''Praise the NDH Lord'': A review of Lindemann's ''Skills in Pills''

Lindemann is a collaboration between Till Lindemann, the singer and songwriter of legendary German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein and Peter Tägtgren of Swedish industrial metal band PAIN. Their first output "Skills in Pills" sounds exactly like a fusion of these bands and convinces with powerful riffs, danceable electronica and provocative lyrics delivered in catchy choruses. The controversial first single "Praise Abort" is a perfect example for the sound of this band. Cold riffs meet addicting electronica and vivid drums while the expressive vocals are performed with a mixture of disgust, drama and irony. The song talks about an irresponsible family father who has six kids but no empathy, motivation and wealth to take care of them and who looks on his shattered life as his egoistic mistakes from the past are haunting him. While simplistic minds will only focus on the disturbing video clip, the sexually explicit lyrics and the unforgettable chorus, smarter auditions will come to realize that this song actually criticizes patchwork familles, self-consumed perverts and thoughtless rakes. In addition to this, the track mocks religious extasy and fanatic preachers and their ''Praise the Lord!'' mantras and replaces this by the amusing yet offending exclamation ''Praise Abort!''.

Obviously, other tracks focus on our perverted society with a lot of black humor and explicit descriptions without including a deeper social criticism like the hysterical "Golden Shower", the heavy stomper "Fat" or the almost childishly joyous "Ladyboy". Apart from these explicit contents, the band also mocks certain stereotypes and smashes the image of a tough, masculine and admirable hero in "Cowboy" or criticizes the cheap and massive use of senseless medication promoted by tthe greedy pharmaceutical industry which causes further addictions instead of solving any problems.

While all these trademark lyrics are really interesting, it's also a relief to hear some tracks that don't include any raunchy humor or bitter social criticism. A prime example for these more dissociated lyrics is the epic gold rush anthem "Yukon" which is the most powerful song on the entire record in my humble opinion. The song includes majestic orchestral arrangements, a most diversified and emotional vocal performance and an epic chorus that won't leave anybody untouched. Another gem of this kind is the bonus track and ballad "That's My Heart" that closes a mostly wird record on a thoughtful, intellectuel and calm note.

In the end, fans of Rammstein and similar acts might have found their album of the year with this diversified, energizing and provocative record that is pretty much on the same high quality level as Emigrate's "Silent So Long". Now, if you are a divorced family father with perverted thoughts that wants to escape his sad everyday life and who is desperately taking pills to keep his former performances intact, this might even be the album of your life because it tells you all the bitter fact of your shameful life that you aren't brave enough to admit.

Final verdict: 8,5/10

Please support the band and check out the following links:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Lindemann

Homepage: http://www.skillsinpills.com/main.html

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbQporZxQlCjFDcxrWUX7BA/