With Richard and Till being the two pre-eminent figures in Rammstein who have consistently created music outside of their main project, over time it has revealed who the dominant personalities are within the band. I touched on this in my
Zunge review, but when you hear Till’s ostentatious, metal-driven side-projects juxtaposed with Richard’s riff-driven rock sound in Emigrate, it does indeed bring the vast majority of Rammstein’s sound to the fore, when synergising the two approaches together. While the remaining members of the band certainly put their own stamp on the brand, I would presuppose it’s likely the aforementioned individuals who have built most of the framework for Rammstein’s world-dominating success. Richard has been writing music externally for twenty years now and Till for a decade, with the other members showing zero interest in expressing themselves outside of Rammstein, until now that is. It seems one Christian “Flake” Lorenz, Rammstein’s keyboard player, has decided to step up to the plate and try his hand at writing a solo record, and while it is a little surprising seeing Flake announce his first solo album this far into his career, how
Flake feiert Weihnachten sounds is completely unsurprising.
As an individual, Flake is undisputedly the eccentric personality of Rammstein, the kind of guy that opens his crisp packet upside down or has the volume on his TV left at an odd number, and
Flake feiert Weihnachten(or
Flake Celebrates Christmas as it translates) only stands to bolster this notion. On the surface, the concept of
Flake feiert Weihnachten is as wholesome as it gets – it’s a Christmas album filled with renditions of Flake’s favourite Christmas songs and carols, with the proceeds going to The Ark charity, which helps disadvantaged children. What’s not to love? Well as it happens, unfortunately, the music. While I tip my hat to Flake’s philanthropy and warm heart for bringing Christmas cheer, the music here is absolutely terrible. For the most part you feel like you’re isolated in a dilapidated bar in 1940s Germany, listening to a bunch of blind-drunk patrons butchering their favourite Christmas songs to keep warm. Credit where it’s due, the vibe overall is actually quite novel and genuinely captures this wartime kind of ambiance well; “Schneeflöckchen Weißröckchen” for instance is a hauntingly atmospheric track that hears a huddled bunch of people singing and playing the piano over booms, bangs and gunfire, projecting this desperation for happiness in such bleak times. Nevertheless, the music’s austerity is something of a double-edged sword and while it brings a decent vibe, at forty-five minutes
Flake feiert Weihnachten is brutally punishing to listen to from start to finish.
It's a shame to say these things, because Flake is the loveable keyboardist in Rammstein, but the guy can’t sing to save his life and the music overall is nondescript. While there is a sweet earnestness to his performances on “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” and “Guten Abend, schön Abend”, it’s all fodder that feels like it was recorded in a karaoke bar after a load of Guinness. Even though
Flake feiert Weihnachten was written from small beginnings and good intentions – being that it was initially written for Flake’s family but morphed into a full project – this is a pretty hideous package of sounds. There is a reason why I brought up Richard and Till’s contributions in Rammstein at the start of this review and it’s that the bulk of their ideas get the best out of the other members, because, honestly, Flake’s contributions in recent records have stolen the limelight on multiple occasions. That said; it’s clear when Flake is left unchecked, things go horribly awry.
