Making Monsters

For just one week Combichrist's Making Monsters album is being streamed here. Check it out.

WARNING: This stream may lead to album purchase.

Voxy Music

Voxy posts:

A decade since ruling over BIG DAY OUT with a reign of fire, pyrotechnics, monstrous riffs, wicked humour and industrial savagery, RAMMSTEIN will return this summer to reclaim their sovereign territory. The RAMMSTEIN live experience is "dizzyingly ridiculous", says the BBC. "Rock is at its best when confrontational, subversive, curiously camp and bold, which is why RAMMSTEIN are currently one of the most important bands in the genre." Armed with their sixth album, Liebe ist fr [sic] Alle da, Germany's infamous techno-metal masters bring nothing less than the greatest show on earth: "RAMMSTEIN are in pulverising form, the crowd are going crazy, the atmosphere is electric and the firebombs launching from the stage are like World War III on apocalypse LSD" (The Quietus, February 2010). Bow down to your kings, BIG DAY OUT 2011, for RAMMSTEIN have returned.

Nice. Note the emphasis in this quote is not mine. I am not alone in my shoutiness.

Rammstein Remarks USA

TG has comment from Rammstein regarding their single US show in December. You definitely need to read the whole article linked above, but here is a highlight:

...Everything for this show is perfect - the timing, the season. We are really pumped to return to the States to play Madison Square Garden – this is one of the most challenging shows for us in 10 years...
- Olli

So go on, America. Do anything to get to that show and show them it's worth booking more shows on another leg. Nobody wants another ten years to pass without any US shows.

Rammstein is COMING

Yeah, look at those upper-case letters. That's called emphasis. Get used to it. I'm going to be very shouty in the literary sense over the next four months, because RAMMSTEIN IS COMING TO NEW ZEALAND! Edit: AND AUSTRALIA! See? I did it again.

Here's what is being said down here:

Rammstein are brining six containers of pyro gear and dildos. ‘Pussy’ was my favourite single in recent memory. I can’t wait to see this live, with backing flames and pelvic thrusts.
- David Farrier - local Twit (and journalist)

The return of several major rock acts - especially German shock-metallers Rammstein and aggressive Sacramento band Deftones - will please Big Day Out fans who complained that artists like Bjork, Dizzee Rascal, Arcade Fire and Neil Young had made the main stage a little soft in recent years.
- Stuff (NZ)

Heavy metal giants Tool and Rammstein are the big names heading to Auckland in January next year as the Big Day Out announces the first of its line-up.
- TVNZ (er NZ, and LOL at Rammstein being heavy metal giants - the metalheads will be pfft!ing themselves silly)

I'll post anything and everything that seems remotely interesting to me, as it comes to hand...with emphasis on the good stuff.

Big Day Out

Yes, I will be there. Yes, Rammstein will be there. Yes, I will tell you all about it. I'm at work right now. More later...

Rammstein, Rammstein

Well, Richard's complete lack of subtlety has come to the fore (read the first answer). His remark that his ideal gig would be at Madison Square Garden in New York has been explained. Rammstein are going to America for a single NY show. Is it, as Richard said, a recce 'to feel out, like, if there is a need for us, are people waiting for us, what can we do, what would be the next step' or is this it? The US griefers are going to have conniptions.

For those who don't follow links, Rammstein will play one live show at Madison Square Gardens, December 11. Tickets go on sale October 8. More details will be forthcoming.

Believe It When I See It

GOSSIP ALERT: This is in no way substantiated, by anyone in a position to verify Rammstein fact. DO NOT SHARE THIS INFORMATION AS ANYTHING BUT MAD SPECULATION.

The BDO rumour-mill is going a bit nuts, apparently. I wouldn't know. I'm so out of touch with the music industry my fake smile has rusted over and my air-kissing skills are absolutely nil. It's been more than fifteen years since I attended a major event. I am clueless. The Music Network has it that Rammstein is one of the rumoured acts for BDO 2011. It's probably utter fiction, but oh boy, I wish...

An Oasis in the Desert

There's nothing going on (on the surface), so it's very, very quiet. As such when I found something you might like I just had to share it. Here are some photos taken at the Sonisphere show in Turkey. There's not a lot of Rammstein, sadly.*

Hello? Is this thing on?

* Just the first one.

Knebworth Video with a Difference

Okay, here's the process: live show filmed in HD, broadcast in HD on TV, filmed from TV, and posted to the internet. Mad? No. Aside from bad sound (tinny - to be expected), a little tearing, and funky white levels this video is excellent, the video quality is much better than you'd think. Check it out.

Mexico Too

Sorry for the delay. I'm a little slow off the mark on this one. A second Mexico show has been arranged, after tickets for the first sold out straight away. Win!

