III
Rammstein

About:

Richard Z. Kruspe: 24 june 1967
Till Lindemann: 4 january 1963

Rammstein was founded by guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe. In 1989, he escaped to West Berlin and started the band, Orgasm Death Gimmicks. In the early nineties he met Till Lindemann (drummer in First Arsch), Oliver Riedel (of The Inchtabokatables) and Christoph "Doom" Schneider (of Die Firma). Together they envisioned music that would combine machines as well as the sound of hard guitars. Influenced by bands like Laibach and Ministry. They named themselves Rammstein, ‘inspired’by the West German town of Ramstein-Miesenbach, the site of the flight show disaster on August 28, 1988.

After trying several set ups it was decided that Lindemann would be the singer of the band. In 1994 they entered a talent contest and won first prize, the opportunity to record a four track demo cd in a professional studio. This led to their first studio album entitled Herzeleid released in 1995. The band quickly became the flag carriers for a musicstream called the Neue Deutsche Härte. In 1996, Rammstein performed on MTV's Hanging Out in London; their first performance in the UK. Rammstein's first major boost in popularity outside of Germany came when music director Trent Reznor chose two Rammstein songs, namely 'Heirate mich' and 'Rammstein', for David Lynch's new film, Lost Highway.

At the start of 1997 the second album ‘Sehnsucht’ was released. Again produced by Jacob Hellner. The single ‘Du hast’ was their first top ten hit in the German single charts. Meanwhile their loveshows became as spectacular as notorious for their frequent pyrotechnic use. After an accident in the Arena in Berlin in 1996 where some burning decoration parts fell on the audience the band took to employing 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, his hair and his arms.

In the summer of 1998 (after heavy touring around the world) 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 dvd of the show as well as their third album ‘Mutter’ established Rammstein’s success in 2000. The success of the albums gave the band the opportunity to invest in rather expensive videoclips. ‘Mein Teil’ (the first single for the album ‘Reise, Reise’) was shot in the Treptow district of Berlin and the 'Amerika' video was filmed in the ruins of the former chemical factory in Rüdersdorf. The spacesuits for the moon scenes were borrowed from Hollywood and 240 tons of ash was needed to create the moon landscape. In 2005 Rammstein play festivals all around Europe and in Russia. Footage from these concerts eventually end up on Rammstein's live dvd 'Völkerball'. Later that year ‘Rosenrot’ was released. In 2007 Kruspe released a solo album project called 'Emigrate'. In 2009 the band is back with a new album again stirring controversy. According to the Ministry of family affairs the album should not be sold to people under 18 years. Stumbling block is the song 'Tu Ich Dir Weh' (I'm your pain) and the cover of the album Liebe ist fur alle da ('Love is for everyone'). According to the Minister the band propagates 'unprotected intercourse' and 'dangerous propaganda by encouraging sadomasochist deeds'.

After a ten year hiatus which consisted of tours and solo projects the band returns in 2019 with a selftitled album. The album is preceeded by the single ´Deutschland´ with again a controversial video.

On the web:

- Rammstein's official website: http://www.rammstein.com

If you like this, you probably like.. / european counterparts:

Laibach (FRS Yugoslavia)

What do we think:

DB: I guess like Laibach, Rammstein also fits the profile where you can ask yourself if this is a political statement or just pure entertainment (although a bit inflammable). But this website is also about music typical for a certain country and Rammstein is German from top to bottom. Maybe often reinterpreted by American industrial sounding acts but never surpassed. You just have to be German to make this kind of music (listen to acts like Alec Empire or EC8OR if you want more over the top stuff). The act and the music do evoke some funny imagery with journalists over the world. Jam Showbiz described 'Mutter' as "music to invade Poland to” and New Zealand's Southland Times suggested that Till Lindemann's "booming, sub-sonic voice" would send "the peasants fleeing into their barns and bolting their doors" 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."

PR: Unique band, very new millennium, great image, great records. Their sound is hard, but the songs stand out perfectly.Look beyond the act and you will discover an authentic and creative band. Thanks to their typical German sound, Rammstein created their own unique type of Europomusic and therfore they most definitely deserve a page on this website!

Recommendations:

♪♪♪ - Herzeleid - 1995

♪♪ - Sehnsucht - 1997

♪♪♪♪ - Mutter - 2001

♪♪♪♪ - Reise, Reise -2004

♪♪♪ - Rosenrot - 2005

♪♪ - Völkerball (live) - 2006

- Liebe ist für alle da - 2009

♪♪♪ - Rammstein - 2019

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♪♪♪♪♪ = outstanding album, an absolute must-have
♪♪♪♪ = great album, highly recomended
♪♪♪ = nice album
♪♪ = be careful, requires listening before buying
♪ = best to be avoided