Members

* Till Lindemann – lead-vocals / lyrics
* Richard Zven Kruspe – lead-guitar
* Paul H. Landers – rhythm-guitar
* Oliver "Ollie" Riedel – bass-guitar
* Christoph "Doom" Schneider – drums
* Christian "Flake" Lorenz – keyboards

Kruspe, Riedel and Schneider originally founded Rammstein following an attempt by Kruspe to compose American-influenced music with a West Berlin band called Orgasm Death Gimmicks. As Kruspe put it, "I realized it's really important to make music and make it fit with your language, which I didn't do in the past. I came back [to Germany] and said, 'It's time to make music that's really authentic'. I was starting a project called Rammstein to really try to make German music". He invited Till Lindemann, a former competitive swimmer and drummer for the garage-rock band First Arsch, to join the project as a vocalist. The four entered a contest for new bands and won, attracting the interest of Paul H. Landers, who knew them all and decided to join the band. Christian "Flake" Lorenz was the last member to join; he had played with Landers before in the punk-rock band Feeling B and was initially reluctant to come on board, but was eventually persuaded to join. Their first album was released a year later.

Rammstein was started by Richard Z. Kruspe. In 1989 he escaped from East Germany over the border between Austria and Hungary. He eventually ended up in West Berlin and started a band in 1993 (Orgasm Death Gimmicks). At that time he was very influenced by American music. After the wall came down, he moved back home to Schwerin where Till Lindemann worked as a basket weaver and played drums in the band First Arsch.
At this time, Richard lived with Oliver Riedel (of the band The Inchtabokatables) and Christoph Doom Schneider (of Die Firma). Richard realized that the music he had previously made was not right for him. He envisioned something with machines and hard guitars together. The three started working together on a new project.
Richard soon found it hard to write music and lyrics at the same time. He got Till to join them as he had often heard him singing while working. A contest for new bands was announced and the prize was studio time. The four of them recorded the first Rammstein demo and won. Paul Landers knew them all and wanted to know what they were doing. After listening, he agreed to join. At this point, all they needed for the machine-sound was a keyboarder. They tried to get Christian "Flake" Lorenz to join, as he had played with Paul before in the band Feeling B. Flake was not entirely thrilled with the idea at first and didn't want to join for a long time. However, he eventually agreed.

About the time the band was formed, they all had relationship problems which provided the foundation for their debut album Herzeleid (Heartache) in 1995. Since then, they have reached gold and platinum status for their music and have become Germany's number one music export.

Name

Rammstein takes its name indirectly from the western German town of Ramstein-Miesenbach, site of an airshow disaster in 1988. The band's signature song, the eponymous Rammstein, is a commemoration of the tragedy that took place at the Ramstein Air Base. At the show, three Italian air force jets collided on August 28, 1988 at the US airbase. About 40 spectators died in the first minutes, and several hundred more were injured. In the next two months, the death toll rose to 72. The extra "m" in the band's name allows the word to mean "battering ram" (literally "ramming stone"), reinforcing the image of the band's music as powerful and revolutionary.

Style
Rammstein audio samples

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Bestrafe mich
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A sample of Rammstein's older style and Till Lindemann's deeply voiced lyrics.
Ohne dich
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The range of Rammstein's style and Till Lindemann's vocals are demonstrated in Ohne dich.
Zwitter
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Zwitter is an example of the unique subject matter and sense of humor in Rammstein's lyrics.
* Problems playing the files? See media help.

Although Rammstein is often generalized as Neue Deutsche Härte, its music spans a variety of related styles, including industrial hard rock, heavy metal and electronic music with influences of punk rock and gothic rock, due to their use of keyboards to emulate strings, choirs or pianos. The band was strongly influenced by Laibach, a Slovenian neo-classical and industrial group. Other influences include, Oomph!, and Ministry, but the contrast between individual songs such as Du riechst so gut, Bestrafe mich, Ohne dich and Te quiero puta! makes the band difficult to classify.

Rammstein's style has tended to divide critics, some of whom have responded with memorable comments. Jam Showbiz (April 2001) described Mutter as "music to invade Poland to", New Zealand's Southland Times (Dec. 17, 1999) suggested that Till Lindemann's "booming, sub-sonic voice" would send "the peasants fleeing into their barns and bolting their doors", The New York Times (Jan. 9, 2005) commented that on the stage, "Mr. Lindemann gave off an air of such brute masculinity and barely contained violence that it seemed that he could have reached into the crowd, snatched up a fan, and bitten off his head". Other critics have been more positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of All Music Guide commented that "their blend of industrial noise, grinding metal guitars, and operatic vocals is staggeringly powerful".[5] "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."

