Herzeleid

Herzeleid (German for "heartache") is the debut album by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, first released on 29 September 1995 through Motor Music.

Herzeleid
Studio album by
Rammstein
Released29 September 1995 (1995-09-29)
Recorded1994–1995
StudioPolar (Stockholm)
Genre
Length49:28
LabelMotor
Producer
Rammstein chronology
Herzeleid
(1995)		 Sehnsucht
(1997)
Singles from Herzeleid
  1. "Du riechst so gut"
    Released: 28 August 1995 (1995-08-28)
  2. "Seemann"
    Released: 8 January 1996 (1996-01-08)
  3. "Du riechst so gut '98"
    Released: 25 May 1998 (1998-05-25)
  4. "Asche zu Asche"
    Released: 15 January 2001 (2001-01-15)
US version cover

Background

Writing

The first song written for this album was "Rammstein", which was also the first song ever written by the band. The last song to be written was most likely "Asche zu Asche" since it wasn't played at their concerts in 1994, unlike all the other songs. A few songs were written in English before they were translated into German. There are also nine songs known from that era that did not make it onto the album:

  1. "Jeder lacht" (lyrics were later re-used for "Adios" from Mutter)
  2. Unknown instrumental song
  3. "Schwarzes Glas"
  4. "Wilder Wein" (later released as a demo version on Engel: Fan-Edition, a finished live version appeared on Live aus Berlin)
  5. "Alter Mann" (later released on Sehnsucht with new music and slightly different lyrics)
  6. "Feuerräder" (later released on Engel: Fan-Edition, still in demo phase)
  7. "Tier" (1994) (also referred to as "Biest", a fanmade title. Not to be confused with the later released "Tier" from Sehnsucht)
  8. "Tiefer gelegt"
  9. "Sadist"[1] (performed once under this name, at a concert on 11 October 1996 in Magdeburg, Germany;[2][3] may have been released under a different title on the album Sehnsucht)

Artwork

The original cover caused controversy when it was originally revealed. It shows the band topless and sweaty. The press said Rammstein depicted themselves in this image as "Herrenmenschen".[4] Guitarist Kruspe said: "Das ist völliger Quatsch, das ist einfach nur ein Foto" ("Totally stupid. It's just a photo"). Till Lindemann added, that it was a quick shot on a parking lot somewhere in Berlin. North American versions had a different cover, consisting of the band members' faces from the inside of the original booklet, placed side-by-side.

Rammstein's first commercial logo was made for Herzeleid by Dirk Rudolph. This variation uses a thinner "T" character than what is used in later logos.

Release
  • Herzeleid was released on CD in many countries; The US and Canadian versions had alternative front covers, and were released by Slash Records, but still retained the same songs as on the German version. XIII Bis Records in France released Herzeleid on CD, as well as most of Rammstein's releases before 1999.
  • Some editions of the Herzeleid CD were censored. Some copies had the words "Schulhof" and "töten" beeped out during Weisses Fleisch, and other versions had these words removed from the CD's lyric booklet, but not from the song itself.
  • South Korean CDs excluded the song Das alte Leid from the tracklist and booklet, although the track is still on the CD.
  • Countries such as South Korea, Poland, Germany and the US (among others) produced commercial cassettes for the album. European countries received cassettes featuring the original cover, but US cassettes featured the different cover that they also used on CDs.
  • A very scarce number of German CDs were released with stickers to promote Rammstein's concert on 27 September 1996 slotted in the back of the case, in front of the insert artwork.
  • A Motor Music pre-release cassette of the album was issued; there are two different variations of this tape, but the only difference is the appearance of the eszett (ß) character used in the title of Weisses Fleisch.
  • The only time Herzeleid has ever been released on vinyl is on the XXI boxset, and the subsequently released individual LPs from said boxset.

Reception and legacy
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Rock Hard (de)8.5/10[6]
Sputnikmusic[7]

In 2005, Herzeleid was ranked number 303 in Rock Hard magazine's book of "The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time".[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Rammstein.

No.TitleLength
1."Wollt ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen?" ("Do You Want to See the Bed in Flames?")5:17
2."Der Meister" ("The Master")4:08
3."Weisses Fleisch" ("White Flesh")3:35
4."Asche zu Asche" ("Ashes to Ashes")3:51
5."Seemann" ("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
Total length:49:28

Personnel

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[9]

Rammstein
Production
  • Jacob Hellner – production
  • Carl-Michael Herlöffson – production
  • Ronald Prent – mixing
  • Emanuel Fialik – additional production on "Seemann"
  • Olav Bruhn – additional production on "Seemann"
Visual art
  • Jan "Praler" Hoffmann – photography, cover idea
  • Dirk Rudolph – sleeve design
Studios
  • Chateau du Pape – mixing

Charts
Chart Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] 11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 39
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] 161
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 77
French Albums (SNEP)[14] 85
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 20

Year-end charts

Chart (1996) Position
German Albums Chart[17] 84
Chart (1997) Position
German Albums Chart[18] 22
Chart (1998) Position
German Albums Chart[19] 100

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[20] Platinum 500,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[21] Platinum 1,000,000*

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. http://www.rammstein.cat/img/1996_10_11_setlist.jpg
  2. http://www.rammstein.cat/img/1996_10_11_Madebourg.jpg
  3. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/rammstein/1996/amo-kulturhaus-magdeburg-germany-6bdfceba.html
  4. http://herzeleid.com/en/faq/band
  5. Raggett, Ned. "Herzeleid – Rammstein". AllMusic.
  6. Albrecht, Frank. "Rock Hard review". issue 101. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  7. STAFF, Simon. "Rammstein - Herzeleid". Sputnikmusic.
  8. [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 91. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. Herzeleid (liner notes). Rammstein. Motor Music. 1995. 529160-2. Retrieved July 10, 2016.CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. "Austriancharts.at – Rammstein – Herzeleid" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  11. "Ultratop.be – Rammstein – Herzeleid" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Rammstein – Herzeleid" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Rammstein – Herzeleid" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  14. "Lescharts.com – Rammstein – Herzeleid". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Rammstein – Herzeleid" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  16. "Swisscharts.com – Rammstein – Herzeleid". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  17. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  18. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  19. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  20. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Rammstein; 'Herzeleid')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  21. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2005". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
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