Rammstein are known for their frequent pyrotechnic use

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").
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 on-stage antics have included:

• Band members using head-mounted flamethrowers ("Lycopodium Masks", also called "Dragon Masks") while singing/playing (example: "Feuer frei!" video);
• Till Lindemann singing an entire song while on fire (example: "Rammstein" video); he now uses twin flamethrowers strapped to his arms;
• Till Lindemann singing into a prop telephone that bursts into confetti (during the song "Du Hast", but only during the Sehnsucht and Mutter tours)
• Christian "Flake" Lorenz in full bondage gear being led by Till Lindemann during stage performances of "Bück dich".
• Exploding drumsticks, drums, microphones and boots;
• Till Lindemann removing a large firecracker from his pants - which explodes, emitting sparks (during the song "Das alte Leid")
• Rockets fired along cables strung above the audience;
• Spark-shooting longbows, drumsticks, boots and guns;
• Christian "Flake" Lorenz destroying a keyboard in the style of Nine Inch Nails and The Who;
• Microphones, guitars and keyboards on fire;
• Band members surfing the crowd in a rubber boat
• Christian "Flake" Lorenz driving around on a Segway HT during "Amerika".[1]
• Till Lindemann doing a jig with fireworks in the front of his shoes, shooting sparks in front of him (Weißes Fleisch).
• Christian "Flake" Lorenz sitting in a large cooking pot, which Till Lindemann blasts with a flamethrower when Lorenz ducks. In the same sequence Lindemann chases Lorenz around the stage with a microphone built into a carving knife.

Rammstein's shows have become increasingly elaborate since the first ones over ten years ago, when their effects were confined to pouring kerosene around the stage and setting it alight. After some unfortunate early accidents 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. Since the band frequently incorporates fake accidents into their shows, it’s unclear how often Lindemann actually gets burned. Of Lindemann, bandmate Christoph Schneider says, “Till gets burned all the time, but he likes the pain.”

The band's costumes are equally outlandish. During the Reise, Reise tour they were wearing 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 nappies.

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?" (The Grand Rapids Press, Jul 22, 1999). [1] At the Metaltown Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden on July 30, 2005, Till suffered a knee injury when Flake accidentally ran into him with the Segway.

Albums

Rammstein has released five full-length studio albums: Herzeleid (1995), Sehnsucht (1997), Mutter (2001), Reise, Reise (2004), Rosenrot (2005), two live albums Live aus Berlin (1999) and Völkerball (2006) and one compilation DVD Lichtspielhaus (2003). While Herzeleid was well-received, Sehnsucht is widely regarded as Rammstein's breakthrough album. The production of the follow-up album Mutter was an experience fraught with difficulty for the band. The band's latest album, Rosenrot, was released on October 28, 2005. A number of songs that were left out of Reise, Reise for dramaturgical reasons make up the majority of the album, but a number of new songs have also been recorded. The band performed "Benzin", the first single from the album, at four shows in Wuhlheide Park on June 23-26, 2005, and four shows in the United Kingdom (Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow and Cardiff) in July 2005. The band took a time out in 2006, and are going to begin work again this year. Furthermore, keyboardist Flake confirmed this in an interview with Metal Hammer Germany in November, stating that they would most likely release the new album in 2008. He also said they had plans to tour South America in 2007, play some festivals and plan a European tour. A new live Rammstein DVD, named Völkerball, was released on November 17th 2006 in Germany (and other parts of Europe), with concert footage from France, England, Japan, and Russia, alongside a CD as well. There are three versions of the set, one, including a 190 page tour book. Due to unforeseen popularity of the package, the limited edition sold out - forcing a second pressing run.

Covers and Adaptations

Rammstein's songs have been covered by a number of other artists, including the group Gregorian who 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. Also, the German composer Torsten Rasch has produced a classical symphonic song-cycle entitled "Mein Herz brennt", based on the music of Rammstein. The cover of "Seemann" by Nina Hagen and Apocalyptica 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" and "Mein Herz Brennt" together. The "Benzin" single also featured a remix of the song, called "Kerosinii" by Apocalyptica. More recently, the industrial band Laibach covered the song "Ohne dich". Also,the band Debauchery,a German death-metal band, covered 'Weisses Fleisch' song from Rammstein's Herzeleid album for their 'Back In Black' album. Rammstein has also done several covers themselves, including "Das Modell" by Kraftwerk, "Stripped" by Depeche Mode, "Pet Sematary" by The Ramones (sung by keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz) and "Schtiel" by Aria. However "Schtiel" isn't an official Rammstein track, since it was only played by vocalist Till Lindemann and guitarist Richard Kruspe.

Controversies

Imagery

sympathies due to the dark and sometimes campaigners. Their stage act earned them a night in jail in June 1999 after a liquid ejecting dildo was used in a concert in Described by the New York Times as a "powerful strain of brutally intense rock" who "bring gale-force music and spectacular theatrics together," Rammstein has been a band with a highly controversy-prone nature. Rammstein have not been shy about courting this controversy and have periodically attracted condemnation from morality Worcester, Massachusetts. Back home in Germany, the band has faced repeated accusations of fascistmilitaristic imagery of their videos and concerts, including the use of excerpts from the propaganda film Olympia by Leni Riefenstahl in the video for "Stripped". Their debut album Herzeleid, released in Germany in 1995, originally had a cover featuring the bandmembers' upper bodies without clothing; critics accused the band of trying to sell themselves as "poster boys for the Master Race". Rammstein have vigorously denied this and said that they want nothing to do with politics or supremacy of any kind. Flake, the keyboardist, annoyed by the claim has remarked that its just a photo, and should be understood as such. Herzeleid has since been given an alternate cover in some countries, depicting the band members' faces.
The song "Links 2, 3, 4" 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." (The Grand Rapids Press, July 22, 2001) 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. "Flake" recently stated on an on-line 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

In April 1999, it emerged that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two boys who perpetrated the Columbine High School massacre, were fans of Rammstein and had declared it to be one of their favorite bands. Rammstein came under heavy criticism from some conservative and Christian groups in the United States who claimed (among other things) that the members of the band were "demonically influenced" and by the German media that Till Lindemann's rolling Teutonic r's were an imitation of Adolf Hitler's diction. In response, 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 behavior. Additionally, members of Rammstein have children of their own, in whom they continually strive to instill healthy and non-violent values.
Ironically, on September 10th 2001 the single and video clip of Ich will was released which portrays the band as terrorists who want to get a message across and receiving a kind of terrorist award for their "actions". The video clip was broadcasted only late at night after the attacks of September 11th 2001 although many media officials and politicians requested the video to be removed from the program completely.

Following the tragic conclusion of the Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia in September 2004, the Russian authorities claimed that the hostage-takers 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 about this 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)

Videos

In October 2004, the video for "Mein Teil" 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 5 band members a leash and rolling around in mud. The controversy did nothing to stop (and may even have helped) 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 of the civil case is not reported. 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 Times, Jan 29, 2005) The video for "Mann gegen Mann" ("Man against man") from their latest album "Rosenrot" may have caused some controversy, as most of the bandmembers are naked in the video, apart from lead singer Till Lindemann, who is wearing what can best be described as a "latex diaper" - most likely because he does not have an instrument to cover his genitalia with. In addition, there are multiple naked men in the video, with buttocks clearly visible, though no genitalia can be seen. The video has been played uncensored on MTV. The video has been rated FSK 16 in Germany and therefore can be played on television only after 10 PM.

original text can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rammstein


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