Skills in Pills

Skills in Pills is the debut studio album by the European supergroup Lindemann, featuring Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann and Peter Tägtgren, founder of Hypocrisy and Pain. It was released on 23 June 2015 through Warner Central Europe. It was preceded by the lead single "Praise Abort", released on 28 May 2015, with "Fish On" receiving a single release later on 9 October. The album reached number one in Finland and Germany, also peaking within the top 10 in Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, and Switzerland. This is the only Lindemann album so far to have been sung completely in English, as Till reverted back to his usual native German Language on the second album F&M.

Skills in Pills
Studio album by
Lindemann
Released23 June 2015 (2015-06-23)
StudioAbyss (Pärlby, Sweden)
Genre
Length40:26
LabelWarner Central Europe
ProducerPeter Tägtgren
Lindemann chronology
Skills in Pills
(2015)		 F & M
(2019)
Singles from Skills in Pills
  1. "Praise Abort"
    Released: 28 May 2015
  2. "Fish On"
    Released: 9 October 2015

Composition

When commenting on the way the album was prepared, Tägtgren said:[3]

We went over everything on telephone and emails for how we wanted to construct the song itself. When we finally got into the studio, after half a year of emailing and things like that, he came in and nailed four songs in 12 hours or something like that.

He defined it as a "party album [...] I see it as a 2015 Billy Idol kinda thing, except the lyrics are more ironic and funny. It's good music to pre-party to before you go out to the bar".[3] Unlike in Rammstein, Lindemann sings all the songs in English instead of his native German. About this, Tägtgren said:[3]

I don't miss the German, let's put it that way. [laughs] His voice is so strong, I just think it's genius. I know the hardcore Rammstein fans might not be happy but when he sings in English you don't miss the German language. [...] He came from East Germany, where it was very difficult, because of Communism, to learn English. So, for him, it's still very new. [...] when Rammstein went out of Germany, he learned a lot of English. For him, it's like a new beginning.

Lindemann himself said: "It's very different and very difficult too. I had to kinda crawl into it and Peter encouraged me to do it. To be honest, I wasn't sure about it. My self-confidence was really low, but it became better and better. I researched a lot with the lyrics and even my experience in writing e-mails in English was like zero, so I had to learn a lot and work with dictionaries and shit like that".

Tägtgren defined the lyrics as "spooky" and said: "Read between the lines and find the irony. Don't think it's all so serious. For us, it's not to provoke. Yes, we want to shock people but, like I said, it's a party album".[3] Lindemann also commented on this matter: "We didn't want to be really nasty or provocative or insulting. [This is] the first time English speakers can understand the lyrics, which is usually impossible in Rammstein. It's very sexual, but that's what I've done in Rammstein for twenty years, it's just that nobody's understood it!"[4]

"Ladyboy" was the first song written by the duo.[3][5] "Golden Shower" and "Skills in Pills" are songs based on Lindemann's personal experiences. Referring to the latter, he commented: "I grew up in the eastern part of Germany and we had booze of course, but sometimes we had these 'pills parties', where we put shit together. We collected stuff, because it was hard to get medication, and then we had like medication orgies which was really strange".[5]

"Praise Abort" was composed around something Lindemann sang to his smartphone and sent to Tägtgren. The song received a promotional video, released on 28 May,[6] which Tägtgren defined as "grotesque" and "very sick".[3]

"Cowboy" was a critic of American masculinity, showing the cowboys as the ones that would come over and beat up the Indians, contradicting Hollywood propaganda.[7]

Release
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Consequence of SoundF[2]
Metal Hammer7/10[9]
Sputnikmusic4.5/5[10]

On 22 and 23 April, respectively, the band revealed the track listing and the cover for the album at their Facebook page.[11][12] On 2 May, the band released audio snippets of the title track.[13] On 11 June, snippets for the remaining songs were released.[14]

The album was released on 22 June 2015 via Warner Central Europe.[15]

In October 2015, the band streamed a B-side of their second single "Fish On", titled "G-Spot Michael".[16]

Packaging

The album is available in several different editions, including a standard edition, digital, special, super deluxe, and vinyl. The latter three include a bonus track, while the super deluxe edition also comes with an 80-page hardcover book and different cover art.[17]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Lindemann; all music is composed by Tägtgren.

