A new album and the beginning of the legendary band's Europe Stadium Tour mark a new chapter for the band. But why the fascination for these shock rockers?
Image: Universal/G. Karp
Advertisement
Rammstein, the dark gods of hard rock
Powerful shows have been the German shock-rockers' trademark for 25 years. They've headlined all the major music festivals, from Moscow to Buenos Aires.
Image: Universal/G. Karp
Music made of nightmares
Knowing no taboos, Rammstein have managed to infuse their performances with humanity's darkest nightmares. It's all about violence and murderous fantasies, cannibalism and various unthinkable acts of horror. They delight in crossing the line, and their provocations are celebrated by a legion of fans. Rammstein is one-of-a-kind — and the band members are worldwide stars.
Image: Universal/G. Karp
Eastern punk heritage
Come from East Berlin and Schwerin, the members first performed in seminal acts within the East German underground punk scene. Guitarist Paul Landers and keyboardist Flake Lorenz played in Feeling B; singer Till Lindemann was with First Arsch, bassist Oliver Riedel with The Inchtabokatables, guitarist Richard Kruspe in Orgasm Death Gimmick, and drummer Christoph Schneider in Die Firma.
Image: Universal
Appearances are deceiving
They actually look like nice guys. This photo was taken in 1995 when the band was one year old. "Herzeleid" (Heartbreak), the first LP, had gruesome texts on issues like child abuse in "Weisses Fleisch" (White Flesh), and necrophilia in "Heirate mich" (Marry Me). All that to harsh guitar riffs, merciless percussion and an edgy electro sound. It reached No. 6 in the German album charts.
Image: Pressefoto
God knows I'm no angel
"Engel" (Angel) in 1997 was the breakthrough. Given much airtime on the MTV and Viva music channels, it was inspired by Quentin Tarantino's film "From Dusk Till Dawn." The second album, "Sehnsucht" (Longing), went platinum both in Germany and in the US. Rammstein's contribution to the soundtrack of David Lynch's film "Lost Highway" kickstarted their career in the US.
Image: Paul Brown
A plea for tolerance in a Hawaiian shirt
Aren't they sweet? The surf boys pose on the Californian beach with pretty bikini-clad girls and sing about the foreigner that is unwelcome. The happy images collide with the hard, rapid industrial beat. When "Mein Land" (My Country, 2011) comes to an end, the candy-colored beach party is over, and it's back to familiar Rammstein imagery with fire and scowling faces.
Image: Universal
Inter-generational collaboration
In a crossover phase, German folk music star Heino covered well-known rock and pop songs, including Rammstein's "Sonne" (Sun). In 2013, the group invited Heino to join them onstage at Wacken Open Air. Facing 75,000 metal fans and flanked by flames and smoke, Heino sang together with Rammstein — looking slightly startled. The periodical "Metal-Hammer" tweeted: "Did Heino know where he'd landed?"
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Heroes onscreen
The film of the Rammstein concert in New York's Madison Square Garden, and the documentary "Rammstein in Amerika," premiered in movie theaters on September 24, 2015. The DVD climbed to No. 1 in the DVD charts in 13 countries. Rammstein has conquered four of the world's five biggest music markets: the US, Great Britain, France and Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/Eventpress
Cultivated pyromaniac
Rammstein lead singer Till Lindemann likes to shock with his outre makeup. But under the wild man exterior, Till's a sensitive, contemplative soul who published a collection of poetry titled "Messer" (Knife) in 2002. Meanwhile, the 56-year-old got his buff physique from high-performance swimming. And what about his love of fire? Lindemann took a course in pyrotechnics in 1996.
Image: Paul Brown
10 years of waiting
Rammstein's 7th studio album (untitled) was released on May 17, 2019. It was an eagerly awaited release, coming 10 years after the previous one. It garnered plenty of media attention ahead of its release, in part due to the music video for the single "Deutschland," which portrayed concentration camp prisoners. It became Germany's best-selling album of 2019.
There are tons of surprising anecdotes surrounding Rammstein. Although they've been revealed many times already, it's still fun to mention that singer Till Lindemann once learned the furniture crafting and basket weaving trades — and that he nearly competed at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow on the East German swimming team. Or that the six musicians have their roots in the underground punk scene of former East Germany, and have played in all manner of obscure bands. And that the band members are upright citizens with families — and indeed grandchildren.
Rammstein shocks and provokes
The whole concept of the band was — and remains — to shock and provoke the music world. And no band has done it quite like Rammstein. Their hard-as-nails beats, heavy guitar riffs and militaristic stage show punctuated by explosions and pyrotechnics are backdropped with ever-more provocative video clips — as the recent "Deutschland" single proved.
Till Lindemann is actually a nice guy — or so it's saidImage: Felix Broede/Warnermusic
Even Till Lindemann's vocals are provocative, sounding as "German" as the harsh, clipped, guttural speech with the rolling "r" we are thoroughly familiar with in films documenting the Third Reich.
But incidentally, Rammstein is not right-wing at all, as clearly demonstrated in the 2001 song "Links, zwo, drei, vier" (Left, Two, Three, Four). In a later interview with the newspaper Die Welt, guitarist Richard Kruspe said they're much too clever to belong to the right end of the political spectrum.
Till Lindemann's lyrics often concern the abysses of the human experience, including incest, pedophilia and necrophilia — for example, someone who unearths his dead wife once a year to have sex with her.
Sadomasochism and submission are to be found in the band's lyrics, as is the longing for death or love. Quiet notes in their repertoire are rare but can be found. Fans still get goose bumps over the Rammstein classic "Seemann" (Sailor) from the band's first album Herzeleid (Heartache, 1995), with Lindemann's vocals almost tenderly conveying the dark, romantic lyrics. Nina Hagen and Apocalyptica covered the song in 2003.
"Deutschland" is the first single from Rammstein's upcoming self-titled album Image: picture-alliance/dpa/check your head
A team from the word go
Loud or soft, shocker or ballad, Rammstein's six members have stayed true to themselves across 25 years. And they seem inseparable. Guitarist Richard Kruspe says this longevity is facilitated by communication: "We certainly spend 70 percent of our time together conversing."
They also have a good time. "We play all over the world, we're always sold out," says guitarist Paul Landers. "It's a lot of fun. I can't think of anything better."
Ready for another round of fun, Rammstein begins its Europe Stadium Tour in Gelsenkirchen on May 27, wrapping it up on August 22 in Vienna, with 22 cities in between including Luxemburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Brussels, Paris, Copenhagen and Munich. Of the 30 performances, all but five are sold out.
