Without any doubt, the most anticipated act of the day was Rammstein. The German fire freaks did not disappoint. Pyrotechnics and thundering apocalypse metal are a tried and true combo, however Rammstein takes it to an entirely new level. There are times during the set in which the stage literally turns into the surface of the sun. It is baffling as to why one of these guys hasn't been immolated yet. One misstep and they're a dustbin full of ashes. Rammstein isn't just ball of fire. Their songs are a feast of melodic, crunchy hooks and fist-pumping beats. Their lyrics are smart, cheeky, and sometimes just downright wrong. Speaking of lyrics, Rammstein sings only in German, which is why one of the biggest bands in the world is still somewhat unknown in the USA. What is it with Americans and their contempt for foreign languages? I just witnessed 40,000 Australians singing "Du hast mich." The language barrier doesn't seem to affect them. After emitting streams of fire from their faces, arms, instruments, and blasting flamethrowers, rockets and flaming arrows over the crowd Rammstein saved the best for last. Straight out of Dr. Strangelove, singer Till Lindemann reprised the Slim Pickens/nuclear bomb scene by mounting a giant pink phallus. He then proceeded to ejaculate an immense sea of soap bubbles over the crowd. Oh, those naughty Germans.
The paragraph following that paragraph is also worth looking at. Poor Tool...
Poor Tool indeed, it was the same it Auckland. It was a case of 'Really Tool? REALLY? You're gonna come up here with a crappy laser light and play your music videoes on the big screen? After what Rammstein just did? REALLY? I think I'll go home....' and we did
ReplyDeleteHeh, to be honest I had no interest in seeing Tool afterwards either, primarily because I had people to meet and coffee to drink, and even my brother, who likes them didn't stay. They drew the short straw, playing after Rammstein.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, 22,000 people sang along in perfect German at Madison Square Garden in the US, just a month ago. While this reviewer is right, in a way, that the US is resistant to foreign language bands, Rammstein is never gonna be mainstream. And thank god for that!
ReplyDeleteRammchick
I have no problem with mainstream, so long as their music continues to evolve along it's natural developmental curve. In fact, if they made it mainstream any tour would be far more comprehensive.
ReplyDelete