Sind Sie Gehen?

Regulars might remember me posting about Bill Bailey letting out his inner Rammstein at Sonisphere. On a whim I decided to look for footage of this performance, and found it:



To my mind Bailey is as much a titan of comedic talent as the Rammstein lads are giants of riff-heavy, operatic metal. The combination is irresistable. I'd love to see a collaboration on this particular number.

RammBilling

In an article about Bill Bailey's Sonisphere show we get some idea of the inspiration Rammstein has provided him:

...He then gave a beautiful rendition of Scarborough Fair with a bouzouki before launching into a heavy interpretation through the ears of German rockers Rammstein. It was surprising how well the German lyrics were picked up (rubbish translation below if you want to give it a go), which led into Hokey Cokey, with Bailey clearly showing too much interest in Rammstein.

All the more impressive was that as the rush for the main headliner started, with the rain still lashing down as if straight from heavy metal hell, the crowd stuck with him until the end, allowing a delighted Bill to congratulate everyone on what he claimed must have been " the biggest comedy crowd ever, ever, ever". I’m not sure what McIntyre would say about that.

Scarborough Fair Rammstein-style

Gehst du nach Scarborough Fair?
Petersilie, Salbei, Rosmarin und Thymian,
Erinnere dich an mich an einen, der dort lebt,
Er (sie) war einmal eine wahre Liebe von mir.

I'm a huge Bill Bailey fan, and (I know this might surprise you) I'm also a pretty big Rammstein fan. I love it when things come together like this. Fuck yes!

Stupid Journalism

This article might lead one to believe that Rammstein will be taking in Sonisphere again this year, but it's worded in such a way that one can't be sure:

The celebration of heavy metal music tours throughout Europe each year and this year will arrive in Sofia on 21 June 2011. With famous bands from the metal genre on display including the likes of Rammstein and Manowar, dedicated fans will be looking forward to seeing their rock idols on stage.

To me 'the likes of' means bands on the scale and importance of, rather than the Fire Starters themselves, so I would advise caution against reading too much into this.

Knebworth's Legend

It sounds like Rammstein are welcome back to Knebworth any time. They are now part of the mythos of Knebworth, according to Knebworth House incumbent, Henry Lytton Cobbold. Given the recent history of this stately home this is rather cool.

Sonisphere - Almost Done With...

The reviews seem to be endless. Here's another I found a few days ago and never got around to posting. As usual here is the stuff you came for:

Saturday headliners Rammstein came out swinging with their furious industrial metal. The reaction from the crowd was massive, fuelled by one of the most intense stage shows in the world. Arriving with six lorries of pyrotechnic equipment, Rammstein set about using all of it, from flame throwing guitars to fire-breathing masks and pyro-jets shooting from the floor, not to mention the fireworks shooting up from behind the backdrop. Cynics might say that Rammstein use this extravagant display to distract the crowd from less talented musicianship, but this was not so. The band played very well together and really gave the following day's line-up something to think about.

BOOM

The second year of Sonisphere at Knebworth has, as you well know, been a screaming success, and as Rammstein fans you will now doubt have a fair idea of how much the German icons contributed to this. This article is an excellent summary of this though. There's the usual paragraph dedicated to the Leibe-brigade, which I will leave you to find for yourselves, but this closer, regarding the Last Blast of the Iron Maiden show the day following Rammstein, is telling:

...Their new futuristic mascot makes a welcome appearance but, in general, their whole set is, sadly, lacking in fireworks – and I mean literally as well as metaphorically. At the end of the day, it’s great to see them up there but when they fail to match Rammstein sonically and pyrotechnically, you can actually hear the Sonisphere ball deflating.

Sonisphere Fan Writers Have Their Say

I'm not sure who these people are, but I assume they are attendees considered adequately literate and knowledgeable to publish. Here is what some of them had to say about Rammstein:

“For a show that featured so much pyro, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was all about the visuals. “Ich Will” and “Sonne” would have quickly put you right though. A band that clearly cares about delivering a performance, Rammstein didn’t disappoint. They have surely won a new throng of fans over with this one.”

