Herzeleid (; "Heartache") is the debut studio album by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, first released on 25 September 1995 via Motor Music.
Production and writing
After signing up with Motor Music, the band was instructed to search for a producer, a position they didn't even know about since it wasn't usual in East Germany. They first suggested Bob Rock and Rick Rubin, but the label asked them to be less ambitious. The role was ultimately assigned to Jacob Hellner, known for his work with Clawfinger. (later released on Engel: Fan-Edition, still in demo phase)
- "Tier" (1994) (also referred to as "Biest", a fanmade title. Not to be confused with the later released "Tier" from Sehnsucht. Was also used under the name of "Sadist", both on a 1995 tape that used programmed drums, and at a show on the 11th of October, 1996, in Magdeburg, Germany.)
- "Tiefer Gelegt", or "Tiefer" (working name for "Jeder Lacht", another track that was cut from the album.)
Title and packaging
The album's title translates as "heartbreak", and it reflects personal problems that every band member was going through around the time of the album's preparation, particularly Kruspe and vocalist Till Lindemann, who were breaking up with their respective girlfriends. Guitarist Kruspe said the controversy was "totally stupid", and that "it's just a photo". He did however express his embarrassment in 2016 saying that the band looked "gay...like an ad for a gay porno-film". Lindemann added, that it was a quick shot on a parking lot somewhere in Berlin. North-American versions had a different cover, consisting of the band members' faces from the inside of the original booklet, placed side by side.
Rammstein's first commercial logo was made for Herzeleid by Dirk Rudolph. This variation uses a thinner "T" character than what is used in later logos.
Release
- Herzeleid was released on CD in many countries; the US and Canadian versions had alternative front covers, and were released by Slash Records, but still retained the same songs as on the German version. XIII Bis Records in France released Herzeleid on CD, as well as most of Rammstein's releases before 1999.
- Some editions of the Herzeleid CD were censored. Some copies had the words "Schulhof" (school yard) and "töten" (kill) beeped out during "Weisses Fleisch", and other versions had these words removed from the CD's lyric booklet, but not from the song itself.
- South Korean CDs excluded the song "Das alte Leid" from the tracklist and booklet, although the track is still on the CD.
- Countries such as South Korea, Poland, Germany and the US (among others) produced commercial cassettes for the album. European countries received cassettes featuring the original cover, but US cassettes featured the different cover that they also used on CDs.
- A very scarce number of German CDs were released with stickers to promote Rammstein's concert on 27 September 1996 slotted in the back of the case, in front of the insert artwork.
- A Motor Music pre-release cassette of the album was issued; there are two different variations of this tape, but the only difference is the appearance of the eszett (ß) character used in the title of "Weisses Fleisch".
- The first time Herzeleid has ever been released on vinyl was on the XXI boxset, and the subsequently released individual LPs from said boxset.
- A remastered version of the album was released on 4 December 2020.
- Sales of the next album Sehnsucht helped lift figures for Herzeleid, according to keyboardist Christian Lorenz. The band's debut album went gold five years after their second did.
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In 2005, Herzeleid was ranked number 303 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.
Kruspe reflected in 2016 saying it was not among his favorite albums: