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Rammstein
Rammstein performing in August 2013; upper level (left to right): Oliver Riedel, Christoph Schneider, and Christian Lorenz; lower level (left to right): Paul Landers, Till Lindemann, and Richard Kruspe
Background information
Origin	Berlin, Germany
Genres	Neue Deutsche Härte industrial metal hard rock gothic metal
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Universal Motor Slash
Spinoff of	Feeling B First Arsch
Members	Till Lindemann Paul Landers Christoph Schneider Christian Lorenz Richard Kruspe Oliver Riedel
Website	rammstein.de

Rammstein (German pronunciation: [ˈʁamʃtaɪn], lit. «ramming stone») is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band’s lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph Schneider, and keyboardist Christian «Flake» Lorenz—has remained unchanged throughout their history, along with their approach to songwriting, which consists of Lindemann writing and singing the lyrics over instrumental pieces the rest of the band has completed beforehand. Prior to their formation, some members were associated with the punk rock acts Feeling B and First Arsch.

After winning a local contest, Rammstein was able to record demos and send them to different record labels, eventually signing with Motor Music. Working with producer Jacob Hellner, they released their debut album Herzeleid in 1995. Though the album initially sold poorly, the band gained popularity through their live performances and the album eventually reached No. 6 in Germany. Their second album, Sehnsucht, was released in 1997 and debuted at No. 1 in Germany, resulting in a worldwide tour lasting nearly four years and spawning the successful singles «Engel» and «Du hast» and the live album Live aus Berlin (1999). Following the tour, Rammstein signed with major label Universal Music and released Mutter in 2001. Six singles were released from the album, all charting in countries throughout Europe. The lead single, «Sonne», reached No. 2 in Germany. Rammstein released Reise, Reise in 2004 and had two more singles reach No. 2 in Germany: «Mein Teil» and «Amerika»; the former song reached No. 1 in Spain, becoming their first No. 1 single.

Their fifth album, Rosenrot, was released in 2005, and the lead single, «Benzin», reached No. 6 in Germany. Their second live album, Völkerball, was released in 2006. The band released their sixth album, Liebe ist für alle da, in 2009, with its lead single, «Pussy», becoming their first No. 1 hit in Germany despite having a controversial music video that featured hardcore pornography. The band then entered a recording hiatus and toured for several years, releasing the Made in Germany greatest hits album as well as the Rammstein in Amerika and Paris live albums. After a decade without new music, Rammstein returned in 2019 with the song «Deutschland», which became their second No. 1 hit in Germany. Their untitled seventh studio album was released in May 2019 and reached No. 1 in 14 countries. While sheltering during COVID-19 lockdowns, the band spontaneously wrote and recorded their eighth studio album, Zeit, which was released in April 2022.

Rammstein was one of the first bands to emerge within the Neue Deutsche Härte genre, with their debut album leading the music press to coin the term, and their style of music has generally had a positive reception from music critics. Commercially, the band has been very successful, earning many No. 1 albums as well as gold and platinum certifications in countries around the world. Their grand live performances, which often feature pyrotechnics, have contributed to the growth in their popularity. Despite success, the band has been subject to some controversies, with their overall image having been criticized; for instance, the song «Ich tu dir weh» forced its parent album Liebe ist für alle da to be re-released in Germany with the song removed due to its sexually explicit lyrics.

History[edit]

Founding and Herzeleid (1989–1996)[edit]

In 1989, East German guitarist Richard Kruspe escaped to West Berlin and started the band Orgasm Death Gimmick. At that time, he was heavily influenced by US music, especially that of rock group Kiss. After the Berlin Wall came down, he moved back home to Schwerin, where Till Lindemann worked as a basket-weaver and played drums in the band First Arsch (loosely translated as «First Arse» or «First Ass»). At this time, Kruspe lived with Oliver Riedel of the Inchtabokatables and Christoph Schneider of Die Firma.

In 1992, Kruspe made his first trip to the United States with Till Lindemann and Oliver «Ollie» Riedel. He realized that he did not want to make US music and concentrated on creating a unique German sound. Kruspe, Riedel and Schneider started working together on a new project in 1993. Finding it difficult to write both music and lyrics, Kruspe persuaded Lindemann, whom he had overheard singing while he was working, to join the fledgling group. The band called themselves Rammstein-Flugschau (Rammstein Airshow)^[2] after the 1988 Ramstein air show disaster. Guitarist Paul Landers said the spelling of Ramstein with the extra «m» was a mistake.^[3] After the band became popular, the band members denied the connection to the air show disaster and said that their name was inspired by the giant doorstop-type devices found on old gates, called Rammsteine.^[4] The extra «m» in the band’s name makes it translate literally as «ramming stone».^[5] In a 2019 feature, Metal Hammer explained that the band was named after one of their earliest songs, «Ramstein», written after the air show disaster at the American airbase in Ramstein. According to the band, people started to refer to them as «the band with the ‘Ramstein song'» and later as the «Ramstein band».^[5]

Rammstein co-existed with the members’ previous projects for about a year and a half. Members would invest the money raised with Feeling B shows in Rammstein. They recorded their first songs in a building that had been squatted by Feeling B frontman Aljoscha Rompe.^[5] A contest was held in Berlin for amateur bands in 1994, the winner of which would receive access to a professional recording studio^[5] for a whole week. Kruspe, Riedel, Schneider, and Lindemann entered and won the contest with a 4-track demo tape with demo versions of songs from Herzeleid, written in English. This sparked Landers’ attention, who wanted in on the project upon hearing their demo. To complete their sound, Rammstein attempted to recruit Christian «Flake» Lorenz, who had played with Landers in Feeling B. Though initially hesitant, Lorenz eventually agreed to join the band. Later, Rammstein were signed by Motor Music.^[5]

Rammstein began to record their first studio album, Herzeleid, in March 1995 with producer Jacob Hellner.^[6] They released their first single «Du riechst so gut» that August and released the album in September. Later that year, they toured with Clawfinger^[5] in Warsaw and Prague. Rammstein headlined a 17-show tour of Germany in December, which helped boost the band’s popularity and establish them as a credible live act. They went on several tours throughout early 1996, releasing their second single titled «Seemann» on 8 January. On 27 March 1996, Rammstein performed on MTV’s Hanging Out in London, their first performance in the UK. Their first major boost in popularity outside Germany came when Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor chose two Rammstein songs, «Heirate mich» and «Rammstein», during his work as music director for the David Lynch 1997 film Lost Highway.^[5] The soundtrack for the film was released in the U.S. in late 1996 and later throughout Europe in April 1997. In the middle of 1996, they headlined one tour of their own in small, sold-out venues.^[5] Rammstein went on to tour through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland from September to October 1996, performing an anniversary concert on 27 September called «100 years of Rammstein». Guests to the concert included Moby, Bobo, and the Berlin Session Orchestra, while Berlin director Gert Hof was responsible for the light show.

Sehnsucht and Live aus Berlin (1996–2000)[edit]

Rammstein started recording Sehnsucht in November 1996 at the Temple Studios in Malta.^[7] The album was again produced by Jacob Hellner. «Engel», the first single from the album, was released on 1 April 1997 and reached gold status in Germany on 23 May. This prompted the release of a fan edition of the single, named Engel – Fan Edition. This contained two previously unreleased songs, «Feuerräder» and «Wilder Wein». Release of the second single from the album Sehnsucht was «Du hast», which hit the German single charts August 1997 at No. 5. Rammstein then continued touring in the summer while Sehnsucht was released on 22 August 1997. The album reached No. 1 in Germany after two weeks in the charts. Simultaneously, Herzeleid and both Sehnsucht singles («Du hast» and «Engel») were in the Top 20 of the German charts. Rammstein continued to headline sold-out shows throughout Europe in September and October. On 5 December 1997, they embarked on their first tour of the United States as the opening act for KMFDM. In July 1998, the band released a cover of the song Stripped, originally released by Depeche Mode in early 1986; it was included on the tribute album For the Masses, the Rammstein version obtained moderate success in Germany and Austria.

On 22–23 August 1998, Rammstein played to over 17,000 fans at the Wuhlheide in Berlin; the biggest show the band had played there up to that date. Supporting acts were Danzig, Nina Hagen, Joachim Witt and Alaska.^[8] The show was professionally filmed, intended to be released on their upcoming live DVD, Live aus Berlin. Rammstein embarked on a live tour with Korn, Ice Cube, Orgy and Limp Bizkit called the Family Values Tour in September through to late October 1998. Continuing their success in the US, Sehnsucht received Gold record status there on 2 November. The band was nominated at the MTV European Music Awards for Best Rock Act and performed «Du hast» live on 12 November that year.

Rammstein had further success in 1999, starting off the year in February with a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 41st-annual Grammy Awards. A year after it was filmed, the Live aus Berlin concert was released on CD on 30 August 1999, with a limited edition double CD also available. Two weeks after it was released, Live aus Berlin went to No. 2 in the German Album Charts. On 13 September and 26 November 1999, the video and DVD versions of the concert were released respectively. Further popularity ensued when «Du hast» was included in The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture.

Mutter (2000–2002)[edit]

Rammstein’s album Mutter was recorded in the south of France in May and June 2000, and mixed in Stockholm in October of that year. During December 2000, Rammstein released an MP3 version of «Links 2-3-4» as a teaser for their new album. 2001 was a busy year for Rammstein, as the band needed to finish off the Sehnsucht Tour ending in January and February with the band playing the Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand and playing some concerts in Japan. January also heralded the shooting of the video for their upcoming single, «Sonne», recorded in Potsdam at Babelsberger Filmstudios from 13 to 15 January 2001. The video was released on 29 January 2001. The single for «Sonne» was released on 12 February 2001 in Europe, featuring an instrumental version of the song, two remixes by Clawfinger and the song «Adios» from the upcoming album.

Mutter was released on 2 April 2001, sparking another Rammstein tour through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. On 14 May, the second single from the album, «Links 2 3 4», was released, along with a video of the single on 18 May. After a tour throughout Europe in June, the band then toured the U.S., Canada and Mexico from June to August 2001. «Ich will», the third single from the album, was released on 10 September 2001 and a Tour edition of the Mutter album (the cover of which is red)^[9] was released, featuring alternative artwork and live versions of «Ich will», «Links 2 3 4», «Sonne» and «Spieluhr».

From 8 to 12 January 2002, Rammstein traveled to Prague to participate in a minor scene for the film XXX. The band is seen in the opening scene, performing their song «Feuer frei!» in a concert. «Feuer frei!» was released across Europe as the first single from the XXX soundtrack on 14 October 2002. Rammstein released two remixes of the song. Furthermore, the single’s track listing included «Du hast» and «Bück dich» cover versions by Battery. The video for the single was edited by Rob Cohen and contains part Rammstein performance at the beginning of the film and part snippets from the film itself.

Reise, Reise, Rosenrot, and Völkerball (2003–2006)[edit]

Rammstein recorded Reise, Reise (meaning «journey, journey», or as a command «travel, travel», but also an archaic Reveille) at the El Cortijo studio in southern Spain in November and December 2003; it was mixed at Toytown studio in Stockholm, Sweden in April and May 2004. The first single from the album was «Mein Teil», released on 26 July. The video was shot in the Arena, in the Treptow district of Berlin. Outdoor shooting took place at the Deutsche Oper (Opera House) U-Bahn station on Bismarckstrasse. The director was Zoran Bihac, who also filmed the «Links 2 3 4» video. The video for the second single, «Amerika», was filmed on 6 and 7 August 2004 in the ruins of the former cement works in Rüdersdorf, near Berlin, under the direction of Jörn Heitmann (who also directed the «Ich Will» music video, among others). The space suits for the moon scenes were borrowed from Hollywood and 240 tons of ash were needed to create the moon landscape. The video premiered on 20 August, while the single was released on 13 September.

Reise, Reise was released on 27 September 2004 and went straight into top 10 charts throughout Europe. According to the Billboard charts, Rammstein were at that stage the most successful German-language band of all time. Rammstein toured Germany through November and some of December 2004, releasing the single «Ohne dich» on 22 November. In February 2005, Rammstein toured Europe again. By 28 February, Rammstein had played 21 concerts in front of more than 200,000 spectators in ten countries. It was on this tour that the band was faced with several lawsuits resulting from severe fire breathing accidents involving audience members. «Keine Lust» the fourth single from Reise, Reise, was released on 28 February 2005. From 27 May to 30 July 2005, Rammstein played music festivals across Europe. Footage from these concerts can be seen on Rammstein’s live DVD Völkerball, released in November 2006.

In August 2005, Rammstein revealed that the follow-up album to Reise, Reise would be called Rosenrot. Their first single from the album, «Benzin», was released on 5 October, with its video premiere on 16 September. Rosenrot was released worldwide on 28 October. Directly following the release, the album continued the success of its predecessor, Reise, Reise, placing on top 10 charts in 20 countries. 16 December 2005 marked the release of the title track on Rosenrot. The video for «Mann gegen Mann» was released on 6 February 2006, with the single being released on 3 March. On 19 February 2006, Rammstein had an asteroid named after them, 110393 Rammstein.^[10]

On 17 November, the first Rammstein Live DVD since Live aus Berlin from 1998 was released. Völkerball shows concert performances by the band in England, France, Japan and Russia. The Special Edition is extended by a second DVD, which contains the documentaries «Anaconda in the net» by Mathilde Bonnefoy and the «Making of the album Reise, Reise» by the band’s guitarist Paul Landers. The limited edition was released as a large black-and-white photo-book with photos by Frederic Batier, who had accompanied the band through their recent tours. The photo-book edition contains two DVDs and two live albums.

Liebe ist für alle da (2007–2011)[edit]

The band took a hiatus in 2006 and began work again in 2007. The recording process reportedly took two years. In July 2009, the title track «Liebe ist für alle da» leaked onto the internet, along with promotional materials. This led Universal Music to take action against certain fan sites.^[11][12] It was confirmed in August 2009 that the new album would have 11 tracks,^[13] and mixing of the album – which was taking place in Stockholm – had been completed.^[14] On 1 September 2009, it was confirmed on the band’s website that «Pussy» would be the first single from the album. On the same day, The Gauntlet posted a promotional video for it. The video also confirmed the album title, Liebe ist für alle da. Later, the title was confirmed again in an interview with Paul Landers for RockOne magazine. 46,7 The music video for «Pussy» was released on 16 September 2009, at 20:30 GMT, released especially for the adult website Visit-x.^[15] The video contains graphic scenes of male and female nudity as well as women engaging in sexual acts with the band members, although the actual sex scenes were performed by body doubles.^[16] The women featured in the video are German pornographic stars.^[17] Metal Hammer released an edited version of the video onto their website.^[18]

«Ich tu dir weh» was confirmed as the second single from the album by Landers and Lorenz in an interview for Radio Eins. Although censorship of the song in Germany prohibits any advertisement, broadcast or public display, the video to «Ich tu dir weh» was released on 21 December 2009 on the adult website Visit-x, just like the video to «Pussy», after advertisement on the band’s official German website; it depicts the band on stage in a similar configuration as on their 2009/10 tour. Any references to the video on the official website have since been deleted. In Europe, the single was released on 15 January 2010, and in the U.S. on 19 January 2010.^[19] Like the video «Pussy,» this video was also directed by Jonas Åkerlund. On 23 April 2010, Rammstein released their video «Haifisch» on the band’s MySpace page. Unlike the video for «Ich tu dir weh», it contains more of a narrative rather than a performance.^[20] The single was released during May and June 2010.^[21]

On 8 November 2009, Rammstein began the first leg of the Liebe ist für alle da Tour in Lisbon, Portugal. As part of their European summer tour, Rammstein performed at the 2010 Rock AM Ring Festival on 4–6 June 2010.^[22] They also headlined several shows across Europe on the Sonisphere Festival, including their first ever outdoor UK performance at Knebworth Park, performing the day before Iron Maiden. On Sunday 18 July 2010, Rammstein played in front of more than 130,000 people in Quebec City on the Plains of Abraham as the closing show for the Festival d’été de Québec. It was their first North American appearance in nine years. The band announced that their last tour dates of 2010 were to be in the Americas. After several South American dates, the band returned to the United States for a single show at the famous Madison Square Garden in New York City – their first US show in over ten years. The tickets sold out in a very short time (under 20 minutes).

They also performed at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada on 9 December. This concert sold out within the first hour of tickets going on sale, indicating a high demand to see Rammstein in North America. The band then played at Big Day Out 2011 from 21 January to 6 February in New Zealand and Australia. The band also visited South Africa for the first time in early 2011 and played two sold-out concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively, indicating another territory eager for the opportunity to enjoy the band live. On 16 February 2011, Rammstein announced that, after the massive success of their sold out Madison Square Garden show on 11 December 2010, they would be touring North America after ten years.

Rammstein played in New Jersey (East Rutherford) Izod Center, Montreal Bell Centre, Toronto Air Canada Centre, Chicago Allstate Arena, Edmonton Rexall Place, Seattle Tacoma Dome, San Francisco (Oakland) Oracle Arena, Los Angeles The Forum, and Las Vegas Thomas and Mack Center, Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes, Guadalajara’s Arena VFG, and Monterrey’s Auditorio Banamex to a total of six US dates, three Canadian dates, and four Mexican dates. Tickets went on sale 25 and 26 February to great response, with many shows completely selling out, making this tour a complete success. On 20 April 2011, the band also won the Revolver Golden God Award for Best Live Band, their first US award.

Made in Germany, video releases, and side projects (2011–2017)[edit]

Rammstein released a greatest hits album titled Made in Germany 1995–2011 on 2 December 2011. It contains one previously unreleased track, «Mein Land» which was released as a single on 11 November 2011 with another track, «Vergiss uns nicht», that was released at a later date. The compilation is available in three different editions: The standard edition; this includes a CD with normal songs from their back catalog. Special edition; has the same CD from the standard edition and an extra CD with Rammstein songs that have been remixed by different artists such as Scooter. Finally, the super deluxe edition; has the two previously mentioned CDs and three DVDs with interviews and the making of videos from different music videos. The video for the song «Mein Land» was filmed on 23 May 2011 at Sycamore Beach in Malibu, California. It premiered on the band’s official website on 11 November 2011. A full European tour in support of Made in Germany began in November 2011 and spanned all the way to May 2012. It included a North American tour that began on 20 April 2012 in Sunrise, Florida and ended on 25 May 2012 in Houston, Texas that visited 21 cities throughout the US and Canada. The Swedish industrial band Deathstars supported the band during the first two legs of the European tour.^[23] DJ Joe Letz from Combichrist and Emigrate was the opening act for the North American Tour.

Rammstein, minus Till Lindemann, performed «The Beautiful People» with Marilyn Manson at the Echo Awards on 22 March 2012. On 21 September 2012, it was announced that Rammstein would be headlining Download Festival 2013, along with Iron Maiden and Slipknot. Twelve additional festival performances for summer 2013 were announced the same day, including Wacken Open Air festival and Rock Werchter.^[24] Rammstein announced new tour dates starting for spring 2013 in Europe,^[25] including a 2-day return to Kindl-Bühne Wuhlheide, the location of their first (official) live DVD, Live Aus Berlin.^[26] On 22 November 2012, Rammstein announced via Facebook that they will be releasing a video collection featuring all music videos entitled Videos 1995–2012, plus two unreleased music videos for «Mein Herz Brennt», originally featured on the album Mutter. The first video premiered on the band’s Vimeo, while the second premiered on a promotional website. Both videos were directed by Zoran Bihac.^[27] The first was released on 7 December 2012, and featured the newly recorded piano version of «Mein Herz Brennt». A single of the song was released on the same day, which included an edited version of the original and a new song titled ‘Gib Mir Deine Augen’ as a b-side.^[28] The explicit version’s video leaked onto the internet on 11 December 2012 but was officially released on 14 December, in conjunction with the video collection DVD.^[29]

In July 2013, guitarist Paul Landers revealed in an interview the possibility of a Rammstein documentary and a live DVD. He indicated that the band may «start thinking» about a new album in 2014.^[30] In September 2014, band co-founder Richard Kruspe (then working with his side band, Emigrate^[31]) said the band was preparing some more live DVDs and that they were taking some time off from the studio. The band would meet again in 2015 to decide if the time was right to return to the studio.^[32] In May 2015, Lindemann confirmed in an interview with MusikUniverse that Rammstein would start pre-production on a possible new album in September of that year, and that production would most likely go on until 2017.^[33] According to Peter Tägtgren – who works with frontman Till Lindemann on their side-project Lindemann – Till would be regrouping with his Rammstein bandmates later in 2015 to start pre-production on a new full-length album, which normally takes two years to be released.^[34]

In early August 2015, Rammstein released a trailer for an upcoming project, titled «In Amerika».^[35] On 15 August, the band announced Rammstein in Amerika, a video release that includes a 2010 concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City and a documentary made from archived footage recorded during the band’s career.^[36] Rammstein played several festivals in Europe and North America during 2016,^[37] and in November announced plans to perform at a similar string of European festivals in 2017.^[38] On 18 January 2017 Rammstein announced a new live video release titled Paris, a recording of a March 2012 concert that took place at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris.^[39] It premiered on 23 March in selected cinemas,^[40] and was released worldwide on DVD/Blu-ray and CD on 19 May 2017.^[41]

Untitled seventh album and Zeit (2017–present)[edit]

In an interview in March 2017, Richard Kruspe said that Rammstein had about 35 new songs that were close to completion, though the release date of the band’s seventh studio album was still an open question.^[42] In May, Rammstein started touring once again. Also in May, it was revealed that Sky van Hoff would be working with the band on their next album.^[43] On 18 June 2018, it was announced via StubHub’s ticketing website that Rammstein would play songs at their Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, show from their forthcoming album, then set for release late in 2018.^[44] On 17 September 2018, the band announced through Facebook that they were «almost done» recording the album, as they were recording orchestra and choirs in Minsk.^[45] On 2 January 2019, guitarist Richard Kruspe announced that recording of the album wrapped in November 2018 and that the record would be released in April 2019, along with five music videos.^[46]

Rammstein released the first single from their seventh album, «Deutschland», on 28 March 2019^[47] and announced the release date of their untitled seventh studio album, 17 May 2019. Rammstein also revealed the album cover which consisted of a single, unlit match which fans say represents their love of fire and simplicity.^[48] On 26 April 2019, Rammstein released the second single from the new album, «Radio». Shortly after its release, the album reached No. 1 in fourteen different countries.^[49] On 28 May 2019, Rammstein released their third single and music video from the album, this time for «Ausländer».^[50] The band embarked on their Stadium Tour to support the album, beginning in May 2019. They were due to play shows in Europe and North America in 2020, but were forced to postpone them due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the two continents. The dates first were rescheduled for 2021^[51][52] and, in March 2021, again rescheduled to 2022.^[53][54]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the band to remain sheltered during a lockdown in Germany, the band returned to writing music, which Christoph Schneider confirmed in a German podcast.^[55] It was reported in September 2020 that they had returned to La Fabrique Studios in France, where they recorded their untitled seventh album, to record new music, potentially for a new album.^[56] On 25 September, the 25th anniversary of their debut album Herzeleid, they announced a remastered anniversary edition for the album, for release on 4 December. The release was made available both digitally and physically, as a CD housed in a digipak as well as a double heavyweight, colored vinyl.^[57]

In February 2021, Flake Lorenz confirmed to Motor Music that the band had finished recording an eighth studio album. Lorenz stated that the recording sessions were unplanned and that the quarantine caused by the pandemic allowed for «less distraction» and «more time to think of new things».^[58] In October 2021, a song from the album was premiered on the International Space Station to French astronaut Thomas Pesquet.^[59] According to composer Sven Helbig, who worked on the album, the album’s release had been delayed due to the 2021–2022 global supply chain crisis, which impacted the album’s physical releases.^[60] Richard Kruspe affirmed in an interview that Rammstein’s eighth studio album would be released in the first half of 2022, prior to the slated resumption of their Stadium Tour that had been postponed to 2022.^[61]

Rammstein began teasing the first single from their eighth studio album on 8 March 2022, posting clips to their social media accounts with the hashtag «#ZEITkommt».^[62] On 10 March, they formally announced the album, titled Zeit, revealing its release date of 29 April 2022. The release of the title track as the album’s lead single, along with its music video, coincided with the announcement.^[63] The second single from Zeit, «Zick Zack», was released on 7 April with its accompanying music video.^[64] The third single from Zeit, «Angst», was released on 29 April with its accompanying music video.^[65] On 25 November 2022 Rammstein released the music video for the song «Adieu» on their official YouTube channel.^[66]

Musical style and lyrics[edit]

Rammstein is considered a Neue Deutsche Härte band,^{[68][69][70][71]} and is also often described as industrial metal.^{[72][73][74][75]} Other descriptions include hard rock^{[76][77][78][79][80][81]} and gothic metal,^{[82][83][84][85]} as well as nu metal,^{[86][87][88][89]} alternative metal,^[90] symphonic metal,^[91] progressive metal,^[92] and «techno-metal».^[93]

Rammstein was traditionally inspired by bands such as the Slovenian group Laibach, known for its provocative songs, often citing political symbols of the far-right^[94] and whose music style also combines different genres, or the German rock band Oomph!^[95] However, the band members don’t see a real connection to Laibach – apart from the similarity in vocal style which Flake Lorenz admitted in a Viva interview from 1997. In the same interview Richard Kruspe said: «For me, Laibach is a very, very intellectual story. Rammstein is much more emotional for me – in the beginning. And I can’t do anything with that intellect that Laibach uses.»^[96]

Unlike many bands from Berlin in the early 1990s, Rammstein didn’t want to imitate American or English bands. Flake Lorenz said in an interview: «We found the style by knowing exactly what we didn’t want. And we just didn’t want to do American funky music or punk or anything we can’t do. We realized that we can only do this music that we also play. And it’s just very simple, dull, monotone.»^[97]

Rammstein’s style has received positive feedback from critics. New Zealand’s Southland Times (17 December 1999) suggested that Till Lindemann’s «booming, sub-sonic voice» would send «the peasants fleeing into their barns and bolting their doors», while The New York Times (9 January 2005) commented that on the stage, «Mr. Lindemann gave off an air of such brute masculinity and barely contained violence that it seemed that he could have reached into the crowd, snatched up a fan, and bitten off his head». Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commented that «their blend of industrial noise, grinding metal guitars, and operatic vocals is staggeringly powerful».^[92] «We just push boundaries», said Till Lindemann in an interview with rock magazine Kerrang!, «We cannot help it if people don’t like those boundaries being pushed».

Nearly all of Rammstein’s songs are in German. Educated in East German schools, the members were all taught Russian as a second language rather than English. In 2019, Flake commented: «I saw a lot of East German bands that sung in very bad English to people who didn’t understand English – it was absolutely stupid. But if you really want to tell your emotions, you have to speak in your mother tongue.»^[5] Songs they have recorded entirely or partly in English include: a cover of Depeche Mode’s 1986 song «Stripped» and English renditions of «Engel», «Du hast», and «Amerika». The original version of «Amerika» as well as «Stirb nicht vor mir (Don’t Die Before I Do)» and «Pussy» also contain some lyrics in English. The song «Moskau» («Moscow») contains a chorus in Russian, and Till Lindemann has an unofficial song called «Schtiel» (cover of song «Штиль»(«Shtil») by Russian popular heavy metal band «Aria») entirely in Russian.^[98] «Te quiero puta!» is entirely in Spanish, «Frühling in Paris» has a chorus in French, «Zeig dich» contains lyrics in Latin performed by a choir and «Ausländer» has lyrics in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Russian. Oliver Riedel commented that «[the] German language suits heavy metal music. French might be the language of love, but German is the language of anger».^[98] In an interview with Ultimate Guitar, when asked whether Rammstein would ever create an original song entirely in English, Till Lindemann stated that ‘Rammstein will never write a song in English, it’s like asking Buddha to kill a pig’.^[99]

The band’s lyrics, as sung by Till Lindemann, are an essential element of their music, and shape the perception by fans and a wider public. Among other things that are seen as controversial, Rammstein also refers to classical German literature, e.g. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s famous poems Der Erlkönig (1778) and Das Heidenröslein (1771) for the songs «Dalai Lama» and «Rosenrot», respectively.^[100] Several of their songs are related to controversial and taboo subjects such as sadomasochism, homosexuality, intersexuality, incest, pedophilia, necrophilia, cannibalism, pyromania, religion and sexual violence. Also several of their songs are allegedly inspired by real-life events. These songs include «Rammstein» (Ramstein airshow disaster), «Mein Teil» (The Meiwes Case), «Wiener Blut» (Fritzl case) and «Donaukinder» (2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill). Their fourth album, Reise, Reise, is loosely inspired by the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123.^[101] The band have also occasionally delved into politics with their lyrics. «Amerika» is a critique of the cultural and political imperialism of the United States all over the world. The lyrics of the song «Deutschland» contain the lines «Deutschland! / Meine Liebe / kann ich dir nicht geben» (Germany! / My love / [is what] I cannot give you), which conveys the band’s inability to have unquestioned patriotic feelings.^[102]

Live performances[edit]

Since their early years,^[5] Rammstein are particularly known for their over-the-top live performances, making such extensive use of pyrotechnics that fans eventually coined the motto, «Other bands play, Rammstein burns!» (a play on Manowar’s song «Kings of Metal», which states that «other bands play, Manowar kill»). Following an accident in Berlin on 27 September 1996, in which some burning decorative parts of the stage collapsed,^[103] the band started using professionals to handle the pyrotechnics. Lindemann subsequently qualified as a licensed pyrotechnician, and often spends entire songs engulfed in flames. He has suffered multiple burns on his ears, head, and arms.

The band’s stage costumes are also known for being outlandish. During the Reise, Reise Tour, they wore lederhosen, corsets, and military-inspired uniforms with German steel helmets; during the Mutter Tour, the group kept to the themes of the album artwork and descended onto the stage from a giant uterus while wearing diapers. During the Völkerball concert, among others, Lindemann changed costumes between songs and dressed accordingly for each. For example, for the song «Mein Teil», he was dressed as a blood-soaked chef; in «Reise, Reise», he dressed as a sailor. The rest of the band each wore their own preferred costume, but none quite as bizarre as Till’s. The band’s flair for costumes is evident in their music videos as well as their live shows. In the «Keine Lust» video, all members except Lorenz are dressed in fat suits. In the «Amerika» video, all members of the band wear astronaut costumes.

Since the Mutter Tour in 2001, Rammstein have worked with stage designer Roy Bennett, who helped the band in developing the look of the stages. With the Ahoi Tour in 2004/2005, the band began using a two-level stage, with half the band playing the lower level and the other half on the upper level. At this tour, the upper level rose over 2 meters above the stage floor and had an oval entrance just beneath the drums. At both sides of the upper level, a special lift made it possible for the band members to access both stage levels.

On the Liebe ist für alle da Tour in 2009, the new stage still had a two-level design. This time, however, the upper level only had about half the height as on the previous tour. Stage entrance was possible by a hydraulic ramp in the middle of the stage floor. At each end of the upper level, stairs were placed in order to gain access to both levels. This tour included not only the extensive use of pyrotechnics, but also a massive lighting show, such as the band’s logo lit up as big lamps on four enormous collapsible towers, forming the industrial backdrop of the set and being capable of different lighting effects.

During the arena shows of the Made in Germany 1995-2011 Tour, the stage was slightly altered with new set pieces such as a large industrial fan as well as new backdrops. The most noticeable addition was a long catwalk, connecting the main stage to a smaller stage in the middle of the audience. During the 2013 festival leg of the tour, the bridge and smaller stage were omitted. For the 2016 Festival Tour, the band kept the stage itself mostly unchanged, though had the entire lighting rig changed completely. According to Kruspe, the onstage antics are meant to get people’s attention and have fun at the same time; Rammstein’s motto, according to Schneider, is «do your own thing and overdo it».

Kruspe said of the stage show in July 1999, «You have to understand that 99 per cent of the people don’t understand the lyrics, so you have to come up with something to keep the drama in the show. We have to do something. We like to have a show; we like to play with fire. We do have a sense of humour. We do laugh about it; we have fun […] but we’re not Spinal Tap. We take the music and the lyrics seriously. It’s a combination of humour, theatre, and our East German culture, you know?»^[104]

Their antics have also garnered controversy. During the American Family Values Tour 1998, alongside acts such as rapper Ice Cube, Korn, and Limp Bizkit, the band was arrested for public indecency. In one of their more infamous moments, Lindemann engaged in simulated sodomy with Lorenz during their performance of «Bück dich» in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were subsequently arrested, fined $25 and spent one night in jail.^[105][106]

Controversies[edit]

Imagery[edit]

The New York Times described Rammstein’s music as a «powerful strain of brutally intense rock… bringing gale-force music and spectacular theatrics together».^[107] The members have not been shy about courting controversy and have periodically attracted condemnation from morality campaigners. Till and Flake’s stage act earned them a night in jail in June 1999 after a liquid-ejecting dildo was used in a concert in Worcester, Massachusetts. Back home in Germany, the band faced repeated accusations of fascist sympathies because of the dark and sometimes militaristic imagery of their videos and concerts, including the use of excerpts from the film Olympia by Leni Riefenstahl in the video for their cover of Depeche Mode’s song «Stripped». MTV Germany studied the lyrics, talked to the band and came away satisfied that Rammstein are apolitical; Peter Ruppert, then head of Music Programming at MTV Germany, stated that the band «aren’t in any way connected with any right-wing activities».^[108]

Their cover of their debut album Herzeleid, released in Germany in 1995, showed the band members bare-chested in a style that resembled Strength Through Joy in the eyes of some critics, who accused the band of trying to sell themselves as «poster boys for the Master Race».^[109] Rammstein have vehemently denied this and said they want nothing to do with politics or supremacy of any kind. Lorenz, annoyed by the claim, has remarked it is just a photo, and should be understood as such. Herzeleid has since been given a different cover in North America, depicting the band members’ faces.

The video of «Deutschland», released in 2019, sparked further controversy, as it portrays black German actress Ruby Commey appearing as Germania, which has been described as «a calculated affront to German nationalists».^[110] The video also portrays the band members both as Nazi concentration camp executioners and as Jewish prisoners, sparking the complaints of Holocaust survivors groups; however, others defended the video and the song lyrics, which have been interpreted as «express[ing] a love/hate relationship with Germany».^[111]

Relation to violent events[edit]

Rammstein were cited in relation to the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, when a photo of Eric Harris wearing a Rammstein T-shirt in the 11th grade was revealed.^[112] There was no evidence to correlate the band and the massacre. In response to the shooting, the band issued a statement:

The members of Rammstein express their condolences and sympathy to all affected by the recent tragic events in Denver. They wish to make it clear that they have no lyrical content or political beliefs that could have possibly influenced such behaviour. Additionally, members of Rammstein have children of their own, in whom they continually strive to instill healthy and non-violent values.^[113][114]

Coincidentally, on 10 September 2001, the single and video clip of «Ich will» («I Want») was released which portrays the band as bank robbers who want to get a message across and receiving a Goldene Kamera (Golden Camera) award, a German version of the Emmy award, for their «actions». In the United States, the video clip was broadcast only late at night after the attacks of 11 September 2001, although many media officials and politicians requested the video to be pulled from broadcast completely.

Following the conclusion of the Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia in September 2004, the Russian authorities claimed that the terrorists had «listened to German hard rock group Rammstein on personal stereos during the siege to keep themselves edgy and fired up».^[115] The claim has not been independently confirmed.

Band members said this about the issue:

«There’s been a lot of talk about that, but if there are radical feelings in people anything can wake them – a painting, a picture, whatever. It’s just a coincidence that it happened to be our music. It’s important to think about what caused them to make their decisions, how they became animals, not their taste in music. Whenever something like this happens it’s like ‘Okay, let’s blame the artist’. Such bullshit.»

— Till Lindemann

«Our music is made to release aggression, and people listening to it are also needed to do that, but it’s not our fault. Should we stop making hard music because bad people might like it?»

— Christoph Schneider

Pekka-Eric Auvinen, the perpetrator of the Jokela school shooting in November 2007, also included Rammstein in one of his favorite bands. However, he noted that the music among other things was not to blame for his decisions.^[116]

Elliot Rodger, the perpetrator of the Isla Vista killings in May 2014, was also a fan of Rammstein according to his YouTube records. On a lyric video of Mein Herz brennt, Rodger wrote: «[G]reat song to listen to while daydreaming about being a powerful ruler». Even though Rodger wrote in his manifesto that he wished to become a dictator and punish all the people who rejected him, there was no direct link found between the band’s music and the killing spree.^[117] Santa Barbara police later confirmed that Rodger’s main motivations were sexual and social rejection.^[118]

The Trollhättan school attack perpetrator, Anton Lundin Pettersson, used a manipulated version of the band’s logo that added Nazi Germany’s eagle on his Facebook page.

Videos[edit]

In October 2004, the video for «Mein Teil» («My part») caused considerable controversy in Germany when it was released. It takes a darkly comic view of the Armin Meiwes cannibalism case, showing a cross-dressed Schneider holding the other five band members on a leash and rolling around in mud. The controversy did nothing to stop the single rising to No. 2 in the German charts. Meiwes (who was convicted of manslaughter in 2004, then retried in 2006 and found guilty of murder)^[119] brought a lawsuit in January 2006 against the band for infringement of rights to the story.

The band’s own views of its image are sanguine; Landers has said: «We like being on the fringes of bad taste».^[120] Christian «Flake» Lorenz comments: «The controversy is fun, like stealing forbidden fruit. But it serves a purpose. We like audiences to grapple with our music, and people have become more receptive».^[121]

The video for «Pussy» was released September 2009. It features hardcore pornographic scenes of nudity along with women engaging in sexual activity with body doubles of the band members. It is the third Rammstein video to include nudity.^[122]

Placement on the Index[edit]

On 5 November 2009, their sixth studio album Liebe ist für alle da was placed on the Index of the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien or BPjM (Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young People), making it illegal in Germany to make the album accessible to minors or display it where it can be seen by people underage, effectively banning it from stores.^[123][124] According to the official statement of the BPjM, the depiction of lead guitarist Richard Kruspe holding a woman wearing only a mask over his knee and lifting his hand to strike her behind has given cause for offense, as well as the lyrics to «Ich tu dir weh» (meaning «I hurt you») which supposedly promoted dangerous BDSM techniques. Furthermore, the advisory board took into consideration the alleged promotion of unprotected sexual intercourse in the lyrics to «Pussy».

The band, as well as several members of the German press, reacted with astonishment to the decision. Keyboardist Christian Lorenz expressed surprise at the advisory board’s «parochial sense of art» and regretted their apparent inability to detect irony.^[125][126] On 16 November 2009, a stripped-down version of Liebe ist für alle da was released. As of 31 May 2010, the administrative court in Cologne had decided to suspend the inclusion into the Index (case 22 L 1899/09). The German department deleted the record from the Index on 1 June (Decision No. A 117/10). On 9 June, the band announced that the original version of the album was available in their shop and that the single «Ich tu dir weh» would soon be released in Germany. In October 2011, the album was judged not harmful to minors and deleted from the Index.^[127]

In 2016, Rammstein filed a lawsuit against the German state claiming €66,000 in compensation for damages that had allegedly resulted from the indexing, chiefly the destruction or withholding of 85,000 copies of the album that the band says would have otherwise sold.^[128]

Legal action[edit]

In 2010, Rammstein settled out of court against Apocalyptica’s former record label Sony Music Entertainment GmbH as the successor of the by now defunct affiliated label Gun Records for using Rammstein’s label in marketing Apocalyptica’s 2007 album Worlds Collide, which featured a track with singer Lindemann.^[129][130]

Apocalyptica were seen on stage with Rammstein during the song «Mein Herz brennt» in February 2012 at Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland.^[131]

Political views[edit]

Early on, Rammstein were accused by media outlets in Germany of being neo-Nazis due to their imagery. The band released the song «Links 2-3-4» (Links being German for «left») in 2001 to affirm to the public that they reside on the left side of the political spectrum. In a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone Germany, when asked about Nazi accusations, Lindemann stated «We come from the East and we have grown up as socialists. We used to be either punks or Goths – we hate Nazis! And then suddenly there is such a far-fetched accusation. We are doing exactly the same thing today, but no one in America or in Mexico would even get the idea to come up with something like that. This only happens in Germany. Our reply to this animosity was ‘Links 2-3-4’, and with that we had made it clear where we stand politically.»^[133] Regarding the song, Kruspe said: «‘My heart beats on the left, two, three, four’. It’s simple. If you want to put us in a political category, we’re on the left side, and that’s the reason we made the song».^[134] The song’s title refers to the refrain of the German Communist Party song Einheitsfrontlied, written by Bertholt Brecht: «Drum links, zwei, drei! Drum links, zwei, drei! / Wo dein Platz, Genosse ist! / Reih dich ein, in die Arbeitereinheitsfront / Weil du auch ein Arbeiter bist».^[135] (Then left, two, three! Then left, two, three! / Here’s the place, Comrade, for you! / So fall in with the Workers’ united front / For you are a worker too.) Another key lyric expressing the band’s allegiance to the left paraphrases the titles of newspaper columns published side by side for several years in the German newspaper Bild: «Mein Herz schlägt links» («My heart beats on the left») by The Left Party co-chair and former Social Democratic Party of Germany chair Oskar Lafontaine, and «Mein Herz schlägt auf dem rechten Fleck» («My heart beats in the right place») by Peter Gauweiler of the conservative Christian Social Union.^[136] Lorenz stated that the song was created to show the band could write a harsh, evil, military-sounding song without being Nazis.^[137]

The band also wrote the song «Amerika» as a critique of the worldwide cultural and political imperialism of the United States. In their book Envisioning Social Justice in Contemporary German Culture, Jill E. Twark and Axel Hildebrandt found that the song’s text and most of its video’s images point toward a critique of America’s cultural imperialism, political propaganda, and self-assumed role as global police force. The song responds critically to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. They also found that another song of theirs that is critical of the United States is «Mein Land», believing that it critiques American racism and nationalism.^[132]

During the Eastern European leg of their Europe Stadium Tour, the band showed support for the LGBT community on several occasions. At a concert in Chorzów, Poland on 24 July 2019, drummer Christoph Schneider surfed the crowd in a rubber boat, holding a rainbow flag. At their concert in Moscow five days later, guitarists Kruspe and Landers kissed onstage, while they embraced each other during a concert in Saint Petersburg on 2 August.^[138] The band’s support for gay rights was met with criticism from some Russian politicians. Vitaly Milonov, a member of the State Duma called the band «idiots» and said: «If they think it possible to behave in such a way, they should also consider it possible to keep this garbage away from us.»^[139]

Members[edit]

Since forming in 1994, Rammstein have retained a constant line-up. Richard Kruspe had said in a Revolver Magazine interview that it is because of the band respecting each other’s wishes to take a break, either for personal reasons or to focus on a side project.^[140] Members of the band have had side projects that they take part in during Rammstein’s inactivity. Kruspe currently fronts the group Emigrate while Till Lindemann began his project Lindemann in 2015.

• Till Lindemann – lead vocals, harmonica
• Richard Kruspe – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Paul Landers – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Oliver Riedel – bass guitar
• Christoph Schneider^[a] – drums, percussion
• Christian «Flake» Lorenz^[b] – keyboards, samples, synthesizers, trumpet, programming

Discography[edit]

Studio albums

• Herzeleid (1995)
• Sehnsucht (1997)
• Mutter (2001)
• Reise, Reise (2004)
• Rosenrot (2005)
• Liebe ist für alle da (2009)
• Untitled album (2019)
• Zeit (2022)

Tours[edit]

• Club Tour (1994–1995)
• Herzeleid Tour (1995–1997)
• Sehnsucht Tour (1997–2001)
• Family Values Tour 1998 (22 September 1998 – 31 October 1998)
• Mutter Tour (2001–2002)
• Pledge of Allegiance Tour (2001; in between the August–November dates of the Mutter Tour)
• Ahoi Tour (Reise, Reise Tour) (2004–2005)
• Liebe Ist Für Alle Da Tour (2009–2011)
• Made in Germany 1995–2011 Tour (2011–2013)
• Rammstein Tour 2016 (2016)
• Rammstein Festival Tour 2017 (2017)
• Rammstein Stadium Tour (2019–2023)

Awards and honors[edit]

Grammy Awards

Notes and references[edit]

Notes

References

Further reading[edit]

• Barry Graves, Siegfried Schmidt-Joos, Bernward Halbscheffel: Das neue Rock-Lexikon. Bd 1. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1998. ISBN 3-499-16352-7
• Barry Graves, Siegfried Schmidt-Joos, Bernward Halbscheffel: Das neue Rock-Lexikon. Bd 2. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1998. ISBN 3-499-16353-5
• Rammstein: Rammstein – Liederbuch. Hal Leonard Corporation, London 1999. ISBN 0-7119-7220-6
• Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: Letzte Ausfahrt – Germania. Ein Phänomen namens neue deutsche Härte. I.P. Verlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-931624-12-9
• Gert Hof: Rammstein. Die Gestalten Verlag, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-931126-32-3
• Matthias Matthies: Rammstein – Deutschlandtour 2001. Berlin 2002.
• Andreas Speit: Ästhetische Mobilmachung – Dark Wave, Neofolk und Industrial im Spannungsfeld rechter Ideologien., Unrast 2001. ISBN 3-89771-804-9
• Michele Bettendorf: Ursprung Punkszene. Oder Rammstein hätte es im Westen nie gegeben. Books on Demand GmbH, 2002. ISBN 3-8311-4493-1
• Till Lindemann und Gert Hof: Messer. Eichborn, Frankfurt M 2002. ISBN 3-8218-0730-X
• Michael Fuchs-Gamböck und Thorsten Schatz: Spiel mit dem Feuer – Das inoffizielle Rammstein-Buch. Heel, Königswinter 2006. ISBN 3-89880-661-8
• Frédéric Batier: Rammstein – Völkerball. 2006. ISBN 3-8291-18694

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Rammstein discography at MusicBrainz
• Rammstein discography at Discogs
• Rammstein at deutsche-mugge.de (in German)

• Rammstein at Curlie
• Works by and about Rammstein in the German National Library catalogue

Rammstein
Rammstein performing in August 2013; upper level (left to right): Oliver Riedel, Christoph Schneider, and Christian Lorenz; lower level (left to right): Paul Landers, Till Lindemann, and Richard Kruspe
Background information
Origin	Berlin, Germany
Genres	Neue Deutsche Härte industrial metal hard rock gothic metal
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Universal Motor Slash
Spinoff of	Feeling B First Arsch
Members	Till Lindemann Paul Landers Christoph Schneider Christian Lorenz Richard Kruspe Oliver Riedel
Website	rammstein.de

Rammstein (German pronunciation: [ˈʁamʃtaɪn], lit. «ramming stone») is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band’s lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph Schneider, and keyboardist Christian «Flake» Lorenz—has remained unchanged throughout their history, along with their approach to songwriting, which consists of Lindemann writing and singing the lyrics over instrumental pieces the rest of the band has completed beforehand. Prior to their formation, some members were associated with the punk rock acts Feeling B and First Arsch.

After winning a local contest, Rammstein was able to record demos and send them to different record labels, eventually signing with Motor Music. Working with producer Jacob Hellner, they released their debut album Herzeleid in 1995. Though the album initially sold poorly, the band gained popularity through their live performances and the album eventually reached No. 6 in Germany. Their second album, Sehnsucht, was released in 1997 and debuted at No. 1 in Germany, resulting in a worldwide tour lasting nearly four years and spawning the successful singles «Engel» and «Du hast» and the live album Live aus Berlin (1999). Following the tour, Rammstein signed with major label Universal Music and released Mutter in 2001. Six singles were released from the album, all charting in countries throughout Europe. The lead single, «Sonne», reached No. 2 in Germany. Rammstein released Reise, Reise in 2004 and had two more singles reach No. 2 in Germany: «Mein Teil» and «Amerika»; the former song reached No. 1 in Spain, becoming their first No. 1 single.

Their fifth album, Rosenrot, was released in 2005, and the lead single, «Benzin», reached No. 6 in Germany. Their second live album, Völkerball, was released in 2006. The band released their sixth album, Liebe ist für alle da, in 2009, with its lead single, «Pussy», becoming their first No. 1 hit in Germany despite having a controversial music video that featured hardcore pornography. The band then entered a recording hiatus and toured for several years, releasing the Made in Germany greatest hits album as well as the Rammstein in Amerika and Paris live albums. After a decade without new music, Rammstein returned in 2019 with the song «Deutschland», which became their second No. 1 hit in Germany. Their untitled seventh studio album was released in May 2019 and reached No. 1 in 14 countries. While sheltering during COVID-19 lockdowns, the band spontaneously wrote and recorded their eighth studio album, Zeit, which was released in April 2022.

Rammstein was one of the first bands to emerge within the Neue Deutsche Härte genre, with their debut album leading the music press to coin the term, and their style of music has generally had a positive reception from music critics. Commercially, the band has been very successful, earning many No. 1 albums as well as gold and platinum certifications in countries around the world. Their grand live performances, which often feature pyrotechnics, have contributed to the growth in their popularity. Despite success, the band has been subject to some controversies, with their overall image having been criticized; for instance, the song «Ich tu dir weh» forced its parent album Liebe ist für alle da to be re-released in Germany with the song removed due to its sexually explicit lyrics.

History[edit]

Founding and Herzeleid (1989–1996)[edit]

In 1989, East German guitarist Richard Kruspe escaped to West Berlin and started the band Orgasm Death Gimmick. At that time, he was heavily influenced by US music, especially that of rock group Kiss. After the Berlin Wall came down, he moved back home to Schwerin, where Till Lindemann worked as a basket-weaver and played drums in the band First Arsch (loosely translated as «First Arse» or «First Ass»). At this time, Kruspe lived with Oliver Riedel of the Inchtabokatables and Christoph Schneider of Die Firma.

In 1992, Kruspe made his first trip to the United States with Till Lindemann and Oliver «Ollie» Riedel. He realized that he did not want to make US music and concentrated on creating a unique German sound. Kruspe, Riedel and Schneider started working together on a new project in 1993. Finding it difficult to write both music and lyrics, Kruspe persuaded Lindemann, whom he had overheard singing while he was working, to join the fledgling group. The band called themselves Rammstein-Flugschau (Rammstein Airshow)^[2] after the 1988 Ramstein air show disaster. Guitarist Paul Landers said the spelling of Ramstein with the extra «m» was a mistake.^[3] After the band became popular, the band members denied the connection to the air show disaster and said that their name was inspired by the giant doorstop-type devices found on old gates, called Rammsteine.^[4] The extra «m» in the band’s name makes it translate literally as «ramming stone».^[5] In a 2019 feature, Metal Hammer explained that the band was named after one of their earliest songs, «Ramstein», written after the air show disaster at the American airbase in Ramstein. According to the band, people started to refer to them as «the band with the ‘Ramstein song'» and later as the «Ramstein band».^[5]

Rammstein co-existed with the members’ previous projects for about a year and a half. Members would invest the money raised with Feeling B shows in Rammstein. They recorded their first songs in a building that had been squatted by Feeling B frontman Aljoscha Rompe.^[5] A contest was held in Berlin for amateur bands in 1994, the winner of which would receive access to a professional recording studio^[5] for a whole week. Kruspe, Riedel, Schneider, and Lindemann entered and won the contest with a 4-track demo tape with demo versions of songs from Herzeleid, written in English. This sparked Landers’ attention, who wanted in on the project upon hearing their demo. To complete their sound, Rammstein attempted to recruit Christian «Flake» Lorenz, who had played with Landers in Feeling B. Though initially hesitant, Lorenz eventually agreed to join the band. Later, Rammstein were signed by Motor Music.^[5]

Rammstein began to record their first studio album, Herzeleid, in March 1995 with producer Jacob Hellner.^[6] They released their first single «Du riechst so gut» that August and released the album in September. Later that year, they toured with Clawfinger^[5] in Warsaw and Prague. Rammstein headlined a 17-show tour of Germany in December, which helped boost the band’s popularity and establish them as a credible live act. They went on several tours throughout early 1996, releasing their second single titled «Seemann» on 8 January. On 27 March 1996, Rammstein performed on MTV’s Hanging Out in London, their first performance in the UK. Their first major boost in popularity outside Germany came when Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor chose two Rammstein songs, «Heirate mich» and «Rammstein», during his work as music director for the David Lynch 1997 film Lost Highway.^[5] The soundtrack for the film was released in the U.S. in late 1996 and later throughout Europe in April 1997. In the middle of 1996, they headlined one tour of their own in small, sold-out venues.^[5] Rammstein went on to tour through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland from September to October 1996, performing an anniversary concert on 27 September called «100 years of Rammstein». Guests to the concert included Moby, Bobo, and the Berlin Session Orchestra, while Berlin director Gert Hof was responsible for the light show.

Sehnsucht and Live aus Berlin (1996–2000)[edit]

Rammstein started recording Sehnsucht in November 1996 at the Temple Studios in Malta.^[7] The album was again produced by Jacob Hellner. «Engel», the first single from the album, was released on 1 April 1997 and reached gold status in Germany on 23 May. This prompted the release of a fan edition of the single, named Engel – Fan Edition. This contained two previously unreleased songs, «Feuerräder» and «Wilder Wein». Release of the second single from the album Sehnsucht was «Du hast», which hit the German single charts August 1997 at No. 5. Rammstein then continued touring in the summer while Sehnsucht was released on 22 August 1997. The album reached No. 1 in Germany after two weeks in the charts. Simultaneously, Herzeleid and both Sehnsucht singles («Du hast» and «Engel») were in the Top 20 of the German charts. Rammstein continued to headline sold-out shows throughout Europe in September and October. On 5 December 1997, they embarked on their first tour of the United States as the opening act for KMFDM. In July 1998, the band released a cover of the song Stripped, originally released by Depeche Mode in early 1986; it was included on the tribute album For the Masses, the Rammstein version obtained moderate success in Germany and Austria.

On 22–23 August 1998, Rammstein played to over 17,000 fans at the Wuhlheide in Berlin; the biggest show the band had played there up to that date. Supporting acts were Danzig, Nina Hagen, Joachim Witt and Alaska.^[8] The show was professionally filmed, intended to be released on their upcoming live DVD, Live aus Berlin. Rammstein embarked on a live tour with Korn, Ice Cube, Orgy and Limp Bizkit called the Family Values Tour in September through to late October 1998. Continuing their success in the US, Sehnsucht received Gold record status there on 2 November. The band was nominated at the MTV European Music Awards for Best Rock Act and performed «Du hast» live on 12 November that year.

Rammstein had further success in 1999, starting off the year in February with a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 41st-annual Grammy Awards. A year after it was filmed, the Live aus Berlin concert was released on CD on 30 August 1999, with a limited edition double CD also available. Two weeks after it was released, Live aus Berlin went to No. 2 in the German Album Charts. On 13 September and 26 November 1999, the video and DVD versions of the concert were released respectively. Further popularity ensued when «Du hast» was included in The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture.

Mutter (2000–2002)[edit]

Rammstein’s album Mutter was recorded in the south of France in May and June 2000, and mixed in Stockholm in October of that year. During December 2000, Rammstein released an MP3 version of «Links 2-3-4» as a teaser for their new album. 2001 was a busy year for Rammstein, as the band needed to finish off the Sehnsucht Tour ending in January and February with the band playing the Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand and playing some concerts in Japan. January also heralded the shooting of the video for their upcoming single, «Sonne», recorded in Potsdam at Babelsberger Filmstudios from 13 to 15 January 2001. The video was released on 29 January 2001. The single for «Sonne» was released on 12 February 2001 in Europe, featuring an instrumental version of the song, two remixes by Clawfinger and the song «Adios» from the upcoming album.

Mutter was released on 2 April 2001, sparking another Rammstein tour through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. On 14 May, the second single from the album, «Links 2 3 4», was released, along with a video of the single on 18 May. After a tour throughout Europe in June, the band then toured the U.S., Canada and Mexico from June to August 2001. «Ich will», the third single from the album, was released on 10 September 2001 and a Tour edition of the Mutter album (the cover of which is red)^[9] was released, featuring alternative artwork and live versions of «Ich will», «Links 2 3 4», «Sonne» and «Spieluhr».

From 8 to 12 January 2002, Rammstein traveled to Prague to participate in a minor scene for the film XXX. The band is seen in the opening scene, performing their song «Feuer frei!» in a concert. «Feuer frei!» was released across Europe as the first single from the XXX soundtrack on 14 October 2002. Rammstein released two remixes of the song. Furthermore, the single’s track listing included «Du hast» and «Bück dich» cover versions by Battery. The video for the single was edited by Rob Cohen and contains part Rammstein performance at the beginning of the film and part snippets from the film itself.