No.TitleLength
1."Skills in Pills"4:13
2."Ladyboy"3:20
3."Fat"4:12
4."Fish On"4:12
5."Children of the Sun"3:40
6."Home Sweet Home"3:45
7."Cowboy"3:11
8."Golden Shower"4:24
9."Yukon"4:45
10."Praise Abort"4:44
Total length:40:26
Special edition bonus track
No.TitleMusicLength
11."That's My Heart"Tägtgren, Lindemann, Wijers4:35
Total length:45:01

Personnel

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[18]

Charts
Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 17
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20] 3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 24
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[23] 15
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[24] 3
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[25] 4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26] 6
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[27] 1
French Albums (SNEP)[28] 16
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] 1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[30] 2
Italian Albums (FIMI)[31] 33
South Korean International Albums (Gaon)[32] 33
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[33] 23
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[34] 9
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[35] 31
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[36] 18
Scottish Albums (OCC)[37] 28
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[38] 28
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[39] 27
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[41] 35
UK Digital Albums (OCC)[42] 71
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[43] 2
US Billboard 200[44] 144
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[45] 18

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[46] Gold 100,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

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References
  1. Monger, James Christopher. "Lindemann". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  2. Barry, Sean (June 22, 2015). "Lindemann – Skills in Pills". consequenceofsound.net. Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  3. Barkan, Jonathan (27 May 2015). "[Interview] Peter Tägtgren On Lindemann: "It's A Party Album"". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  4. Chillingworth, Alec (19 March 2015). "Lindemann: The Odd Couple". Metal Hammer. Team Rock. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  5. Müller-Hansen, Niclas (16 June 2015). "Lindemann: Intervju med Till Lindemann och Peter Tägtgren". Rocksverige. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  6. "Lindemann Feat. Rammstein Singer, Pain/Hypocrisy Mainman: 'Praise Abort' Video Premiere". Blabbermouth.net. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  7. "Till Lindemann Talks Skills In Pills. Rammstein Singer". Maniacs. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  8. Jeffries, David. "Skills in Pills - Lindemann". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  9. Goodman, Eleanor (23 June 2015). "Lindemann: Skills in Pills". metalhammer.teamrock.com. Team Rock. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  10. Simon. "Review: Lindemann - Skills in Pills". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  11. "Track-list". Lindemann's Facebook page. Facebook. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  12. "Cover art". Lindemann's Facebook page. Facebook. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  13. "Lindemann Feat. Rammstein Singer, Pain/Hypocrisy Mainman: Audio Snippet Of 'Skills In Pills' Title Track". Blabbermouth.net. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  14. "Lindemann Feat. Rammstein Singer, Pain/Hypocrisy Mainman: 'Skills In Pills' Album Audio Snippets". Blabbermouth.net. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  15. Emily (27 April 2015). "RAMMSTEIN'S TILL LINDEMANN CONFIRMS SKILLS IN PILLS RELEASE DATE". Kerrang!. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  16. Kielty, Martin (28 October 2015). "Lindemann stream G-Spot Michael". Classic Rock. Team Rock. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  17. External (24 April 2015). "Lindemann: Skills In Pills release dates, covers, tracklist and editions". Affenknecht. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  18. Skills in Pills (liner notes). Lindemann. Warner Music. 2015.CS1 maint: others (link)
  19. "Australiancharts.com – Lindemann – Skills in Pills". Hung Medien.
  20. "Austriancharts.at – Lindemann – Skills in Pills" (in German). Hung Medien.
  21. "Ultratop.be – Lindemann – Skills in Pills" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  22. "Ultratop.be – Lindemann – Skills in Pills" (in French). Hung Medien.
  23. "Lindemann Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  24. "Top Stranih [Top Foreign]" (in Croatian). Top Foreign Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga.
  25. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201528 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data.
  26. "Dutchcharts.nl – Lindemann – Skills in Pills" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  27. "Lindemann: Skills in Pills" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  28. "Lescharts.com – Lindemann – Skills in Pills". Hung Medien.
  29. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  30. "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2015. 26. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ.
  31. "Italiancharts.com – Lindemann – Skills in Pills". Hung Medien.
  32. "South Korea Gaon International Album Chart". On the page, select "2015.06.21~2015.06.27", then "국외", to obtain the corresponding chart. Gaon Chart
  33. "Charts.nz – Lindemann – Skills in Pills". Hung Medien.
  34. "Norwegiancharts.com – Lindemann – Skills in Pills". Hung Medien.
  35. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
  36. "Portuguesecharts.com – Lindemann – Skills in Pills". Hung Medien.
  37. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  38. "Spanishcharts.com – Lindemann – Skills in Pills". Hung Medien.
  39. "Swedishcharts.com – Lindemann – Skills in Pills". Hung Medien.
  40. "Swisscharts.com – Lindemann – Skills in Pills". Hung Medien.
  41. "Lindemann | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  42. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  43. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  44. "Lindemann Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  45. "Lindemann Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  46. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Lindemann; 'Skills in Pills')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
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