At its best, in songs like Rage and I’m Still Alive you get a combination of that familiar, crunchy guitar sound we’ve come to expect and some rather unusual melodies, delivered by Richard’s thin but purposeful voice, reminiscent of Ghost’s Tobias Forge. In the album’s lesser moments, things feel even more familiar – detrimentally so. Come Over sounds like one of the joke songs from comedian Bo Burnham’s lockdown special Inside, while all the synths in the world can’t disguise the debt Hypothetical owes Led Zeppelin's Kashmir. And if you can get past the awful faux horn intro of I Will Let You Go, you’ll learn what a Bond song performed by a Depeche Mode covers band would sound like, which you’ll enjoy in the unlikely event that description doesn’t have you running for the hills.
For its faults, though, The Persistence Of Memory isn’t boring for a single second. Its 34 minutes are, in fact, full of fun and a fevered imagination run amok. And while not all of it is gold, you don’t have to be a Rammstein fan to enjoy what’s on offer (though it helps).
Verdict: 3/5
For fans of: Rammstein, Lindemann, Depeche Mode
The Persistence Of Memory is out now via Sony