Reise, Reise, Rosenrot, and Völkerball (2003–2006)[edit]

Rammstein recorded Reise, Reise (meaning «journey, journey», or as a command «travel, travel», but also an archaic Reveille) at the El Cortijo studio in southern Spain in November and December 2003; it was mixed at Toytown studio in Stockholm, Sweden in April and May 2004. The first single from the album was «Mein Teil», released on 26 July. The video was shot in the Arena, in the Treptow district of Berlin. Outdoor shooting took place at the Deutsche Oper (Opera House) U-Bahn station on Bismarckstrasse. The director was Zoran Bihac, who also filmed the «Links 2 3 4» video. The video for the second single, «Amerika», was filmed on 6 and 7 August 2004 in the ruins of the former cement works in Rüdersdorf, near Berlin, under the direction of Jörn Heitmann (who also directed the «Ich Will» music video, among others). The space suits for the moon scenes were borrowed from Hollywood and 240 tons of ash were needed to create the moon landscape. The video premiered on 20 August, while the single was released on 13 September.

Reise, Reise was released on 27 September 2004 and went straight into top 10 charts throughout Europe. According to the Billboard charts, Rammstein were at that stage the most successful German-language band of all time. Rammstein toured Germany through November and some of December 2004, releasing the single «Ohne dich» on 22 November. In February 2005, Rammstein toured Europe again. By 28 February, Rammstein had played 21 concerts in front of more than 200,000 spectators in ten countries. It was on this tour that the band was faced with several lawsuits resulting from severe fire breathing accidents involving audience members. «Keine Lust» the fourth single from Reise, Reise, was released on 28 February 2005. From 27 May to 30 July 2005, Rammstein played music festivals across Europe. Footage from these concerts can be seen on Rammstein’s live DVD Völkerball, released in November 2006.

In August 2005, Rammstein revealed that the follow-up album to Reise, Reise would be called Rosenrot. Their first single from the album, «Benzin», was released on 5 October, with its video premiere on 16 September. Rosenrot was released worldwide on 28 October. Directly following the release, the album continued the success of its predecessor, Reise, Reise, placing on top 10 charts in 20 countries. 16 December 2005 marked the release of the title track on Rosenrot. The video for «Mann gegen Mann» was released on 6 February 2006, with the single being released on 3 March. On 19 February 2006, Rammstein had an asteroid named after them, 110393 Rammstein.^[10]

On 17 November, the first Rammstein Live DVD since Live aus Berlin from 1998 was released. Völkerball shows concert performances by the band in England, France, Japan and Russia. The Special Edition is extended by a second DVD, which contains the documentaries «Anaconda in the net» by Mathilde Bonnefoy and the «Making of the album Reise, Reise» by the band’s guitarist Paul Landers. The limited edition was released as a large black-and-white photo-book with photos by Frederic Batier, who had accompanied the band through their recent tours. The photo-book edition contains two DVDs and two live albums.

Liebe ist für alle da (2007–2011)[edit]

The band took a hiatus in 2006 and began work again in 2007. The recording process reportedly took two years. In July 2009, the title track «Liebe ist für alle da» leaked onto the internet, along with promotional materials. This led Universal Music to take action against certain fan sites.^[11][12] It was confirmed in August 2009 that the new album would have 11 tracks,^[13] and mixing of the album – which was taking place in Stockholm – had been completed.^[14] On 1 September 2009, it was confirmed on the band’s website that «Pussy» would be the first single from the album. On the same day, The Gauntlet posted a promotional video for it. The video also confirmed the album title, Liebe ist für alle da. Later, the title was confirmed again in an interview with Paul Landers for RockOne magazine. 46,7 The music video for «Pussy» was released on 16 September 2009, at 20:30 GMT, released especially for the adult website Visit-x.^[15] The video contains graphic scenes of male and female nudity as well as women engaging in sexual acts with the band members, although the actual sex scenes were performed by body doubles.^[16] The women featured in the video are German pornographic stars.^[17] Metal Hammer released an edited version of the video onto their website.^[18]

«Ich tu dir weh» was confirmed as the second single from the album by Landers and Lorenz in an interview for Radio Eins. Although censorship of the song in Germany prohibits any advertisement, broadcast or public display, the video to «Ich tu dir weh» was released on 21 December 2009 on the adult website Visit-x, just like the video to «Pussy», after advertisement on the band’s official German website; it depicts the band on stage in a similar configuration as on their 2009/10 tour. Any references to the video on the official website have since been deleted. In Europe, the single was released on 15 January 2010, and in the U.S. on 19 January 2010.^[19] Like the video «Pussy,» this video was also directed by Jonas Åkerlund. On 23 April 2010, Rammstein released their video «Haifisch» on the band’s MySpace page. Unlike the video for «Ich tu dir weh», it contains more of a narrative rather than a performance.^[20] The single was released during May and June 2010.^[21]

On 8 November 2009, Rammstein began the first leg of the Liebe ist für alle da Tour in Lisbon, Portugal. As part of their European summer tour, Rammstein performed at the 2010 Rock AM Ring Festival on 4–6 June 2010.^[22] They also headlined several shows across Europe on the Sonisphere Festival, including their first ever outdoor UK performance at Knebworth Park, performing the day before Iron Maiden. On Sunday 18 July 2010, Rammstein played in front of more than 130,000 people in Quebec City on the Plains of Abraham as the closing show for the Festival d’été de Québec. It was their first North American appearance in nine years. The band announced that their last tour dates of 2010 were to be in the Americas. After several South American dates, the band returned to the United States for a single show at the famous Madison Square Garden in New York City – their first US show in over ten years. The tickets sold out in a very short time (under 20 minutes).

They also performed at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada on 9 December. This concert sold out within the first hour of tickets going on sale, indicating a high demand to see Rammstein in North America. The band then played at Big Day Out 2011 from 21 January to 6 February in New Zealand and Australia. The band also visited South Africa for the first time in early 2011 and played two sold-out concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively, indicating another territory eager for the opportunity to enjoy the band live. On 16 February 2011, Rammstein announced that, after the massive success of their sold out Madison Square Garden show on 11 December 2010, they would be touring North America after ten years.

Rammstein played in New Jersey (East Rutherford) Izod Center, Montreal Bell Centre, Toronto Air Canada Centre, Chicago Allstate Arena, Edmonton Rexall Place, Seattle Tacoma Dome, San Francisco (Oakland) Oracle Arena, Los Angeles The Forum, and Las Vegas Thomas and Mack Center, Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes, Guadalajara’s Arena VFG, and Monterrey’s Auditorio Banamex to a total of six US dates, three Canadian dates, and four Mexican dates. Tickets went on sale 25 and 26 February to great response, with many shows completely selling out, making this tour a complete success. On 20 April 2011, the band also won the Revolver Golden God Award for Best Live Band, their first US award.

Made in Germany, video releases, and side projects (2011–2017)[edit]

Rammstein released a greatest hits album titled Made in Germany 1995–2011 on 2 December 2011. It contains one previously unreleased track, «Mein Land» which was released as a single on 11 November 2011 with another track, «Vergiss uns nicht», that was released at a later date. The compilation is available in three different editions: The standard edition; this includes a CD with normal songs from their back catalog. Special edition; has the same CD from the standard edition and an extra CD with Rammstein songs that have been remixed by different artists such as Scooter. Finally, the super deluxe edition; has the two previously mentioned CDs and three DVDs with interviews and the making of videos from different music videos. The video for the song «Mein Land» was filmed on 23 May 2011 at Sycamore Beach in Malibu, California. It premiered on the band’s official website on 11 November 2011. A full European tour in support of Made in Germany began in November 2011 and spanned all the way to May 2012. It included a North American tour that began on 20 April 2012 in Sunrise, Florida and ended on 25 May 2012 in Houston, Texas that visited 21 cities throughout the US and Canada. The Swedish industrial band Deathstars supported the band during the first two legs of the European tour.^[23] DJ Joe Letz from Combichrist and Emigrate was the opening act for the North American Tour.

Rammstein, minus Till Lindemann, performed «The Beautiful People» with Marilyn Manson at the Echo Awards on 22 March 2012. On 21 September 2012, it was announced that Rammstein would be headlining Download Festival 2013, along with Iron Maiden and Slipknot. Twelve additional festival performances for summer 2013 were announced the same day, including Wacken Open Air festival and Rock Werchter.^[24] Rammstein announced new tour dates starting for spring 2013 in Europe,^[25] including a 2-day return to Kindl-Bühne Wuhlheide, the location of their first (official) live DVD, Live Aus Berlin.^[26] On 22 November 2012, Rammstein announced via Facebook that they will be releasing a video collection featuring all music videos entitled Videos 1995–2012, plus two unreleased music videos for «Mein Herz Brennt», originally featured on the album Mutter. The first video premiered on the band’s Vimeo, while the second premiered on a promotional website. Both videos were directed by Zoran Bihac.^[27] The first was released on 7 December 2012, and featured the newly recorded piano version of «Mein Herz Brennt». A single of the song was released on the same day, which included an edited version of the original and a new song titled ‘Gib Mir Deine Augen’ as a b-side.^[28] The explicit version’s video leaked onto the internet on 11 December 2012 but was officially released on 14 December, in conjunction with the video collection DVD.^[29]

In July 2013, guitarist Paul Landers revealed in an interview the possibility of a Rammstein documentary and a live DVD. He indicated that the band may «start thinking» about a new album in 2014.^[30] In September 2014, band co-founder Richard Kruspe (then working with his side band, Emigrate^[31]) said the band was preparing some more live DVDs and that they were taking some time off from the studio. The band would meet again in 2015 to decide if the time was right to return to the studio.^[32] In May 2015, Lindemann confirmed in an interview with MusikUniverse that Rammstein would start pre-production on a possible new album in September of that year, and that production would most likely go on until 2017.^[33] According to Peter Tägtgren – who works with frontman Till Lindemann on their side-project Lindemann – Till would be regrouping with his Rammstein bandmates later in 2015 to start pre-production on a new full-length album, which normally takes two years to be released.^[34]

In early August 2015, Rammstein released a trailer for an upcoming project, titled «In Amerika».^[35] On 15 August, the band announced Rammstein in Amerika, a video release that includes a 2010 concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City and a documentary made from archived footage recorded during the band’s career.^[36] Rammstein played several festivals in Europe and North America during 2016,^[37] and in November announced plans to perform at a similar string of European festivals in 2017.^[38] On 18 January 2017 Rammstein announced a new live video release titled Paris, a recording of a March 2012 concert that took place at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris.^[39] It premiered on 23 March in selected cinemas,^[40] and was released worldwide on DVD/Blu-ray and CD on 19 May 2017.^[41]

Untitled seventh album and Zeit (2017–present)[edit]

In an interview in March 2017, Richard Kruspe said that Rammstein had about 35 new songs that were close to completion, though the release date of the band’s seventh studio album was still an open question.^[42] In May, Rammstein started touring once again. Also in May, it was revealed that Sky van Hoff would be working with the band on their next album.^[43] On 18 June 2018, it was announced via StubHub’s ticketing website that Rammstein would play songs at their Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, show from their forthcoming album, then set for release late in 2018.^[44] On 17 September 2018, the band announced through Facebook that they were «almost done» recording the album, as they were recording orchestra and choirs in Minsk.^[45] On 2 January 2019, guitarist Richard Kruspe announced that recording of the album wrapped in November 2018 and that the record would be released in April 2019, along with five music videos.^[46]

Rammstein released the first single from their seventh album, «Deutschland», on 28 March 2019^[47] and announced the release date of their untitled seventh studio album, 17 May 2019. Rammstein also revealed the album cover which consisted of a single, unlit match which fans say represents their love of fire and simplicity.^[48] On 26 April 2019, Rammstein released the second single from the new album, «Radio». Shortly after its release, the album reached No. 1 in fourteen different countries.^[49] On 28 May 2019, Rammstein released their third single and music video from the album, this time for «Ausländer».^[50] The band embarked on their Stadium Tour to support the album, beginning in May 2019. They were due to play shows in Europe and North America in 2020, but were forced to postpone them due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the two continents. The dates first were rescheduled for 2021^[51][52] and, in March 2021, again rescheduled to 2022.^[53][54]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the band to remain sheltered during a lockdown in Germany, the band returned to writing music, which Christoph Schneider confirmed in a German podcast.^[55] It was reported in September 2020 that they had returned to La Fabrique Studios in France, where they recorded their untitled seventh album, to record new music, potentially for a new album.^[56] On 25 September, the 25th anniversary of their debut album Herzeleid, they announced a remastered anniversary edition for the album, for release on 4 December. The release was made available both digitally and physically, as a CD housed in a digipak as well as a double heavyweight, colored vinyl.^[57]

In February 2021, Flake Lorenz confirmed to Motor Music that the band had finished recording an eighth studio album. Lorenz stated that the recording sessions were unplanned and that the quarantine caused by the pandemic allowed for «less distraction» and «more time to think of new things».^[58] In October 2021, a song from the album was premiered on the International Space Station to French astronaut Thomas Pesquet.^[59] According to composer Sven Helbig, who worked on the album, the album’s release had been delayed due to the 2021–2022 global supply chain crisis, which impacted the album’s physical releases.^[60] Richard Kruspe affirmed in an interview that Rammstein’s eighth studio album would be released in the first half of 2022, prior to the slated resumption of their Stadium Tour that had been postponed to 2022.^[61]

Rammstein began teasing the first single from their eighth studio album on 8 March 2022, posting clips to their social media accounts with the hashtag «#ZEITkommt».^[62] On 10 March, they formally announced the album, titled Zeit, revealing its release date of 29 April 2022. The release of the title track as the album’s lead single, along with its music video, coincided with the announcement.^[63] The second single from Zeit, «Zick Zack», was released on 7 April with its accompanying music video.^[64] The third single from Zeit, «Angst», was released on 29 April with its accompanying music video.^[65] On 25 November 2022 Rammstein released the music video for the song «Adieu» on their official YouTube channel.^[66]

Musical style and lyrics[edit]

Rammstein is considered a Neue Deutsche Härte band,^{[68][69][70][71]} and is also often described as industrial metal.^{[72][73][74][75]} Other descriptions include hard rock^{[76][77][78][79][80][81]} and gothic metal,^{[82][83][84][85]} as well as nu metal,^{[86][87][88][89]} alternative metal,^[90] symphonic metal,^[91] progressive metal,^[92] and «techno-metal».^[93]

Rammstein was traditionally inspired by bands such as the Slovenian group Laibach, known for its provocative songs, often citing political symbols of the far-right^[94] and whose music style also combines different genres, or the German rock band Oomph!^[95] However, the band members don’t see a real connection to Laibach – apart from the similarity in vocal style which Flake Lorenz admitted in a Viva interview from 1997. In the same interview Richard Kruspe said: «For me, Laibach is a very, very intellectual story. Rammstein is much more emotional for me – in the beginning. And I can’t do anything with that intellect that Laibach uses.»^[96]

Unlike many bands from Berlin in the early 1990s, Rammstein didn’t want to imitate American or English bands. Flake Lorenz said in an interview: «We found the style by knowing exactly what we didn’t want. And we just didn’t want to do American funky music or punk or anything we can’t do. We realized that we can only do this music that we also play. And it’s just very simple, dull, monotone.»^[97]

Rammstein’s style has received positive feedback from critics. New Zealand’s Southland Times (17 December 1999) suggested that Till Lindemann’s «booming, sub-sonic voice» would send «the peasants fleeing into their barns and bolting their doors», while The New York Times (9 January 2005) commented that on the stage, «Mr. Lindemann gave off an air of such brute masculinity and barely contained violence that it seemed that he could have reached into the crowd, snatched up a fan, and bitten off his head». Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commented that «their blend of industrial noise, grinding metal guitars, and operatic vocals is staggeringly powerful».^[92] «We just push boundaries», said Till Lindemann in an interview with rock magazine Kerrang!, «We cannot help it if people don’t like those boundaries being pushed».

Nearly all of Rammstein’s songs are in German. Educated in East German schools, the members were all taught Russian as a second language rather than English. In 2019, Flake commented: «I saw a lot of East German bands that sung in very bad English to people who didn’t understand English – it was absolutely stupid. But if you really want to tell your emotions, you have to speak in your mother tongue.»^[5] Songs they have recorded entirely or partly in English include: a cover of Depeche Mode’s 1986 song «Stripped» and English renditions of «Engel», «Du hast», and «Amerika». The original version of «Amerika» as well as «Stirb nicht vor mir (Don’t Die Before I Do)» and «Pussy» also contain some lyrics in English. The song «Moskau» («Moscow») contains a chorus in Russian, and Till Lindemann has an unofficial song called «Schtiel» (cover of song «Штиль»(«Shtil») by Russian popular heavy metal band «Aria») entirely in Russian.^[98] «Te quiero puta!» is entirely in Spanish, «Frühling in Paris» has a chorus in French, «Zeig dich» contains lyrics in Latin performed by a choir and «Ausländer» has lyrics in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Russian. Oliver Riedel commented that «[the] German language suits heavy metal music. French might be the language of love, but German is the language of anger».^[98] In an interview with Ultimate Guitar, when asked whether Rammstein would ever create an original song entirely in English, Till Lindemann stated that ‘Rammstein will never write a song in English, it’s like asking Buddha to kill a pig’.^[99]

The band’s lyrics, as sung by Till Lindemann, are an essential element of their music, and shape the perception by fans and a wider public. Among other things that are seen as controversial, Rammstein also refers to classical German literature, e.g. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s famous poems Der Erlkönig (1778) and Das Heidenröslein (1771) for the songs «Dalai Lama» and «Rosenrot», respectively.^[100] Several of their songs are related to controversial and taboo subjects such as sadomasochism, homosexuality, intersexuality, incest, pedophilia, necrophilia, cannibalism, pyromania, religion and sexual violence. Also several of their songs are allegedly inspired by real-life events. These songs include «Rammstein» (Ramstein airshow disaster), «Mein Teil» (The Meiwes Case), «Wiener Blut» (Fritzl case) and «Donaukinder» (2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill). Their fourth album, Reise, Reise, is loosely inspired by the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123.^[101] The band have also occasionally delved into politics with their lyrics. «Amerika» is a critique of the cultural and political imperialism of the United States all over the world. The lyrics of the song «Deutschland» contain the lines «Deutschland! / Meine Liebe / kann ich dir nicht geben» (Germany! / My love / [is what] I cannot give you), which conveys the band’s inability to have unquestioned patriotic feelings.^[102]

Live performances[edit]

Since their early years,^[5] Rammstein are particularly known for their over-the-top live performances, making such extensive use of pyrotechnics that fans eventually coined the motto, «Other bands play, Rammstein burns!» (a play on Manowar’s song «Kings of Metal», which states that «other bands play, Manowar kill»). Following an accident in Berlin on 27 September 1996, in which some burning decorative parts of the stage collapsed,^[103] the band started using professionals to handle the pyrotechnics. Lindemann subsequently qualified as a licensed pyrotechnician, and often spends entire songs engulfed in flames. He has suffered multiple burns on his ears, head, and arms.

The band’s stage costumes are also known for being outlandish. During the Reise, Reise Tour, they wore lederhosen, corsets, and military-inspired uniforms with German steel helmets; during the Mutter Tour, the group kept to the themes of the album artwork and descended onto the stage from a giant uterus while wearing diapers. During the Völkerball concert, among others, Lindemann changed costumes between songs and dressed accordingly for each. For example, for the song «Mein Teil», he was dressed as a blood-soaked chef; in «Reise, Reise», he dressed as a sailor. The rest of the band each wore their own preferred costume, but none quite as bizarre as Till’s. The band’s flair for costumes is evident in their music videos as well as their live shows. In the «Keine Lust» video, all members except Lorenz are dressed in fat suits. In the «Amerika» video, all members of the band wear astronaut costumes.

Since the Mutter Tour in 2001, Rammstein have worked with stage designer Roy Bennett, who helped the band in developing the look of the stages. With the Ahoi Tour in 2004/2005, the band began using a two-level stage, with half the band playing the lower level and the other half on the upper level. At this tour, the upper level rose over 2 meters above the stage floor and had an oval entrance just beneath the drums. At both sides of the upper level, a special lift made it possible for the band members to access both stage levels.

On the Liebe ist für alle da Tour in 2009, the new stage still had a two-level design. This time, however, the upper level only had about half the height as on the previous tour. Stage entrance was possible by a hydraulic ramp in the middle of the stage floor. At each end of the upper level, stairs were placed in order to gain access to both levels. This tour included not only the extensive use of pyrotechnics, but also a massive lighting show, such as the band’s logo lit up as big lamps on four enormous collapsible towers, forming the industrial backdrop of the set and being capable of different lighting effects.

During the arena shows of the Made in Germany 1995-2011 Tour, the stage was slightly altered with new set pieces such as a large industrial fan as well as new backdrops. The most noticeable addition was a long catwalk, connecting the main stage to a smaller stage in the middle of the audience. During the 2013 festival leg of the tour, the bridge and smaller stage were omitted. For the 2016 Festival Tour, the band kept the stage itself mostly unchanged, though had the entire lighting rig changed completely. According to Kruspe, the onstage antics are meant to get people’s attention and have fun at the same time; Rammstein’s motto, according to Schneider, is «do your own thing and overdo it».

Kruspe said of the stage show in July 1999, «You have to understand that 99 per cent of the people don’t understand the lyrics, so you have to come up with something to keep the drama in the show. We have to do something. We like to have a show; we like to play with fire. We do have a sense of humour. We do laugh about it; we have fun […] but we’re not Spinal Tap. We take the music and the lyrics seriously. It’s a combination of humour, theatre, and our East German culture, you know?»^[104]

Their antics have also garnered controversy. During the American Family Values Tour 1998, alongside acts such as rapper Ice Cube, Korn, and Limp Bizkit, the band was arrested for public indecency. In one of their more infamous moments, Lindemann engaged in simulated sodomy with Lorenz during their performance of «Bück dich» in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were subsequently arrested, fined $25 and spent one night in jail.^[105][106]

Controversies[edit]

Imagery[edit]

The New York Times described Rammstein’s music as a «powerful strain of brutally intense rock… bringing gale-force music and spectacular theatrics together».^[107] The members have not been shy about courting controversy and have periodically attracted condemnation from morality campaigners. Till and Flake’s stage act earned them a night in jail in June 1999 after a liquid-ejecting dildo was used in a concert in Worcester, Massachusetts. Back home in Germany, the band faced repeated accusations of fascist sympathies because of the dark and sometimes militaristic imagery of their videos and concerts, including the use of excerpts from the film Olympia by Leni Riefenstahl in the video for their cover of Depeche Mode’s song «Stripped». MTV Germany studied the lyrics, talked to the band and came away satisfied that Rammstein are apolitical; Peter Ruppert, then head of Music Programming at MTV Germany, stated that the band «aren’t in any way connected with any right-wing activities».^[108]

Their cover of their debut album Herzeleid, released in Germany in 1995, showed the band members bare-chested in a style that resembled Strength Through Joy in the eyes of some critics, who accused the band of trying to sell themselves as «poster boys for the Master Race».^[109] Rammstein have vehemently denied this and said they want nothing to do with politics or supremacy of any kind. Lorenz, annoyed by the claim, has remarked it is just a photo, and should be understood as such. Herzeleid has since been given a different cover in North America, depicting the band members’ faces.

The video of «Deutschland», released in 2019, sparked further controversy, as it portrays black German actress Ruby Commey appearing as Germania, which has been described as «a calculated affront to German nationalists».^[110] The video also portrays the band members both as Nazi concentration camp executioners and as Jewish prisoners, sparking the complaints of Holocaust survivors groups; however, others defended the video and the song lyrics, which have been interpreted as «express[ing] a love/hate relationship with Germany».^[111]

Relation to violent events[edit]

Rammstein were cited in relation to the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, when a photo of Eric Harris wearing a Rammstein T-shirt in the 11th grade was revealed.^[112] There was no evidence to correlate the band and the massacre. In response to the shooting, the band issued a statement:

The members of Rammstein express their condolences and sympathy to all affected by the recent tragic events in Denver. They wish to make it clear that they have no lyrical content or political beliefs that could have possibly influenced such behaviour. Additionally, members of Rammstein have children of their own, in whom they continually strive to instill healthy and non-violent values.^[113][114]

Coincidentally, on 10 September 2001, the single and video clip of «Ich will» («I Want») was released which portrays the band as bank robbers who want to get a message across and receiving a Goldene Kamera (Golden Camera) award, a German version of the Emmy award, for their «actions». In the United States, the video clip was broadcast only late at night after the attacks of 11 September 2001, although many media officials and politicians requested the video to be pulled from broadcast completely.

Following the conclusion of the Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia in September 2004, the Russian authorities claimed that the terrorists had «listened to German hard rock group Rammstein on personal stereos during the siege to keep themselves edgy and fired up».^[115] The claim has not been independently confirmed.

Band members said this about the issue:

«There’s been a lot of talk about that, but if there are radical feelings in people anything can wake them – a painting, a picture, whatever. It’s just a coincidence that it happened to be our music. It’s important to think about what caused them to make their decisions, how they became animals, not their taste in music. Whenever something like this happens it’s like ‘Okay, let’s blame the artist’. Such bullshit.»

— Till Lindemann

«Our music is made to release aggression, and people listening to it are also needed to do that, but it’s not our fault. Should we stop making hard music because bad people might like it?»

— Christoph Schneider

Pekka-Eric Auvinen, the perpetrator of the Jokela school shooting in November 2007, also included Rammstein in one of his favorite bands. However, he noted that the music among other things was not to blame for his decisions.^[116]

Elliot Rodger, the perpetrator of the Isla Vista killings in May 2014, was also a fan of Rammstein according to his YouTube records. On a lyric video of Mein Herz brennt, Rodger wrote: «[G]reat song to listen to while daydreaming about being a powerful ruler». Even though Rodger wrote in his manifesto that he wished to become a dictator and punish all the people who rejected him, there was no direct link found between the band’s music and the killing spree.^[117] Santa Barbara police later confirmed that Rodger’s main motivations were sexual and social rejection.^[118]

The Trollhättan school attack perpetrator, Anton Lundin Pettersson, used a manipulated version of the band’s logo that added Nazi Germany’s eagle on his Facebook page.

Videos[edit]

In October 2004, the video for «Mein Teil» («My part») caused considerable controversy in Germany when it was released. It takes a darkly comic view of the Armin Meiwes cannibalism case, showing a cross-dressed Schneider holding the other five band members on a leash and rolling around in mud. The controversy did nothing to stop the single rising to No. 2 in the German charts. Meiwes (who was convicted of manslaughter in 2004, then retried in 2006 and found guilty of murder)^[119] brought a lawsuit in January 2006 against the band for infringement of rights to the story.

The band’s own views of its image are sanguine; Landers has said: «We like being on the fringes of bad taste».^[120] Christian «Flake» Lorenz comments: «The controversy is fun, like stealing forbidden fruit. But it serves a purpose. We like audiences to grapple with our music, and people have become more receptive».^[121]

The video for «Pussy» was released September 2009. It features hardcore pornographic scenes of nudity along with women engaging in sexual activity with body doubles of the band members. It is the third Rammstein video to include nudity.^[122]

Placement on the Index[edit]

On 5 November 2009, their sixth studio album Liebe ist für alle da was placed on the Index of the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien or BPjM (Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young People), making it illegal in Germany to make the album accessible to minors or display it where it can be seen by people underage, effectively banning it from stores.^[123][124] According to the official statement of the BPjM, the depiction of lead guitarist Richard Kruspe holding a woman wearing only a mask over his knee and lifting his hand to strike her behind has given cause for offense, as well as the lyrics to «Ich tu dir weh» (meaning «I hurt you») which supposedly promoted dangerous BDSM techniques. Furthermore, the advisory board took into consideration the alleged promotion of unprotected sexual intercourse in the lyrics to «Pussy».

