Information
Date: January/February 2002
Title: Hot Rocks
Source: Revolver
Press Article
The most popular German band to hit the U.S. since the Scorpions, Rammstein have sold well over a million records in the States, despite the fact that they sing entirely in their native tongue. The primal power of their dramatic music has enchanted American listeners since 1998, when Rammstein first stormed our shores with the leftfield hit "Du Hast." But it's the amazing spectacle of the band's Kiss-meets-Kraftwerk stage show that really keeps 'em coming back for more. Each night on the Pledge of Allegiance tour, as the band's silversuited instrumentalists jerk and pose like mechanical soldiers, lead singer Till Lindemann, a former swimmer for the East German Olympic team*, takes the stage in a burning overcoat; later, he dons a helmet that shoots a 15-foot flame across the stage in time to his comrades' brutal chord changes. Guitars catch fire, flash pots explode, and the crowd goes absolutely apeshit. "We don't talk much to the audience," explains guitarist Paul Landers, "so fire is our way to communicate with the masses."
When the band formed in 1993, however, pyrotechnics were not a part of the Rammstein repertoire. "It was very static onstage, and our singer got bored," Landers remembers. The band's first attempt at special effects involved pouring gasoline around the floor of a club before it's set. "Then on the first hit of the drums," Landers says, "we lit the gasoline, and everybody is like, 'AAAAAHH!'" The guitarist chuckles. "At the time, everybody in Berlin was bored with bands. All the bands were the same and there was nothing new happening. But this time, everybody was like, 'Yeah! I'm burning! I'm burning, but it's something new!'"
Soon, the band members were pouring every extra Deutsche Mark into their pyro fund, trying to improve their effects without actually frying themselves in the process. "The problem is, we started at such a high level that the next step would be to burn down the venue," Landers says, laughing. "And, after seven years, sometimes you get bored with the fire. We tried to do something with water, but it didn't work so well. Water's boring! Water's more for relaxing, but fire is more for rock and roll."
When Rammstein toured Europe this summer behind their new album, Mutter, the stage props included vats of glowing liquid filled with what looked like severed body parts. Unfortunately, logistical problems prevented the band from including these virtual limbs in its Pledge of Allegiance set. "We have 35 minutes, and not much time for the changeover, so we leave most of the stuff in the truck," says Landers. "With us, the effect matches to the song, mostly; if we don't play the song, we don't have the effect." This rule may result in disappointment for some: Because Rammstein's Pledge set concentrates largely on songs from Mutter the older "Büch Dich" ("Bend down"), from 1998's Sehnsucht, had to be dropped - which means Lindemann no longer gets to forcibly sodomize keyboardist Flake Lorenz with a giant dildo.
"No. The set list is too short. Sorry!" snaps Lorenz, provoking peals of laughter from his bandmate. "You are sorry?" howls Landers. "Flake is very happy that the song is not in the set list!"
Though they're enjoying the Pledge tour immensely, Landers admits that playing every night with System of a Down and Slipknot is making the men of Rammstein feel a little old. "It's very evil and hard stuff on this tour," he says, "and we are not so evil and hard anymore. When we started in Germany, we had the same role that Slipknot has here right now: We polarized the media and the people, and a lot of people said, 'It's not music!'"
"But you can't have this role over a long time; you have to grow up and have some other qualities. We hope we have them - we hope we don't get boring, where we end up doing a lot of ballads and Unplugged sessions."
* Till was not an Olympic swimmer. Check the FAQ section.