– Janusz Jasinski

“Word on the street was that Rammstein were going to tear Knebworth a new one. That they did, as well as burning everyone alive, rebuilding them, only to tear ‘em up again. Everything you’ve heard about the German industrial metallers was unequivocally displayed on Saturday night. From eyeball frying pyrotechnics set to classics such as Du Hast, to frontman Till Lindeman riding a giant foam spewing dick to porn-anthem Pussy, they held Knebworth in the palm of their hands (or groins) and brought Saturday to a knee trembling close.”

– Claire Nice

“Rammstein literally blew all comers aside, ensuring they were the undisputed kings of Knebworth and that any other band using pyrotechnics this weekend would look like losers. The fact that a German band singing exclusively in German had the crowd in the palm of their hands from start to finish speaks volumes. Perfect.”

– Chris Cooper

You can read more by following the link above.

WH Times: Rammstein Stole the Show

At least, they did if the Welwyn Hatfield Times is to be believed:

...But it wasn’t just the music that captured the imagination.

For Rammstein had brought nine articulated lorries with them from Berlin, containing a total of, ahem, 22 tonnes of pyrotechnics.

In the run-up to the festival, organiser Stuart Galbraith said the show would incorporate the biggest firework and special effects display he’d put on in 25 years in the music business...

It's a nice write-up, as the closing words show:

...For it is, and no doubt will remain, one of the best gigs I’ve ever had the pleasure of going to see.

Go and read the rest.

Muso's Guide on Knebworth

Muso's Guide has a run-down on Sonisphere Knebworth here. For those wanting just the Rammstein paragraph, here it is:

Rammstein’s Saturday night headline performance is over-the-top and brilliant. Their first ever UK festival appearance is full of fireworks and flame-throwers, and the German industrial metal band pump out some heavy foreign tunes. At one point, a “punter” jumps on stage, catches on fire, and is “rescued” by some stage technicians. It’s all staged – but it looks convincing and leaves us a bit rattled. They close out their set with a cannon that shoots foam and confetti at the crowd, and keyboardist Flake crowd surfs on a mini boat.

Metal Injection's Take on Knebworth

I can't think of a more apt site name where Rammstein commentary is concerned. Their review of the entire weekend is here, but for those only interested in Rammstein, here's the gen:

Rammstein managed to steal Sonisphere, set it on fire several times in increasingly imaginative ways and then douse it in foamy semen from a giant cock cannon. Literally. With a stage set that involved burning stuntmen, a fire breathing Lindeman and crystal clear sound, a high standard of musicianship and fuel consumption is set by the German pyromaniacs who managed to crowdsurf in a rubber dingy boat and get 55,000 people screaming the lyrics to Pussy.

Metal Hammer

Metal Hammer have also published a short run-down on Rammstein's appearance at Sonisphere Knebworth. Here's a snippet:

You might be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled upon a Broadway production, such was the magnificence of Rammstein’s live performance. We all know they have a proclivity for the grand, but it’s still an incredible sight to watch this multi-ton metal juggernaut in action.

Music Radar on Rammstein at Knebworth

Here's the excerpt about Rammstein:

While Mötley get the party started, Rammstein take the night in a very different direction - from a carnival to a downright freak show. There's explosions, pyro and the flamethrower-wielding Till Lindermann, although no bearded ladies, unfortunately. Luckily they have the tunes to back up the gimmicks (although we're not sure whether setting someone on fire counts as a gimmick), as 'Du Hast', 'Sonne' and 'Feuer Frei' blast out of the wall of speakers with ten times the power of anything else we've heard today. After 90 minutes we're exhausted, the front row's eyebrows are singed and it's the end of Saturday at Sonisphere…

Knebworth Set-List

According to NME 'a vocalist' rode the boat for Haifisch, and the set-list included 'Intro':

Intro (?)
Rammlied
Bückstabü
Waidmann
Keine Lust
Feuer Frei
Weiner Blut
Frühling in Paris
Ich Tu Dir Weh
Du Riechst So Gut
Benzin
Links
Du Hast
Pussy
Sonne
Haifisch
Ich Will

Are they confusing Flake for a vocalist, and is Intro the opening of Rammlied? I have to assume so as, by all accounts, Flake was the sailor and there is no intro' track.

