Sehnsucht (Anniversary Edition)

Rammstein became superstars in their native Germany upon the release of their 1995 debut, *Herzeleid*. However, the industrial-leaning metal band can thank David Lynch for laying the groundwork for the U.S. success of their second album, 1997’s *Sehnsucht*: The director used a pair of songs from *Herzeleid* in his high-profile film *Lost Highway*, which landed in theaters several months before *Sehnsucht* hit stores. These two tunes, “Heirate mich” and “Rammstein,” also appeared on the star-studded *Lost Highway* soundtrack—meaning the group were already rubbing elbows with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, and Marilyn Manson. Rammstein’s brawny hard rock fit right in with the output of those musical titans, as *Sehnsucht* (a word that translates, roughly, to the concept of “longing” in the English language) paired chugging metallic riffs with gruff vocals and futuristic electronic effects. This approach is best embodied by “Du hast,” a rock-chart hit driven by insistent programming pulses and aggressive guitar shards, and the slower “Engel,” which employs sinewy grooves and disorienting digital bursts. Yet *Sehnsucht* succeeded because of Rammstein’s flair for the dramatic and well-honed sense of dynamics. Expressive frontman Till Lindemann barks out his German-language lyrics like a poised stage actor on the menacing strut “Spiel mit mir.” That song is directly followed by the equally ominous “Klavier,” which alternates between quiet verses full of spidery piano and crashing, loud choruses. Confident and seductive, *Sehnsucht* was a creative high point of the ’90s industrial-metal boom.