Reise, Reise

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Lore & Background

The album's title and theme are inspired by the crash of Japan Air Lines Flight 123 on the evening of 12 August 1985. Twelve minutes into its flight, the Boeing 747 suffered an explosive decompression due to failure of its rear pressure bulkhead, caused by a faulty repair 7 years earlier. The explosion tore off most of the aircraft's vertical stabilizer and ruptured all four of the hydraulic systems, causing the loss of all flight control surfaces and rendering the aircraft uncontrollable. The pilots fought to keep the aircraft aloft for nearly 32 minutes, but eventually became trapped in the towering mountain ranges surrounding Mount Fuji and crashed, killing 520 out of the 524 passengers and crew on board. It remains the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in history. Some pressings of the album contain a recording of the last 30 seconds of the flight as an easter egg hidden in the pregap. The album artwork shows a damaged aeroplane cockpit voice recorder depicted on the front and back covers. Its caption ("Flugrekorder, nicht öffnen") means "Flight Recorder, Do Not Open". The inner part of the Digipak edition case shows a picture of the six members in suits wielding suitcases and weapons leaving from a crashed aeroplane.

In Their Own Story

The album opens with the track "Reise, Reise" which means "journey, journey" or "rise, rise", and "we are immediately put on notice that this particular journey will be a grim and harrowing one, leavened by German existentialism in the grand tradition of Mann and Goethe." The song's lyrics deal with the life of sailors and was intended as a reference to Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. The references to Goethe come in "Dalai Lama", a modern version of Goethe's poem "Der Erlkönig", set in an aeroplane rather than on a horse; the title is claimed to be a reference to the 14th Dalai Lama's fear of flying, while a more sound point of view is a reference to the serfdom in Tibet. The song "Mein Teil" is about Armin Meiwes, a man who achieved international notoriety for killing and eating a voluntary victim whom he had found via the Internet. According to Rammstein's bassist Oliver Riedel, the song came about after "one of our members brought a newspaper to rehearsal and it had a story about the cannibal guy in it. We were fascinated, shocked and amused at the same time." Vocalist Till Lindemann stated, "It's so sick that it becomes fascinating and there just has to be a song about it". "Mein Teil" attracted controversy in Germany; the media dubbed it the "Kannibalensong" (cannibal song), which helped to boost it to second place in the German music charts after its release in early August 2004.

Reader's Guide

The album "revels in the type of paradoxical, multi-faceted existentialism which comes second nature to Germans but is persistently untranslatable to Americans". The song "Amerika" deals with the worldwide political and cultural imperialism of the United States of America. The band views it as a satirical commentary on "Americanization", and it features mentions of Coca-Cola, Mickey Mouse, and Santa Claus. "Ohne dich" ("Without You") is a power ballad seen as expressing mourning over the loss of a loved person. It follows a slow, even romantic ballad style. The central motif is "Without you, I cannot be..., With you, I am alone also..." The track "Los" is reminiscent of Depeche Mode's early work, with repetitive acoustic guitar and a stripped-down, insistent beat. The album ends with the track "Amour", one of the most intimate love songs written by the band. There's also a guitar solo towards the end, another uncharacteristic gesture in the album. The album's cover art is an allusion to the song "Dalai Lama", which deals with an aeroplane accident. It is also suggestive of the overarching "travelling" theme of the album. While past albums have all featured the six band members in various photographic scenarios, "Reise Reise" features a minimal packaging, and there are no photographs featuring the band members.

Did You Know?

• The album was originally planned as a double album, but the band scrapped the idea; 6 songs omitted from the final track listing were later released on Rosenrot.
• Some pressings of the album contain a recording of the last 30 seconds of Japan Air Lines Flight 123 as an easter egg hidden in the pregap.
• The song 'Mein Teil' is about Armin Meiwes, the Rotenburg Cannibal, and the media dubbed it the 'Kannibalensong' (cannibal song).
• The Japanese version of Reise, Reise features different cover art, but that art was not used as the Rosenrot cover art.
• The album artwork shows a damaged aeroplane cockpit voice recorder with the caption 'Flugrekorder, nicht öffnen' (Flight Recorder, Do Not Open).