I've also read some first-hand accounts saying that the crowd were utter wankers by Rammstein standards, shoving, and being generally much more aggressive than Rammstein fans are accustomed to. After months of reading Rammstein show reports I've come to the conclusion that inconsiderate moshing and small chick squishing crowd behaviour is the exception, rather than the rule, at dedicated Rammstein shows, and the festival season has proven to be a bit hard on Rammstein's less physically robust fans.

Knebworth Shots - Nigel Crane

Rocksound.TV has a short series of Nigel Crane's Rammstein photos from Knebworth that I think are worth a look. The shot I've posted here is, I think, paricularly representative of the Rammstein ethos, if not the nature of the men who create it. The tendon straining, vein popping testosterone surge that is the live Rammstein show, personified by the band's front-man in a single moment. Nice shot, Nigel.

Click on the image or check out image six in the gallery to see the detail.

Sonisphere Knebworth Times from the Times

Rammstein will perform from 2045 hrs Saturday 2010.07.31, according to the Welwyn Hatfield Times website. See here for more information.

Win Sonisphere Tickets - Part 4

Here's another one. The Welwyn Hatfield Times has a couple of weekend tickets up for grabs. To enter:

Which legendary British heavy metal band will close the main stage on Sunday?

a) Iron Maiden

b) AC/DC

c) Metallica

Send your answer to Sonisphere Festival Competition, WHT, 31a Howardsgate, WGC, Herts, AL8 6AP or email comps@whtimes.co.uk

Remember to include your name, age, address, telephone number and email address. But hurry, the closing date is Monday, July 26 at noon.

Travel to and from Knebworth is not included in the prize.

Normal Archant rules apply.

* Archant Ltd may wish to contact you about special offers and services by email from time to time.

If you WOULD like to be contacted by email please include your email address on your postal entry or mark your email entry with ‘Agreed to contact’.

* For ticket details, info on camping and the full festival line-up, go to the Sonisphere Festivals website, see link above.

Knebworth Survivor's Guide

Virtual Festivals have posted a survivor's guide for the up-coming Sonisphere at Knebworth. The experts on the panel that have compiled this guide are the organisers of the festival, so they probably know what they're talking about.

What three essentials would you pack for Sonisphere?
Lucy: “Wet wipes, spare phone battery, TICKET.”
Mark: “Bog roll, condoms, sun tan lotion cos its going to be HOT.”
Zac: “A sun hat to keep sun and rain off, wet wipes and ear plugs.”
Twitter: “More socks, a good tent that you can sit in and my Metal Just got Gay t-shirt for the pit.”
Alan: “Beer, whiskey and vodka.”
Steve: “Money, phone, shades.”

Win Sonisphere Tickets - Part 3

There's another competition/lottery to win Knebworth tickets. Go and WIN, then come back and tell me all about the show. Closes midday Monday 26.

Awesome Sauce

The Sonisphere site has a write-up of the Spanish show, including a vivid painting of the Rammstein performance:

At twenty past midnight on the dot and with no warning, an explosive boom erupted and the curtain fell to the floor, to reveal a German flag, covering the entire expanse of the stage. As primal screams of unadulterated excitement united the swelling crowd, this too fell to the floor to reveal the six members of Rammstein, split over two levels.

And so the greatest festival show of all time ignited once more in a blitz of pyrotechnics and strobe lighting...

...We’re still trying to rationalise the experience of this show which was like nothing we have ever seen before. Perhaps they will come later, but for now we simply don’t have the words to convey just what an extraordinarily mind-blowing live phenomenon Rammstein are, especially in the festival field.

Sonisphere Pimps Rammstein

And talks to RZK. The live show is summed up quite nicely, and the inclinations of the band are finally out:

“We’re all like little children,” explains lead guitarist Richard Z Kruspe. “We never really want to grow up and we want to play with a lot of toys.”

Yeah, really flamey, burny, ouchy toys. YAY!