Despite Rammstein's brutalist image, many of its songs lyrics demonstrate a certain sense of humour. Zwitter ("Hermaphrodite"), for example, is a bizarre take on bisexual narcissism through the eyes of a prideful intersex person:

Wenn die anderen Mädchen suchten (When the others were searching for girls)
Konnt ich mich schon selbst befruchten (I could already fertilize myself)
So bin ich dann auch nicht verzagt (So I am even not despaired)
Wenn einer zu mir "Fick Dich" sagt (when someone tells me "Fuck yourself")

Similarly, the song Amerika ("America") features a tongue-in-cheek adaptation of the normal chorus:

We're all living in America
Coca-Cola, Wonderbra! Usually "Amerika ist wunderbar" ("America is wonderful"), in one chorus is sung as "Coca-Cola, Sometimes War" or "Wonderbra" the latter being a reference to the popular Bra in America that enhances the size of breasts. Ironically, Wonderbra is a Canadian product
We're all living in America
America, America!

Some of their songs show unexpected influences, usually from poems and German folk tales. Dalai Lama is an adaptation of the famous poem Der Erlkönig by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe[6]. Hilf mir ("Help me") was inspired by the short story Die gar traurige Geschichte mit dem Feuerzeug (from Der Struwwelpeter) by Heinrich Hoffmann[7]. Spieluhr ("Music-box") borrows the line Hoppe, hoppe, Reiter from a nursery rhyme of the same name[8]. Rosenrot ("Rose-red") is inspired by the poem Heidenröslein by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the story Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot by the Brothers Grimm[9]

Lyrics

Nearly all of Rammstein's songs are in German. However, the band did record English versions of Engel ("Angel"), Du hast ("You have") and Amerika, as well as covers of the songs Stripped (Depeche Mode) and Pet Sematary (The Ramones). In addition, the songs Amerika, Stirb nicht vor mir//Don't die before I do and Moskau ("Moscow") contain not only German verses, but also English and Russian choruses, respectively; Te quiero puta! ("I love you whore!") is entirely in Spanish. Oliver Riedel commented that, "German language suits heavy metal music. French might be the language of love, but German is the language of anger" [10].

Wordplay is a fundamental component of Rammstein's lyrics. In many instances, the lyrics are phrased such that they can be interpreted in several ways. The song Du hast, for example, is a play on German marriage vows (Willst Du, bis der Tod euch scheidet, treu ihr sein für alle Tage? - "Will you, until Death separates you, be faithful to her for the rest of your days?"). In the song, the traditional affirmative response, Ja ("Yes"), is replaced by its negation Nein ("No"). The final repetition of this line further perverts the meaning of the original vows through a minor change in the wording Willst Du, bis zum Tod der Scheide ... (Will you, until the Death of the vagina ...) (where 'vagina' can also refer to the woman), but it could also be interpreted as Willst Du bis zum Tod, der scheide ..., which would have the meaning of "Will you, until Death separates, ...". The song starts, in fact, with a play on words: Du... Du hast... Du hast mich... meaning "You have me". This line is often mistaken for "You hate me", because in German, there is no clear distinction between the pronunciation of Du hasst (double S) which means "you hate" and Du hast (single S) which means "you have". The verbs are hassen ("to hate") and haben ("to have"). The wordgame is later resolved as the line is completed; Du hast mich gefragt ("You [have] asked me"). But confusingly, the band did also make an English version of the song named You hate.

Rammstein often uses rhyming to create similar effects. For example, from the song Los ("-less" or "[Let's] go!"):

Es ist hoffnungslos (It is hopeless)
Sinnlos (Senseless)
Hilflos (Helpless)
Sie sind gottlos (They are godless)

The last two lines above can be interpreted in three ways. Sie sind Gott. / Los! can mean "They are God. / Go!"; Sie sind Gott los can be translated as "They got rid of God;" while Sie sind gottlos means "They are godless, profane or wicked". However, in the context of the rest of the lyrics, the most likely meaning is the third one, godless.


Albums

* Herzeleid - (1995)
* Sehnsucht - (1997)
* Live aus Berlin (Live) - (1999)
* Mutter - (2001)
* Reise, Reise - (2004)
* Rosenrot - (2005)
* Völkerball (Live) - (2006)

Rammstein has released five full-length studio albums: Herzeleid ("Heartache"), Sehnsucht ("Longing"), Mutter ("Mother"), Reise, Reise ("Arise, Arise" or "Travel, Travel"), Rosenrot ("Rose-red"), two live albums Live aus Berlin ("Live from Berlin") and Völkerball ("People's ball") and one compilation DVD Lichtspielhaus ("Cinema"). While Herzeleid was well-received, Sehnsucht is widely regarded as Rammstein's break-through album. In 1999, between their second and third album, they published a live album called Live aus Berlin. The production of the follow-up album Mutter was an experience fraught with difficulty for the band.

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.