Rammfire

I'm not a musician, but I'm sure a bunch of you are. Those of you who are will know who Native Instruments are, and will no doubt be interested to know about their new suite of tools, which includes an emulator RZK helped develop:

The new RAMMFIRE amp emulation was developed in close collaboration with one of Rammstein's guitarists, Richard Z. Kruspe, and models the original recording chain that is behind the band's trademark guitar sound. It can be used both as an expansion to the amplifier arsenal in GUITAR RIG 4 and as an individual product in combination with the free GUITAR RIG 4 PLAYER.

For those of you not familiar, Paul has spoken about Guitar Rig.

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.

William's Song a Day

Who is William? I don't know, but he has a blog to which he posts a song a day. It's a nice idea, and he has posted three days running for people like you, by working to the theme of songs that get mistakenly attributed to Rammstein. Here are William's 'Also Known As Rammstein' posts:

AKAR I: Joachim Witt - Krieger Des Licht
AKAR II: Eisbrecher - Mein Blut
AKAR III: Unheilig - Schutzengel

Update -
AKAR IV: Oomph! - Das Weiße Licht
AKAR V: Megaherz - Heuchler
AKAR VI: Stahlhammer - Herz Aus Stahl
AKAR VII: Letzte Instanz - Für Immer Und Ewig

I'll post any further AKAR posts he might make in the next few days to this article, so come back here in a few days if you are pleased by his first three AKAR posts.

Calm

All is quiet in the world of Rammstein fans. There are the gentle whispers of those who have words to exchange despite the lack of outward activity, and an occasional crackling of complaint, be it over the lack of US date announcements or the fact that there's nothing going on at all. On top of that we the gentle breeze of our various fan communities breathing gently in and out, treading water, marking time, and waiting.

We're in a lull, and it's actually quite nice for me, especially given that I have recently started a new and very time-consuming job. It means that I'm not the only Rammstein source who is not giving you what you want!

That said, I have some plans for content, and will be posting that at some point this weekend. It's not news. It's just LILT-appropriate content, so it's not going to be earth-shattering, but it may help you fritter away some Rammstein-appreciation time.

*Tumbleweed*

Yeah, and crickets too.

There's not a lot going on in the world of German manliness. I'll figure out something. Maybe I can finally finish my ITDW video review, or write one for Haifisch. Whatever it is I promise it won't be the deathly silence of the past few days...

Rock Band 3 + Rammstein = Du Hast, Really?

Yep, that's the word on the street. Du Hast. Insert rolled eyes and sigh of exasperation here. Rammstein are so much better than that song.

Sex, Fires, and Teutonic Escape

Are you familiar with Erotic Review Magazine? I'm not. I haven't even bothered checking to see what it's all about, but it sounds funky and ... erotic. Anyway, this is a little bit out of the ordinary. Here's an excerpt, creatively edited for effect:

...All Quiet on the Stage Front

The concert opener was, of course, “Rammstein.” As the slow keyboard intro kicked in, vocalist Till Lindemann, wearing a heavy-looking silver-colored trenchcoat and goggles, walked up to his mike, opened his arms and, at the very first word of the lyrics (“RAMM! STEIN!”), he caught fire. All over his back and arms.

There’s no describing the effect on the audience...

...What followed was more than anyone could have asked for. Everything caught fire: the instruments, the mike stands, the musicians. Flames burst out of flash pots downstage. Halfway through the show, the lead singer grabbed what looked like an oversized crossbow and shot something like a navy flare up at the skies. After we had followed its arch like a batted baseball, a torrent of sparks started to shower from the crossbow’s curve as Lindemann spun it across the stage, in a magnificent Olympic display. Scratch that – it was better than anything we’d ever seen at the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games...

...When it was over, we walked away to have a beer as the Kiss concert went by. Who cared about their gimmicky cardboard 3-D glasses after watching the stage explode...

The article is basically all about the impression Rammstein has made on this guy over the years, and it's a good read. Sorry for the sex line, by the way. There really is nothing erotic about the story...oh, apart from the Banging Buggery of Büch Dich.

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.

Noise Collection - LILT does a 180

Okay, if you're a regular reader you will be aware that I bummed myself out recently when I checked out Combichrist's product, because I love their music, but am not a fan of Andy's vocal stylings.

Then today I found a Combichrist album in the NZ iTunes store that I hadn't previously checked out, so I went through the samples and found that Andy's acid-bath-screams seemed minimal. I took a punt and bought it, and I've been listening to it on and off all day.

The verdict? It's a solid and very stylish piece of viscerally percussive noise. The textures are varied and well-married, and it definitely has a sense of humour. In short, it rocks. In fact if I were playing it in my car rather than via my stupidly expensive canalphones I would definitely be feeling the beats in my liver. This makes me very happy. Check it out if you get a chance.