The band, as well as several members of the German press, reacted with astonishment to the decision. Keyboardist Christian Lorenz expressed surprise at the advisory board’s «parochial sense of art» and regretted their apparent inability to detect irony.^[125][126] On 16 November 2009, a stripped-down version of Liebe ist für alle da was released. As of 31 May 2010, the administrative court in Cologne had decided to suspend the inclusion into the Index (case 22 L 1899/09). The German department deleted the record from the Index on 1 June (Decision No. A 117/10). On 9 June, the band announced that the original version of the album was available in their shop and that the single «Ich tu dir weh» would soon be released in Germany. In October 2011, the album was judged not harmful to minors and deleted from the Index.^[127]

In 2016, Rammstein filed a lawsuit against the German state claiming €66,000 in compensation for damages that had allegedly resulted from the indexing, chiefly the destruction or withholding of 85,000 copies of the album that the band says would have otherwise sold.^[128]

Legal action[edit]

In 2010, Rammstein settled out of court against Apocalyptica’s former record label Sony Music Entertainment GmbH as the successor of the by now defunct affiliated label Gun Records for using Rammstein’s label in marketing Apocalyptica’s 2007 album Worlds Collide, which featured a track with singer Lindemann.^[129][130]

Apocalyptica were seen on stage with Rammstein during the song «Mein Herz brennt» in February 2012 at Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland.^[131]

Political views[edit]

Early on, Rammstein were accused by media outlets in Germany of being neo-Nazis due to their imagery. The band released the song «Links 2-3-4» (Links being German for «left») in 2001 to affirm to the public that they reside on the left side of the political spectrum. In a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone Germany, when asked about Nazi accusations, Lindemann stated «We come from the East and we have grown up as socialists. We used to be either punks or Goths – we hate Nazis! And then suddenly there is such a far-fetched accusation. We are doing exactly the same thing today, but no one in America or in Mexico would even get the idea to come up with something like that. This only happens in Germany. Our reply to this animosity was ‘Links 2-3-4’, and with that we had made it clear where we stand politically.»^[133] Regarding the song, Kruspe said: «‘My heart beats on the left, two, three, four’. It’s simple. If you want to put us in a political category, we’re on the left side, and that’s the reason we made the song».^[134] The song’s title refers to the refrain of the German Communist Party song Einheitsfrontlied, written by Bertholt Brecht: «Drum links, zwei, drei! Drum links, zwei, drei! / Wo dein Platz, Genosse ist! / Reih dich ein, in die Arbeitereinheitsfront / Weil du auch ein Arbeiter bist».^[135] (Then left, two, three! Then left, two, three! / Here’s the place, Comrade, for you! / So fall in with the Workers’ united front / For you are a worker too.) Another key lyric expressing the band’s allegiance to the left paraphrases the titles of newspaper columns published side by side for several years in the German newspaper Bild: «Mein Herz schlägt links» («My heart beats on the left») by The Left Party co-chair and former Social Democratic Party of Germany chair Oskar Lafontaine, and «Mein Herz schlägt auf dem rechten Fleck» («My heart beats in the right place») by Peter Gauweiler of the conservative Christian Social Union.^[136] Lorenz stated that the song was created to show the band could write a harsh, evil, military-sounding song without being Nazis.^[137]

The band also wrote the song «Amerika» as a critique of the worldwide cultural and political imperialism of the United States. In their book Envisioning Social Justice in Contemporary German Culture, Jill E. Twark and Axel Hildebrandt found that the song’s text and most of its video’s images point toward a critique of America’s cultural imperialism, political propaganda, and self-assumed role as global police force. The song responds critically to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. They also found that another song of theirs that is critical of the United States is «Mein Land», believing that it critiques American racism and nationalism.^[132]

During the Eastern European leg of their Europe Stadium Tour, the band showed support for the LGBT community on several occasions. At a concert in Chorzów, Poland on 24 July 2019, drummer Christoph Schneider surfed the crowd in a rubber boat, holding a rainbow flag. At their concert in Moscow five days later, guitarists Kruspe and Landers kissed onstage, while they embraced each other during a concert in Saint Petersburg on 2 August.^[138] The band’s support for gay rights was met with criticism from some Russian politicians. Vitaly Milonov, a member of the State Duma called the band «idiots» and said: «If they think it possible to behave in such a way, they should also consider it possible to keep this garbage away from us.»^[139]

Members[edit]

Since forming in 1994, Rammstein have retained a constant line-up. Richard Kruspe had said in a Revolver Magazine interview that it is because of the band respecting each other’s wishes to take a break, either for personal reasons or to focus on a side project.^[140] Members of the band have had side projects that they take part in during Rammstein’s inactivity. Kruspe currently fronts the group Emigrate while Till Lindemann began his project Lindemann in 2015.

• Till Lindemann – lead vocals, harmonica
• Richard Kruspe – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Paul Landers – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Oliver Riedel – bass guitar
• Christoph Schneider^[a] – drums, percussion
• Christian «Flake» Lorenz^[b] – keyboards, samples, synthesizers, trumpet, programming

Discography[edit]

Studio albums

• Herzeleid (1995)
• Sehnsucht (1997)
• Mutter (2001)
• Reise, Reise (2004)
• Rosenrot (2005)
• Liebe ist für alle da (2009)
• Untitled album (2019)
• Zeit (2022)

Tours[edit]

• Club Tour (1994–1995)
• Herzeleid Tour (1995–1997)
• Sehnsucht Tour (1997–2001)
• Family Values Tour 1998 (22 September 1998 – 31 October 1998)
• Mutter Tour (2001–2002)
• Pledge of Allegiance Tour (2001; in between the August–November dates of the Mutter Tour)
• Ahoi Tour (Reise, Reise Tour) (2004–2005)
• Liebe Ist Für Alle Da Tour (2009–2011)
• Made in Germany 1995–2011 Tour (2011–2013)
• Rammstein Tour 2016 (2016)
• Rammstein Festival Tour 2017 (2017)
• Rammstein Stadium Tour (2019–2023)

Awards and honors[edit]

Grammy Awards

Notes and references[edit]

Notes

References

Further reading[edit]

• Barry Graves, Siegfried Schmidt-Joos, Bernward Halbscheffel: Das neue Rock-Lexikon. Bd 1. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1998. ISBN 3-499-16352-7
• Barry Graves, Siegfried Schmidt-Joos, Bernward Halbscheffel: Das neue Rock-Lexikon. Bd 2. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1998. ISBN 3-499-16353-5
• Rammstein: Rammstein – Liederbuch. Hal Leonard Corporation, London 1999. ISBN 0-7119-7220-6
• Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: Letzte Ausfahrt – Germania. Ein Phänomen namens neue deutsche Härte. I.P. Verlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-931624-12-9
• Gert Hof: Rammstein. Die Gestalten Verlag, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-931126-32-3
• Matthias Matthies: Rammstein – Deutschlandtour 2001. Berlin 2002.
• Andreas Speit: Ästhetische Mobilmachung – Dark Wave, Neofolk und Industrial im Spannungsfeld rechter Ideologien., Unrast 2001. ISBN 3-89771-804-9
• Michele Bettendorf: Ursprung Punkszene. Oder Rammstein hätte es im Westen nie gegeben. Books on Demand GmbH, 2002. ISBN 3-8311-4493-1
• Till Lindemann und Gert Hof: Messer. Eichborn, Frankfurt M 2002. ISBN 3-8218-0730-X
• Michael Fuchs-Gamböck und Thorsten Schatz: Spiel mit dem Feuer – Das inoffizielle Rammstein-Buch. Heel, Königswinter 2006. ISBN 3-89880-661-8
• Frédéric Batier: Rammstein – Völkerball. 2006. ISBN 3-8291-18694

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Rammstein discography at MusicBrainz
• Rammstein discography at Discogs
• Rammstein at deutsche-mugge.de (in German)

• Rammstein at Curlie
• Works by and about Rammstein in the German National Library catalogue

	„Kann man Herzen stehlen?“
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Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band, founded in Berlin in 1994, and consisting of Till Lindemann (lead vocals), Richard Z. Kruspe (lead guitar and backing vocals), Paul H. Landers (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Oliver «Ollie» Riedel (bass guitar), Christoph «Doom» Schneider (drums and Electronic percussion) and Christian «Flake» Lorenz (keyboards). The band is widely accepted as part of the Neue Deutsche Härte scene, alongside bands such as Oomph! and Die Krupps. Their sound has been dubbed as Tanz-Metal (lit. «Dance Metal»). Their songs are performed almost exclusively in German, but they have also performed some sections of their songs in other languages, such as Russian («Moskau»), English («Amerika», «Stripped»), French («Amour») and Spanish («Te Quiero Puta»). As of 2005, they have sold over 10 million records worldwide. Rammstein’s entire catalog is published by Universal Music Group. Since its formation, Rammstein has had no changes in lineup.

Rammstein takes its name indirectly from the West German town of Ramstein-Miesenbach, the site of the flight show disaster on 28 August 1988. The band’s signature song, «Rammstein», is a commemoration of the tragedy that took place at the Ramstein Air Base. The extra «m» in the band’s name makes it translate literally as «ramming stone» to convey the Teutonic sound of their music. In a short period before the band became well known, they performed using the name «Rammstein-Flugschau» (literally meaning Rammstein-Airshow).

Although the majority of their songs are written in German, Rammstein has had success across the world. It has been confirmed that in 2007, the band has reunited from their vacation and has begun working on their sixth studio album, which will be released in Autumn 2009.

History[]

Formation and early years (pre-1994)[]

Rammstein was founded by guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe. In 1989, he escaped to West Berlin and started the band, Orgasm Death Gimmicks. At that time, he was heavily influenced by American music, especially that of Kiss. After the Berlin Wall came down, he moved back home to Schwerin, where Till Lindemann worked as a basket-weaver and played drums in the band First Arsch (loosely translated as «Apex Ass»).

At this time, Richard lived with Oliver Riedel, of the band The Inchtabokatables, and Christoph «Doom» Schneider (of Die Firma). Richard realized that the music he had previously created did not properly suit him. He envisioned something that would combine machines as well as the sound of hard guitars. The three started working together on a new project. Richard soon found it extremely difficult to write both music and lyrics at the same time, so he persuaded Lindemann to join Rammstein. Richard first discovered Till when he overheard him singing while he was working.

A contest was held in Berlin for amateur bands in 1994, the winner of which would receive the opportunity to record a four track demo CD in a professional studio. Kruspe, Schneider, Riedel, and Lindemann entered and won the contest, which sparked the attention of Paul H. Landers, who wanted in on the project upon hearing their demo. To complete their sound, Rammstein then attempted to recruit Christian «Flake» Lorenz, who had played with Paul H. Landers previously in Feeling B. At first, Lorenz was hesitant, but eventually agreed to join the band.

Herzeleid (1995–1997)[]

Rammstein began to record their first studio album entitled Herzeleid in March 1995 with producer Jacob Hellner. They released their first single Du riechst so gut on 17 August and later released the album on 24 September 1995. Later that same year, they toured with Clawfinger in Warsaw and Prague. Rammstein headlined a tour of their own through Germany from 2 December to 22 December consisting of 17 shows which helped to boost the band’s popularity. They then went on several tours throughout early 1996, releasing their second single entitled Seemann on 8 January 1996.

On 27 March, Rammstein performed on MTV’s Hanging Out in London; their first performance in the UK. Rammstein’s first major boost in popularity outside Germany came when music director Trent Reznor chose two Rammstein songs, «Heirate Mich» and «Rammstein», for David Lynch’s film, Lost Highway. The soundtrack for the film was released in the US in the fall of 1996 and later in Europe April 1997.

Rammstein then went on to tour through Germany, Austria and Switzerland from September to October 1996, doing an anniversary concert on 27 September called «100 years of Rammstein». Guests to the concert included Moby, Bobo, and The Berlin Session Orchestra. Berlin director Gert Hof was responsible for the light show.

Sehnsucht/Live aus Berlin (late 1996–2000)[]

Rammstein started recording Sehnsucht in November 1996 at the Temple Studios in Malta. The album was again produced by Jacob Hellner. The first single off the album, entitled Engel was released on 1 April 1997 and later reached gold on 23 May. This prompted the release of a fan edition of the single, named Engel Fan Edition. This contained two previously unreleased songs, «Feuerräder» and «Wilder Wein». Release of the second single from the album «Sehnsucht» was «Du Hast», which hit the German single charts August 1997 at number 5.

Rammstein then continued touring in the summer whilst Sehnsucht was released on 22 August 1997. The album reached number 1 after only two weeks in the charts. Simultaneously, Herzeleid and both the singles off Sehnsucht (Du Hast and Engel) were in the Top 20 of the German charts. Rammstein continued to headline sold out shows throughout Europe in September, October and November 1997 before releasing their cover of the Kraftwerk song, «Das Modell». The single included another unreleased song entitled Kokain. On 5 December 1997, Rammstein embarked on their first tour of the United States with KMFDM.

On 22–23 August 1998, Rammstein played to over 17,000 fans at the Wuhlheide in Berlin; the biggest show the band have ever played there up to that date. Supporting acts were Danzig, Nina Hagen, Joachim Witt, and Alaska. The show was professionally videotaped, intended to be released on their upcoming live DVD, Live aus Berlin.

Rammstein embarked on a live tour with Korn, Ice Cube, Orgy and Limp Bizkit called the Family Values tour in September through to late October 1998. To further continue their success in the US, Sehnsucht received Gold record status on 2 November.

The Band was nominated at the MTV European Music Awards for Best Rock Act and performed Du Hast live on 12 November of that year.

Rammstein had further success in 1999, starting off the year in February with a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 42nd-annual Grammy Awards. A year after it was filmed, the Live aus Berlin concert was released on CD on 30 August 1999, with a limited edition double CD also available. Two weeks after it was released, Live aus Berlin went to number one in the German Album Charts. On 13 September and 26 November 1999 the video and DVD versions of the concert were released respectively.

Mutter (2000–2002)[]

Rammstein’s album Mutter recording took place in the south of France between May 2000 and June 2000, and was later mixed in Stockholm in October of that year. During Christmas 2000, Rammstein released an MP3 of «Links 2 3 4» as a taster for their new album.

2001 was a busy year for Rammstein, starting in January and February with the band playing the Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand. January also heralded the shooting of the video for their upcoming single, «Sonne», recorded in Potsdam at Babelsberger Filmstudios from 13–15 January 2001. The video was released on 29 January 2001.
The single for «Sonne» was released on 12 February 2001 in Europe, featuring an instrumental version of the song, two remixes by Clawfinger, and «Adios» from the upcoming album.

Mutter was released on 2 April 2001, sparking another Rammstein tour through Germany, Austria and Switzerland. On 14 May, the second single off the album, «Links 2 3 4», was released, along with a video of the single on 18 May. After a tour throughout Europe in June, the band then toured the U.S., Canada and Mexico from June to August 2001.

«Ich will», the third single from the album, was released on 10 September 2001 and a Tour edition of the Mutter album was released, featuring alternative artwork and live versions of «Ich will», «Links 2-3-4», «Sonne» and «Spieluhr».
From 8–12 January 2002, Rammstein traveled to Prague to participate in a minor scene from the film xXx. The band is seen in the opening scene of the action film performing their song «Feuer frei» in a concert. «Feuer frei» was released across Europe as the first single from the xXx soundtrack on 14 October 2002. Rammstein released two remixes of the song, Furthermore, the single’s track listing included «Du Hast» and «Bück Dich» cover versions by Battery. The single cover was an artwork by New York artist Robert Longo. The video for the single was cut by Rob Cohen, which is partly the Rammstein performance at the beginning of the film and partly snippets from the film itself.

Reise, Reise (2003–2005)[]

Rammstein recorded Reise, Reise at the El Cortijo studio in southern Spain between November 2003 and December 2003, it was later mixed at Toytown studio in Stockholm, Sweden in April and May 2004.
The first single from the album was «Mein Teil», released on 26 July 2004. The video was shot in the Arena, in the Treptow district of Berlin. Outdoor shooting took place at the Deutsche Oper (Opera House) U-Bahn station on Bismarckstrasse. The director is Zoran Bihac, who also filmed the «Links 2-3-4» video. The «Amerika» video was filmed on 6–7 August 2004 in the ruins of the former cement works in Rüdersdorf near Berlin, Germany under the direction of Jörn Heitmann (who also directed the «Ich will» video, among others). The space suits for the moon scenes were borrowed from Hollywood and 240 tons of ash were needed to create the moon landscape. The video premiered on 20 August 2004.

The second single from Reise, Reise was «Amerika», released on 13 September 2004. With the album released on 27 September, it went straight to top 10 charts throughout Europe. According to the Billboard charts, Rammstein was now the most successful German-language band of all time. Rammstein then toured Germany through November and some of December 2004, releasing the single «Ohne Dich» on 22 November.

In February 2005, Rammstein toured Europe again. By 28 February 2005, Rammstein had played 21 concerts in front of more than 200,000 spectators in ten countries. It was on this tour that the band was faced with several lawsuits resulting from severe fire breathing accidents involving audience members. «Keine Lust» was the fourth single released from Reise, Reise on 28 February 2005.

From 27 May to 30 July 2005, Rammstein played festivals across Europe. Footage from these concerts eventually ended up on Rammstein’s live DVD Völkerball, released in November 2006.

Rosenrot and Völkerball (2005–2006)[]

In August 2005, Rammstein revealed the name of their latest studio album, Rosenrot. Their first single from the new album, «Benzin», was released on 5 October 2005, with its video premiere on 16 September 2005. The album Rosenrot was released worldwide on 28 October 2005. Directly following the release, the album continued the success of its predecessor, Reise, Reise, placing on top 10 charts in 20 different countries.

16 December 2005 marked the release of the title track on the album Rosenrot. The video for Mann Gegen Mann was released on 6 February 2006, with the single being released on 3 March. On 19 February 2006, Rammstein had an asteroid named after them, 110393 Rammstein.

On 17 November the first Rammstein Live DVD since Live aus Berlin from 1998 was released. Völkerball shows concert-performances by the band in England, France, Japan and Russia. The Special Edition is extended by a second DVD, which contains the documentaries «Anaconda in the net» by Mathilde Bonnefoy and the «Making of the album Reise, Reise» by Rammstein guitarist Paul Landers. The limited edition was released as a large black and white photo-book with photos by Frederic Batier, who had accompanied the band through their recent tours. The photo-book edition contains two DVDs and two live albums.

Upcoming sixth album (2007–present)[]

The band took a time out in 2006, and began work again in 2007. In an interview with German rapper Bushido, who contributed to the Electro Ghetto Remix of Amerika, on 21 January 2007, Bushido reported recording a song with Rammstein, called «Vergiss uns nicht» («Don’t forget us»). In this interview, Bushido also mentioned that he was unsure whether it would be on their «Best of» album or not. This was the first mention of a «Best of» album, or the new album all together. In addition, keyboardist Christian «Flake» Lorenz confirmed this in an interview with Metal Hammer Germany in November, stating that they would have most likely released a new album in 2008. The band did not tour during 2007 due to album production. Their website confirmed work on a new album, but no word of a «Best of» album has yet been mentioned. In January 2008, guitarist Richard Kruspe confirmed on the Talking Metal Podcast that Rammstein was recording an album as they spoke, during that same interview he confirmed a «big world tour» following the next album to contain U.S. dates.

On 4 November, the band finished the pre-production in Berlin and went to the Henson Studio in LA. After 7 intensive weeks they had recorded the drums, guitars and most of the vocals.

According to the newsletter, the production of the album will take some time and a release is not planned before autumn 2009 and the first single will be released before summer 2009.

Two very short (less than two minutes) «making of» videos have been released during the development of the album. One video, released on the band’s website, shows drummer Christoph «Doom» Schneider recording drums for one of the tracks, and the second, released on the band’s MySpace page, features keyboardist Flake Lorenz practicing notes for another track.

Style[]

Although Rammstein is often generalized as Neue Deutsche Härte, its music spans a variety of related styles, including industrial hard rock, heavy metal, grunge and electronic music with influences of punk rock, pop music, and gothic rock, due to their use of keyboards to emulate strings, choirs, or pianos. The band was influenced by Laibach, a Slovenian neo-classical and industrial group. Other influences include Oomph! and Ministry, but the contrast between individual songs, such as «Du riechst so gut», «Bestrafe mich», «Ohne dich,» and «Te quiero puta!» makes the band difficult to classify, though most simply refer to them as industrial metal. The band’s diverse range of influence has made them appealing to tastes of all kinds, but they are chiefly renowned in industrial, electronica, and heavy metal circles.

The band has a flair for costumes of all sorts, both in live shows and in videos. In the «Keine Lust» video, all members of the band except Flake were dressed in fat suits. In the «Amerika» video, all members of the band wore space suits. Live, the band experiments even more with costumes. In the Völkerball concert, among others, Till changed costumes between songs, dressed accordingly for each. For example, in «Mein Teil», he was dressed as a butcher, in «Reise, Reise», a sailor. The rest of the band each wears their own preferred costume, but none as outlandish or themed as Till’s.

Rammstein’s style has tended to divide critics, some of whom have responded with memorable comments. Jam Showbiz (April 2001) described Mutter as «music to invade Poland to». New Zealand’s Southland Times (December 17, 1999) suggested that Till Lindemann’s «booming, sub-sonic voice» would send «the peasants fleeing into their barns and bolting their doors», while the New York Times (January 9, 2005) commented that on the stage, «Mr. Lindemann gave off an air of such brute masculinity and barely contained violence that it seemed that he could have reached into the crowd, snatched up a fan, and bitten off his head.» Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic commented that «their blend of industrial noise, grinding metal guitars, and operatic vocals is staggeringly powerful.» «We just push boundaries», said Till Lindemann in an interview with rock magazine Kerrang!. «We can’t help it if people don’t like those boundaries being pushed.»

Lyrics[]

Nearly all of Rammstein’s songs are in German. However, the band has recorded English versions of Engel («Angel»), Du hast («You have», which is most commonly confused with «You hate», since «hast» and «hasst» sound phonetically identical. In the English version of the song, the lyric is translated to «You hate» for stylization purposes.), and Amerika, as well as covers of the songs Stripped (Depeche Mode) and Pet Sematary (The Ramones). There is also a cover of a song, Schtiel, (Aria) entirely in Russian. In addition, the songs Amerika, Stirb nicht vor mir (Don’t die before I do) and Moskau («Moscow») contain not only German verses, but also English and Russian choruses, respectively; Te quiero puta! («I want you, whore!») is entirely in Spanish. Oliver Riedel commented that, «German language suits heavy metal music. French might be the language of love, but German is the language of anger».

The lyrics of Rammstein and above all their talk by singer Till Lindemann are an essential element of music and shape the perception by fans and a wider public. This is, among other things that are often very controversial, and taboo subjects such as sadomasochism («Bück Dich», «Rein Raus» and «Bestrafe Mich«), homosexuality («Mann gegen Mann»), incest («Spiel mit mir» and «Tier»), pedophilia («Tier» and «Halleluja»), necrophilia («Heirate mich«), pyromania («Benzin» and «Hilf mir»), cannibalism («Mein Teil»), the game with religious images («Asche zu Asche», «Engel»), and having sex and violence («Wollt ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen«).

Wordplay is a fundamental component of Rammstein’s lyrics. In many instances, the lyrics are phrased such that they can be interpreted in several ways. The song «Du hast», for example, is a play on German marriage vows (Willst Du, bis der Tod euch scheidet, treu ihr sein für alle Tage? – «Will you, until Death separates you, be faithful to her for the rest of your days?»). In the song, the traditional affirmative response, Ja («Yes»), is replaced by its negation Nein («No»). The final repetition of this line further perverts the meaning of the original vows through a minor change in the wording Willst Du, bis zum Tod der Scheide … (Will you, until the Death of the vagina …). The song starts, in fact, with a play on words: Du… Du hast… Du hast mich… meaning «You have me». This line is often mistaken for «You hate me», because in German, there is only a very subtle distinction (hast is pronounced slightly softer than hasst) between the pronunciation of Du hasst which means «you hate» and «Du hast» which means «you have». The word game is later resolved as the line is completed; Du hast mich gefragt («You [have] asked me»). Confusingly, the band did also make an English version of the song named «You hate» which was not translated directly from «Du hast». While many arguments about «Du Hast» are around, it is known that Rammstein used this wording to mislead and create humour in the song. It was a play with the pronunciation of words, causing many non-native speakers of German to be confused.

Live performances[]

Rammstein has achieved particular fame (not to mention notoriety) for its hugely over-the-top stage show, using so many pyrotechnics that fans eventually coined the motto «Other bands play, Rammstein burns!» (a quip at Manowar’s song «Kings of Metal», which states, «other bands play, Manowar kill»). After an accident in the Arena in Berlin where some burning decoration parts fell on the audience (27 September 1996) the band used professionals to handle the pyrotechnics; Lindemann himself is now a licensed pyrotechnician who spends entire songs engulfed head-to-toe in flames. He has suffered multiple burns on his ears, hair and arms.

The heat is so intense that on occasion, people have been carried out of Rammstein concerts suffering from heat exhaustion, and lighting gantries have been seen glowing red-hot from repeated fireball hits. The variety of the pyrotechnics can be seen in a recent concert playlist, which includes such items as «Lycopodium Masks», «Glitterburst Truss», «Pyrostrobes», «Comets», «Flash Trays» and «Mortar Hits».

The band’s costumes are equally outlandish. During the Reise, Reise tour, they wore Lederhosen, corsets and vague military uniforms with steel helmets, while during the Mutter tour the group kept to the themes of the album artwork and descended onto the stage from a giant uterus while wearing diapers.

According to Kruspe, the on-stage wackiness is entirely deliberate (Rammstein’s motto according to Schneider is: «Do your own thing. And overdo it!»). The aim is to get people’s attention and have fun at the same time: «You have to understand that 99 percent of the people don’t understand the lyrics, so you have to come up with something to keep the drama in the show. We have to do something. We like to have a show; we like to play with fire. We do have a sense of humor. We do laugh about it; we have fun… but we’re not Spinal Tap. We take the music and the lyrics seriously. It’s a combination of humor, theater and our East German culture, you know?»

Their onstage antics have also led them to trouble. During their stint on the American Family Values Tour 1998, alongside acts such as rapper Ice Cube, Korn, Limp Bizkit and Orgy, the band was arrested for indecency. In one of the more infamous moments, Rammstein’s vocalist, Till Lindemann engaged in simulated sodomy with the keyboardist, Christian Lorenz, during their performance of «Bück dich» in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were subsequently arrested and fined $25 and spent the night in jail. The band attempted to appeal the fine, but spent more in legal fees and court fees than the $25 fine.

Covers and adaptations[]

Rammstein’s songs have been covered by a number of other artists, These include:

• «Engel»: The group Gregorian reworked «Engel» as a Gregorian chant for their album The Dark Side. The same song has been covered by Belgian girls choir Scala & Kolacny Brothers, resulting in a very quiet, brooding version; contrary to the original. Chilean aggrotech/industrial metal band Vigilante also covered this song on their 2008 remix album.
• «Mein Herz brennt»: German composer Torsten Rasch has produced a classical symphonic song-cycle entitled «Mein Herz brennt» («My heart burns»), based on the music of Rammstein.
• «Seemann»: by Nina Hagen and Apocalyptica. This cover impressed Rammstein so much that they took Apocalyptica as co-headliner on tour with them in Spring 2005, and invited the band on stage to perform «Ohne dich» («Without you») and «Mein Herz brennt» («My Heart burns») together. The «Benzin» single also featured a remix of the song, called «Kerosiini» by Apocalyptica.
• «Ohne dich»: by Laibach
• «Weißes Fleisch»: by the German death metal band Debauchery covered the song for their Back In Blood album.
• «Mein Teil»: A bluegrass version appears as a bonus track on the band Hayseed Dixie’s 2007 album Weapons of Grass Destruction.

Rammstein has also done several covers themselves, including «Das Modell» («The model») by Kraftwerk, «Stripped» by Depeche Mode and «Pet Sematary» by the Ramones (sung by keyboardist Christian «Flake» Lorenz). A cover version of «Schtiel» («Calm») by Aria was released by vocalist Till Lindemann and guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe as a side project, due to disagreement with Universal records label.

It was recently announced that the German pop singer Nena, author of «99 Luftballons» («99 Air Balloons»), will be doing an album of covers named Cover Me in which it will feature a Rammstein cover of the song «Ein Lied«.
Till Lindemann appears as a guest singer on the Apocalyptica album Worlds Collide. They took on David Bowie’s song «Heroes», which was also released in German as «Helden». Lindemann sings the German version, making his song the only German-language song on Worlds Collide.

Rammstein singles traditionally also have a great quantity of remixes, particularly often from Clawfinger and Meshuggah.

