Amazon.co.uk Review
Formed in Germany in 1994, this industrial rock six-piece gained notoriety when they were found to be fave raves of the Columbine High School killers.
Mutter is the studio follow-up to 1998s platinum-selling
Sehnsucht, and a very menacing beast it is too. Vocalist Till Lindermann delivers growling German lyrics over a melange of explosive guitar, pared-down bass and juddering drums. But these 11 tracks are not all nu-metal stomp rock, as every so often the aural assault is broken by quivering flights of fragile pop melody. Songs like Spieluhr and Mutter are reminiscent of early 1980s synth-pop merchants such as
OMD, proving that under the Teutonic Nine Inch Nails exterior lies a streak of lofty romance. --
Lucy O'Brien
CD Description
Where Germany's Rammstein explored a sinister, electronic-oriented sound in their previous work, MUTTER finds the doyens of doom turning more "organic", if no less ominous. In place of techno beats and synthesizers, this album offers crunching electric guitars and pounding drums, offset by operaticbacking vocals and orchestral washes. The whole affair is awash with an almost Wagnerian sense of grandeur and an undeniable darkness.
The unsettling aspects of MUTTER are underscored by Rammstein's vocals, which highlight the most guttural aspects of the German language, and the gloomy industrial-rock feel that pervades the album. It's clearly the band's intention to disturb, an agenda achieved with flying colours on this album, which looms large with barely suppressed rage and other ugly emotions rising to the sonic surface.