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Rammstein

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Rammstein is a German heavy metal band formed in 1993. Their music also incorporates elements of industrial and electronic music, similar in many ways to Laibach. The songs are sung in German.

The band

Rammstein is not to be confused with the town of Ramstein, but the group was named after its most famous feature, Ramstein Air Base, the site of the Ramstein airshow disaster. The name was intended to promote awareness of the tragedy at the air base. "Rammstein" literally translates as "ram stone" or Battering Ram. Even though the lyrics are not in English, the band has enjoyed huge success outside of Germany, and with the album "Reise, Reise!" (2004), they became the most successful German-language band of all time worldwide. Rammstein tends to use numerous different pyrotechnics during concerts which eventually lead fans to create the motto "Other bands play, Rammstein burns!"

Band members:

Lyrics and style

Although it cannot really be said that Rammstein stick to any particular genre of music, they are most often described as an industrial band; they are also often associated with heavy metal and hard rock. Despite their brutalist image, they show a sense of humour in their lyrics. Rein Raus ([Get] in, [get] out), for example, is clearly tongue-in-cheek. Zwitter (hermaphrodite) is a bizarre take on narcissism. A rough translation:

While others had girls in their eyes
I could self-fertilize

Similarly, the song Amerika features the unforgettable lyrics:

We're all living in Amerika
Amerika ist wunderbar ...
We're all living in Amerika
Coca Cola, Wonderbra!

Their songs show some unexpected influences; "Du Hast" is a play on German marriage vows, while "Dalai Lama" is an adaptation of a famous poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Movie appearances

Rammstein has made several appearances in various movies. In 1997, they played "Engel" for the movie Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and "Rammstein" and "Heirate Mich" appeared in David Lynch's Lost Highway. Their song "Du Hast" was featured in The Matrix (uncredited) in 1999 and How High in 2001. In 2002 their song "Halleluja" became part of the soundtrack for Resident Evil; later that same year, they appeared in the movie XXX singing "Feuer Frei". Their video clips frequently take a cinematic approach, with visual 'quotes' from movies including Reservoir Dogs and From Dusk Till Dawn. Swedish filmmaker Lukas Moodysson used "Mein Herz Brennt" for his 2002 film Lilya 4-ever.

Albums

Rammstein's fourth full-length studio album, titled Reise, Reise, was recorded in Spain in March and released on September 27, 2004 in most European countries. As used in Reise, Reise aufstehen! Kommt hoch nach alter Seemannsart, it is an old sailor's expression to wake up or arise other sailors. Hence a possible translation would be Arise, Arise. (We can also see how this expression is used in the eponymous song)

Two singles have been released from the album, with a third - "Ohne Dich" - planned for release in late 2004. The first, entitled "Mein Teil" ("My Part" - "part" is slang for "penis"), is based on the true story of Armin Meiwes who was convicted in 2003 of killing and canibalising another man. "Mein Teil" was released on July 26, 2004 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and August 30 internationally.

The second single from the "Reise Reise" album, "Amerika," was released on September 13 and its international release followed on 4 October.

Controversies

Rammstein have not been shy of courting controversy and have periodically attracted condemnation from moral campaigners. Their famously over-the-top stage act, involving simulated sodomy and a giant custard-squirting dildo, earned them a night in jail in June 1999 after a concert in Worcester, Massachusetts. Back home in Germany, the band has faced accusations of fascist sympathies due to the dark and sometimes militaristic imagery of their videos and concerts, including the use of extracts from a propaganda film by Leni Riefenstahl in the video for Stripped. Rammstein have denied this vigorously and the members of the band have said that they want nothing to do with politics. Given that the band has its origins in the East German punk scene, it rather can be assumed that they once were politically left but now play with ambivalent signals for artistic reasons.

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 their favourite band. Rammstein came in for heavy criticism from right-wing and Christian groups in the United States, who claimed (amongst other things) that Till Lindemann's rolling r's were an imitation of Adolf Hitler's diction. In response, the band issued a terse 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."

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." [1] The claim has not been independently confirmed and the Russian authorities are known to have been concerned that Rammstein was too appealing to "undesirable" elements in Russian society. A Rammstein concert in Moscow scheduled for July 19, 2002 was cancelled due to fears that it would attract skinheads.

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 Arwin Meiwes cannibalism case, showing musicians of the band being held on a leash by a transvestite and rolling around in mud. The controversy did nothing to stop (and may even have helped) the single topping the German charts.

Discography

Albums

Songs

Singles

Videos

  • Du Riechst so Gut ("You Smell so Good")
  • Seemann ("Sailor")
  • Rammstein ("Ram Stone")
  • Engel ("Angel")
  • Du Hast ("You Have/You Hate")
  • Du Riechst so Gut '98 ("You Smell so Good '98")
  • Stripped
  • Sonne ("Sun")
  • Links 2-3-4 ("Left 2-3-4")
  • Ich Will ("I Want")
  • Mutter ("Mother")
  • Feuer Frei! ("Fire At Will")
  • Mein Teil ("My Part")
  • Amerika ("America")
  • Ohne Dich ("Without You") (Coming soon)

VHS'/DVDs

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