Is there a single other metal band on this planet who could do a music video collection justice like Rammstein? The globe-dominating, Grammy-nominated, scintillatingly controversial 12-legged German pyro machine are one of the few bands of any genre left who can still make a new video seem like a huge event.
The sentence, ‘Have you seen the new Rammstein video?’, usually followed by the words ‘It’s’, ‘fucking’ and ‘amazing’ has been a staple part of heavy metal vocabulary for the better part of two decades now. Unusually, then, this three-disc DVD/Blu-ray set, titled Rammstein: Videos 1995-2012 and featuring all 25 released videos (including two new versions of Mein Herz Brennt), is worth the money on its main content alone.
The videos are presented in chronological order of release, and while first single Du Riechst So Gut, taken from 1995 debut Herzeleid, is so 90s it’s almost chuckle-worthy, there are two early signs of standard Rammstein fare – namely a) the band like to strip off a lot and b) they’re mental. The rest of disc one’s main attraction showcases the visual evolution of a band who quickly perfected the art of making a music video every bit as important as the song itself, with the likes of Engel’s spooky, cage-dwelling kids and sharply dressed, pyro-toting protagonists; Du Hast’s controversial unfaithful spouse-slaying; and Sonne’s freaky retelling of Snow White all bona fide classics.
Disc two hits the ground running with three more efforts from Rammstein’s career-besting Mutter, including the explosive Feuer Frei, which only falls short by interrupting its awesome, flame-fuelled live footage with clips from supremely average Vin Diesel action flick xXx. The reliably controversial, cannibalistic Mein Teil is perhaps the most striking effort through the rest of this disc, which bridges 2004’s solid Reise, Reise with 2005’s so-so Rosenrot, and also features the two most hilarious Rammstein videos ever in Amerika and the fat-suit-heavy Keine Lust.
We know what you’re wondering when it comes to disc three, and no, the version of Pussy isn’t quite the full, all-cocks-blazing, raging jizz-party version, but it isn’t the fully censored version either. It matters not in the grand scheme of things though, especially when it’s flanked by choice cuts such as the beach party to end all beach parties in Mein Land and two previously unreleased versions of Mein Herz Brennt, including a freaky piano re-dub featuring Till Lindemann done up like The Crow’s meth-addicted mum.
Bonus material comes in the form of a mini ‘making-of’ featurette for every video in the set, most noteworthy for including rare (subtitled) interviews with the band themselves and the directors of each clip, plus tons of behind-the-scenes footage of more recent efforts. It all makes this an essential documentation of one of metal’s most bizarrely unique and uniquely bizarre creations.
