Album Review: Rammstein – “Zeit” (Industrial/Metal)

Written by Barlovv

Being but a plebian monolinguist, and in English (the worst language), I have to take a lot of what Rammstein is about on faith and assume that Zeist is not a radical break from departure for this German mainstay into some kind of weird alt right mindset. Though extremely unlikely to impossible, there is a certain disconnect that occurs when you’re listening to music that you don’t understand lyrically, and let’s be honest for a moment, translating from any language into English leaves a lot to be desired as, as was mentioned earlier, English is the worst language.

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It’s clear that the band is grossly misunderstood over here in North America, as even figures like absolute-shithead Alex Jones claim that it’s relevant to them – despite Rammstein’s well documented anti-Fascist, leftist beliefs and values.

Of course, with all of that said, it is with confidence that I say: Rammstein’s Zeit absolutely slaps and proves definitively that, even at nearly 60 years old, this band is not interested in slowing down. While the music may have become a bit more melodic than heavy in recent years, the sheer scope of what they’re making has only increased. Every song could be the triumphant opening to a film, and it doesn’t bring you back down until the end. I found it insufficient to listen to it through earbuds and got significantly more out of the album blasting in my car, as was intended. It’s an album that should be played in an enormous cathedral made of bones or something, and I loved every minute of it.

Something I realize every time that I listen to Rammstein is that they’re never quite as heavy as I’m expecting, even songs that I’ve heard before – if I go back and listen, in my head they are ferocious screaming metal, but there is always a level of softness and gothic beauty that I had forgotten about. They’re a strange band and have been strange since the 90s, who else can say they’ve had that kind of staying power?

The Bottom Line:

Zeit is fucking great. You should listen to it, and do so as loudly as possible.