Band:	Lindemann
Album:	Skills In Pills
Style:	Industrial metal
Release date:	June 2015

01. Skills In Pills
02. Ladyboy
03. Fat
04. Fish On
05. Children Of The Sun
06. Home Sweet Home
07. Cowboy
08. Golden Shower
09. Yukon
10. Praise Abort
11. That's My Heart [deluxe edition bonus]

Skills In Pills can be very off-putting at first. Given the lyrical content, it isn't difficult to see why, but it requires a certain period of adjustment before it can sink its fangs into you. At the end of the rainbow waits an inexplicably endearing work of cybernetic craftsmanship.

The language barrier has never been a roadblock to Rammstein's international success, but their barrel-chested tank of a frontman has decided to give German-speakers a rest and spin his perverted yarns in English instead. These warped, unseemly tales of drugs, fetishism, and mermaid-related debauchery mirror Till's Deutsch exploits, but in English this time for wider amusement. If you happen to speak both languages? all the better for you. Probably best to hide the children first.

Comparisons to Rammstein are, of course, inevitable. The highly prolific Peter Tägtgren, being so well-established himself, isn't about to ape another band's style. Where Rammstein roll right over songs like Tiger tanks with gut-punch riffs and concussive percussion, Tägtgren opts for a thinner and less-prominent guitar presence, sometimes subject to pedals and effects - something more Tägtgren-y. He utilizes keyboards and industrial sound effects in a different manner from Rammstein, building up larger set pieces and refraining from jarring, staccato attacks. Overall, Lindemann places more emphasis on atmosphere and mood than on the violent assault.

Skills In Pills produces a sizable quantity of simultaneously grim and catchy melodies. It isn't gothic, exactly - that's hardly Till's style, and it's too tongue-in-cheek - but there is a dark drama that lurks around the corners of these keyboards. Tracks like "Children Of The Sun," "Yukon," and "Home Sweet Home" are surprisingly warm, even emotional, but dark and enrapturing enough to make you forget that they are bounded by ridiculous (though still quite fun) songs like "Cowboy," "Ladyboy," and "Golden Shower." The shifts in imagery and intent might seem schizophrenic, but they all have a recognizable Till-ness that keeps the album in sync. The closer, "Praise Abort," is likely the most Rammstein of the bunch, and easily a highlight - it's sadistic, stupid, and so much fun to sing.

I'm pleased as punch about the prospect of new Rammstein this year, but I do hope that the return of one of my favorite bands does not signify the disintegration of Lindemann. Similar as they are, Lindemann brings its own peculiar, impish charm that no other band out there can properly match. There is something rather "adorable" about Till Lindemann's entire schtick - in a very odd, sick, deviant, aberrant way, of course, but he is nonetheless endearing amidst all the cruel grotesqueries.