r/Rammstein • u/No-Mongoose12 • 4d ago
Art Stein um Stein discussion
I recently listened to Stein um Stein in Reise, Reise. It was really a crazy listening experience. Probably the strongest emotional response I've had to any of their songs. The gentle guitar at the beginning radiates hopelessness. That feeling when your stomach drops because you know what's coming. Dread sets in. The tone in which Till starts the song is with sinister intent. Completely evil and he knows it. He knows that you know it. "Stein um Stein" doesn't come in super surprisingly. But it comes in hard enough to make you react. Just like if you know you're going to get hit but you flinch anyway, because its the normal response. The cascading guitar riff during this phrase project an image of the house being built in my opinion. It's closing in. And notice that it's Stone by Stone, not brick by brick. Stone is more immovable, more primal, more jagged. This is my general impression of the song. Instills dread, you expect the next strike with resignation. Powerless and controlled. Notice there's no resistance against the abuser. No screams were heard from the "house" maybe because you never tried to scream.
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u/BlackMesaEchoes 4d ago
There’s a strong case to be made for most of their albums to be someone’s favorite, Reise Reise is still mine. It is just nearly perfect on every level
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u/Revicious 4d ago
You HAVE to listen to the live version of Volkerball tour, its even more brutal, and at the end the guitars just keep going and going
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u/TheRealHykeLP 4d ago
Stein um Stein always was one of my favorites. But I have to disagree on one thing. Even tho "Stein" means "Stone", "Stein um Stein" means "brick by brick" in german. You can't differentiate between those.
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u/No-Mongoose12 3d ago
Thank you! I did not account for the sayings of English and German being different.
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u/tzippy84 4d ago
It’s such a strong song and such a shame they only played it live on one tour. Thank god I was able to be there.
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u/Floppy_Jackal777 3d ago
Stein Um Stein is one of my favourite songs of theirs. I find it to be a perfect allegory of depression, or similar issues that can slowly overwhelm a person and make them feel trapped within their own mind or body by something too powerful to overcome.
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u/Aquadulce 3d ago
It can also be heard as a rebellion against the stifling limitations of traditional monogamous relationships, even if they're not abusive. That little house is supposed to be so perfect, but you can't express yourself or even breathe in it.
So many ways to interpret this song.
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u/N999neRoses 4d ago edited 4d ago
I love the way you think about this one. It’s a very unique song even for their incredible standard and really does hit a specific spot. I believe that i have listened to the Völkerball version of it more than the original at this point. If you haven’t heard it, strongly suggest to check out that live version. My favorite detail about this song is the transition to the last chorus. Till sings “Alle Nägel stehen stramm wenn ich sie in dein Leibholz Ramm –“ then there is a pause. It isn’t a long pause as in time but from a musical standpoint it lets your mind just start to wonder what is coming next. Then he comes in with an incredible scream to finish the sentence off “Stein”. Due to how the german language is structured it allows for this wordplay here. He intentionally screams the word “Stein” not only to really bring the point home but to also put the 2 words together and complete the band’s name. One of many many times they have shown lyrical creativity that is out of this world.