Rammstein - Reise, Reise (2004)

Neue Deutsche Harte legends Rammstein had already known national and then international success with its previous three studio records but only the band's fourth release Reise, Reise fully underlined the group's artistic intellectualism and offered a surprising variety of creative soundscapes.

The record starts with a hidden track including the last moments of ill-fated Japan Airlines Flight 123 as heard from the cockpit voice recorder. The cover artwork is inspired by a black box that can be recovered from a plane after a crash. Rammstein isn't going to take us on a holiday but on a serious, sinister and throught-provoking journey. 

Opening title track ''Reise, Reise'' might be the band's most epic song ever with orchestral keyboard elements and majestic choirs leading to a chorus worthy of a national anthem. It's quite a statement to start an album with so much theatric grandeur. The band builds up lots of anticipation and the record isn't going to disappoint in that regard as it pushes genre boundaries like few did before.

Things quickly turn sinister with the aggressive, bleak and offensive first single ''Mein Teil'' that was inspired by an infamous case of consensual cannibalism in Germany. Its music video was controversially discussed back in the days. I didn't like the sinister tune at first contact but ended up realizing that the terrifying music complements the abominable topic perfectly. Again, it's quite a statement to choose such a brutal track for first single.

Second single ''Amerika'' might sound catchier and even joyful and is at times misinterpreted as a tribute to the United States of America by clueless listeners. However, the song is actually quite the opposite as it criticizes the omnipresence of American culture in the Western world in sharp metaphors. Remember that this song was recorded at the time of the Iraq War as the American government tried to pressure its European allies into participating in said conflict which didn't sit very well with German citizens.

It's no coincidence that this song is followed by the gloomy industrial rock tune ''Moskau'' that is a two-edged tribute to the Russian capital. The song contrasts the city's beauty with its ugliness looming under the surface. Having visisted Russia myself, this description is perfectly accurate. Tourist attractions look sharp, clean and beautiful and leave excellent impressions. If however you go to the suburbs, you will discover shocking degrees of poverty, dirt and destruction. Rammstein doesn't spread any political message here but instead points out that nothing is perfect in our world.

The band ends the record in a surprisingly smooth way with two very different ballads. ''Ohne dich'' is a song of epic proportions with string arrangements, oboe and mandolin sounds that tells a moving story of separation that can be interpreted in different ways. The elegant music video that comes along with it might be the best the band has ever made which is quite something considering the sextet's elevated number of high-quality clips. It shows the band climbing Austria's Grossglockner when singer Till Lindemann falls and gets badly hurt. As gangrene is eating away at his injured legs, the singer desires to reach the peak of the mountain before he dies. With the help of his friends, he makes his final dream come true and peacefully passes away. This epic music video is a visually stunning and emotionally moving experience.

The other ballad and closing tune ''Amour'' is much quieter and quite introspective in a way one had never heard Rammstein before. It ends a creative, epic and intense record on an appeasing note and makes the release feel whole.

While industrial rock purists thought that Rammstein experimented too much on this output and even sold out with its few quieter tunes, Reise, Reise is actually the band's most remarkable artistic accomplishment and has shaped the more adventurous records that followed later on. This album is both a milestone in the Neue Deutsche Harte genre and a turning point for a band that was considered loud and provocative until then but intellectual and creative from then on. This release has stood the test of time and remains Rammstein's most important album to date.