Controversies[]

Imagery[]

The New York Times described Rammstein’s music as a «powerful strain of brutally intense rock… bring[ing] gale-force music and spectacular theatrics together». The members have not been shy about courting controversy and have periodically attracted condemnation from morality campaigners. Their stage act earned them a night in jail in June 1999 after a liquid-ejecting dildo was used in a concert in Worcester, Massachusetts. Back home in Germany, the band has faced repeated accusations of fascist sympathies because of the dark and sometimes militaristic imagery of their videos and concerts, including the use of excerpts from the film Olympia by Leni Riefenstahl in the video for «Stripped». Their cover of their debut album Herzeleid, released in Germany in 1995, showed the band members bare-chested in a style that resembled Strength Through Joy in the eyes of some critics, who accused the band of trying to sell themselves as «poster boys for the Master Race». Rammstein has vigorously denied this and said that they want nothing to do with politics or supremacy of any kind. Christian «Flake» Lorenz, annoyed by the claim, has remarked that it is just a photo, and should be understood as such. Herzeleid has since been given a different cover in North America, depicting the band members’ faces.

The song «Links 2-3-4» (Links being German for «left») was written as a riposte to these claims. According to Kruspe, it means, «‘My heart beats on the left, two, three, four’. It’s simple. If you want to put us in a political category, we’re on the left side, and that’s the reason we made the song». On the other hand, this is also an allusion to a military marching cadence since «Links-2-3-4» is typically heard during marching practice in the German army with «links» referring to the left foot. The song is also a reference to the saying «the heart beats left», repeatedly used by Oskar Lafontaine, in 2001 a famous member of the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany), now leader of the Left Party (Die Linke), and almost the title of a book written by him (the title is Das Herz schlägt links instead of Mein Herz schlägt links – «The heart beats left» instead of «My Heart beats left»).

According to the German online music magazine Rammstein, through this song, positioned themselves on the side of Oskar Lafontaine. They write:

Rammstein binden den Lafontaine-Spruch «Mein Herz schlägt links» in ihren Text ein und zitieren eine Zeile aus einem alten Hannes Wader-Arbeitersong («Links, zwo, drei, vier; links, zwo, drei, vier; wo dein Platz Genosse ist, reih Dich ein in die Arbeitereinheitsfront, wenn Du auch ein Arbeiter bist»). (Rammstein embed the Lafontaine saying My heart beats left into their lyric and cite a line of an old Hannes Wader workers’ song («Left, 2, 3, 4; left 2, 3, 4; where your place is comrade, line up into the Workers’ United Front, if you are a worker»).)

Christian «Flake» Lorenz recently stated on an online chat that the song was created in order to show that the band could write a harsh, «evil», military-sounding song that was not about Nazi ideals.

Relation to violent events[]

Rammstein were cited in relation to the Columbine High School Massacre in 1999, when photos of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold wearing Rammstein T-shirts were revealed. Though there was no evidence to correlate the two events, the band felt obliged to issue a statement:

«The members of Rammstein express their condolences and sympathy to all affected by the recent tragic events in Denver. They wish to make it clear that they have no lyrical content or political beliefs that could have possibly influenced such behaviour. Additionally, members of Rammstein have children of their own, in whom they continually strive to instill healthy and non-violent values».

Coincidentally, on September 10, 2001 the single and video clip of Ich will («I Want») was released which portrays the band as terrorists who want to get a message across and receiving a Goldene Kamera (Golden Camera) award, a German version of the Emmy award, for their «actions». In the United States the video clip was broadcast only late at night after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York City although many media officials and politicians requested the video to be pulled from broadcast completely.

Following the conclusion of the Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia in September 2004, the Russian authorities claimed that the terrorists had «listened to German hard rock group Rammstein on personal stereos during the siege to keep themselves edgy and fired up». The claim has not been independently confirmed.

Band members said this about the issue:

«There’s been a lot of talk about that, but if there are radical feelings in people anything can wake them – a painting, a picture, whatever. It’s just a coincidence that it happened to be our music. It’s important to think about what caused them to make their decisions, how they became animals, not their taste in music. Whenever something like this happens it’s like ‘Okay, let’s blame the artist’. Such bullshit. (Till Lindemann).

«Our music is made to release aggression, and people listening to it are also needed to do that, but it’s not our fault. Should we stop making hard music because bad people might like it?» (Christoph «Doom» Schneider).

Pekka-Eric Auvinen, the perpetrator of the Jokela school shooting in November 2007, also included Rammstein in one of his favorite bands. He noted, though, that the music among other things was not to blame for his decisions.

Videos[]

In October 2004, the video for «Mein Teil» («My part») caused considerable controversy in Germany when it was released. It takes a darkly comic view of the Armin Meiwes cannibalism case, showing a cross dressed Schneider holding the other five band members on a leash and rolling around in mud. The controversy did nothing to stop the single rising to No. 2 in the German charts. Meiwes (who was convicted of manslaughter in 2004, then retried in 2006 and found guilty of murder) brought suit in January 2006 against the band for infringement of rights to the story. The outcome resulted in a loss for the band of $5.5 million.[[es:Rammstein|

]]

The band’s own views of its image are sanguine: «We like being on the fringes of bad taste», according to Paul H. Landers, while Christian «Flake» Lorenz comments «The controversy is fun, like stealing forbidden fruit. But it serves a purpose. We like audiences to grapple with our music, and people have become more receptive».

The video for «Mann gegen Mann» («Man against man») from their latest studio album Rosenrot may have caused some controversy, as most of the band members are naked in the video. The lead singer Till Lindemann is wearing what can best be described as «latex panties». In addition, there are multiple naked men in the video, with clearly visible buttocks, though genitalia could be seen at 32 seconds into the video on Christian «Flake» Lorenz through the arm of the guitarist (Richard Z. Kruspe) and below the keyboard. He is wearing a flesh-colored thong to prevent this. The video has been played uncensored on MTV in Europe. The video has been rated FSK 16 in Germany and therefore can be played on television only after 10pm.

Members[]

• Richard Z. Kruspe — lead guitar, backing vocals
• Paul H. Landers — rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Till Lindemann — lead vocals
• Oliver «Ollie» Riedel — bass guitar
• Christoph «Doom» Schneider — drums, percussion
• Christian «Flake» Lorenz — keyboards, samples

Discography[]

• Herzeleid (1995)
• Sehnsucht (1997)
• Mutter (2001)
• Reise, Reise (2004)
• Rosenrot (2005)
• Liebe ist für alle da (2009)
• Rammstein (2019)

v · e · d Rammstein
Members
Christoph Schneider • Flake Lorenz • Oliver Riedel • Paul Landers • Richard Kruspe • Till Lindemann
Albums
Herzeleid • Sehnsucht • Mutter • Reise, Reise • Rosenrot • Liebe ist für alle da • Untitled
Miscellaneous Songs
Das Modell • Du hast (English version) • Engel (English version) • Feuerräder • Halleluja • Jeder lacht • Kokain • Pesnja o trevozhnoy molodosti • Pet Sematary • Schwarzes Glas • Stripped • Wilder Wein

	„Kann man Herzen stehlen?“
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Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band, founded in Berlin in 1994, and consisting of Till Lindemann (lead vocals), Richard Z. Kruspe (lead guitar and backing vocals), Paul H. Landers (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Oliver «Ollie» Riedel (bass guitar), Christoph «Doom» Schneider (drums and Electronic percussion) and Christian «Flake» Lorenz (keyboards). The band is widely accepted as part of the Neue Deutsche Härte scene, alongside bands such as Oomph! and Die Krupps. Their sound has been dubbed as Tanz-Metal (lit. «Dance Metal»). Their songs are performed almost exclusively in German, but they have also performed some sections of their songs in other languages, such as Russian («Moskau»), English («Amerika», «Stripped»), French («Amour») and Spanish («Te Quiero Puta»). As of 2005, they have sold over 10 million records worldwide. Rammstein’s entire catalog is published by Universal Music Group. Since its formation, Rammstein has had no changes in lineup.

Rammstein takes its name indirectly from the West German town of Ramstein-Miesenbach, the site of the flight show disaster on 28 August 1988. The band’s signature song, «Rammstein», is a commemoration of the tragedy that took place at the Ramstein Air Base. The extra «m» in the band’s name makes it translate literally as «ramming stone» to convey the Teutonic sound of their music. In a short period before the band became well known, they performed using the name «Rammstein-Flugschau» (literally meaning Rammstein-Airshow).

Although the majority of their songs are written in German, Rammstein has had success across the world. It has been confirmed that in 2007, the band has reunited from their vacation and has begun working on their sixth studio album, which will be released in Autumn 2009.

History[]

Formation and early years (pre-1994)[]

Rammstein was founded by guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe. In 1989, he escaped to West Berlin and started the band, Orgasm Death Gimmicks. At that time, he was heavily influenced by American music, especially that of Kiss. After the Berlin Wall came down, he moved back home to Schwerin, where Till Lindemann worked as a basket-weaver and played drums in the band First Arsch (loosely translated as «Apex Ass»).

At this time, Richard lived with Oliver Riedel, of the band The Inchtabokatables, and Christoph «Doom» Schneider (of Die Firma). Richard realized that the music he had previously created did not properly suit him. He envisioned something that would combine machines as well as the sound of hard guitars. The three started working together on a new project. Richard soon found it extremely difficult to write both music and lyrics at the same time, so he persuaded Lindemann to join Rammstein. Richard first discovered Till when he overheard him singing while he was working.

A contest was held in Berlin for amateur bands in 1994, the winner of which would receive the opportunity to record a four track demo CD in a professional studio. Kruspe, Schneider, Riedel, and Lindemann entered and won the contest, which sparked the attention of Paul H. Landers, who wanted in on the project upon hearing their demo. To complete their sound, Rammstein then attempted to recruit Christian «Flake» Lorenz, who had played with Paul H. Landers previously in Feeling B. At first, Lorenz was hesitant, but eventually agreed to join the band.

Herzeleid (1995–1997)[]

Rammstein began to record their first studio album entitled Herzeleid in March 1995 with producer Jacob Hellner. They released their first single Du riechst so gut on 17 August and later released the album on 24 September 1995. Later that same year, they toured with Clawfinger in Warsaw and Prague. Rammstein headlined a tour of their own through Germany from 2 December to 22 December consisting of 17 shows which helped to boost the band’s popularity. They then went on several tours throughout early 1996, releasing their second single entitled Seemann on 8 January 1996.

On 27 March, Rammstein performed on MTV’s Hanging Out in London; their first performance in the UK. Rammstein’s first major boost in popularity outside Germany came when music director Trent Reznor chose two Rammstein songs, «Heirate Mich» and «Rammstein», for David Lynch’s film, Lost Highway. The soundtrack for the film was released in the US in the fall of 1996 and later in Europe April 1997.

Rammstein then went on to tour through Germany, Austria and Switzerland from September to October 1996, doing an anniversary concert on 27 September called «100 years of Rammstein». Guests to the concert included Moby, Bobo, and The Berlin Session Orchestra. Berlin director Gert Hof was responsible for the light show.

Sehnsucht/Live aus Berlin (late 1996–2000)[]

Rammstein started recording Sehnsucht in November 1996 at the Temple Studios in Malta. The album was again produced by Jacob Hellner. The first single off the album, entitled Engel was released on 1 April 1997 and later reached gold on 23 May. This prompted the release of a fan edition of the single, named Engel Fan Edition. This contained two previously unreleased songs, «Feuerräder» and «Wilder Wein». Release of the second single from the album «Sehnsucht» was «Du Hast», which hit the German single charts August 1997 at number 5.

Rammstein then continued touring in the summer whilst Sehnsucht was released on 22 August 1997. The album reached number 1 after only two weeks in the charts. Simultaneously, Herzeleid and both the singles off Sehnsucht (Du Hast and Engel) were in the Top 20 of the German charts. Rammstein continued to headline sold out shows throughout Europe in September, October and November 1997 before releasing their cover of the Kraftwerk song, «Das Modell». The single included another unreleased song entitled Kokain. On 5 December 1997, Rammstein embarked on their first tour of the United States with KMFDM.

On 22–23 August 1998, Rammstein played to over 17,000 fans at the Wuhlheide in Berlin; the biggest show the band have ever played there up to that date. Supporting acts were Danzig, Nina Hagen, Joachim Witt, and Alaska. The show was professionally videotaped, intended to be released on their upcoming live DVD, Live aus Berlin.

Rammstein embarked on a live tour with Korn, Ice Cube, Orgy and Limp Bizkit called the Family Values tour in September through to late October 1998. To further continue their success in the US, Sehnsucht received Gold record status on 2 November.

The Band was nominated at the MTV European Music Awards for Best Rock Act and performed Du Hast live on 12 November of that year.

Rammstein had further success in 1999, starting off the year in February with a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 42nd-annual Grammy Awards. A year after it was filmed, the Live aus Berlin concert was released on CD on 30 August 1999, with a limited edition double CD also available. Two weeks after it was released, Live aus Berlin went to number one in the German Album Charts. On 13 September and 26 November 1999 the video and DVD versions of the concert were released respectively.

Mutter (2000–2002)[]

Rammstein’s album Mutter recording took place in the south of France between May 2000 and June 2000, and was later mixed in Stockholm in October of that year. During Christmas 2000, Rammstein released an MP3 of «Links 2 3 4» as a taster for their new album.

2001 was a busy year for Rammstein, starting in January and February with the band playing the Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand. January also heralded the shooting of the video for their upcoming single, «Sonne», recorded in Potsdam at Babelsberger Filmstudios from 13–15 January 2001. The video was released on 29 January 2001.
The single for «Sonne» was released on 12 February 2001 in Europe, featuring an instrumental version of the song, two remixes by Clawfinger, and «Adios» from the upcoming album.

Mutter was released on 2 April 2001, sparking another Rammstein tour through Germany, Austria and Switzerland. On 14 May, the second single off the album, «Links 2 3 4», was released, along with a video of the single on 18 May. After a tour throughout Europe in June, the band then toured the U.S., Canada and Mexico from June to August 2001.

«Ich will», the third single from the album, was released on 10 September 2001 and a Tour edition of the Mutter album was released, featuring alternative artwork and live versions of «Ich will», «Links 2-3-4», «Sonne» and «Spieluhr».
From 8–12 January 2002, Rammstein traveled to Prague to participate in a minor scene from the film xXx. The band is seen in the opening scene of the action film performing their song «Feuer frei» in a concert. «Feuer frei» was released across Europe as the first single from the xXx soundtrack on 14 October 2002. Rammstein released two remixes of the song, Furthermore, the single’s track listing included «Du Hast» and «Bück Dich» cover versions by Battery. The single cover was an artwork by New York artist Robert Longo. The video for the single was cut by Rob Cohen, which is partly the Rammstein performance at the beginning of the film and partly snippets from the film itself.

Reise, Reise (2003–2005)[]

Rammstein recorded Reise, Reise at the El Cortijo studio in southern Spain between November 2003 and December 2003, it was later mixed at Toytown studio in Stockholm, Sweden in April and May 2004.
The first single from the album was «Mein Teil», released on 26 July 2004. The video was shot in the Arena, in the Treptow district of Berlin. Outdoor shooting took place at the Deutsche Oper (Opera House) U-Bahn station on Bismarckstrasse. The director is Zoran Bihac, who also filmed the «Links 2-3-4» video. The «Amerika» video was filmed on 6–7 August 2004 in the ruins of the former cement works in Rüdersdorf near Berlin, Germany under the direction of Jörn Heitmann (who also directed the «Ich will» video, among others). The space suits for the moon scenes were borrowed from Hollywood and 240 tons of ash were needed to create the moon landscape. The video premiered on 20 August 2004.

The second single from Reise, Reise was «Amerika», released on 13 September 2004. With the album released on 27 September, it went straight to top 10 charts throughout Europe. According to the Billboard charts, Rammstein was now the most successful German-language band of all time. Rammstein then toured Germany through November and some of December 2004, releasing the single «Ohne Dich» on 22 November.

In February 2005, Rammstein toured Europe again. By 28 February 2005, Rammstein had played 21 concerts in front of more than 200,000 spectators in ten countries. It was on this tour that the band was faced with several lawsuits resulting from severe fire breathing accidents involving audience members. «Keine Lust» was the fourth single released from Reise, Reise on 28 February 2005.

From 27 May to 30 July 2005, Rammstein played festivals across Europe. Footage from these concerts eventually ended up on Rammstein’s live DVD Völkerball, released in November 2006.

Rosenrot and Völkerball (2005–2006)[]

In August 2005, Rammstein revealed the name of their latest studio album, Rosenrot. Their first single from the new album, «Benzin», was released on 5 October 2005, with its video premiere on 16 September 2005. The album Rosenrot was released worldwide on 28 October 2005. Directly following the release, the album continued the success of its predecessor, Reise, Reise, placing on top 10 charts in 20 different countries.

16 December 2005 marked the release of the title track on the album Rosenrot. The video for Mann Gegen Mann was released on 6 February 2006, with the single being released on 3 March. On 19 February 2006, Rammstein had an asteroid named after them, 110393 Rammstein.

On 17 November the first Rammstein Live DVD since Live aus Berlin from 1998 was released. Völkerball shows concert-performances by the band in England, France, Japan and Russia. The Special Edition is extended by a second DVD, which contains the documentaries «Anaconda in the net» by Mathilde Bonnefoy and the «Making of the album Reise, Reise» by Rammstein guitarist Paul Landers. The limited edition was released as a large black and white photo-book with photos by Frederic Batier, who had accompanied the band through their recent tours. The photo-book edition contains two DVDs and two live albums.

Upcoming sixth album (2007–present)[]

The band took a time out in 2006, and began work again in 2007. In an interview with German rapper Bushido, who contributed to the Electro Ghetto Remix of Amerika, on 21 January 2007, Bushido reported recording a song with Rammstein, called «Vergiss uns nicht» («Don’t forget us»). In this interview, Bushido also mentioned that he was unsure whether it would be on their «Best of» album or not. This was the first mention of a «Best of» album, or the new album all together. In addition, keyboardist Christian «Flake» Lorenz confirmed this in an interview with Metal Hammer Germany in November, stating that they would have most likely released a new album in 2008. The band did not tour during 2007 due to album production. Their website confirmed work on a new album, but no word of a «Best of» album has yet been mentioned. In January 2008, guitarist Richard Kruspe confirmed on the Talking Metal Podcast that Rammstein was recording an album as they spoke, during that same interview he confirmed a «big world tour» following the next album to contain U.S. dates.

On 4 November, the band finished the pre-production in Berlin and went to the Henson Studio in LA. After 7 intensive weeks they had recorded the drums, guitars and most of the vocals.

According to the newsletter, the production of the album will take some time and a release is not planned before autumn 2009 and the first single will be released before summer 2009.

Two very short (less than two minutes) «making of» videos have been released during the development of the album. One video, released on the band’s website, shows drummer Christoph «Doom» Schneider recording drums for one of the tracks, and the second, released on the band’s MySpace page, features keyboardist Flake Lorenz practicing notes for another track.

Style[]

Although Rammstein is often generalized as Neue Deutsche Härte, its music spans a variety of related styles, including industrial hard rock, heavy metal, grunge and electronic music with influences of punk rock, pop music, and gothic rock, due to their use of keyboards to emulate strings, choirs, or pianos. The band was influenced by Laibach, a Slovenian neo-classical and industrial group. Other influences include Oomph! and Ministry, but the contrast between individual songs, such as «Du riechst so gut», «Bestrafe mich», «Ohne dich,» and «Te quiero puta!» makes the band difficult to classify, though most simply refer to them as industrial metal. The band’s diverse range of influence has made them appealing to tastes of all kinds, but they are chiefly renowned in industrial, electronica, and heavy metal circles.

The band has a flair for costumes of all sorts, both in live shows and in videos. In the «Keine Lust» video, all members of the band except Flake were dressed in fat suits. In the «Amerika» video, all members of the band wore space suits. Live, the band experiments even more with costumes. In the Völkerball concert, among others, Till changed costumes between songs, dressed accordingly for each. For example, in «Mein Teil», he was dressed as a butcher, in «Reise, Reise», a sailor. The rest of the band each wears their own preferred costume, but none as outlandish or themed as Till’s.

Rammstein’s style has tended to divide critics, some of whom have responded with memorable comments. Jam Showbiz (April 2001) described Mutter as «music to invade Poland to». New Zealand’s Southland Times (December 17, 1999) suggested that Till Lindemann’s «booming, sub-sonic voice» would send «the peasants fleeing into their barns and bolting their doors», while the New York Times (January 9, 2005) commented that on the stage, «Mr. Lindemann gave off an air of such brute masculinity and barely contained violence that it seemed that he could have reached into the crowd, snatched up a fan, and bitten off his head.» Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic commented that «their blend of industrial noise, grinding metal guitars, and operatic vocals is staggeringly powerful.» «We just push boundaries», said Till Lindemann in an interview with rock magazine Kerrang!. «We can’t help it if people don’t like those boundaries being pushed.»

Lyrics[]

Nearly all of Rammstein’s songs are in German. However, the band has recorded English versions of Engel («Angel»), Du hast («You have», which is most commonly confused with «You hate», since «hast» and «hasst» sound phonetically identical. In the English version of the song, the lyric is translated to «You hate» for stylization purposes.), and Amerika, as well as covers of the songs Stripped (Depeche Mode) and Pet Sematary (The Ramones). There is also a cover of a song, Schtiel, (Aria) entirely in Russian. In addition, the songs Amerika, Stirb nicht vor mir (Don’t die before I do) and Moskau («Moscow») contain not only German verses, but also English and Russian choruses, respectively; Te quiero puta! («I want you, whore!») is entirely in Spanish. Oliver Riedel commented that, «German language suits heavy metal music. French might be the language of love, but German is the language of anger».

The lyrics of Rammstein and above all their talk by singer Till Lindemann are an essential element of music and shape the perception by fans and a wider public. This is, among other things that are often very controversial, and taboo subjects such as sadomasochism («Bück Dich», «Rein Raus» and «Bestrafe Mich«), homosexuality («Mann gegen Mann»), incest («Spiel mit mir» and «Tier»), pedophilia («Tier» and «Halleluja»), necrophilia («Heirate mich«), pyromania («Benzin» and «Hilf mir»), cannibalism («Mein Teil»), the game with religious images («Asche zu Asche», «Engel»), and having sex and violence («Wollt ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen«).

Wordplay is a fundamental component of Rammstein’s lyrics. In many instances, the lyrics are phrased such that they can be interpreted in several ways. The song «Du hast», for example, is a play on German marriage vows (Willst Du, bis der Tod euch scheidet, treu ihr sein für alle Tage? – «Will you, until Death separates you, be faithful to her for the rest of your days?»). In the song, the traditional affirmative response, Ja («Yes»), is replaced by its negation Nein («No»). The final repetition of this line further perverts the meaning of the original vows through a minor change in the wording Willst Du, bis zum Tod der Scheide … (Will you, until the Death of the vagina …). The song starts, in fact, with a play on words: Du… Du hast… Du hast mich… meaning «You have me». This line is often mistaken for «You hate me», because in German, there is only a very subtle distinction (hast is pronounced slightly softer than hasst) between the pronunciation of Du hasst which means «you hate» and «Du hast» which means «you have». The word game is later resolved as the line is completed; Du hast mich gefragt («You [have] asked me»). Confusingly, the band did also make an English version of the song named «You hate» which was not translated directly from «Du hast». While many arguments about «Du Hast» are around, it is known that Rammstein used this wording to mislead and create humour in the song. It was a play with the pronunciation of words, causing many non-native speakers of German to be confused.

Live performances[]

Rammstein has achieved particular fame (not to mention notoriety) for its hugely over-the-top stage show, using so many pyrotechnics that fans eventually coined the motto «Other bands play, Rammstein burns!» (a quip at Manowar’s song «Kings of Metal», which states, «other bands play, Manowar kill»). After an accident in the Arena in Berlin where some burning decoration parts fell on the audience (27 September 1996) the band used professionals to handle the pyrotechnics; Lindemann himself is now a licensed pyrotechnician who spends entire songs engulfed head-to-toe in flames. He has suffered multiple burns on his ears, hair and arms.

The heat is so intense that on occasion, people have been carried out of Rammstein concerts suffering from heat exhaustion, and lighting gantries have been seen glowing red-hot from repeated fireball hits. The variety of the pyrotechnics can be seen in a recent concert playlist, which includes such items as «Lycopodium Masks», «Glitterburst Truss», «Pyrostrobes», «Comets», «Flash Trays» and «Mortar Hits».

The band’s costumes are equally outlandish. During the Reise, Reise tour, they wore Lederhosen, corsets and vague military uniforms with steel helmets, while during the Mutter tour the group kept to the themes of the album artwork and descended onto the stage from a giant uterus while wearing diapers.

According to Kruspe, the on-stage wackiness is entirely deliberate (Rammstein’s motto according to Schneider is: «Do your own thing. And overdo it!»). The aim is to get people’s attention and have fun at the same time: «You have to understand that 99 percent of the people don’t understand the lyrics, so you have to come up with something to keep the drama in the show. We have to do something. We like to have a show; we like to play with fire. We do have a sense of humor. We do laugh about it; we have fun… but we’re not Spinal Tap. We take the music and the lyrics seriously. It’s a combination of humor, theater and our East German culture, you know?»

Their onstage antics have also led them to trouble. During their stint on the American Family Values Tour 1998, alongside acts such as rapper Ice Cube, Korn, Limp Bizkit and Orgy, the band was arrested for indecency. In one of the more infamous moments, Rammstein’s vocalist, Till Lindemann engaged in simulated sodomy with the keyboardist, Christian Lorenz, during their performance of «Bück dich» in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were subsequently arrested and fined $25 and spent the night in jail. The band attempted to appeal the fine, but spent more in legal fees and court fees than the $25 fine.

Covers and adaptations[]

Rammstein’s songs have been covered by a number of other artists, These include:

• «Engel»: The group Gregorian reworked «Engel» as a Gregorian chant for their album The Dark Side. The same song has been covered by Belgian girls choir Scala & Kolacny Brothers, resulting in a very quiet, brooding version; contrary to the original. Chilean aggrotech/industrial metal band Vigilante also covered this song on their 2008 remix album.
• «Mein Herz brennt»: German composer Torsten Rasch has produced a classical symphonic song-cycle entitled «Mein Herz brennt» («My heart burns»), based on the music of Rammstein.
• «Seemann»: by Nina Hagen and Apocalyptica. This cover impressed Rammstein so much that they took Apocalyptica as co-headliner on tour with them in Spring 2005, and invited the band on stage to perform «Ohne dich» («Without you») and «Mein Herz brennt» («My Heart burns») together. The «Benzin» single also featured a remix of the song, called «Kerosiini» by Apocalyptica.
• «Ohne dich»: by Laibach
• «Weißes Fleisch»: by the German death metal band Debauchery covered the song for their Back In Blood album.
• «Mein Teil»: A bluegrass version appears as a bonus track on the band Hayseed Dixie’s 2007 album Weapons of Grass Destruction.

Rammstein has also done several covers themselves, including «Das Modell» («The model») by Kraftwerk, «Stripped» by Depeche Mode and «Pet Sematary» by the Ramones (sung by keyboardist Christian «Flake» Lorenz). A cover version of «Schtiel» («Calm») by Aria was released by vocalist Till Lindemann and guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe as a side project, due to disagreement with Universal records label.

It was recently announced that the German pop singer Nena, author of «99 Luftballons» («99 Air Balloons»), will be doing an album of covers named Cover Me in which it will feature a Rammstein cover of the song «Ein Lied«.
Till Lindemann appears as a guest singer on the Apocalyptica album Worlds Collide. They took on David Bowie’s song «Heroes», which was also released in German as «Helden». Lindemann sings the German version, making his song the only German-language song on Worlds Collide.

Rammstein singles traditionally also have a great quantity of remixes, particularly often from Clawfinger and Meshuggah.

Controversies[]

Imagery[]

The New York Times described Rammstein’s music as a «powerful strain of brutally intense rock… bring[ing] gale-force music and spectacular theatrics together». The members have not been shy about courting controversy and have periodically attracted condemnation from morality campaigners. Their stage act earned them a night in jail in June 1999 after a liquid-ejecting dildo was used in a concert in Worcester, Massachusetts. Back home in Germany, the band has faced repeated accusations of fascist sympathies because of the dark and sometimes militaristic imagery of their videos and concerts, including the use of excerpts from the film Olympia by Leni Riefenstahl in the video for «Stripped». Their cover of their debut album Herzeleid, released in Germany in 1995, showed the band members bare-chested in a style that resembled Strength Through Joy in the eyes of some critics, who accused the band of trying to sell themselves as «poster boys for the Master Race». Rammstein has vigorously denied this and said that they want nothing to do with politics or supremacy of any kind. Christian «Flake» Lorenz, annoyed by the claim, has remarked that it is just a photo, and should be understood as such. Herzeleid has since been given a different cover in North America, depicting the band members’ faces.

