Ridiculous and overwhelmingly loud, Skills in Pills is the debut album from
Lindemann, a humorous and grand side project of
Rammstein's
Till Lindemann and
Hypocrisy's
Peter Tägtgren. Why
Lindemann gets whole billing is up for debate, but his convincing singing in English, instead of the usual German, is a good argument, although the punch lines still land with proper German oomph. Take the brilliant "Ladyboy" ("I got shot with the sweetest gun"), a miniature industrial-metal opera that asks the burning question "Why should I fall in love when I can't have fun with my ladyboy?" "Golden Shower" stands proud as Caligula would as it chugs along like
Ministry while begging for bedroom "watersports," then "Fish On" uses
Devo-styled melodies and a story of hot aquatic sex that doubles as a metaphor for racial harmony. Just like
Rammstein and
Hypocrisy,
Lindemann is extreme with an ultra sheen as everything here sounds cinematic and orchestra big, and comes packaged in the kind of monied production that is usually reserved for the mainstream. Swing a beer and split an eardrum because deviant sex acts and other dark depravity haven't fueled a work this worthy since Carmina Burana. ~ David Jeffries