Valkyrian Music

Lindemann

Skills in Pills

Released 23rd June 2015

Industrial Metal

Released via Warner Music

‘Skills In Pills’ is the debut album from Lindemann, a new project featuring Till Lindemann of Rammstein and the Swedish multi-instrumentalist and producer Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, PAIN). Now, for those who don’t know, I’m a huge Rammstein fan so naturally I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this…

After a quick glance through the booklet, I’d like to warn you all that each of the ten tracks on here is paired up with a suitably bizarre-looking image matching the grotesque and satirically funny nature of the lyrics. Then again if you’re a long-time Rammstein fan like me, you would know that controversial and bizarre is what Mr. Lindemann does best. So that’s the introduction done, now on to the music…

The lineup is comprised of just two individuals – Peter Tägtgren plays all the instruments and Till Lindemann accompanies with his signature baritone vocals. There are two things that set this apart from Rammstein: short duration of the songs and the fact that all the lyrics are in English. It’s a great start with the title track featuring some simple but easy to sing along to chorus and distorted, industrial metal style guitar riffs and keyboards. Fat combines the ironic and over-the-top lyrics with a pompous orchestral style melody and a catchy chorus. If Rammstein’s ‘Keine Lust’ had a long lost English or American cousin, it would be this song.

Then we move on from obesity and morbid fetishes to nautical themes, with Fish On offering more catchy choruses complemented by powerful drumming and industrial-style keyboards akin to Tägtgren’s own band Pain. Yet not all the songs are fast and catchy; for example Home Sweet Home shifts to a much slower pace while emphasizing the creepy atmosphere and profound lyrics. Then this hellish duo decides to lighten up the mood a little with songs about cowboys and “water-sports” (you know what I mean). Last but not least is Praise Abort which is about as controversial as it can get. The lyrics are misanthropic and misogynistic but they are also ironic and hilariously funny. So rather than feeling offended by it I actually found myself singing along to the tune and laughing.

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed this album. It’s like Rammstein, only in English and stripped down to the bare essentials. It takes you on a journey during which you will experience a whole range of emotions including fear, laughter and disgust. With the prospect of having to wait at least two years for a new Rammstein album, this makes it easier to bear.

4.5/5

Iza Raittila

This entry was posted on 24th June 2015 at 9:47 pm and is filed under Uncategorized with tags Lindemann, Pain, Rammstein. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.