VORSPRUNG DURCH TECHNIK
The irresistible rise of Rammstein over the past 25 years has been one of heavy metal’s most unlikely, hilarious and misunderstood success stories. These enigmatic East Berliners rarely give interviews, steadfastly sing in their native German, and often face condemnation for their purposely provocative use of transgressive taboo imagery. Even so, with more than 10 million album sales, Rammstein have slowly blossomed into the most successful German-language band ever, with a reputation for explosively exciting live shows which fall somewhere between Wagnerian operas and cyberpunk torture-porn carnivals. Their current international stadium tour is their biggest yet, pushing their orgiastic sado-maximalist spectacle to new heights of excess-allareas showmanship.
Rammstein’s ascent to stadium-rocking notoriety has been eased along the way by celebrity champions including Trent Reznor and David Lynch. But it has not always been a smooth ride. Their fondness for ambiguous totalitarian imagery, hard-core sex and violent subject matter has seen the band censored, banned and attacked in the media. A casual observer might dismiss them as professional edgelords who are, quite literally, playing with fire to generate cheap clickbait controversy. But there is logic and poetry behind the band’s avant-punk anarchy, backed up by a deep cultural hinterland and a heavy dose of black humour. When Rammstein make political statements, they mostly take aim at worthy enemies, not easy targets. With great power comes great responsibility, ideally with the added bonus of weapons-grade pyrotechnics.
Like Angela Merkel, the Trabant car and pickled gherkins, Rammstein are one of pre-unification Communist
