Herzeleid

Untitled

Herzeleid (German for "Heartache") is the German NDH-metal band Rammstein's first musical album. It was released on 29 September1995.

Most of the band members were having relationship problems while making the album, hence the name "Herzeleid".

Track listing

1. "Wollt ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen?" ("Do you (all) want to see the bed in flames?") – 5:17
2. "Der Meister" ("The master") – 4:08
3. "Weißes Fleisch" ("White flesh") – 3:36
4. "Asche zu Asche" ("Ashes to ashes") – 3:51
5. "Seemann" ("Seaman, or: Sailor") – 4:48
6. "Du riechst so gut" ("You smell so good") – 4:49
7. "Das alte Leid" ("The old sorrow") – 5:44
8. "Heirate mich" ("Marry me") – 4:44
9. "Herzeleid" ("Heartache") – 3:41
10. "Laichzeit" ("Spawning-time") – 4:20
11. "Rammstein" – 4:25

Song Information

Wollt ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen? (Do you (all) want to see the bed in flames?)

During a live concert (example: Live aus Berlin) Till Lindemann would often have flamethrowers attached to his fingers, and would stand in an upright position with his hands behind his back to hide them. When they started singing "Sex ist eine Schlacht, Liebe ist Krieg" (Sex is a battle, Love is war) the flamethrowers would be activated, and he would swing his hands in a circular motion, spraying flames and sparks all around him.

The song was used as the theme music for the nearly identical Space Ghost Coast to Coast episodes "Brilliant Number One" and "Brilliant Number Two". This song also features samples used on the Doom PC game, the marine death scream after each verse and the shotgun cocking during the "Sex ist eine Schlacht, Liebe ist Krieg" chorus. It was also used to replace the normal theme song of the popular Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series, in episode 18 of the aforementioned series.

In keeping with the "Soft riff - soft lyrics, hard riff - hard lyrics" - philosophy of Rammstein, this song can be interpreted in many ways. Behind the metaphors this song seems to be a dark toned humoristic portrayal of the powerstruggle in a relationship.

Der Meister (The master)

"Der Meister" is about religious fanaticism, and the use of fear in religious retorics. Hence, the master is the god of the fanatics, ushering them to preach about the forthcoming doom. Since no explicit Master is mentioned, this song may refer to fanaticism of all kinds.

Weißes Fleisch (White flesh)

"Weißes Fleisch" (pronounced [ˈvaisəs flaiʃ]) is about assault and rape. Till Lindemann once said in an interview that he received a letter from a girl who was raped, thanking him for making the song.

"She wrote that she could identify with the song "Weißes Fleisch" - that was also in The Index for a short while. I spoke about rape while she couldn't. She had grown up with the idea that she had to keep that period from her youth a secret, and couldn't tell anyone. Through my song, she understood she could talk about it. She was so grateful I had written that song... I still don't understand what people get so excited about."

The song also was credited by American journalists as one of the influences behind the Columbine High School massacre due to the opening words of the song ("Du, auf dem Schulhof – ich, zum Töten bereit", "You, in the schoolyard – I, ready to kill") and the fact that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were professed Rammstein fans. In response, the band issued this statement:

"The members of Rammstein express their condolences and sympathy to all affected by the recent tragic events in Denver. They wish to make it clear that they have no lyrical content or political beliefs that could have possibly influenced such behavior. Additionally, members of Rammstein have children of their own, in whom they continually strive to instill healthy and non-violent values."

Rammstein's keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz is known for the unusual dance he would do when Weißes Fleisch was performed live. Also, there are unofficial recorded lives of this song, where it is extended with instrumentals and it lasts almost 9 minutes. It was played like this only at the beginning of 1996.

Asche zu Asche (Ashes to ashes)

"Asche zu Asche" is usually interpreted as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, despite the lines "Ich komm wieder/in zehn Tagen", which means 'I will return/in ten days.' During live performances, the microphones would catch fire when they began to sing the chorus, just as the cover of the single depicts. This song can also be interpreted, as our sins coming back to haunt us, even though we have done our best to rid ourselves of guilt, by condemning others for our own faults and shortcomings, hence the Jesus - reference.

Seemann (Sailor, literally Seaman)

"Seemann" is noted to be one of the few slow paced songs by the band. During the live performance, Flake Lorenz used to "surf the crowd" in a boat. However, after being injured several times and almost completely stripped at one concert, the band's bassist Oliver "Ollie" Riedel took his place. It is one of the few songs by the band performed in a major key.

Seeman is about a lonely seaman offering to be the captain for the girl he is singing to, hence applying maritime metaphors to the sense of drifting aimlessly around lovewise. The captain offers his guidance, but in the end is lonely.

Du riechst so gut (You smell so good)

Also see: Du riechst so gut '98.

"Du riechst so gut" can be interpreted in several ways. One, it describes a predator hunting its prey, through smell, and finally catching up with it. The more sophisticated interpretation, supported by Rammstein's own words in the Live aus Berlin DVD interview, is that this song is about the traditional courting between males and females. As with beasts, it is like this in the human world too. The hunt for a mating partner. The most recent music video shows the band members with pale white skin and cloths and glowing red eyes hunting a women in a red dress. As with other Rammstein lyrics this text is quite gloomy and dark, and could also be interpreted in a way that this hunt is not a willfull one, in the eyes of the "hunted". The text also paints a picture of a somewhat deranged hunter, being obsessed with the hunt, and the smell of the prey. As well as this the word "riechst" is not the proper German for the English "smell". The closest translation of the word appears in Scots as Reek (or reech, pronounced in the same way "loch" is), which means to smell very bad. This adds another layer of meaning to the predator/prey metaphor.