The song «Links 2-3-4» (Links being German for «left») was written as a riposte to these claims. According to Kruspe, it means, «‘My heart beats on the left, two, three, four’. It’s simple. If you want to put us in a political category, we’re on the left side, and that’s the reason we made the song». On the other hand, this is also an allusion to a military marching cadence since «Links-2-3-4» is typically heard during marching practice in the German army with «links» referring to the left foot. The song is also a reference to the saying «the heart beats left», repeatedly used by Oskar Lafontaine, in 2001 a famous member of the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany), now leader of the Left Party (Die Linke), and almost the title of a book written by him (the title is Das Herz schlägt links instead of Mein Herz schlägt links – «The heart beats left» instead of «My Heart beats left»).

According to the German online music magazine Rammstein, through this song, positioned themselves on the side of Oskar Lafontaine. They write:

Rammstein binden den Lafontaine-Spruch «Mein Herz schlägt links» in ihren Text ein und zitieren eine Zeile aus einem alten Hannes Wader-Arbeitersong («Links, zwo, drei, vier; links, zwo, drei, vier; wo dein Platz Genosse ist, reih Dich ein in die Arbeitereinheitsfront, wenn Du auch ein Arbeiter bist»). (Rammstein embed the Lafontaine saying My heart beats left into their lyric and cite a line of an old Hannes Wader workers’ song («Left, 2, 3, 4; left 2, 3, 4; where your place is comrade, line up into the Workers’ United Front, if you are a worker»).)

Christian «Flake» Lorenz recently stated on an online chat that the song was created in order to show that the band could write a harsh, «evil», military-sounding song that was not about Nazi ideals.

Relation to violent events[]

Rammstein were cited in relation to the Columbine High School Massacre in 1999, when photos of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold wearing Rammstein T-shirts were revealed. Though there was no evidence to correlate the two events, the band felt obliged to issue a statement:

«The members of Rammstein express their condolences and sympathy to all affected by the recent tragic events in Denver. They wish to make it clear that they have no lyrical content or political beliefs that could have possibly influenced such behaviour. Additionally, members of Rammstein have children of their own, in whom they continually strive to instill healthy and non-violent values».

Coincidentally, on September 10, 2001 the single and video clip of Ich will («I Want») was released which portrays the band as terrorists who want to get a message across and receiving a Goldene Kamera (Golden Camera) award, a German version of the Emmy award, for their «actions». In the United States the video clip was broadcast only late at night after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York City although many media officials and politicians requested the video to be pulled from broadcast completely.

Following the conclusion of the Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia in September 2004, the Russian authorities claimed that the terrorists had «listened to German hard rock group Rammstein on personal stereos during the siege to keep themselves edgy and fired up». The claim has not been independently confirmed.

Band members said this about the issue:

«There’s been a lot of talk about that, but if there are radical feelings in people anything can wake them – a painting, a picture, whatever. It’s just a coincidence that it happened to be our music. It’s important to think about what caused them to make their decisions, how they became animals, not their taste in music. Whenever something like this happens it’s like ‘Okay, let’s blame the artist’. Such bullshit. (Till Lindemann).

«Our music is made to release aggression, and people listening to it are also needed to do that, but it’s not our fault. Should we stop making hard music because bad people might like it?» (Christoph «Doom» Schneider).

Pekka-Eric Auvinen, the perpetrator of the Jokela school shooting in November 2007, also included Rammstein in one of his favorite bands. He noted, though, that the music among other things was not to blame for his decisions.

Videos[]

In October 2004, the video for «Mein Teil» («My part») caused considerable controversy in Germany when it was released. It takes a darkly comic view of the Armin Meiwes cannibalism case, showing a cross dressed Schneider holding the other five band members on a leash and rolling around in mud. The controversy did nothing to stop the single rising to No. 2 in the German charts. Meiwes (who was convicted of manslaughter in 2004, then retried in 2006 and found guilty of murder) brought suit in January 2006 against the band for infringement of rights to the story. The outcome resulted in a loss for the band of $5.5 million.[[es:Rammstein|

]]

The band’s own views of its image are sanguine: «We like being on the fringes of bad taste», according to Paul H. Landers, while Christian «Flake» Lorenz comments «The controversy is fun, like stealing forbidden fruit. But it serves a purpose. We like audiences to grapple with our music, and people have become more receptive».

The video for «Mann gegen Mann» («Man against man») from their latest studio album Rosenrot may have caused some controversy, as most of the band members are naked in the video. The lead singer Till Lindemann is wearing what can best be described as «latex panties». In addition, there are multiple naked men in the video, with clearly visible buttocks, though genitalia could be seen at 32 seconds into the video on Christian «Flake» Lorenz through the arm of the guitarist (Richard Z. Kruspe) and below the keyboard. He is wearing a flesh-colored thong to prevent this. The video has been played uncensored on MTV in Europe. The video has been rated FSK 16 in Germany and therefore can be played on television only after 10pm.

Members[]

• Richard Z. Kruspe — lead guitar, backing vocals
• Paul H. Landers — rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Till Lindemann — lead vocals
• Oliver «Ollie» Riedel — bass guitar
• Christoph «Doom» Schneider — drums, percussion
• Christian «Flake» Lorenz — keyboards, samples

Discography[]

• Herzeleid (1995)
• Sehnsucht (1997)
• Mutter (2001)
• Reise, Reise (2004)
• Rosenrot (2005)
• Liebe ist für alle da (2009)
• Rammstein (2019)

v · e · d Rammstein
Members
Christoph Schneider • Flake Lorenz • Oliver Riedel • Paul Landers • Richard Kruspe • Till Lindemann
Albums
Herzeleid • Sehnsucht • Mutter • Reise, Reise • Rosenrot • Liebe ist für alle da • Untitled
Miscellaneous Songs
Das Modell • Du hast (English version) • Engel (English version) • Feuerräder • Halleluja • Jeder lacht • Kokain • Pesnja o trevozhnoy molodosti • Pet Sematary • Schwarzes Glas • Stripped • Wilder Wein

Rammstein
Rammstein performing in August 2013; upper level (left to right): Oliver Riedel, Christoph Schneider, and Christian Lorenz; lower level (left to right): Paul Landers, Till Lindemann, and Richard Kruspe
Background information
Origin	Berlin, Germany
Genres	Neue Deutsche Härte industrial metal hard rock gothic metal
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Universal Motor Slash
Spinoff of	Feeling B First Arsch
Members	Till Lindemann Paul Landers Christoph Schneider Christian Lorenz Richard Kruspe Oliver Riedel
Website	rammstein.de

Rammstein (German pronunciation: [ˈʁamʃtaɪn], lit. «ramming stone») is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band’s lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph Schneider, and keyboardist Christian «Flake» Lorenz—has remained unchanged throughout their history, along with their approach to songwriting, which consists of Lindemann writing and singing the lyrics over instrumental pieces the rest of the band has completed beforehand. Prior to their formation, some members were associated with the punk rock acts Feeling B and First Arsch.

After winning a local contest, Rammstein was able to record demos and send them to different record labels, eventually signing with Motor Music. Working with producer Jacob Hellner, they released their debut album Herzeleid in 1995. Though the album initially sold poorly, the band gained popularity through their live performances and the album eventually reached No. 6 in Germany. Their second album, Sehnsucht, was released in 1997 and debuted at No. 1 in Germany, resulting in a worldwide tour lasting nearly four years and spawning the successful singles «Engel» and «Du hast» and the live album Live aus Berlin (1999). Following the tour, Rammstein signed with major label Universal Music and released Mutter in 2001. Six singles were released from the album, all charting in countries throughout Europe. The lead single, «Sonne», reached No. 2 in Germany. Rammstein released Reise, Reise in 2004 and had two more singles reach No. 2 in Germany: «Mein Teil» and «Amerika»; the former song reached No. 1 in Spain, becoming their first No. 1 single.

Their fifth album, Rosenrot, was released in 2005, and the lead single, «Benzin», reached No. 6 in Germany. Their second live album, Völkerball, was released in 2006. The band released their sixth album, Liebe ist für alle da, in 2009, with its lead single, «Pussy», becoming their first No. 1 hit in Germany despite having a controversial music video that featured hardcore pornography. The band then entered a recording hiatus and toured for several years, releasing the Made in Germany greatest hits album as well as the Rammstein in Amerika and Paris live albums. After a decade without new music, Rammstein returned in 2019 with the song «Deutschland», which became their second No. 1 hit in Germany. Their untitled seventh studio album was released in May 2019 and reached No. 1 in 14 countries. While sheltering during COVID-19 lockdowns, the band spontaneously wrote and recorded their eighth studio album, Zeit, which was released in April 2022.

Rammstein was one of the first bands to emerge within the Neue Deutsche Härte genre, with their debut album leading the music press to coin the term, and their style of music has generally had a positive reception from music critics. Commercially, the band has been very successful, earning many No. 1 albums as well as gold and platinum certifications in countries around the world. Their grand live performances, which often feature pyrotechnics, have contributed to the growth in their popularity. Despite success, the band has been subject to some controversies, with their overall image having been criticized; for instance, the song «Ich tu dir weh» forced its parent album Liebe ist für alle da to be re-released in Germany with the song removed due to its sexually explicit lyrics.

History[edit]

Founding and Herzeleid (1989–1996)[edit]

In 1989, East German guitarist Richard Kruspe escaped to West Berlin and started the band Orgasm Death Gimmick. At that time, he was heavily influenced by US music, especially that of rock group Kiss. After the Berlin Wall came down, he moved back home to Schwerin, where Till Lindemann worked as a basket-weaver and played drums in the band First Arsch (loosely translated as «First Arse» or «First Ass»). At this time, Kruspe lived with Oliver Riedel of the Inchtabokatables and Christoph Schneider of Die Firma.

In 1992, Kruspe made his first trip to the United States with Till Lindemann and Oliver «Ollie» Riedel. He realized that he did not want to make US music and concentrated on creating a unique German sound. Kruspe, Riedel and Schneider started working together on a new project in 1993. Finding it difficult to write both music and lyrics, Kruspe persuaded Lindemann, whom he had overheard singing while he was working, to join the fledgling group. The band called themselves Rammstein-Flugschau (Rammstein Airshow)^[2] after the 1988 Ramstein air show disaster. Guitarist Paul Landers said the spelling of Ramstein with the extra «m» was a mistake.^[3] After the band became popular, the band members denied the connection to the air show disaster and said that their name was inspired by the giant doorstop-type devices found on old gates, called Rammsteine.^[4] The extra «m» in the band’s name makes it translate literally as «ramming stone».^[5] In a 2019 feature, Metal Hammer explained that the band was named after one of their earliest songs, «Ramstein», written after the air show disaster at the American airbase in Ramstein. According to the band, people started to refer to them as «the band with the ‘Ramstein song'» and later as the «Ramstein band».^[5]

Rammstein co-existed with the members’ previous projects for about a year and a half. Members would invest the money raised with Feeling B shows in Rammstein. They recorded their first songs in a building that had been squatted by Feeling B frontman Aljoscha Rompe.^[5] A contest was held in Berlin for amateur bands in 1994, the winner of which would receive access to a professional recording studio^[5] for a whole week. Kruspe, Riedel, Schneider, and Lindemann entered and won the contest with a 4-track demo tape with demo versions of songs from Herzeleid, written in English. This sparked Landers’ attention, who wanted in on the project upon hearing their demo. To complete their sound, Rammstein attempted to recruit Christian «Flake» Lorenz, who had played with Landers in Feeling B. Though initially hesitant, Lorenz eventually agreed to join the band. Later, Rammstein were signed by Motor Music.^[5]

Rammstein began to record their first studio album, Herzeleid, in March 1995 with producer Jacob Hellner.^[6] They released their first single «Du riechst so gut» that August and released the album in September. Later that year, they toured with Clawfinger^[5] in Warsaw and Prague. Rammstein headlined a 17-show tour of Germany in December, which helped boost the band’s popularity and establish them as a credible live act. They went on several tours throughout early 1996, releasing their second single titled «Seemann» on 8 January. On 27 March 1996, Rammstein performed on MTV’s Hanging Out in London, their first performance in the UK. Their first major boost in popularity outside Germany came when Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor chose two Rammstein songs, «Heirate mich» and «Rammstein», during his work as music director for the David Lynch 1997 film Lost Highway.^[5] The soundtrack for the film was released in the U.S. in late 1996 and later throughout Europe in April 1997. In the middle of 1996, they headlined one tour of their own in small, sold-out venues.^[5] Rammstein went on to tour through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland from September to October 1996, performing an anniversary concert on 27 September called «100 years of Rammstein». Guests to the concert included Moby, Bobo, and the Berlin Session Orchestra, while Berlin director Gert Hof was responsible for the light show.

Sehnsucht and Live aus Berlin (1996–2000)[edit]

Rammstein started recording Sehnsucht in November 1996 at the Temple Studios in Malta.^[7] The album was again produced by Jacob Hellner. «Engel», the first single from the album, was released on 1 April 1997 and reached gold status in Germany on 23 May. This prompted the release of a fan edition of the single, named Engel – Fan Edition. This contained two previously unreleased songs, «Feuerräder» and «Wilder Wein». Release of the second single from the album Sehnsucht was «Du hast», which hit the German single charts August 1997 at No. 5. Rammstein then continued touring in the summer while Sehnsucht was released on 22 August 1997. The album reached No. 1 in Germany after two weeks in the charts. Simultaneously, Herzeleid and both Sehnsucht singles («Du hast» and «Engel») were in the Top 20 of the German charts. Rammstein continued to headline sold-out shows throughout Europe in September and October. On 5 December 1997, they embarked on their first tour of the United States as the opening act for KMFDM. In July 1998, the band released a cover of the song Stripped, originally released by Depeche Mode in early 1986; it was included on the tribute album For the Masses, the Rammstein version obtained moderate success in Germany and Austria.

On 22–23 August 1998, Rammstein played to over 17,000 fans at the Wuhlheide in Berlin; the biggest show the band had played there up to that date. Supporting acts were Danzig, Nina Hagen, Joachim Witt and Alaska.^[8] The show was professionally filmed, intended to be released on their upcoming live DVD, Live aus Berlin. Rammstein embarked on a live tour with Korn, Ice Cube, Orgy and Limp Bizkit called the Family Values Tour in September through to late October 1998. Continuing their success in the US, Sehnsucht received Gold record status there on 2 November. The band was nominated at the MTV European Music Awards for Best Rock Act and performed «Du hast» live on 12 November that year.

Rammstein had further success in 1999, starting off the year in February with a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 41st-annual Grammy Awards. A year after it was filmed, the Live aus Berlin concert was released on CD on 30 August 1999, with a limited edition double CD also available. Two weeks after it was released, Live aus Berlin went to No. 2 in the German Album Charts. On 13 September and 26 November 1999, the video and DVD versions of the concert were released respectively. Further popularity ensued when «Du hast» was included in The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture.

Mutter (2000–2002)[edit]

Rammstein’s album Mutter was recorded in the south of France in May and June 2000, and mixed in Stockholm in October of that year. During December 2000, Rammstein released an MP3 version of «Links 2-3-4» as a teaser for their new album. 2001 was a busy year for Rammstein, as the band needed to finish off the Sehnsucht Tour ending in January and February with the band playing the Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand and playing some concerts in Japan. January also heralded the shooting of the video for their upcoming single, «Sonne», recorded in Potsdam at Babelsberger Filmstudios from 13 to 15 January 2001. The video was released on 29 January 2001. The single for «Sonne» was released on 12 February 2001 in Europe, featuring an instrumental version of the song, two remixes by Clawfinger and the song «Adios» from the upcoming album.

Mutter was released on 2 April 2001, sparking another Rammstein tour through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. On 14 May, the second single from the album, «Links 2 3 4», was released, along with a video of the single on 18 May. After a tour throughout Europe in June, the band then toured the U.S., Canada and Mexico from June to August 2001. «Ich will», the third single from the album, was released on 10 September 2001 and a Tour edition of the Mutter album (the cover of which is red)^[9] was released, featuring alternative artwork and live versions of «Ich will», «Links 2 3 4», «Sonne» and «Spieluhr».

From 8 to 12 January 2002, Rammstein traveled to Prague to participate in a minor scene for the film XXX. The band is seen in the opening scene, performing their song «Feuer frei!» in a concert. «Feuer frei!» was released across Europe as the first single from the XXX soundtrack on 14 October 2002. Rammstein released two remixes of the song. Furthermore, the single’s track listing included «Du hast» and «Bück dich» cover versions by Battery. The video for the single was edited by Rob Cohen and contains part Rammstein performance at the beginning of the film and part snippets from the film itself.

Reise, Reise, Rosenrot, and Völkerball (2003–2006)[edit]

Rammstein recorded Reise, Reise (meaning «journey, journey», or as a command «travel, travel», but also an archaic Reveille) at the El Cortijo studio in southern Spain in November and December 2003; it was mixed at Toytown studio in Stockholm, Sweden in April and May 2004. The first single from the album was «Mein Teil», released on 26 July. The video was shot in the Arena, in the Treptow district of Berlin. Outdoor shooting took place at the Deutsche Oper (Opera House) U-Bahn station on Bismarckstrasse. The director was Zoran Bihac, who also filmed the «Links 2 3 4» video. The video for the second single, «Amerika», was filmed on 6 and 7 August 2004 in the ruins of the former cement works in Rüdersdorf, near Berlin, under the direction of Jörn Heitmann (who also directed the «Ich Will» music video, among others). The space suits for the moon scenes were borrowed from Hollywood and 240 tons of ash were needed to create the moon landscape. The video premiered on 20 August, while the single was released on 13 September.

Reise, Reise was released on 27 September 2004 and went straight into top 10 charts throughout Europe. According to the Billboard charts, Rammstein were at that stage the most successful German-language band of all time. Rammstein toured Germany through November and some of December 2004, releasing the single «Ohne dich» on 22 November. In February 2005, Rammstein toured Europe again. By 28 February, Rammstein had played 21 concerts in front of more than 200,000 spectators in ten countries. It was on this tour that the band was faced with several lawsuits resulting from severe fire breathing accidents involving audience members. «Keine Lust» the fourth single from Reise, Reise, was released on 28 February 2005. From 27 May to 30 July 2005, Rammstein played music festivals across Europe. Footage from these concerts can be seen on Rammstein’s live DVD Völkerball, released in November 2006.

In August 2005, Rammstein revealed that the follow-up album to Reise, Reise would be called Rosenrot. Their first single from the album, «Benzin», was released on 5 October, with its video premiere on 16 September. Rosenrot was released worldwide on 28 October. Directly following the release, the album continued the success of its predecessor, Reise, Reise, placing on top 10 charts in 20 countries. 16 December 2005 marked the release of the title track on Rosenrot. The video for «Mann gegen Mann» was released on 6 February 2006, with the single being released on 3 March. On 19 February 2006, Rammstein had an asteroid named after them, 110393 Rammstein.^[10]

On 17 November, the first Rammstein Live DVD since Live aus Berlin from 1998 was released. Völkerball shows concert performances by the band in England, France, Japan and Russia. The Special Edition is extended by a second DVD, which contains the documentaries «Anaconda in the net» by Mathilde Bonnefoy and the «Making of the album Reise, Reise» by the band’s guitarist Paul Landers. The limited edition was released as a large black-and-white photo-book with photos by Frederic Batier, who had accompanied the band through their recent tours. The photo-book edition contains two DVDs and two live albums.

Liebe ist für alle da (2007–2011)[edit]

The band took a hiatus in 2006 and began work again in 2007. The recording process reportedly took two years. In July 2009, the title track «Liebe ist für alle da» leaked onto the internet, along with promotional materials. This led Universal Music to take action against certain fan sites.^[11][12] It was confirmed in August 2009 that the new album would have 11 tracks,^[13] and mixing of the album – which was taking place in Stockholm – had been completed.^[14] On 1 September 2009, it was confirmed on the band’s website that «Pussy» would be the first single from the album. On the same day, The Gauntlet posted a promotional video for it. The video also confirmed the album title, Liebe ist für alle da. Later, the title was confirmed again in an interview with Paul Landers for RockOne magazine. 46,7 The music video for «Pussy» was released on 16 September 2009, at 20:30 GMT, released especially for the adult website Visit-x.^[15] The video contains graphic scenes of male and female nudity as well as women engaging in sexual acts with the band members, although the actual sex scenes were performed by body doubles.^[16] The women featured in the video are German pornographic stars.^[17] Metal Hammer released an edited version of the video onto their website.^[18]

«Ich tu dir weh» was confirmed as the second single from the album by Landers and Lorenz in an interview for Radio Eins. Although censorship of the song in Germany prohibits any advertisement, broadcast or public display, the video to «Ich tu dir weh» was released on 21 December 2009 on the adult website Visit-x, just like the video to «Pussy», after advertisement on the band’s official German website; it depicts the band on stage in a similar configuration as on their 2009/10 tour. Any references to the video on the official website have since been deleted. In Europe, the single was released on 15 January 2010, and in the U.S. on 19 January 2010.^[19] Like the video «Pussy,» this video was also directed by Jonas Åkerlund. On 23 April 2010, Rammstein released their video «Haifisch» on the band’s MySpace page. Unlike the video for «Ich tu dir weh», it contains more of a narrative rather than a performance.^[20] The single was released during May and June 2010.^[21]

On 8 November 2009, Rammstein began the first leg of the Liebe ist für alle da Tour in Lisbon, Portugal. As part of their European summer tour, Rammstein performed at the 2010 Rock AM Ring Festival on 4–6 June 2010.^[22] They also headlined several shows across Europe on the Sonisphere Festival, including their first ever outdoor UK performance at Knebworth Park, performing the day before Iron Maiden. On Sunday 18 July 2010, Rammstein played in front of more than 130,000 people in Quebec City on the Plains of Abraham as the closing show for the Festival d’été de Québec. It was their first North American appearance in nine years. The band announced that their last tour dates of 2010 were to be in the Americas. After several South American dates, the band returned to the United States for a single show at the famous Madison Square Garden in New York City – their first US show in over ten years. The tickets sold out in a very short time (under 20 minutes).

They also performed at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada on 9 December. This concert sold out within the first hour of tickets going on sale, indicating a high demand to see Rammstein in North America. The band then played at Big Day Out 2011 from 21 January to 6 February in New Zealand and Australia. The band also visited South Africa for the first time in early 2011 and played two sold-out concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively, indicating another territory eager for the opportunity to enjoy the band live. On 16 February 2011, Rammstein announced that, after the massive success of their sold out Madison Square Garden show on 11 December 2010, they would be touring North America after ten years.

Rammstein played in New Jersey (East Rutherford) Izod Center, Montreal Bell Centre, Toronto Air Canada Centre, Chicago Allstate Arena, Edmonton Rexall Place, Seattle Tacoma Dome, San Francisco (Oakland) Oracle Arena, Los Angeles The Forum, and Las Vegas Thomas and Mack Center, Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes, Guadalajara’s Arena VFG, and Monterrey’s Auditorio Banamex to a total of six US dates, three Canadian dates, and four Mexican dates. Tickets went on sale 25 and 26 February to great response, with many shows completely selling out, making this tour a complete success. On 20 April 2011, the band also won the Revolver Golden God Award for Best Live Band, their first US award.

Made in Germany, video releases, and side projects (2011–2017)[edit]

Rammstein released a greatest hits album titled Made in Germany 1995–2011 on 2 December 2011. It contains one previously unreleased track, «Mein Land» which was released as a single on 11 November 2011 with another track, «Vergiss uns nicht», that was released at a later date. The compilation is available in three different editions: The standard edition; this includes a CD with normal songs from their back catalog. Special edition; has the same CD from the standard edition and an extra CD with Rammstein songs that have been remixed by different artists such as Scooter. Finally, the super deluxe edition; has the two previously mentioned CDs and three DVDs with interviews and the making of videos from different music videos. The video for the song «Mein Land» was filmed on 23 May 2011 at Sycamore Beach in Malibu, California. It premiered on the band’s official website on 11 November 2011. A full European tour in support of Made in Germany began in November 2011 and spanned all the way to May 2012. It included a North American tour that began on 20 April 2012 in Sunrise, Florida and ended on 25 May 2012 in Houston, Texas that visited 21 cities throughout the US and Canada. The Swedish industrial band Deathstars supported the band during the first two legs of the European tour.^[23] DJ Joe Letz from Combichrist and Emigrate was the opening act for the North American Tour.