The band took a time out in 2006, and are going to begin work again this year. In an interview with German rapper Bushido, who contributed to the Electro Ghetto Remix of Amerika, on January 21, 2007, Bushido reported recording a song with Rammstein called Vergiss uns nicht ("Don't forget us"). In this interview Bushido also mentioned that he was unsure of whether it would be on their "Best of" album or not. This was the first mention of a "Best of" album, or the new album all together. [16][17] In addition, keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz confirmed this in an interview with Metal Hammer Germany in November, stating that they would most likely release a new album in 2008. According to a newsletter from the band's management, Pilgrim Management, the band will not be touring during 2007 due to current album production. Their website confirmed work on a new album, but no word of a "Best of" album has been mentioned.

Covers and adaptations
Apocalyptica performing with Rammstein.
Apocalyptica performing with Rammstein.

Rammstein's songs have been covered by a number of other artists, including the group Gregorian who reworked Engel ("Angel") 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 ("My heart burns"), based on the music of Rammstein. The cover of Seemann ("Seaman") 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 ("Without you") and Mein Herz brennt together. The Benzin single also featured a remix of the song, called Kerosiini by Apocalyptica.

More recently, the industrial band Laibach covered the song Ohne dich.

Also, the German Death Metal band Debauchery, covered the song Weisses Fleisch for their Back In Blood album.

Rammstein has also done several covers themselves, including Das Modell ("The model") by Kraftwerk, Stripped by Depeche Mode and Pet Sematary by The Ramones (sung by keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz). Many people think that Rammstein also covered Schtiel ("Calm") by Aria however, it isn't a Rammstein track, since it was only played by vocalist Till Lindemann and guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe.

It was recently announced that the German pop singer Nena, author of the one-hit wonder 99 Luftballons ("99 air balloons"), will be doing an album of covers named Cover Me in which it will feature a Rammstein cover of the song Ein Leid.

On September 17, Apocalyptica will release their new album, Worlds Colide and Till Lindemann of Rammstein will be among the guest-singers. He will be taking on David Bowie's song Heroes, which was also released in German as Helden. Till will be singing the German version, making his song the only German-language song on Worlds Colide

Imagery
The original Herzeleid album cover.
The original Herzeleid album cover.
The American Herzeleid album cover.
The American Herzeleid album cover.

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[19]. Rammstein have not been shy about courting this controversy and have periodically attracted condemnation from morality campaigners. Their stage act earned them a night in jail in June 1999 after a liquid-ejecting dildo was used in a concert in Worcester, Massachusetts. Back home in Germany, the band has faced repeated accusations of fascist sympathies due to the dark and sometimes militaristic imagery of their videos and concerts, including the use of excerpts from the 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 band members' upper bodies without clothing; critics accused the band of trying to sell themselves as "poster boys for the Master Race" [20]. Rammstein have vigorously denied this and said that they want nothing to do with politics or supremacy of any kind. Christian "Flake" Lorenz, annoyed by the claim has remarked that it's just a photo, and should be understood as such. Herzeleid has since been given an alternate cover in the United States, depicting the band members' faces.

The song "Links 2, 3, 4" (Links being German for "left") 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" [21]. What seems to be clearly satirical. 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. The song is also an answer to the saying "the heart beats left", repeatedly outspoken by Oskar Lafontaine the Leader of the German party Die Linke and almost the title of a book written by him (the title is Das Herz schlägt links instead of Mein Herz schlägt links – "The heart beats left" instead of "My Heart beats left"). [1][2]. When the band sings Mein Herz schlägt links ("My heart beats left") the audience answers with a loud Nein ("No"), for about three times. After the second repeat of Mein Herz schlägt links and the repeated Nein ("No") of the audience Lindemann starts singing Mein Herz schlägt links, 2, 3, 4 what can be described as a surprising change in the meaning, amending a left political expression to a very right (but not Nazi like) expression.

According to the German online music magazine laut.de Rammstein took with this song position on the side of Oskar Lafontaine. They write

Rammstein binden den Lafontaine-Spruch "Mein Herz schlägt links" in ihren Text ein und zitieren eine Zeile aus einem alten Hannes Wader-Arbeitersong ("Links, zwo, drei, vier; links, zwo, drei, vier; wo dein Platz Genosse ist, reih Dich ein in die Arbeitereinheitsfront, wenn Du auch ein Arbeiter bist"). (Rammstein embed the Lafontaine saying My heart beats left into their lyric and cite a line of an old Hannes Wader workers song ("Left, 2, 3, 4; left 2, 3, 4; where your place is accomplice, queue yourself into the workers united frontline, if you are a worker yourself").)

Christian "Flake" Lorenz 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

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Rammstein
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Rammstein

* Rammstein.de (German) - official bandpage
* Rammstein.com - official English page
* Rammstein at MySpace
* Rammstein at the Internet Movie Database