Mutter (album)

This article is about the Rammstein album. For other uses, see Mutter (disambiguation).

Mutter (German pronunciation: [ˈmʊtɐ]; English: "Mother") is the third studio album by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein. It was released on 2 April 2001 through Motor and Universal Music. The album's cover image is a photograph of a dead fetus, which was taken by Daniel & Geo Fuchs. The album has yielded six singles which, to date, are the most released from any Rammstein album.

Mutter
Studio album by Rammstein
Released	2 April 2001
Recorded	May–June 2000
Studio	Miraval (Correns)
Genre	Industrial metal gothic metal symphonic metal nu metal
Length	45:02
Label	Motor Universal
Producer	Jacob Hellner Rammstein
Rammstein chronology
Live aus Berlin (1999) Mutter (2001) Reise, Reise (2004)
Singles from Mutter
"Sonne" Released: 12 February 2001 "Links 2 3 4" Released: 14 May 2001 "Ich will" Released: 10 September 2001 "Mutter" Released: 25 March 2002 "Feuer frei!" Released: 14 October 2002 "Mein Herz brennt" Released: 7 December 2012

Writing and recording

From September to December 1999, the band rented the house Weimar in Heiligendamm on the Baltic Sea for pre-production. The sound recordings took place in May and June 2000 at Studio Miraval in southern France. In advance of the album's release, Rammstein released the song "Links 2 3 4" on their website for download in December 2000. The single "Sonne" was released in January 2001.

Versions

"Mutter" was released in various versions, initially as a normal CD and in Germany also as a vinyl LP. A digipack was also released, which was exported to other countries. Another double CD edition with the video of ‘Sonne’ and the track Hallelujah was released in the USA. The Japanese version contains Hallelujah two minutes later - as a so-called ‘hidden track’ - after the end of the regular CD. The album was later released as a limited tour edition, which contains four live tracks on a second CD. The cover remained unchanged, except for the colour, which became red.
A vinyl pressing of the Japanese version has existed since 2013, but it is merely a bootleg, or more precisely, a counterfeit. It also contains the song Halleluja(h), but in two different versions: Once as Hallelujah (with choirs at the beginning) and once as ‘Hallelujah’ (without choirs at the beginning).

Critical reception and legacy

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Alternative Press	[2]
The Austin Chronicle	[3]
Blender	[4]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[6]
NME	5/10[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Spin	6/10[9]
Sputnikmusic	5/5[10]

In 2005, Mutter was ranked number 324 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.^[11]

In a 2016 article published by uDiscover, Oran O'Beirne described the album as "one of the most important contemporary releases within heavy metal’s many subgenres."^[12]

In the interview with Noizr Zine, the well-known Swedish producer and musician Peter Tägtgren advised "Mutter" as a reference work for beginner producers:

"I think, if you are not into death metal or something like that, but if you are into metal, I would say maybe Rammstein’s "Mutter" is very good, because it has a lot of different elements, it has orchestra parts, heavy guitars, good drum sound — that could be a good reference."^[13]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Rammstein.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mein Herz brennt" ("My Heart Burns")	4:39
2.	"Links 2 3 4" ("Left 2 3 4")	3:36
3.	"Sonne" ("Sun")	4:32
4.	"Ich will" ("I Want")	3:37
5.	"Feuer frei!" ("Open Fire!")	3:11
6.	"Mutter" ("Mother")	4:32
7.	"Spieluhr" ("Music Box")	4:46
8.	"Zwitter" ("Hermaphrodite")	4:17
9.	"Rein raus" ("In Out")	3:09
10.	"Adios" ("Goodbye")	3:49
11.	"Nebel" ("Fog")	4:54
Total length:		45:02

There are various editions of Mutter, each with different features:

• The Limited Tour Edition had the same cover, but red with the Rammstein logo embossed on the front. It also had a second CD with the following live tracks:

1. "Ich will" – 3:57
2. "Links 2 3 4" – 4:54
3. "Sonne" – 4:42
4. "Spieluhr" – 5:27

• The Japanese edition had "Halleluja" as a hidden track, found after "Nebel" (there is a two-minute intermission of silence). The track was later included in the Resident Evil soundtrack, but does not appear in the film.
• The limited edition had a second CD with just one track, "Halleluja", and a CD-ROM area featuring the "Sonne" video. There is a spelling error on the back album track listing: it is listed as "Hallelujah" but the bonus CD itself has the song listed as "Halleluja", which is the correct spelling.
• A 12" vinyl version and a MC version were released, with the same track list (Side A = 1–6; B = 7–11)
• The Limited Tour Edition was also released as a double cassette set, with the second cassette containing the live tracks (Side A = 1–2; B = 3–4).
• The Turkish cassette release of the album fades all songs out at 3:44.

Note: Some copies that have "Halleluja" as a hidden track can not be played for unknown reasons. On 3 April 2010 Rammstein posted a video with an official translation of "Halleluja" on their Facebook page, "in light of recent events".^[14]

Personnel

Rammstein

• Till Lindemann – vocals
• Richard Kruspe – lead guitar
• Paul Landers – rhythm guitar
• Christian Lorenz – keyboards
• Oliver Riedel – bass
• Christoph Schneider – drums

Guest musicians

• Bobo – background vocals (track 11)
• Khira Li Lindemann – vocals (track 7)
• Olsen Involtini – string arrangements (tracks 1, 6, 11)
• Orchestra parts by the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, conducted by Gunter Joseck

Production

• Ulf Kruckenberg – engineer
• Dirk Rudolph – sleeve design
• Daniel & Geo Fuchs – photography

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Mutter Chart (2001) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 10 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] 1 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 7 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] 45 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] 14 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[20] 22 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 4 Europe (European Top 100 Albums)[22] 2 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[23] 7 French Albums (SNEP)[24] 23 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 1 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[26] 33 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] 12 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[28] 12 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[29] 4 Scottish Albums (OCC)[30] 52 Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[31] 9 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 2 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[34] 86 UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[35] 86 US Billboard 200[36] 77 2023 weekly chart performance for Mutter Chart (2023) Peak position Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[37] 22 Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[38] 3 2025 weekly chart performance for Mutter Chart (2025) Peak position US World Albums (Billboard)[39] 21

Year-end charts Chart (2001) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[40] 13 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[41] 21 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[42] 54 Europe (European Top 100 Albums)[43] 38 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[44] 3 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[45] 37 Chart (2002) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[46] 57 Chart (2019) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[47] 124 Chart (2021) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[48] 193 Chart (2022) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[49] 73 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[50] 106 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[51] 83 Chart (2023) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[52] 73 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[53] 117 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[54] 82 Chart (2024) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[55] 105 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[56] 87

Certifications

Certifications for Mutter

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[57]	Gold	20,000*
Belgium (BRMA)[58]	Gold	25,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[59]	2× Platinum	40,000‡
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[60]	Gold	15,193[60]
Germany (BVMI)[61]	3× Platinum	900,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[62]	Gold	75,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[63]	Gold	40,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[64]	Gold	25,000*
Poland (ZPAV)[65]	Platinum	40,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[66]	3× Platinum	300,000^
Sweden (GLF)[67]	Gold	40,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[68]	Platinum	40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[69]	Gold	100,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.