Puppe Performance Art

Lore & Background

The song "Puppe" is a track on Rammstein's 2019 self-titled album, their first studio album in ten years. The album was produced by Emigrate guitarist Olsen Involtini, who also serves as Rammstein's live sound engineer. The album features the band's typical sound of Neue Deutsche Härte and industrial metal. "Puppe" stands out for its strong doom metal influence and its disturbing narrative. The lyrics describe a child in a room playing with a doll while their sister works as a prostitute in the adjacent room. The child becomes increasingly agitated by the sister's screams, eventually biting the doll's head off. The story concludes with the child entering the sister's room, finding her being beaten to death, and killing the attacker. Louder described the song's instrumentation as featuring "eerie synths, jangling guitars and pummelling vocals".

In Their Own Story

The track "Puppe" presents a harrowing narrative through its lyrics and composition. The song begins with a child playing innocently with a doll, but the atmosphere shifts as the sounds of the sister's work intrude. The child's agitation builds with each scream from the next room. The climax comes when the child, unable to cope with the violence they hear, begins biting the head off their own doll. The final verses reveal the child's ultimate action: sneaking into the sister's room, finding her being beaten to death, and killing the attacker. The song's doom metal influence gives the story a heavy, oppressive weight, while the eerie synths and jangling guitars create a sense of unease throughout.

Reader's Guide

For fans exploring Rammstein's 2019 album, "Puppe" represents one of the darkest and most narrative-driven tracks on the record. The song's strong doom metal influence sets it apart from other tracks on the album, which generally feature the band's typical Neue Deutsche Härte and industrial metal sound. The lyrics tell a complete story with a clear arc: a child's innocent play descends into violence as they react to the trauma occurring around them. The song's instrumentation, described by Louder as having "eerie synths, jangling guitars and pummelling vocals," supports the grim narrative. This track is part of an album that received positive reviews from critics and was commercially successful, reaching number one in over ten countries and setting a record for the most units sold in its first week in Germany during the 21st century.

Did You Know?

• "Puppe" contains a strong doom metal influence, which sets it apart from the band's typical Neue Deutsche Härte and industrial metal sound.
• The song tells the story of a child who bites the head off their doll after becoming agitated by their sister's screams from the next room.
• Louder described the song's instrumentation as having "eerie synths, jangling guitars and pummelling vocals."
• The album containing "Puppe" was Rammstein's first studio album in ten years and their first not produced by Jacob Hellner.
• "Puppe" is part of an album that set a record for the most units sold in its first week in Germany during the 21st century.