Rammstein, minus Till Lindemann, performed «The Beautiful People» with Marilyn Manson at the Echo Awards on 22 March 2012. On 21 September 2012, it was announced that Rammstein would be headlining Download Festival 2013, along with Iron Maiden and Slipknot. Twelve additional festival performances for summer 2013 were announced the same day, including Wacken Open Air festival and Rock Werchter.^[24] Rammstein announced new tour dates starting for spring 2013 in Europe,^[25] including a 2-day return to Kindl-Bühne Wuhlheide, the location of their first (official) live DVD, Live Aus Berlin.^[26] On 22 November 2012, Rammstein announced via Facebook that they will be releasing a video collection featuring all music videos entitled Videos 1995–2012, plus two unreleased music videos for «Mein Herz Brennt», originally featured on the album Mutter. The first video premiered on the band’s Vimeo, while the second premiered on a promotional website. Both videos were directed by Zoran Bihac.^[27] The first was released on 7 December 2012, and featured the newly recorded piano version of «Mein Herz Brennt». A single of the song was released on the same day, which included an edited version of the original and a new song titled ‘Gib Mir Deine Augen’ as a b-side.^[28] The explicit version’s video leaked onto the internet on 11 December 2012 but was officially released on 14 December, in conjunction with the video collection DVD.^[29]

In July 2013, guitarist Paul Landers revealed in an interview the possibility of a Rammstein documentary and a live DVD. He indicated that the band may «start thinking» about a new album in 2014.^[30] In September 2014, band co-founder Richard Kruspe (then working with his side band, Emigrate^[31]) said the band was preparing some more live DVDs and that they were taking some time off from the studio. The band would meet again in 2015 to decide if the time was right to return to the studio.^[32] In May 2015, Lindemann confirmed in an interview with MusikUniverse that Rammstein would start pre-production on a possible new album in September of that year, and that production would most likely go on until 2017.^[33] According to Peter Tägtgren – who works with frontman Till Lindemann on their side-project Lindemann – Till would be regrouping with his Rammstein bandmates later in 2015 to start pre-production on a new full-length album, which normally takes two years to be released.^[34]

In early August 2015, Rammstein released a trailer for an upcoming project, titled «In Amerika».^[35] On 15 August, the band announced Rammstein in Amerika, a video release that includes a 2010 concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City and a documentary made from archived footage recorded during the band’s career.^[36] Rammstein played several festivals in Europe and North America during 2016,^[37] and in November announced plans to perform at a similar string of European festivals in 2017.^[38] On 18 January 2017 Rammstein announced a new live video release titled Paris, a recording of a March 2012 concert that took place at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris.^[39] It premiered on 23 March in selected cinemas,^[40] and was released worldwide on DVD/Blu-ray and CD on 19 May 2017.^[41]

Untitled seventh album and Zeit (2017–present)[edit]

In an interview in March 2017, Richard Kruspe said that Rammstein had about 35 new songs that were close to completion, though the release date of the band’s seventh studio album was still an open question.^[42] In May, Rammstein started touring once again. Also in May, it was revealed that Sky van Hoff would be working with the band on their next album.^[43] On 18 June 2018, it was announced via StubHub’s ticketing website that Rammstein would play songs at their Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, show from their forthcoming album, then set for release late in 2018.^[44] On 17 September 2018, the band announced through Facebook that they were «almost done» recording the album, as they were recording orchestra and choirs in Minsk.^[45] On 2 January 2019, guitarist Richard Kruspe announced that recording of the album wrapped in November 2018 and that the record would be released in April 2019, along with five music videos.^[46]

Rammstein released the first single from their seventh album, «Deutschland», on 28 March 2019^[47] and announced the release date of their untitled seventh studio album, 17 May 2019. Rammstein also revealed the album cover which consisted of a single, unlit match which fans say represents their love of fire and simplicity.^[48] On 26 April 2019, Rammstein released the second single from the new album, «Radio». Shortly after its release, the album reached No. 1 in fourteen different countries.^[49] On 28 May 2019, Rammstein released their third single and music video from the album, this time for «Ausländer».^[50] The band embarked on their Stadium Tour to support the album, beginning in May 2019. They were due to play shows in Europe and North America in 2020, but were forced to postpone them due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the two continents. The dates first were rescheduled for 2021^[51][52] and, in March 2021, again rescheduled to 2022.^[53][54]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the band to remain sheltered during a lockdown in Germany, the band returned to writing music, which Christoph Schneider confirmed in a German podcast.^[55] It was reported in September 2020 that they had returned to La Fabrique Studios in France, where they recorded their untitled seventh album, to record new music, potentially for a new album.^[56] On 25 September, the 25th anniversary of their debut album Herzeleid, they announced a remastered anniversary edition for the album, for release on 4 December. The release was made available both digitally and physically, as a CD housed in a digipak as well as a double heavyweight, colored vinyl.^[57]

In February 2021, Flake Lorenz confirmed to Motor Music that the band had finished recording an eighth studio album. Lorenz stated that the recording sessions were unplanned and that the quarantine caused by the pandemic allowed for «less distraction» and «more time to think of new things».^[58] In October 2021, a song from the album was premiered on the International Space Station to French astronaut Thomas Pesquet.^[59] According to composer Sven Helbig, who worked on the album, the album’s release had been delayed due to the 2021–2022 global supply chain crisis, which impacted the album’s physical releases.^[60] Richard Kruspe affirmed in an interview that Rammstein’s eighth studio album would be released in the first half of 2022, prior to the slated resumption of their Stadium Tour that had been postponed to 2022.^[61]

Rammstein began teasing the first single from their eighth studio album on 8 March 2022, posting clips to their social media accounts with the hashtag «#ZEITkommt».^[62] On 10 March, they formally announced the album, titled Zeit, revealing its release date of 29 April 2022. The release of the title track as the album’s lead single, along with its music video, coincided with the announcement.^[63] The second single from Zeit, «Zick Zack», was released on 7 April with its accompanying music video.^[64] The third single from Zeit, «Angst», was released on 29 April with its accompanying music video.^[65] On 25 November 2022 Rammstein released the music video for the song «Adieu» on their official YouTube channel.^[66]

Musical style and lyrics[edit]

Rammstein is considered a Neue Deutsche Härte band,^{[68][69][70][71]} and is also often described as industrial metal.^{[72][73][74][75]} Other descriptions include hard rock^{[76][77][78][79][80][81]} and gothic metal,^{[82][83][84][85]} as well as nu metal,^{[86][87][88][89]} alternative metal,^[90] symphonic metal,^[91] progressive metal,^[92] and «techno-metal».^[93]

Rammstein was traditionally inspired by bands such as the Slovenian group Laibach, known for its provocative songs, often citing political symbols of the far-right^[94] and whose music style also combines different genres, or the German rock band Oomph!^[95] However, the band members don’t see a real connection to Laibach – apart from the similarity in vocal style which Flake Lorenz admitted in a Viva interview from 1997. In the same interview Richard Kruspe said: «For me, Laibach is a very, very intellectual story. Rammstein is much more emotional for me – in the beginning. And I can’t do anything with that intellect that Laibach uses.»^[96]

Unlike many bands from Berlin in the early 1990s, Rammstein didn’t want to imitate American or English bands. Flake Lorenz said in an interview: «We found the style by knowing exactly what we didn’t want. And we just didn’t want to do American funky music or punk or anything we can’t do. We realized that we can only do this music that we also play. And it’s just very simple, dull, monotone.»^[97]

Rammstein’s style has received positive feedback from critics. New Zealand’s Southland Times (17 December 1999) suggested that Till Lindemann’s «booming, sub-sonic voice» would send «the peasants fleeing into their barns and bolting their doors», while The New York Times (9 January 2005) commented that on the stage, «Mr. Lindemann gave off an air of such brute masculinity and barely contained violence that it seemed that he could have reached into the crowd, snatched up a fan, and bitten off his head». Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commented that «their blend of industrial noise, grinding metal guitars, and operatic vocals is staggeringly powerful».^[92] «We just push boundaries», said Till Lindemann in an interview with rock magazine Kerrang!, «We cannot help it if people don’t like those boundaries being pushed».

Nearly all of Rammstein’s songs are in German. Educated in East German schools, the members were all taught Russian as a second language rather than English. In 2019, Flake commented: «I saw a lot of East German bands that sung in very bad English to people who didn’t understand English – it was absolutely stupid. But if you really want to tell your emotions, you have to speak in your mother tongue.»^[5] Songs they have recorded entirely or partly in English include: a cover of Depeche Mode’s 1986 song «Stripped» and English renditions of «Engel», «Du hast», and «Amerika». The original version of «Amerika» as well as «Stirb nicht vor mir (Don’t Die Before I Do)» and «Pussy» also contain some lyrics in English. The song «Moskau» («Moscow») contains a chorus in Russian, and Till Lindemann has an unofficial song called «Schtiel» (cover of song «Штиль»(«Shtil») by Russian popular heavy metal band «Aria») entirely in Russian.^[98] «Te quiero puta!» is entirely in Spanish, «Frühling in Paris» has a chorus in French, «Zeig dich» contains lyrics in Latin performed by a choir and «Ausländer» has lyrics in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Russian. Oliver Riedel commented that «[the] German language suits heavy metal music. French might be the language of love, but German is the language of anger».^[98] In an interview with Ultimate Guitar, when asked whether Rammstein would ever create an original song entirely in English, Till Lindemann stated that ‘Rammstein will never write a song in English, it’s like asking Buddha to kill a pig’.^[99]

The band’s lyrics, as sung by Till Lindemann, are an essential element of their music, and shape the perception by fans and a wider public. Among other things that are seen as controversial, Rammstein also refers to classical German literature, e.g. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s famous poems Der Erlkönig (1778) and Das Heidenröslein (1771) for the songs «Dalai Lama» and «Rosenrot», respectively.^[100] Several of their songs are related to controversial and taboo subjects such as sadomasochism, homosexuality, intersexuality, incest, pedophilia, necrophilia, cannibalism, pyromania, religion and sexual violence. Also several of their songs are allegedly inspired by real-life events. These songs include «Rammstein» (Ramstein airshow disaster), «Mein Teil» (The Meiwes Case), «Wiener Blut» (Fritzl case) and «Donaukinder» (2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill). Their fourth album, Reise, Reise, is loosely inspired by the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123.^[101] The band have also occasionally delved into politics with their lyrics. «Amerika» is a critique of the cultural and political imperialism of the United States all over the world. The lyrics of the song «Deutschland» contain the lines «Deutschland! / Meine Liebe / kann ich dir nicht geben» (Germany! / My love / [is what] I cannot give you), which conveys the band’s inability to have unquestioned patriotic feelings.^[102]

Live performances[edit]

Since their early years,^[5] Rammstein are particularly known for their over-the-top live performances, making such extensive use of pyrotechnics that fans eventually coined the motto, «Other bands play, Rammstein burns!» (a play on Manowar’s song «Kings of Metal», which states that «other bands play, Manowar kill»). Following an accident in Berlin on 27 September 1996, in which some burning decorative parts of the stage collapsed,^[103] the band started using professionals to handle the pyrotechnics. Lindemann subsequently qualified as a licensed pyrotechnician, and often spends entire songs engulfed in flames. He has suffered multiple burns on his ears, head, and arms.

The band’s stage costumes are also known for being outlandish. During the Reise, Reise Tour, they wore lederhosen, corsets, and military-inspired uniforms with German steel helmets; during the Mutter Tour, the group kept to the themes of the album artwork and descended onto the stage from a giant uterus while wearing diapers. During the Völkerball concert, among others, Lindemann changed costumes between songs and dressed accordingly for each. For example, for the song «Mein Teil», he was dressed as a blood-soaked chef; in «Reise, Reise», he dressed as a sailor. The rest of the band each wore their own preferred costume, but none quite as bizarre as Till’s. The band’s flair for costumes is evident in their music videos as well as their live shows. In the «Keine Lust» video, all members except Lorenz are dressed in fat suits. In the «Amerika» video, all members of the band wear astronaut costumes.

Since the Mutter Tour in 2001, Rammstein have worked with stage designer Roy Bennett, who helped the band in developing the look of the stages. With the Ahoi Tour in 2004/2005, the band began using a two-level stage, with half the band playing the lower level and the other half on the upper level. At this tour, the upper level rose over 2 meters above the stage floor and had an oval entrance just beneath the drums. At both sides of the upper level, a special lift made it possible for the band members to access both stage levels.

On the Liebe ist für alle da Tour in 2009, the new stage still had a two-level design. This time, however, the upper level only had about half the height as on the previous tour. Stage entrance was possible by a hydraulic ramp in the middle of the stage floor. At each end of the upper level, stairs were placed in order to gain access to both levels. This tour included not only the extensive use of pyrotechnics, but also a massive lighting show, such as the band’s logo lit up as big lamps on four enormous collapsible towers, forming the industrial backdrop of the set and being capable of different lighting effects.

During the arena shows of the Made in Germany 1995-2011 Tour, the stage was slightly altered with new set pieces such as a large industrial fan as well as new backdrops. The most noticeable addition was a long catwalk, connecting the main stage to a smaller stage in the middle of the audience. During the 2013 festival leg of the tour, the bridge and smaller stage were omitted. For the 2016 Festival Tour, the band kept the stage itself mostly unchanged, though had the entire lighting rig changed completely. According to Kruspe, the onstage antics are meant to get people’s attention and have fun at the same time; Rammstein’s motto, according to Schneider, is «do your own thing and overdo it».

Kruspe said of the stage show in July 1999, «You have to understand that 99 per cent of the people don’t understand the lyrics, so you have to come up with something to keep the drama in the show. We have to do something. We like to have a show; we like to play with fire. We do have a sense of humour. We do laugh about it; we have fun […] but we’re not Spinal Tap. We take the music and the lyrics seriously. It’s a combination of humour, theatre, and our East German culture, you know?»^[104]

Their antics have also garnered controversy. During the American Family Values Tour 1998, alongside acts such as rapper Ice Cube, Korn, and Limp Bizkit, the band was arrested for public indecency. In one of their more infamous moments, Lindemann engaged in simulated sodomy with Lorenz during their performance of «Bück dich» in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were subsequently arrested, fined $25 and spent one night in jail.^[105][106]

Controversies[edit]

Imagery[edit]

The New York Times described Rammstein’s music as a «powerful strain of brutally intense rock… bringing gale-force music and spectacular theatrics together».^[107] The members have not been shy about courting controversy and have periodically attracted condemnation from morality campaigners. Till and Flake’s stage act earned them a night in jail in June 1999 after a liquid-ejecting dildo was used in a concert in Worcester, Massachusetts. Back home in Germany, the band faced repeated accusations of fascist sympathies because of the dark and sometimes militaristic imagery of their videos and concerts, including the use of excerpts from the film Olympia by Leni Riefenstahl in the video for their cover of Depeche Mode’s song «Stripped». MTV Germany studied the lyrics, talked to the band and came away satisfied that Rammstein are apolitical; Peter Ruppert, then head of Music Programming at MTV Germany, stated that the band «aren’t in any way connected with any right-wing activities».^[108]

Their cover of their debut album Herzeleid, released in Germany in 1995, showed the band members bare-chested in a style that resembled Strength Through Joy in the eyes of some critics, who accused the band of trying to sell themselves as «poster boys for the Master Race».^[109] Rammstein have vehemently denied this and said they want nothing to do with politics or supremacy of any kind. Lorenz, annoyed by the claim, has remarked it is just a photo, and should be understood as such. Herzeleid has since been given a different cover in North America, depicting the band members’ faces.

The video of «Deutschland», released in 2019, sparked further controversy, as it portrays black German actress Ruby Commey appearing as Germania, which has been described as «a calculated affront to German nationalists».^[110] The video also portrays the band members both as Nazi concentration camp executioners and as Jewish prisoners, sparking the complaints of Holocaust survivors groups; however, others defended the video and the song lyrics, which have been interpreted as «express[ing] a love/hate relationship with Germany».^[111]

Relation to violent events[edit]

Rammstein were cited in relation to the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, when a photo of Eric Harris wearing a Rammstein T-shirt in the 11th grade was revealed.^[112] There was no evidence to correlate the band and the massacre. In response to the shooting, the band issued a statement:

The members of Rammstein express their condolences and sympathy to all affected by the recent tragic events in Denver. They wish to make it clear that they have no lyrical content or political beliefs that could have possibly influenced such behaviour. Additionally, members of Rammstein have children of their own, in whom they continually strive to instill healthy and non-violent values.^[113][114]

Coincidentally, on 10 September 2001, the single and video clip of «Ich will» («I Want») was released which portrays the band as bank robbers who want to get a message across and receiving a Goldene Kamera (Golden Camera) award, a German version of the Emmy award, for their «actions». In the United States, the video clip was broadcast only late at night after the attacks of 11 September 2001, although many media officials and politicians requested the video to be pulled from broadcast completely.

Following the conclusion of the Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia in September 2004, the Russian authorities claimed that the terrorists had «listened to German hard rock group Rammstein on personal stereos during the siege to keep themselves edgy and fired up».^[115] The claim has not been independently confirmed.

Band members said this about the issue:

«There’s been a lot of talk about that, but if there are radical feelings in people anything can wake them – a painting, a picture, whatever. It’s just a coincidence that it happened to be our music. It’s important to think about what caused them to make their decisions, how they became animals, not their taste in music. Whenever something like this happens it’s like ‘Okay, let’s blame the artist’. Such bullshit.»

— Till Lindemann

«Our music is made to release aggression, and people listening to it are also needed to do that, but it’s not our fault. Should we stop making hard music because bad people might like it?»

— Christoph Schneider

Pekka-Eric Auvinen, the perpetrator of the Jokela school shooting in November 2007, also included Rammstein in one of his favorite bands. However, he noted that the music among other things was not to blame for his decisions.^[116]

Elliot Rodger, the perpetrator of the Isla Vista killings in May 2014, was also a fan of Rammstein according to his YouTube records. On a lyric video of Mein Herz brennt, Rodger wrote: «[G]reat song to listen to while daydreaming about being a powerful ruler». Even though Rodger wrote in his manifesto that he wished to become a dictator and punish all the people who rejected him, there was no direct link found between the band’s music and the killing spree.^[117] Santa Barbara police later confirmed that Rodger’s main motivations were sexual and social rejection.^[118]

The Trollhättan school attack perpetrator, Anton Lundin Pettersson, used a manipulated version of the band’s logo that added Nazi Germany’s eagle on his Facebook page.

Videos[edit]

In October 2004, the video for «Mein Teil» («My part») caused considerable controversy in Germany when it was released. It takes a darkly comic view of the Armin Meiwes cannibalism case, showing a cross-dressed Schneider holding the other five band members on a leash and rolling around in mud. The controversy did nothing to stop the single rising to No. 2 in the German charts. Meiwes (who was convicted of manslaughter in 2004, then retried in 2006 and found guilty of murder)^[119] brought a lawsuit in January 2006 against the band for infringement of rights to the story.

The band’s own views of its image are sanguine; Landers has said: «We like being on the fringes of bad taste».^[120] Christian «Flake» Lorenz comments: «The controversy is fun, like stealing forbidden fruit. But it serves a purpose. We like audiences to grapple with our music, and people have become more receptive».^[121]

The video for «Pussy» was released September 2009. It features hardcore pornographic scenes of nudity along with women engaging in sexual activity with body doubles of the band members. It is the third Rammstein video to include nudity.^[122]

Placement on the Index[edit]

On 5 November 2009, their sixth studio album Liebe ist für alle da was placed on the Index of the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien or BPjM (Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young People), making it illegal in Germany to make the album accessible to minors or display it where it can be seen by people underage, effectively banning it from stores.^[123][124] According to the official statement of the BPjM, the depiction of lead guitarist Richard Kruspe holding a woman wearing only a mask over his knee and lifting his hand to strike her behind has given cause for offense, as well as the lyrics to «Ich tu dir weh» (meaning «I hurt you») which supposedly promoted dangerous BDSM techniques. Furthermore, the advisory board took into consideration the alleged promotion of unprotected sexual intercourse in the lyrics to «Pussy».

The band, as well as several members of the German press, reacted with astonishment to the decision. Keyboardist Christian Lorenz expressed surprise at the advisory board’s «parochial sense of art» and regretted their apparent inability to detect irony.^[125][126] On 16 November 2009, a stripped-down version of Liebe ist für alle da was released. As of 31 May 2010, the administrative court in Cologne had decided to suspend the inclusion into the Index (case 22 L 1899/09). The German department deleted the record from the Index on 1 June (Decision No. A 117/10). On 9 June, the band announced that the original version of the album was available in their shop and that the single «Ich tu dir weh» would soon be released in Germany. In October 2011, the album was judged not harmful to minors and deleted from the Index.^[127]

In 2016, Rammstein filed a lawsuit against the German state claiming €66,000 in compensation for damages that had allegedly resulted from the indexing, chiefly the destruction or withholding of 85,000 copies of the album that the band says would have otherwise sold.^[128]

Legal action[edit]

In 2010, Rammstein settled out of court against Apocalyptica’s former record label Sony Music Entertainment GmbH as the successor of the by now defunct affiliated label Gun Records for using Rammstein’s label in marketing Apocalyptica’s 2007 album Worlds Collide, which featured a track with singer Lindemann.^[129][130]

Apocalyptica were seen on stage with Rammstein during the song «Mein Herz brennt» in February 2012 at Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland.^[131]

Political views[edit]

Early on, Rammstein were accused by media outlets in Germany of being neo-Nazis due to their imagery. The band released the song «Links 2-3-4» (Links being German for «left») in 2001 to affirm to the public that they reside on the left side of the political spectrum. In a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone Germany, when asked about Nazi accusations, Lindemann stated «We come from the East and we have grown up as socialists. We used to be either punks or Goths – we hate Nazis! And then suddenly there is such a far-fetched accusation. We are doing exactly the same thing today, but no one in America or in Mexico would even get the idea to come up with something like that. This only happens in Germany. Our reply to this animosity was ‘Links 2-3-4’, and with that we had made it clear where we stand politically.»^[133] Regarding the song, Kruspe said: «‘My heart beats on the left, two, three, four’. It’s simple. If you want to put us in a political category, we’re on the left side, and that’s the reason we made the song».^[134] The song’s title refers to the refrain of the German Communist Party song Einheitsfrontlied, written by Bertholt Brecht: «Drum links, zwei, drei! Drum links, zwei, drei! / Wo dein Platz, Genosse ist! / Reih dich ein, in die Arbeitereinheitsfront / Weil du auch ein Arbeiter bist».^[135] (Then left, two, three! Then left, two, three! / Here’s the place, Comrade, for you! / So fall in with the Workers’ united front / For you are a worker too.) Another key lyric expressing the band’s allegiance to the left paraphrases the titles of newspaper columns published side by side for several years in the German newspaper Bild: «Mein Herz schlägt links» («My heart beats on the left») by The Left Party co-chair and former Social Democratic Party of Germany chair Oskar Lafontaine, and «Mein Herz schlägt auf dem rechten Fleck» («My heart beats in the right place») by Peter Gauweiler of the conservative Christian Social Union.^[136] Lorenz stated that the song was created to show the band could write a harsh, evil, military-sounding song without being Nazis.^[137]

The band also wrote the song «Amerika» as a critique of the worldwide cultural and political imperialism of the United States. In their book Envisioning Social Justice in Contemporary German Culture, Jill E. Twark and Axel Hildebrandt found that the song’s text and most of its video’s images point toward a critique of America’s cultural imperialism, political propaganda, and self-assumed role as global police force. The song responds critically to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. They also found that another song of theirs that is critical of the United States is «Mein Land», believing that it critiques American racism and nationalism.^[132]

During the Eastern European leg of their Europe Stadium Tour, the band showed support for the LGBT community on several occasions. At a concert in Chorzów, Poland on 24 July 2019, drummer Christoph Schneider surfed the crowd in a rubber boat, holding a rainbow flag. At their concert in Moscow five days later, guitarists Kruspe and Landers kissed onstage, while they embraced each other during a concert in Saint Petersburg on 2 August.^[138] The band’s support for gay rights was met with criticism from some Russian politicians. Vitaly Milonov, a member of the State Duma called the band «idiots» and said: «If they think it possible to behave in such a way, they should also consider it possible to keep this garbage away from us.»^[139]

Members[edit]

Since forming in 1994, Rammstein have retained a constant line-up. Richard Kruspe had said in a Revolver Magazine interview that it is because of the band respecting each other’s wishes to take a break, either for personal reasons or to focus on a side project.^[140] Members of the band have had side projects that they take part in during Rammstein’s inactivity. Kruspe currently fronts the group Emigrate while Till Lindemann began his project Lindemann in 2015.

• Till Lindemann – lead vocals, harmonica
• Richard Kruspe – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Paul Landers – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Oliver Riedel – bass guitar
• Christoph Schneider^[a] – drums, percussion
• Christian «Flake» Lorenz^[b] – keyboards, samples, synthesizers, trumpet, programming

Discography[edit]

Studio albums

• Herzeleid (1995)
• Sehnsucht (1997)
• Mutter (2001)
• Reise, Reise (2004)
• Rosenrot (2005)
• Liebe ist für alle da (2009)
• Untitled album (2019)
• Zeit (2022)

Tours[edit]

• Club Tour (1994–1995)
• Herzeleid Tour (1995–1997)
• Sehnsucht Tour (1997–2001)
• Family Values Tour 1998 (22 September 1998 – 31 October 1998)
• Mutter Tour (2001–2002)
• Pledge of Allegiance Tour (2001; in between the August–November dates of the Mutter Tour)
• Ahoi Tour (Reise, Reise Tour) (2004–2005)
• Liebe Ist Für Alle Da Tour (2009–2011)
• Made in Germany 1995–2011 Tour (2011–2013)
• Rammstein Tour 2016 (2016)
• Rammstein Festival Tour 2017 (2017)
• Rammstein Stadium Tour (2019–2023)

Awards and honors[edit]

Grammy Awards

Notes and references[edit]

Notes

References

Further reading[edit]

• Barry Graves, Siegfried Schmidt-Joos, Bernward Halbscheffel: Das neue Rock-Lexikon. Bd 1. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1998. ISBN 3-499-16352-7
• Barry Graves, Siegfried Schmidt-Joos, Bernward Halbscheffel: Das neue Rock-Lexikon. Bd 2. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1998. ISBN 3-499-16353-5
• Rammstein: Rammstein – Liederbuch. Hal Leonard Corporation, London 1999. ISBN 0-7119-7220-6
• Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: Letzte Ausfahrt – Germania. Ein Phänomen namens neue deutsche Härte. I.P. Verlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-931624-12-9
• Gert Hof: Rammstein. Die Gestalten Verlag, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-931126-32-3
• Matthias Matthies: Rammstein – Deutschlandtour 2001. Berlin 2002.
• Andreas Speit: Ästhetische Mobilmachung – Dark Wave, Neofolk und Industrial im Spannungsfeld rechter Ideologien., Unrast 2001. ISBN 3-89771-804-9
• Michele Bettendorf: Ursprung Punkszene. Oder Rammstein hätte es im Westen nie gegeben. Books on Demand GmbH, 2002. ISBN 3-8311-4493-1
• Till Lindemann und Gert Hof: Messer. Eichborn, Frankfurt M 2002. ISBN 3-8218-0730-X
• Michael Fuchs-Gamböck und Thorsten Schatz: Spiel mit dem Feuer – Das inoffizielle Rammstein-Buch. Heel, Königswinter 2006. ISBN 3-89880-661-8
• Frédéric Batier: Rammstein – Völkerball. 2006. ISBN 3-8291-18694

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Rammstein discography at MusicBrainz
• Rammstein discography at Discogs
• Rammstein at deutsche-mugge.de (in German)

• Rammstein at Curlie
• Works by and about Rammstein in the German National Library catalogue

«Rammstein были с самого начала запланированы как коммерческий проект. Мы с самого начала хотели в Bravo. Цель была — стать богатыми и знаменитыми. Мы не самые безумные в смысле текстов. Я бы сказал, что из всей существующей попсы мы самые резкие».

Пауль Ландерс

Rammstein (Раммштайн, рус. Таранный камень, раммы, ромстейн, рамшвайн, калштайн) — секстет из Дойчланда состоящий из бывших панков родом из ГДР, играющий и популяризовавший NDH. В каком жанре играет группа — повод для срачей, однако стиль колеблется от попсового EBM до альтернативы, в общем музыка представляет из себя классическую мазафаку, что яростно отрицается фанатами сабжа. За это не любимы труЪ-митолиздами, и обожаемы херками, попсарями, альтернативщиками и говнарями. Сами в шутку свой стиль называют Танц-металлом, чтобы оправдать хуеву тучу электроники, простенькие риффы и чисто формальные соляки.

Две стороны популярности[править]

Причины для любви[править]

Музыка для Раммштайна является скорее приложением, ибо в этом плане не доставляют. Отметить стоит только качество студийных записей, где сведено всё на высшем уровне и звучит очень годно. Доставляет группа благодаря живым выступлениям, где музыкой не радуют вообще, но зато радуют тоннами огня, искр, пены, поистине театральной постановкой, сценой и выдаваемыми лулзами, хотя и всё чаще они уже повторяются. Также стоит упомянуть достаточно годные клипы, в которых иногда даже есть микро-сюжет и соответствие тексту песни. Хотя в этом плане годнота шла до 2006 года, и вина в этом нового режиссёра Акерлунда, (и Раммов, которые его вновь и вновь приглашали) который снял 4 однообразных клипа-перфоманса. Но если первые два («Mann Gegen Mann» и «Pussy») ещё хоть как-то можно оправдать, ведь там худо-бедно видеоряд соответствовал тематике песен, то остальные — полный слив. В этот тёмный период вышло одно годное видео, благодаря старому-доброму режиссёру с которым группа работает с начала нулевых, но потом, ЧСХ, был вновь вернут Акерлунд снявший клип в попсовом духе с закосом под ретро в стиле «пляж-девочки-секс-кокс». Но несмотря на то, что швед был выкинут на мороз (но, сцуко, опять вернувшийся, чтобы снять новый лайв-DVD), другой режиссёр, до этого снявший тройку годных клипов для группы, снял чуть меньшее УГ, благодаря срачу режиссёров, о котором изложено здесь. В общем в плане клипов у группы последнее время плохо. Всем плакать.

Причины для ненависти[править]

— Да, они просто нас попросили. Мы не очень хорошо знаем этих ребят и вовсе не являемся поклонниками их музыки. Но возможно, мы являемся фанатами того, как они воплощают свои идеи. <…> …Universal Music прислала песню, которую они предложили для создания ремикса. Оригинал нам показался паршивым, но мы решили – почему бы и нет? Давайте сделаем это! <…> Получилось сверхтяжёлая и брутальная запись. Убедитесь в этом сами, я думаю, вам понравится. А оригинальная версия меня не устраивает.

Томас Хааке (Meshuggah) о сабже и ремиксе на Benzin

Как сказано выше, с музыкой у немцев всё очень плохо. Во-первых, упрекают за убогие риффаки, малое количество/низкое качество соляков (на некоторых альбомах вообще отсутствуют, как таковые), простую линию ударных, почти отсутствующий бас (особенно в живых выступлениях его не слышно вообще) и перебор электронной составляющей. Во-вторых за просто огромное количество плагиата и самоплагиата. По сути первые два-три альбома являются нарезкой более известных или наоборот групп играющих околоиндастриал или мазафаку, а остальные три альбома уже пестрят самоплагиатом в гитарах (как пример Stein um Stein (2004) и Rosenrot (2005)^[1] или Adios (2001) и Waidmanns Heil (2009)) и даже в электронике (Sonne (2001) и Führe mich (2009)). Единственное, что не вызывает нареканий, так это ударные, в которых с каждым новом альбомом чувствуется, что скилл ударника прокачивается, что радует, так как он единственный кто за 20 лет игры в Раммштайне учится чему-то новому. То же видится и в перфомансах, солист — как не умел петь, так и не научился (а потом вообще начал юзать фанеру), гитарасты — как лажали, так и лажают (хотя лажать там и негде), клавишник — как не играл, так и не играет, и только ударник развивается, что особенно заметно во время импровизаций, которые бывают редко, но всё же бывают.