New Silvijo Photos

Silvijo has updated his site with more photos of Rammstein's show.



It's interesting looking at all the pictures that have been coming out during the tour. The vast majority photographing both Rammstein and Combichrist have been fairly samey and uninspiring, despite the subject matter, but a few have really stood out. They include Silvijo, Christian Hjorth, and these people. The more the better, as far as I am concerned.

Arr-Zed-Gay

I can never resist a cheesy pun.

My friend Maggie has posted her interview with RZK for her paper. She disclaims all responsibility for the title. Blame her editor!

The interview is great, taking Richard outside the usual, and deliberately keeping him off the straight and narrow, without being too pushy. Good job, Maggie. This is the best RZK interview I have read.

To top off her extraordinary dip into Rammstein waters she has also published her review of the Quebec show here. Awesome!

Pyro FX House Site

Tempelhüter has shared the site of the pyro supplier to Rammstein, and they have some great photos from Rammstein shows.

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.

Metal Hammer Best Album Award for Rammstein

YAY!

Sorry about this morning. Today was the first day of my new job, and I really didn't want to be late. I ended up late in any case, as there are road works going on all over the place in central Wellington right now, including on the motorway, but at least I tried.

Here's the source of the information I posted then (GLT - original German here). That link comes courtesy of Tempelhüter.

Metal Hammer Award - Best Album

Rammstein have won it, but I'm in a big hurry this morning. I will post more detail later. Good stuff though!

Free Apocalyptica Track

Apocalyptica have a giveaway for those who sign up for their newsletter. Once you've subscribed you will get an acknowledgment email, including a link to download At The Gates Of Manala.

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.

NecroMag Interviews Andy from Combichrist

You can read the interview here.

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.

Lolito De Palermo Shots

There is a gallery of shots up on this flickr page, which I think any Rammstein fan would have to enjoy. Some are from last year, the rest this, and they're all excellent. I particularly like the red one of Richard, the soft black & white Olli shot, and the one I've posted here. Let me know which are your favourites.

I think the Olli picture was taken during Frühling in Paris, and it looks like it has a PS smart-blur on it. It's very simple and very beautiful.

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…

Haifisch Plus Drums

Trevor and Joe from Combichrist joined Rammstein on stage for Ich Will and Haifisch in Zagreb, March, while one of the others (Z_marr) took Flake's boat for a spin:



I found this on Joe's Combichrist blog.

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.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi! :D

We seriously need to get Rammstein down here. I think the odds of the tour including NZ are so slim as to be two dimensional, but Australia could be a go. Please join this group on Facebook to support this idea. It is a group I am now a part of, and all my efforts to make sure we get some burninating down under will be channelled through it. I did have my own page, but it seemed counter-productive not to join forces with others after the same end result. Come burn with us!

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.

Getting Wasted & Laid

And fighting other bands. Awesome.

There is a short Kerrang (podcast) interview with Schneider and RZK about their Inspiration award 3 m 38 s into the video below:



Click here to have the video load at the right time, automagically.

Official Confirmation for Latin America

Feel the love!

November 25th, Santiago, Chile
November 27th, Buenos Aires, Argentina
November 30th, Sao Paulo, Brazil
December 3rd, Bogota, Colombia
December 6th, Mexico City, Mexico

Rammstein Mexico Slash-Dotted

I think excitement over recent tour information has caused something of a traffic glut, so here are the details, as per erikire's post to Herzeleid:

Official confirmations (by the organizers)

* MEXICO
* COLOMBIA
* BRAZIL
* CHILE

Remaining dates to be confirmed...

- 25 de Noviembre / Estadio Bicentenario La Florida / Chile
- 27 de Noviembre / Racing / Argentina
- 30 de Noviembre / Via Funchal / Brasil
- 03 de Diciembre / CEC Centro de Eventos y Espectáculos Sopó. / Colombia
- 06 de Diciembre / Palacio de los Deportes / México
- 07 de Diciembre / Palacio de los Deportes / México (Por confirmar)
- 09 de Diciembre / Monterrey / (Por confirmar)

R+MX


Ajúa!!!

Kerrang Inspiration Award

Kerrang have managed to give best live act to someone else, but something called the Inspiration Award has gone to Rammstein. Yeah, okay. Ah well, a win is a win. YAY!

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.

Bogota to Burn?

The plot around the rumoured South American leg of the tour thickens. Ticket outlet, Tuboleta, has announced December 2010 will see Rammstein in Bogota (GLT - original Spanish here). Eh, at this point we only have their tweet about it, and not much else, and I'm inclined, as with other rumours (GLT - original Spanish here), to wait for Rammstein.De to announce it before I consider it a definite, but it's still exciting and plausible.

Thanks to the ubiquitous Tempelhüter for the Bogota link.

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.

