Top Ten - Rammstein!!

I first got into Rammstein back in 2001. I was a young teen, riding along the bus (better known as the Wacky Shack) in the Gaeltacht when a young David McGuiness was listening to Rammstein's Mutter on his cd player. Yes, I actually did say CD player, it's THAT long ago! An even younger Brendan Kelly expressed his knowledge on the band and how good they were and my accomplice Daithi O'Cinneide also knew of them. Needless to say I had to have a listen and I instantly fell in love. Well not literally, but you know, in a way a man can love his car or his farts or his johnson. So anyway, my first taste of Rammstein was their 3rd studio album Mutter which was FANTASTIC, and still is in my opinion. I of course had no idea that they had two previous albums Herzeleid and Sehnsucht. This fact only came to my knowledge through a DVD. In 2004 I duely purchased the brilliant Reise,Reise and most recently (2006 recently) bought Rosenrot. While I personally feel that Rosenrot was slightly weaker than its immediate two predecessors, it does have one or two nice songs. At present, Rammstein are currently working on their next album set for release this year under the working title Punk. I only invested in their first two albums last year and I love them as much as the others. In fact, I think Sehnsucht is slowly coming into second place behind Mutter. I would also highly recommend getting their two live albums, Live Aus Berlin and Volkerball, both equally good and express excellently Rammstein's incredible raw power and flare when performing live.

Anyway, so back to the purpose of this blog. Firstly, I haven't done a Top Ten in AGES! Secondly, I wanted to share Rammstein with everyone. It is an acquired taste, much like Guinness, so it doesn't appeal to everyone, but I can safely say I know more people who like them than dislike them, and in actual fact I've been surprised countless times by the amount of people that actually know of them.

So here goes MY Top Ten, not everyone will agree but there ya go! The song title in Italics is its English translation. Where possible I've tried to get the original music video for the songs, not all have them and not all are available.

10. Mann Gegen Mann - Man Against Man (from Rosenrot)
*PARENTAL SUPERVISION REQUIRED!*


9. Du Riecht So Gut - You Smell So Nice (from Herzeleid)


8. Feuer Frei! - Fire at Will! (from Mutter)


7. Wollt ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen? - Do You Want to See the Bed in Flames? (from Herzeleid)


6. Du Hast - You Hate (from Sehnsucht)


5. Sehnsucht - Longing (from Sehnsucht)


4. Amerika (from Reise, Reise)


3. Ich Will - I want (from Mutter)


2. Engel - Angel (from Sehsucht)


1. Sonne - Sun (from Mutter)


Again, no brownie points for guessing what my favourite album is. Oh, and if you speak German, you might be able to see how.... *strange*....some of their lyrics are...especially Mann Gegen Mann and Du Hast... Nevertheless, I highly recommend Rammstein for everyone!

~The Damo

Völkerball

Völkerball is Rammstein's newest live album after 1998's Live Aus Berlin. By new I do of course mean that it was released this time last year, but I only saw it recently and managed to get my hands on it.



Völkerball's set list comprises of all their best hits, literally. Normally on any live album there tends to be one or two songs that don't quite make the mark, but Rammstein's unique style and furious live performance fuels their studio songs into the echelons of heavy metal heaven.


The package itself has DVD live performances and a CD with the track list below:

1. Intro
2. Reise, Reise (Arise, Arise)
3. Links 2 3 4 (Left 2, 3, 4)
4. Keine Lust (Don't Feel Like It)
5. Feuer frei! (Fire at Will! or Open Fire!)
6. Asche zu Asche (Ashes to Ashes)
7. Morgenstern (Morningstar)
8. Mein Teil (My Part)
9. Los (-Less)
10. Du Riechst so Gut (You Smell so Nice)
11. Benzin (Petrol)
12. Du Hast (You Have)
13. Sehnsucht (Longing)
14. Amerika (America)
15. Sonne (Sun)
16. Ich will (I want)

This was the first live album that I listened to right throughout without skipping a song (as I said earlier all their hits are here) and conveniently the running time is approximately the amount of time it takes me to get to UCD each morning!

Rather than waste time trying to explain why I enjoy it so much, I'll let you take a gander at the vids below!

Feuer Frei!

Amerika

Sonne


Now if only they had Mann Gegan Mann.....

~The Damo