The guys have made the work load as simple as possible for Lindemann, Till takes care of the singing and the lyrics, while Peter handles the music and production, a fair and logical choice to get the best out of the experiment. But knowing what Rammstein has sung about in the past, I did not expect any fancy poetry from the German, and sure enough, "Skills In Pills" is more or less one sex joke after another. Everything from fatty desires, transgenders, to golden showers and love of abortions, yes, Till sings his heart out of what he writes best, filthy potty humour. It does not work quite as well in English as in the German language, mostly because German is a heavier, more aggressive language, which really helps out to forget that the lyrics are juvenile and immature.
The music however, is just the thing that saves the album from being a giant turd. Peter has more or less created another Pain album here, a powerful industrial record with lots of electronic elements to it. And I do not think it comes to anyone's surprise that Till was more or less made for singing to this music. Would be interesting to see him as the new lead singer of Pain, or maybe him and Peter sharing the load, but that will probably never happen. So if you are a fan of Pain, you will instantly love the music in "Skills In Pills".
Several pieces in this puzzle catches my attention, either for the lyrics, the impeccable musicality, or both. The first song that was presented, "Praise Abort", came with a incredibly weird music video, but I liked it, just like I liked the super catchy and simple chorus. Also, that song really nails the humour, something few songs in this album does. We also have the title track, that is the ultimate Pain song that just speeds through with an impressive determination, and the same can be said about "Fish On" and the heavy "Fat" (no pun intended).
The surprise comes in that the slow songs are really vibrant, and gives the album another dimension to it. "Home Sweet Home", "Yukon" and "Children of The Sun" all contains some impeccable songwriting, both when it comes to the music and the lyrics. They float around like they are their own style, not necessarily taken from a Pain album, but still having a small influence from it. I always encourage musicians that is in side projects to really broaden their horizon, do something we have not already have heard from them, and these three songs does exactly that with both Till and Peter. Not saying that I would a full album with only these types of songs, but I really enjoyed them and would like to have more of them in the future.
Compared to both Rammstein, Pain and Hypocrisy, Lindemann does not really reach the same heights, but Till and Peter's little side project is still a fairly interesting bromance that does contain a spark in its eyes. "Skills In Pills" does its job well and entertains the fans of both gentlemen, while also showing off some new stuff that should keep the interest levels high. It really shows that this is the works of two full blood professionals, joining forces to create a new little musical child. If this bromance would continue in the future, I would definitely look forward to the next album, and if it would not, then I will not shed a tear, since it makes me pumped up to see what the guys can do with their main projects in the near future.
Songs worthy of recognition: Yukon, Skills In Pills, Home Sweet Home
Rating: 7/10 Ladyboys
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