Состав[править]

• Тилль Линдеманн — тролль, лжец и ртом певец. Поэт, пироман, маньяк, мазохист и похуист. В бывшем любитель горячительных напитков, а в последнее время (после того, как бросил) любитель пирсингов да и вообще гламурных одеяний, что является результатом совместной жизни с молоденькой немецкой фрау-моделью, с которой ныне разбежался. Известен тем, что перетрахал не одну тысячу девок по всему миру, несмотря на застенчивый характер и любовь по-пьяни целоваться с мужиками. Также по его словам с друзьями-геями ходит по соответствующим барам, и втайне надеется, что песня «Mann Gegen Mann» станет гимном гей-клубов (читать интервью для Playboy за 2006 год). Помимо всего занимается написанием текстов для группы и для себя, которые доставляют довольно-таки поэтичными извращениями и исполнением их в микрофон. Хотя в последнее время исполнением занимается хуёво, хрипит и суёт фанеру где надо и не надо. Также является сооснователем проекта имени самого себя вместе с мелодэтстером Петей Тэгтгреном из Pain и Hypocrisy, в рамках которого уже успел выпустить альбом, пестрящий, несмотря на работу над инструменталом исключительно Тэгтгрена, лютым плагиатом на сабж вперемешку с нелепыми попытками косить под новомодные восьмиструнные фишки.
• Рихард Цвен Круспе (Ришаня, Солнцеликий, Эмигрант) — основатель группы, соло-гитараст, любитель маникюров, аттеншенвхора и обладатель гигантского ЧСВ. Хронический курильщик, американофил и фанат группы KiSS. Одно время трахал бывшую жену Тилля, в результате чего получил дитё с фамилией Линдеманн. Также был женат на американской еврейке, нося во время брака фамилию Круспе-Бернштайн. Во время накала страстей в группе начинает бегать по различным изданиям крича о том, что Раммштайн — говно, и что ему мешают развиваться. Хотя всё развитие представляет из себя свободу невозбранно спиздить рифф у других мазафакеров, либо у себя. Для развития создал свой соло-проект «Emigrate», который за 2 альбома оказался ещё более унылым плагиатом, чем все его творения до. В коих, однако, не побрезговали принять участие Лемми и Джонатан Дэвис.
• Пауль Ландерс (Настоящее имя — Хейко Пауль Хирше) — ритм-гитарист, метр-в-кепке и источник настоящего позитива. В детстве целый год прожил в Москвабаде, поэтому вернувшись на родину в ГДР в отличие от сверстников никогда не жаловался на нехватку таких, казалось бы, излишеств для простого советского гражданина, как то кетчуп, колбаса и прочее. Естественно, с горем-пополам выучил русский, поэтому на концертах в России в 2001 году был основным вокалистом во время исполнения «Песни о тревожной молодости», а в 2004, в Питере, во время остановки концерта отжигал, зазывая народ в полупустую фан-зону. Единственный участник группы, который достаточно активно себя ведёт на фоне остальных, и не строит усталых гримас на концертах, за что и любим.
• Оливер Ридель (aka Lars) — двухметровый лысый басист с бородой, всегда скрывающийся в темноте. Является человеком тихим и молчаливым, но вспыльчивым. Любитель йоги. По причине того, что басист — есть басист, всегда незаметен и находится в тени остальных участников группы, что его видимо устраивает.
• Кристоф Шнайдер (aka Doom) — барабанщик. Родился в многодетной семье, где помимо него были пять сестёр и старший брат, который, собсна, и подарил ему установку. Из-за засилия баб в семье, будучи школьником занимался моделированием одежды, (что отразилось на психике, ибо в последствии он сыграл мамочку в клипе Mein Teil), а потом благополучно съебал в армию, где побывал единственный из группы. Одно время был женат на татарке из России, но после одумался и взял в жёны арийскую девушку.
• Кристиан Лоренц (aka Flake, рус. Флаке) — клавишник отыгрывающий амплуа весёлого танцующего дурачка, над которым любит различными способами издеваться Тилль. Рост высокий, телосложение худое. Носит очки, ибо консерватор и линзы не переваривает. В жизни умён и прямолинеен, и если ему что-то кажется хуйнёй, то вы об этом узнаете. Будь то кино, музыка (чужая и своя), фанаты, политика и капитализм. Написал книгу. Про него, кстати, есть документалка, которая рекомендуется к просмотру раммфагам тем, кто интересуется панк-тусовкой ГДР.

История[править]

Создание[править]

Так уж исторически сложилось, что бравые арийцы, исповедующие коммунизм не имея великорусского характера, пытались безуспешно нагибать систему различными способами. Кто-то занимался прыжками через стену, а кто-то лабал панк. Причины ухода в пятую колонну были у всех разные, но все нагибаторы сходились в одном: хотим жить, как там. Так же считал и Тилль, в бывшем будучи пловцом и успев побывать на загнивающем западе. Получив пизды за то, что съебался из отеля, чтобы искать секс-шопы, а следом получив травму на соревнованиях, не умея практически нихуя основал свою группу, где пытался насиловать бас. Поняв, что ниасилит, сел за барабаны. Разумеется, группа объебосов мало кому нужна была, поэтому была постоянная текучка. Таким образом в группу попал Рихард, с которым Тиллька быстро скорешился, так как детство у них было схожее, да и ещё у Рихарда было две сторонних группы и это было возможностью познакомиться с тусовкой. Набирая авторитет, по-причине бесконфликтности и имения собственной хаты, где можно было бухать и ебаться, Рихард предлагает Тиллю создать новую группу, в которой последний станет вокалистом. Охуев от такого расклада и немного выпив, Линдеманн даёт согласие, посылает КЕМ своё старое детище и основывается сабж. Ребята переманивают ударника из одной из групп Круспе, и попутно находят басиста, который сначала посылает всех нахуй, узнав, что не умевший петь Тилль станет вокалистом, но потом всё же ломается. Внезапно, новоиспечённая группа узнаёт о Берлинском конкурсе молодых исполнителей и каким-то чудом его выигрывает. Призом было получение права записи на нормальной студии и тут ребятки поняли, что чего-то не хватат, в результате чего было принято решение позвать ещё одного гитариста и клавишника (которые в бывшем участники популярной в ГДР панк-группы, но после сноса стены и захлестнувшей западной музыке остались не у дел). Сначала, естественно, были срачи, ибо один не хотел играть с другим, другой с пятым, пятый с третьим, а Флаке, считая (и по видимому считая до сих пор), что все эти мудаки — мудаки, а их музыка — говно, считался де-юре сессионным музыкантом вплоть до 96-97 года. Но всё закончилось хэппи-эндом, начали попадаться халтурки, записываться демки и завертелось.

Путь к успеху[править]

Звучание, по словам участников, нашлось не сразу, но анонимус заявляет, что это пиздёж, и формулу успешной группы Раммы поняли заранее. «Тяжёлый» гитарный рифф, тексты про еблю, некрофилов и прочий шок-контент, и всё это разбавленное клавишными = пресловутая «успешная группа». Не имевшая даже названия и более-менее годно записанных демок, группа быстро стала известна в подполье — настолько, что про них даже сняли мини-кинцо, которое злой менеджмент Раммштайна запретил к показу в Германии. О названии задумались только во время подписания контракта. Кто-то ляпнул «Rammstein», и ввиду того, что такая кликуха уже давно прицепилась среди говнарей благодаря одноимённой песне, парни решили не выдумывать что-то другое. Позже, это название вышло боком, потому что в 1988 году на НАТОвской авиабазе «Ramstein» столкнулись два самолёта, устроив гуро и срубив в общей сложности 80 фрагов. Так как группе название дали в честь песни, которая повествует как раз об этой катастрофе (но никто не знал, как правильно пишется наименование пункта, поэтому в названии и две «M»), Раммы знали на что шли и тупо ловили лулзы с быдла, моралфагов и журналюг. Дебютный альбом вышел в 1995, назвался Herzeleid (Сердечная боль) и стал каноничным. Весь альбом состоял из рассказов про секс, трупы, кровь, говно и прочие радости жизни. Сей парад веселья разбавляется лирической песенкой посередине, но потом градус пиздеца опять возрастает. Несмотря на то, что все правила для сруба бабла были выполнены на 5+, популярности группе он не прибавил. Крутить на MTV их отказывались, альбом продавался хуёво, критики плевали дерьмом, называя группу неонацистской, а те, кто их слышал вживую, блевали не только ртом и ушами, но и всем, чем только можно. Когда встал вопрос, кто будет снимать очередной клип, парни поступили хитро, тупо разослав всем известным режиссёрам диск с записочкой: «Снимите клип на песенку, плз». Из всех откликнулся только Дэвид Линч, написав в ответ: «Клип не сниму, но музыка ничё так». Решив всё же не обижать молодёжь, Линч таки-засунул две песни в свой новый фильм «Шоссе в никуда». И только после этого альбом стал лучше продаваться, группу стали чаще приглашать выступать, а критики, продолжая бросать говно на вентилятор, только подогревали интерес. Смекнув, что на волне подъёма надо срубать ещё бабла, было принято решение делать новый альбом. Назвали его Sehnsucht (Тоска) и сделан он был просто. Все имеющиеся демки, от которых продюссера не тошнило, были отшлифованы и засунуты на альбом как есть, сверху было дописано ещё песен и всё было готово. Этим объясняется полное отсутствие соляков и наипростейшее строение песен даже для Раммштайна. Альбом почти на 95% электронный и танцевальный, поэтому его решили толкать в Пиндостан, так как в Гейропах Раммы были уже достаточно популярны, даже за пределами немецкоговорящих стран и расширяться можно было только на Запад или Восток. А так как в бывшем ОВД и пост-Совке в частности творился тот ещё пиздец, эту зону решили пока не трогать. В период 97-99 годов группа становилась всё популярнее почти во всех уголках шарика, благодаря выпуску каверов и переизданию синглов с Herzeleid’а, и во многом благодаря вышедшему в 1999 году лайв-DVD, на который до сих пор до мозолей фапают все раммфаги мира.

Мировая известность[править]

Откатав в туре 5 лет, навыпускав материала и перепробовав всю наркоту разной степени тяжести, в 2000 году уходят в отпуск, чтобы поразмыслить над новым альбомом. В этот раз решили уже писать с нуля, что только добавляло срачей и в без того уже накалённую обстановку. Будучи убитыми в говно травой и коксом, всем хотелось отпиздить всех. Особенно все хотели отпиздить Рихарда, который был самым пафосным, самым упоротым и доставал всех и вся. В такой обстановке и был записан Mutter (Мать), являющийся самым известным альбомом Рамштая благодаря тяжести сбалансированной с лирикой, а также благодаря бешеной раскрутке. Сразу после выхода альбома, ребятки двинули в тур, в котором объёбанные в говно жгли во всех смыслах слова. Именно в этот период немцы становятся популярными и здесь и даже приезжают два раза (каждый раз дают по два концерта). Любовь всех слоёв населения страны водки и медведей они получили у молодых потому, что: «Риально тижолое музло ибошат, ёпта» или «Они тоже про пиздить чурок поют, нах! Зиг…», а у старших потому, что исполнили «Песню о тревожной молодости» А. Пахмутовой. Но ближе к концу тура энергия раммов куда-то пропадает благодаря тому, что все решили дружно бросить употреблять (кроме Рихарда). Тур заканчивается, и группа уходит в тень. В прессе уже во всю слухи о распаде группы, и не спроста, ибо Круспе переехал в Нью-Йорк на ПМЖ, ведь накал страстей достигает апогея. В Штатах Солнцеликий подумывает об уходе из группы и основании сольного проекта. Благодаря уговорам Шнайдера, Рихард перестаёт быть мудаком и возвращается в родные пенаты, так как понимает, что без денег сольник он не создаст. В атмосфере всеобщего мира и дружбы записывается и выходит альбом Reise, Reise (В путь-дорогу). В альбоме бОльшее количество лиричных песен и также он имеет две околополитических песни, чем удивил. Пластинка отличается отсутствием риффов, и благодаря своеобразной новизне для звучания Раммштайна среди широких масс завоёвывает популярность. Но Раммы видя, что контракт поджимает, берут ошмётки Reise, Reise, дописывают ещё песен и кляпают Rosenrot (Розочка). И именно с этого альбома начались срачи на тему: торт или нет. Одни говорят, что альбом самый годный за всю дискографию, ибо он внёс хоть что-то новое в плане звучания и показал, что если Раммы хотят, то могут. Другие же говорят, что Роза — суть есть самопал для закрытия контракта, где на весь альбом 3-4 годных песен, а остальное наспех написанное говно. На самом деле — истина где-то по середине. И обе стороны вполне правы. Так-то.

Скатывание и застой[править]

После выхода Rosenrot’а Раммштайны уходят отдыхать, и в этот раз — надолго. Чтобы интерес к группе во время отпуска не остужался, был выпущен сингл «Mann Gegen Mann» с соответствующим клипом, а Рихарду было дано задание время от времени шуметь. Круспе был не против, ибо во всю готовил сольник и надо было как-то его проталкивать. Вышло сиё чудо в 2007 году, а в 2008 Раммы начинают вяло собираться и думать о будущем альбоме, причём пиарить начинают его сразу же, обещая, что он будет таким же, как Herzeleid. Выбросив в сеть пару видосов со студии и дохуя фоток, парни не на шутку разогревают интерес толпы. И вот, в 2009-м выходит долгожданный Liebe Ist Für Alle Da (Любовь существует для всех), причём его сливают за неделю до релиза. И, внезапно, половина фанатов начинают люто, бешено поливать новый альбом дерьмом. В основном предъявляли за слишком попсовый стиль, потому что сразу было видно, что пластинка является годным коммерческим продуктом для широких слоёв населения, хотя то, что другие альбомы являлись тем же, недовольным камрадам почему-то было похуй. В следствии эти люди вышли на форумы где несмотря на баны и пидорение продолжали писать: «Лифад сосёт, тур говно». Тур же представляет собой один большой лулз, из-за которого разговоры про тупой сруб бабла только усиливались. Например, приехав на Rock am Ring 2010 Раммы подписали на трансляцию только 5 песен. И то, концерт отличился тем, что на песне «Ich Tu Dir Weh» звукари попалили Тиллю фанеру во время припева. А во время мини-тура по Южной Америке дали латиносам жёстко отсосать, урезав сцену, свет и спецэффекты.

Но латиносы, видимо, хуец проглотили, ибо все концерты прошли на ура. Окончив самый масштабный в своей истории тур и решив, что денег заработали слишком мало, увольняют менеджера, клепают сборник хитов Made in Germany 1995-2011 (Сделано в Германии), и двигают в новый тур, который отличается от старого сет-листом, и немного новым оформлением сцены. Закончив эти гастроли, берут год отпуска, а потом опять уезжают в тур в поддержку всё того же бест-офа, чем вызывают праведный гнев даже у самых упоротых фанатов. У кого-то благодаря тому, что Тиллька перекрасился в блондина, исколол всё лицо пирсингом и надевал на открывающую концерты песню розовую шубку, а у кого-то — потому что в сет-лист вернули фанерные песни, а у кого-то просто потому что заебались пятый год смотреть один и тот же тур, без новых мало-мальски крупных релизов. Закончив концертную пятилетку, ушли на покой, уже, как казалось, не думая о новом альбоме вообще (о чём Круспе не раз заявлял), ибо у Тилля и Рихарда свои проекты, а всем остальным — тупо похуй. Отсняв по два концерта во время LIFAD’а и MiG’а спустя 5 лет выпустили только первый, из Madison Square Garden, второй — показывали на Каннском кинофестивале и, вроде как, анонсировали, но только для кинотеатров, и только для Германии. Так началась эпоха глубокого затишья (хотя Тилль и Рихард светились с сольниками, а остальные — мало по малу), а у раммфагов эпоха споров о том, в каком году в группе настал пиздец: в 2005, 2009 или 2013. Но несмотря на бурление говн, в 2015 году наши герои при поддержке уже упоминавшегося выше Петера Тегтгрена с особым цинизмом начали распускать слухи о начале работ по обнаружению нового альбома, ИЧСХ, в 2016 опять поехали в тур по летним фестивалям, и опять без повода, который, как ни странно, по меркам постаревших Раммов оказался хорош, благодаря работе со светом и вытаскиванием на публику одной новой и нескольких давно забытых песен, несмотря даже на то, что новая композиция это попурри из названий старых, плюс пара строчек из ГДР-овского гимна, со спизженной ритм-секцией.

Лулзы[править]

• Одним из самых известных номеров в репертуаре группы было анальное изнасилование Тиллем Флаке резиновым членом. С помощью специальной трубки, которая прикреплялась к штанам Линдеманна, а дальше соединялась с дилдо Тилль после сексуального акта пару минут поливает толпу, коллег и себя из члена какой-то выпивкой неизвестного происхождения.

• Алсо, за исполнение этого финта в Пиндостане однажды голубки были арестованы и получили условку по 6 месяцев каждому, но были выпущены за залог в 70 штук президентов. После этого в стране свободы и демократии этот трюк не использовался.

• На Hurricane Festival ’97 пацаны позвали за кулисы менеджера MTV Бернда Ратйена, который был самым яростным обвинителем Раммштайнов в неонацизме. Там его приклеили к стулу липкой лентой и засунули дымовую шашку между ног. Таким образом ребятки между собой всё решили, ведь в суд Бернд подавать не стал.
• Во время «Family Values» в 98 году, где Раммы лабали с Korn’ом и прочими светилами, на Хэллоуинский концерт, парни решили пойти кто во что горазд. Кто в платье, кто в памперсах, а кто просто ограничился чехлом для МПХ. Организаторы слегка обосравшись от такого поворота вызвали полицию, и не дав толком начать концерт увезли группу в кутузку.
• Клип на «Stripped» представляет из себя нарезку фильма Лени Рифеншталь «Олимпия» про величие арийских спортсменов на Берлинской олимпиаде 1936 года. Из-за этого группу стали ещё больше обвинять в нацистских взглядах, причём настолько сильно, что Раммы поняли, что переборщили с толстым троллингом и записали песню «Links 2-3-4», в которой пытались отмыться от образа правых «рокеров».
• В 2001-м году, опять в Пендосии, во время концерта решили потроллить зрителей чудным номером, который фанатьё позже окрестило «Месть Флаке». Первая часть песни шла как обычно, с плащом, а вторая начиналась с того, что Флаке подходил к Линдеманну с огнемётом и несколько раз палил по нему. После сего действа фанаты лезли высирать целые кирпичные стадионы на официальном сайте группы, после чего данный номер убрали из репертуара, оставив его старую версию.
• В 2003-м на Moscow Harley Party Тилль с Рихардом запилили кавер на «Штиль» Ареи, и в результате получили люлей от своего лейбла.

«Они спели нашу песню „Штиль“, получили как бы пиздюлей на своей фирме Universal, и, в общем, как-то пытаются сейчас эту ситуацию разрулить».

Дубинин

Сингл был запрещён к изданию и продаже, как пиратская продукция.

• В четвёртом альбоме у группы есть песня про Default city, где она сравнивается со шлюхой, которую все хотят трахнуть и которая с радостью всем даёт, но только за большие деньги. Женский вокал сначала должна была исполнять группа t.A.T.u, но их продюсеры решили, что не гоже великой русской группе сидеть на подпевках у каких-то немецких обрыганов, и Раммам пришлось записываться с некой эстонской певичкой.

• Во время исполнения этой песни в самой Москве в 2004 году на подтанцовку позвали девок из стрип-клуба Паука, так как эту песню снимали для live-DVD и песня про главную руSSкую шалаву без других руSSких шалав выглядела бы на диске некошерно.

• В клипе на «Pussy» имеются письки, сиськи и секс, причём всё это далеко не резиновое. Но во время, непосредственно, порнушных сцен головы Раммштайнов прифотошоплены к телам порно-актёров. Когда клип вышел, фанаты нехило просрались, назвав его говном, но нужная реакция всё ровно последовала. Сингл быстро взлетел на первое место в топах (чего в истории группы не было никогда) и заставил после длительного перерыва опять обсуждать «эпотажные» выходки немцев.
• На концертах опять же во время «Pussy» во время первой части песни Тиллька просто поёт, а потом садится на большую членоподобную мешалку, которая катается вдоль фанки и поливает зрителей пеной. А на первых концертах MiG-тура пушку заменили на гигантский хуй, который тоже стрелял пеной, но из-за частых поломок было решение вернуть старую пушку.

• В Чили в 2010 году ввиду того, что основные спецэффекты пустили под нож, группа вернула номер с фаллосами, ИЧСХ, опять на «Pussy». Только в этот раз никто никого не трахал, фаллосов было аж 6 (на каждого), и кончали они искрами, а потом у Линдеманна из фаллоса шла вода. А во время песни «Te Quiero Puta!«, Тиллька зазывал на сцену различных фанаток женского пола. До них не дошло, в чём соль, после чего Линдеманн ушёл с видом рукалицо, а до тех, до кого всё же дошло кричали вслед девушкам: «Putas! Putas!».
• После московского концерта в 2016 году, Тиллю неизвестными людьми ему в руку был всучен золотой айфон с портретом Путина, и футболка с ним же, после чего позже разлетелись слухи о том, что герр Линдеманн якобы похвалил внешнюю политику Краба. В отличие от Дёрста, Тилль, проживший детство, отрочество и юность в ГДР, прохавал что к чему, пригрозил журнашлюхам судом и немедленно дал опровержение, что футболка — фотожоп, а одобрительно поднятый большой палец, который трактовался как похвала презику — похвала Москве. Запасаемся попкорном.

Фанаты[править]

• В большинстве представляют собой отдельный подвид говнаря, отличающегося особой упоротостью, впрочем, сильно уступая по последнему показателю только фэнам Slipknot’а. Слушает только сабж и ничего кроме него, однако, могут быть крайне редкие исключения вроде Ареи, Вити Цоя или мазафаки вроде Linkin Park или Slipknot времён Vol.3, ибо по навороченности саунда тоже недалеко ушли. Реже слушает других представителей NDH. Раньше некоторых рамм-фагов можно было уличить в любви к группе Scooter. В списке любимых групп вконтактика чуть ли не в обязательном порядке присутствуют предыдущие коллективы музыкантов: Feeling B, First Arsch, Die Firma, Orgasm Death Gimmick, The Inchtabokatables, а также сольник Тилля, при этом Ришкин Emigrate не котируется.
• Чуть более продвинутый фанат обожает устраивать холивары на тему «Что круче, Rammstein или Oomph!», где начинает яростно фапать на сабж.
• В «Любимую музыку» вконтактика частенько вписывает индастриал-метал, хотя из жанра только Раммштайн и слышал не слышал ничего или в лучшем случае слышал только Static-X или на худой конец — Мэнсона.
• Повсюду ставит на аватары фотографии музыкантов, в том числе и на свою фотографию вконтакте. Очень доставляют анкеты, в которых любая новая фотография во время творческого перерыва музыкантов приводит рамм-фага в состояние неописуемого восторга, вследствие чего можно лицезреть Линдеманнов на фоне ковров, Рихардов Круспе на фоне домашних тапочек кошек и прочих членов группы, снятых на говномыльницу.
• Считает, что ахуенно знает немецкий язык. На самом деле, всё ограничивается парой выражений, почерпнутых из текстов. Впрочем, наиболее продвинутых сабж порой толкает на изучение немецкого языка.
• Гордится немецкой культурой и тем, что слушает истинную тяжёлую немецкую музыку, а не фанерную попсу. Раньше было модно считать себя фошыстом, хотя знать, что это такое было не обязательно.
• Любит извлекать ртом звуки отдалённо напоминающие риффы группы, а иногда и вокал. Первое сопровождается зашкаливающим выделением слюны, второе — постоянным срывом связок желторотого школьника на фальцет в жалких попытках изобразить голос Линдеманна.
• Носит говномерч группы с пылающим рамм-крестом во всю спину/пузо купленным на китайском рынке, ибо в раммшопе покупать дорого не кошерно. Иногда вместо креста можно увидеть облоги синглов (чаще всего «Amerika»). Что касается остального внешнего вида — выглядит как довольно заурядный фанат рок-музыки, ведь нужно показать, что слушаешь риальное тижолое музло, хуле. Котируется натовская военная форма с немецкими флажками на рукавах. Впрочем, может и не выделяться среди остальных сверстников внешним видом по причине либо стеснительности, либо наличия чуть большего количества мозгов для того, чтобы понять, что в говнарской одежде и выглядит как говно, либо из-за похуизму к внешнему виду.
• Содержит на жёстком диске самую большую коллекцию фотографий музыкантов среди всех, кто учится в его школе/ПТУ/универе. Дрожит над коллекцией и пересматривает её каждый день, истекая слюной; считает её годным объектом для фаллометрии.
• Вместе с парой других товарищей полагает, что девушкам очень нравится, когда парни слушают митол (МИТОЛ НАХ, а не утяжеленную попсу!), но не знают, что в Рамшвайне митола только 25%, поэтому при одноклассницах показушно орёт песни/смотрит фотки группы или слушает музыку с мобильника/показывает при всех запись концертного видео «Buck Dich» (опасаясь при этом, что кто-то из учителей войдёт в класс и увидит). При этом самки, как правило, включают снисходительность, и правильно делают.
• Постоянно достаёт окружающих тупыми вопросами вроде «А ты слушал Рамшвайн?», даже если окружающими являются его родители или бабушка с дедушкой.
• Причисляет себя к русским панкам. Группу тоже иногда причисляет к панку. Хотя, к чему её только поциэнты не причисляют.
• Считает Раммштайн самой тяжёлой группой в мире. Услышав какой-нибудь дэтмитолъ/грайнд, впадает в состояние когнитивного диссонанса, но пытается проявить безразличие, бросив фразу: «Да это урчание говна в унитазе слушать невозможно, тяжесть должна быть в меру», хотя сам полчаса назад загонял попсарей/говнарей, оперируя тяжестью музыки как главным аргументом.
• То же самое касается и фанеры во время выступлений. Типичные комментарии фонатиков:

Да мне пофиг, они уже на миллионы фанер вперёд вживую напели. Имеют право. Честно иногда хочется начать раздавать баны за эти толки о фанере. Нет там её!!! Везде дабл-трек состоящий из нескольких Тилле-дорожек которые его настоящий голос глушат! Нормальное выступление. Не могу понять, что вам не нравится? Я на вас в 50 лет посмотрю. Как вы сможете 1,5 часа в живую петь и вообще на сцене находиться. Причём не просто находиться, а очень даже энергично отплясывать. Не считая того, что выступления у них довольно часто происходят и энергии на все не напастись.

и так далее

• Полагает, что у Rammstein есть песни в любом стиле музыки и они никогда не выйдут из моды, будучи всегда актуальными.
• Приветствуются говнарские стереотипы относительно музыки с классическим набором объектов ненависти: например, зачастую поциэнт люто-бешено ненавидит рэп и глубоко убеждён, что в нём музыки нет и быть не может, а есть лишь тупое придумывание текста типа «Йо, йо, камон, йо!» на ходу.
• Когда Rammstein объявляют об очередном концерте в России, демонстративно кричит перед одноклассниками: «Я обязательно туда пойду!!!11». При этом заранее знает, что денег со школьного завтрака или стипендии ПТУшника на билет не хватит, а от родителей получит дома пиздюлей за подобные просьбы.

Культуртрегерство[править]

Один из эпичнейших винов Rammstein состоит в том, что именно они невольно наставили множество школоты на путь изучения великого Hochdeutsch. Число Rammstein-фагов по всему миру, кинувшихся учить немецкий не ради немецкого кино или эмиграции, а всего лишь для понимания, о чём там поют брутальные немецкие мужики, переваливает за 9000. Впрочем, расовые немцы из института Гёте (типа официальной немецкой конторы по приобщению унтерменшей к труЪ арийской культуре) при упоминании Rammstein начинают срать кирпичами.

Алсо, есть мнение, что своеобразное произношение Линдеманна — эдакий закос под Laibach.

Экстрим по-немецки[править]

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  Линдеманн с расовыми руЗЗкими блядями.

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  Пауль Ландерс: «Мы все немножко пидорасы».

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  Тилльхен и не против.

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  Ну ты понел.

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  Обложка этого сингла заставила просраться кирпичами немалое количество людей.

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  Пати хард

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  Типичная реакция сабжа на журнализдов.

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  AfterParty для избранных, Рихард в недоумении…

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  ББПЕ по-раммштайновски!

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  Белые розы, белые розы…

Примечания[править]