Das alte Leid (The old sorrow)

"Das alte Leid" is about the old sorrow of unfulfilled sexual desires, as explained in the line, "Ich will ficken" ("I want to fuck"). At live performances during this line, Till would emerge with a large firecracker protruding from his pants, which would explode emitting sparks.

Heirate mich (Marry me)

"Heirate mich", is about love for the dead, representing a deep longing for lovers past. As many of the other songs, this song also has a less controversial interpretation, being the refusal of letting go of the past, clinging to the memories. The rooster representing a future without the beloved spouse, gets its head hacked of, by the tragic figure of this song. In the lyrical booklet for Herzeleid, the lyrics are printed in French, because according to the band, no one would be disturbed if it were in French. It is considered to be one of Rammstein's more controversial songs, and was inspired by the death of Till's father.

The song is considered to be very impressive when played live. During certain performances, a collection of sex dolls could be seen on-stage. After the introduction, the dolls' heads would explode. During a performance at Bizarre Festival in 1997, Flake was replaced with a mannequin that's head was knocked off by Till - emitting sparks.

The song has appeared on the soundtrack for David Lynch's Lost Highway and in the theatrical trailer for American Psycho.

Herzeleid (Heartache)

The song "Herzeleid" originated when Till found a board in the loft, on which the phrase "Wahred einander vor Zweisamkeit, denn kurz ist die Zeit die ihr zusammen seid" was written. You normally hang such boards on the kitchen wall, but Till altered the phrase a bit, and so the song "Herzeleid" was formed.[1]

The song is about how painful a breakup is, and no matter how long one has been together, it will all seem like minutes, when it's all over. Lets protect each other from togetherness (Bewahret einander vor der Zweisamkeit). Zweisamkeit is a play of words on the German word einsamkeit which means loneliness. Zweisamkeit would then mean a loneliness within a relationship, being painful and something to avoid.

Laichzeit (Spawning-time)

"Laichzeit" has very accented synthesized sounds. It makes references to a fishes spawning-time, apparent in the title and many of the lyrics. Laichzeit makes many references to incest and bestiality throughout the song. The bestiality can also be understood as a humoristic comment on frivolous and promiscuous peoples tendencies to resort to games (ex. doggystyle).

One lyric for example: Er liebt die Schwester und von hinten der Fisch frißt sich zum Mund, die Kiemen blutig noch vom Saugen an den roten großen Augen / He loves his sister and from behind the fish devours itself to its mouth, the gills still bloody from sucking on the big red eyes, can be interpreted very darkly.

Another example: Er liebt den Hund. Oh Gott von oben, der Fisch jetzt mit der Zunge küsst, Speit tote Milch dir ins Gesicht. Ihn anzufassen wagst du nicht / He loves the dog, oh god from above, the fish now kisses with his tongue. It spits dead milk in your face, you don't dare to touch him, is very obviously referring to sex with a dog.

In their performance in Live aus Berlin they had a large glitter cannon that shot metallic confetti and smoke 50 feet into the crowd [2] and a very long guitar riff in which Paul and Richard slowly back up towards each other while playing slower and slower.

In their 1997 performance at Bizarre Festival in Cologne, Germany, Till had a bow fitted with sparklers that shot out as soon as the guitarists began playing, nearly the exact same bow used live during Du riechst so gut.

Rammstein

File:Tillonfire.jpg

Till Lindemann on fire during performance of "Rammstein" at the Live aus Berlin concert.

The song is titled Rammstein, with two "m's", after the band, but it refers to the Ramstein airshow disaster of 1988. The video of the song consists of a collage of a live performance of the song combined with clips from the video Lost Highway (1997).

In the Live aus Berlin performance of "Rammstein", singer Till Lindemann ascends from underneath the stage, via a trap door. He wears a burning coat, and special goggles from which a laser beam is projected, from one of the lenses.

While performing the song in the 2004-05 "Ahoi" tour, the jacket was replaced with dual arm mounted flame-throwers (although the jacket was worn once during a performance in Japan).

Midway through the performance at the Bizarre Festival 1997, Rammstein cut to the Eskimos and Egypt remix, or their version of it, at least, from the Engel, Fan-Edition single.

Rammstein also appeared at the beginning of the trailer for "Jason X"

Singles

1. "Du riechst so gut" (1995)
2. "Seemann" (1996)
3. "Du riechst so gut '98" (1998)
4. "Asche zu Asche" (2001) Only released in Australia.

Trivia

File:Herzeleid.jpg

Original cover of Herzeleid.

The album's original cover (see right) depicted the bandmembers' upper bodies without clothing. This caused critics to accuse the band of trying to sell themselves as "poster boys for the Master Race" [3]. It is unknown if they changed the artwork to the new cover because of these rumors, or if they just preferred the new one over the old one.