, but it kind of plods on and lyrically does nothing for me. I do enjoy the dual vocals and the Russian singing, and among the 11th ranked songs this is easily the best one. But, something had to be ranked at each position, 1 to 11.
10. Keine Lust
Keine Lust (No Desire/Don't feel like it) is one of the heaviest songs in the history of the band, especially up to this point. The music video is one of the most popular ones that the band has ever released, and Flake Lorenz' keyboard solo is perfectly placed and one of my favorites from him. The song has just never ever latched onto my eardrums as something to enjoy. I dunno. I hate to beat a dead horse, but something had to come at 10. It's not a bad song by any means.
9. Amerika
Younger me really thought Amerika was the jam. Coca-Cola, Wonderbra! English lyrics! Ripping bridge! Hilarious video! Anti-American capitalism sentiment! I dunno, musically is still resonates with the me who first found the band, but in hindsight it feels exceptionally gimmicky. I still bang my head pretty hard when singer Till Lindemann says "This is not a love song, I don't sing my mothers tongue", followed by another sparkling keyboard solo. It just doesn't hold up to the rest of the record.
8. Los
If there's one song that inevitably gets stuck in my head every time I listen to it, Los (-less) is that song. Great guitars, brilliant lyrics, catchy drums. It's one of those songs where each preceding line hits harder than the one before. Just brilliance from a song that, from the outside, is just an acoustic guitar and a basic drum. Surprise!
7. Ohne dich
Here comes Rammstein with their beautiful, string-driven songs again. It worked for Mein Herz brennt on Mutter, so the band decided to expand upon that with the ballad-esque Ohne dich (Without you). The chorus line of "Ohne dich kann ich nicht sein" hammers my heart into a thousand pieces any time I hear it. We've all been through loss and heartache, and this song brilliantly captures the pain and longing of lost love.
6. Amour
The comparison of Amour (Love) being a wild animal that cannot be tamed hearkens back to several R+ songs from their band, but is most beautifully captured on this record. For a song that starts slow and solemn, the 2nd chorus build-up absolutely blasts this one into space. Haunting keys, a crushing outro, and Till's signature bellow bringing everything together on what is still just the 6th best song on this record. What? Madness.
5. Reise, Reise
The title track, which translates specifically in this song to Arise, Arise, is a call upon seaman to wake. More specifically on this track, it is time to rise and overthrow the captain! Ahoi! I love that so many German musical artists and bands use sea metaphors and topics to make their music. This song has pulsing keys that perfectly complement Richard Kruspe and Paul Landers' guitars throughout. On any other record this could easily be the best or second best song.
4. Stein um Stein
Even though most of the songs on this record are about some form of death and dying, none of them seem to be quite as dark as Stein um Stein (Stone by Stone). The early buildup, the anguished "STEIN" scream, and the vocal delivery throughout this one is some of Till's finest. My friend Frankie, who sings for local R+ tribute act FleischgewehR, once told me that this was one of his absolute favorites to sing, and I can see why. Pure brutality - singing about capturing and keeping a love interest trapped with you, even burying her alive so she cannot escape. Pure Rammstein, absolute brilliance.
3. Morgenstern
When I first listened to this record, it was Morgenstern (Morning star) that immediately jumped out to me as a favorite. Perhaps it was my own struggles with self confidence, perhaps it was Christoph Schneider's snare, who knows. This is another that just burrows into my brain and stays for days after I hear it. It's another one that is hard to describe, but I certainly love it dearly. It always leaves me wanting more, from the opening choral parts to the last words delivered.
2. Dalai Lama
I'm not even going to tell you how many times I've quoted the chorus line of "Weiter, weiter ins Verderben - Wir müssen leben bis wir sterben". I just remember being at work and having the guitar riff stuck in my head for days at a time, singing the chorus over and over again. It may not be one of their most popular tracks, but on any given day Dalai Lama might be my favorite song on the record. It is dark, dramatic, and also cinematic; you can almost see the story in your mind as they sing. While the song is specifically about the plane accident that the album is based on, the title reflects the current Tibetan Buddhist leader and his fear of flying.
1. Mein Teil
Hey, look, you had to know this was gonna be the top song, right? Arguably the most messed up of all Rammstein stories, if you haven't read up on Armin Meiwes (and you have a strong stomach), by all means hit up the googles on that one. Like Mein Herz brennt before it, this song perfectly weaves synthesizers and keyboards with a rumbling bassline and crunching guitars. Till often dresses up in a bloody butchers uniform and "cooks" Flake during live performances of Mein Teil (My Part). It's gruesome and grotesque, and the type of song that only Rammstein could pull off. So of course it's my favorite on this record and perhaps of their entire catalogue, given the day and mood. I don't think I scream louder than on this song when FleischgewehR performs it here live.
I genuinely cannot believe I was able to break this one down. It took several days of listening and debating the merits of each song before I could give a concrete ranking for it. I do believe Rosenrot will be much easier. At least I hope so... haha. Hope you enjoyed it. Weiter, weiter!
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