Sehnsucht (Rammstein album)

Sehnsucht ("Desire" or "Longing") is the second studio album by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein. It was released on 22 August 1997, through Motor Music in Europe and Slash Records in the United States. It is the only album entirely in German to be certified platinum by the RIAA in the US. The album peaked at No. 1 on the Austrian and German charts.

In 2020, Metal Hammer included it in their list of Top 10 1997 Albums.

Cover art
The album booklet folds out to reveal six different covers, one for each band member (each photo depicting the member with vintage medical / surgical instruments). The cover most commonly seen shows Christoph Schneider with a barbed-wire-laced worn as an oral gag and his eyes rolled back into his head. The cover art was created by Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein, who also created the cover for the Scorpions' Blackout album, which the Sehnsucht cover resembles.

Special editions
Multiple special editions of Sehnsucht were released, offering different bonus tracks:
 * The following songs as tracks 12 and 13 for the North American and Japanese releases:
 * "Engel (English Version)"
 * "Du hast (English Version)"
 * These songs are also included on micro-cassettes, and may be hidden tracks on certain editions.
 * "Du riechst so gut '98" as track 12. A version also includes the video for "Du riechst so gut '98".
 * Polish cassettes included a short Polish introduction to the album, spoken by Till.
 * A limited edition release in Europe features 14 tracks:
 * "Rammstein (Eskimos & Egypt Radio Edit)"
 * "Du riechst so gut '98"
 * "Du hast (Remix by Clawfinger)"
 * "Stripped" as a twelfth track, which may be included on the micro-cassette version and/or be included as a hidden track.
 * "Stripped" as a twelfth track and the "Asche zu Asche" single as a second CD. The "Asche zu Asche" single may be included on the first CD to make a total of 18 tracks.
 * A 2001 Australian Tour Edition, which had "Stripped" as a twelfth track, and a second CD with the "Asche zu Asche" single as the first track, followed by five live songs.

Anniversary Edition
On 15 April 2023, Rammstein released a short teaser to their social media channels, showing the album's various front covers along to the intro of Bück dich. A day later, another teaser was posted, with footage of the band rehearsing Engel on 18 April 1997. The caption of that video announced the "Sehnsucht Anniversary Edition". On 17 April 2023, a third teaser followed, including footage from Live aus Berlin and the announcement, that the pre-order of the anniversary edition would start the next day, 19 April.

The Anniversary Edition was scheduled for release on 9 June 2023.

Besides being remastered, the album features an exclusive new mix of Spiel mit mir, titled "2023 Mix", and a 40 page booklet with previously unreleased photos of Gottfried Helnwein.

Personnel
Rammstein
 * Till Lindemann – lead vocals
 * Richard Kruspe – lead guitar, backing vocals
 * Paul Landers – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
 * Oliver Riedel – bass, backing vocals (track 1)
 * Christian "Flake" Lorenz – keyboards
 * Christoph Schneider – drums

Guest vocals
 * Bobo – vocals on "Engel"

Production
 * Björn Engelmann – mastering
 * Emanuel Fialik – management
 * Jacob Hellner – producer
 * Gottfried Helnwein – photography, portrait photography
 * Ronald Prent – mixing
 * Dirk Rudolph – cover design, sleeve design
 * Mark Stagg – programming