Maps of Music

Herzeleid (1995)

Where the lyrics of Herzeleid take you, and where it was really made.

It took the band seven days just to finish the first song, because the members kept rejecting the input from the producer and engineer.

Key places

Where the album was recorded (1995)

Recording site Polar Studios — The album was recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm, along with producer Jacob Hellner's own studio, BomKrash. The band worked through a Dutch engineer because they had no shared language with the producer. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Herzeleid: debut studio album by the German band Rammstein
• Released 25 September 1995 via Motor Music
• Title translates as 'heartbreak'
• Band belongs to the Neue Deutsche Härte scene

Background

• After signing with Motor Music, the band was told to find a producer, a role unfamiliar to them since it was unusual in East Germany
• They first suggested Bob Rock and Rick Rubin; the label asked them to be less ambitious
• The role went to Jacob Hellner, known for his work with Clawfinger
• Hellner later worked with the band for 14 years and produced five more albums, up to 2009's Liebe ist für alle da
• The album reflects personal problems the members were going through, particularly Kruspe and vocalist Till Lindemann, who were breaking up with their girlfriends

Recording

• Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, at Polar Studios and Hellner's own studio, BomKrash
• The band and producer had no shared language, so Dutch engineer Ronald Prent acted as middleman
• Seven days were needed to finish the first song, because of the band's constant disapproval of the producer's and Prent's inputs
• In a 2019 interview, Prent described outdoor 'German Conference' meetings held whenever a decision had to be made, lasting from ten minutes to two hours
• The first song written for the album was 'Rammstein', also the first song the band ever wrote
• Songs cut from the album include 'Jeder lacht' and 'Schwarzes Glas'

Cover

• The original cover showed the band topless and sweaty, and the press called the image controversial
• Lindemann said it was a quick shot in a parking lot somewhere in Berlin
• North American versions used a different cover made of the band members' faces from inside the original booklet, placed side by side

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994.
• Before forming, some members were associated with the punk acts Feeling B and First Arsch.
• The band won a Berlin amateur contest in 1994 with a 4-track demo, which earned them a week in a professional studio.
• The band was first called Tempelprayers; the name Rammstein came from an early song about the 1988 Ramstein air show disaster.
• The band was signed by Motor Music and recorded its debut album Herzeleid in 1995 with producer Jacob Hellner.

Members

• Lineup: Till Lindemann (vocals), Richard Kruspe (lead guitar), Paul Landers (rhythm guitar), Oliver Riedel (bass), Christoph Schneider (drums), Christian "Flake" Lorenz (keyboards).
• The lineup has remained unchanged throughout the band's history.
• Lindemann writes and sings the lyrics over instrumental pieces the rest of the band completes beforehand.

Career

• Sehnsucht (1997) debuted at No. 1 in Germany and led to a worldwide tour lasting nearly four years.
• After signing with Universal Music, the band released Mutter (2001) and Reise, Reise (2004).
• Liebe ist für alle da (2009) was placed on the German Federal Review Board's index over the song "Ich tu dir weh".
• The untitled seventh album (2019) reached No. 1 in 14 countries; the eighth album Zeit was released in April 2022.
• The band is considered the most successful German-language band of all time.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

Reappraisal

• Rock Hard ranked the album number 303 in its book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time, published in 2005
• Guitarist Richard Kruspe said in 2016 that it was not among his favorite albums
• He said he no longer listens back to the record and does not think it is one of the band's best albums, not even close
• He called it a very painful time for all members, who were dealing with personal problems while trying to get the music out
• He also said the personal crises that led him to start Rammstein taught him lessons, and that there were good reasons to be grateful to the album

Records

• Sales of the next album Sehnsucht helped lift figures for Herzeleid, according to keyboardist Christian Lorenz
• The debut went gold five years after the second album did
• Released on CD in many countries; US and Canadian versions had alternative front covers via Slash Records but kept the same songs as the German version
• XIII Bis Records released it on CD in France
• A remastered version was released on 4 December 2020

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Some CD copies had 'Schulhof' and 'töten' beeped out in the song 'Weisses Fleisch', while other copies removed the words from the booklet only
• South Korean CDs left 'Das alte Leid' off the tracklist and booklet, though the track is still on the disc
• The first time the album was released on vinyl was on the XXI boxset
• Some German CDs included stickers promoting a concert on 27 September 1996, slotted into the back of the case
• Rammstein's first commercial logo was made for Herzeleid by Dirk Rudolph, and it uses a thinner 'T' than later logos

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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