Production and Recording History

Recording for the album began in November 2003 in the El Cortijo Studio in Spain, being produced by Jacob Hellner and Rammstein. The band recorded several songs during the sessions for the Reise, Reise album, which the band initially planned as a double album but later scrapped the idea. 7 songs were omitted from the album's final track listing and were later released on their follow-up album Rosenrot. A statement from the band's management regarding the upcoming collection reads as follows: "After the production period of the album, there were many songs which did not find a place on 'Reise, Reise' due to dramaturgical reason but are now completed. This is not unusual. As 'Ohne Dich' derived from the production of 'Mutter', many songs have been sitting to be completed for a year and shall now come to light." The record company stated: "When we were introduced to the tracks of "Reise, Reise", many fascinating songs were among them, which were suddenly missing on the album. Among others I remember one song, which we all believed to be the first single of the album. The song was "Rosenrot", and when we had to realize that the band changed their minds and it did not even make it on to the album, we were speechless." The mixing sessions for the album took place in April and May 2004 at Toytown Studio in Stockholm, Sweden. A look behind the scenes of the album's recording can be found on the 2006 live compilation Völkerball.

Commercial Performance and Release

Released on 27 September 2004 through Universal Music in Germany, the album quickly expanded its reach across Europe before arriving in North America via Republic Records on 16 November 2004. The record achieved massive commercial success, debuting at number one in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Iceland, Finland, Estonia and Mexico, while securing top-ten positions in various other European charts. By February 2006, global shipments had reached 1.5 million copies. Four singles were released from the album: "Mein Teil", "Amerika", "Ohne dich", and "Keine Lust". The lead single, "Mein Teil", generated significant media attention and controversy in Germany due to its subject matter, yet it climbed to second place on the German music charts. On 21 April 2005, Rammstein released a special Japanese version of Reise, Reise, with different cover art, which was later used as the Rosenrot cover art, though the Rammstein logo on the ship was altered into the text "Rosenrot". The booklet also features the same art as Rosenrot, but with the songs from Reise, Reise. It features two bonus tracks: "Mein Teil (You Are What You Eat Edit)" and "Amerika (Digital Hardcore Mix)". The Japanese limited Edition has a bonus DVD featuring footage from Lichtspielhaus.

Thematic Core and Conceptual Origins

The album is conceptually anchored by the tragic crash of Japan Air Lines Flight 123 on August 12, 1985, which remains history's deadliest single-aircraft disaster. The narrative explores the catastrophic failure caused by a faulty repair that led to explosive decompression and the loss of flight control over Mount Fuji. Some pressings of the album contain a recording of the last 30 seconds of the flight as an easter egg hidden in the pregap. This grim foundation sets the tone for the opening track, "Reise, Reise" which means "journey, journey" or "rise, rise". The lyrics evoke the perilous life of sailors and reference Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, establishing a mood of harrowing existentialism. Another track, "Dalai Lama", reimagines Goethe's poem "Der Erlkönig" within an airplane setting, potentially alluding to the Dalai Lama's fear of flying or broader themes of serfdom. These elements combine to create a work deeply rooted in German literary tradition and historical tragedy.

Lyrical Content and Cultural Commentary

The lyrics on this album frequently tackle controversial and satirical subjects with a distinct paradoxical flair. The track "Amerika" serves as a biting critique of American cultural imperialism, blending German verses with an English chorus that ironically praises the United States while mentioning icons like Coca-Cola and Mickey Mouse. Perhaps the most notorious song is "Mein Teil", which details the real-life case of Armin Meiwes, known as the Rotenburg Cannibal, who killed and consumed a voluntary victim found online. The band described their reaction to the news story as simultaneously fascinated, shocked and amused. While the video version includes a spoken quote from Meiwes' original internet post seeking a victim, the album version omits this intro. Despite the media dubbing it the "cannibal song", its notoriety propelled it up the charts. Conversely, "Ohne dich" offers a stark contrast as a romantic power ballad expressing deep mourning for a lost loved one, showcasing the band's ability to shift between dark satire and genuine emotional vulnerability.

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