Extreme Idol

There's a tribute to Till here, on a True Cult Heavy Metal blog called Wretched Spawn. There's no new information, but the article is a nice summary of his career to date.

Paavo Interview

Paavo Lötjönen, the least hairy of Apocalyptica's sublime trio of cellists, is someone I have seen very little of outside of their performances and videos, but there is a lovely Musik Universe interview with him (conducted in Quebec) on YouTube that Apocalyptica fans will enjoy:

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.

Apocalyptica Wish You Were There

Apocalyptica have been in North America (filming a video I think) and have gone down to Mexico to play some shows. While there they let ShockHound into their dressing room so they could record a message for their fans:



Those Mexican fans are obviously exhausting.

DW Video Article

I've been watching a lot of Deutsche Welle lately, in the hope of catching a Rammstein story I have seen written teasers for online, and have managed to learn a lot about Berlin Fashion Week, German students living in Belgium, and more, but no Rammstein. Now SkeletonCrew has found an article (possibly the one I was looking for) on YouTube, under DW's channel, so enjoy!:



Sehnsucht.DK and its staff feature, so a shout out to them! Here is one of the surprisingly few Rammstein articles DW's website posts.

Schneider Interviewed in Quebec

It sounds like Flake lost the hearing in one ear when he got sick in 2001. Does anyone know if he got that back, or if it was permanent? Also, Schneider's English is getting better and better.

More Quebec Photos

Thanks to Stephan for the link. I wish I had been there. I love Apocalyptica, and they accompanied Rammstein for Haifisch and Ich Will, closing out the show.

Musik Universe Review & Photos from Canada

Musik Universe has posted a run-down on Apocalyptica and Rammstein (GLT - original French here) at the Quebec festival, and a gallery of photos. All well worth a looksie. Set lists are included.

A major treat is that RZK has ditched the helmet haircut in favour of a very flattering and much more age-appropriate look. The emo-kid style just did nothing for him.

Till Rather Sweet, But Extreme

Tempelhüter has shared a link to a Canadian article (GLT - original French here) where RZK discusses Lindemann's tendencies:

"He likes harmony and dislike conflict. It's really a team player. It is not like other singers with a big ego. If the group decides to go in a certain direction, it is always in agreement. "

But that does not stop him from going to extremes in other spheres of its existence, described with humor Kruspe.

Awesome Live Combichrist Photos

To continue the Combichrist run, here's a FB gallery of shots of Combichrist live taken by a couple of people. Some of them are simply stunning.

Christ Combichrist

Gutted. I LOVE Combichrist's music, but I can't fucking stand the vocals. This really bums me out. Every song I have checked out today has been awesome, and then Andy has kicked in and the love has been smeared all over a glass-spiked, faeces-spattered wall of FUCK.

Damn :(

I really wanted to like their work, because I've developed a bit of a crush on Joe Letz, Combichrist's most verbose, maturity-impaired, cute-as-a-button drummer, whose inane musings on Vampire Freaks give me so much enjoyment (he makes me feel old but in a good way).

Sorry Joe. I meant to become a fan of your band, but it's just not going to happen unless Andy stops using his ARGH-I'M-DYING-IN-A-BATH-OF-ACID voice. Lets face it, the dude has the lungs for it. He just has all the modulation of a defective paper shredder.

Paul Interview (French)

Rammstein indexed over Pussy? Research is your friend, Nicolas. It's an okay interview, but Google Language Tools didn't cope terribly well. In English it reads like 1000 monkeys operated 1000 typewriters for 1000 days, but it's worth a look:

Q You do not hate the controversy, but do you think that sometimes went too far and that it could hurt you?

R is not offensive just for the sake of shocking. [...] The challenge is a natural component of our work. We do not ask if we make too much or not enough. This is not artificial, it's just something that comes with the way we create. Sometimes it is necessary that slows a bit, but we can live the consequences of what one does.

Thanks Gonzalo, from Rammstein Uruguay, for the link.

Apocalyptica Post End of Me Video to YouTube

The complete End of Me video is now up on YouTube, so I can embed it here. YAY!:

South America in November?

A French site has information up regarding the next dates on the LIFAD tour (GLT - orignal French here), courtesy of Paul:

...Pour ce faire, le groupe de métal industriel a même dû faire venir la scène par bateau jusqu'à Québec.

«Ça faisait très longtemps que nous souhaitions venir en Amérique du Nord et l'organisation [du Festival d'été] nous en a donné l'occasion», nous at-il expliqué en allemand avec l'aide d'un traducteur anglais.

Le concert, qui est présenté en exclusivité nord-américaine, doit servir de prélude, voire de répétition à une longue tournée mondiale de trois ans qui débuterait en novembre.

Après le concert, les six musiciens (le chanteur Till Lindemann, les guitaristes Richard Zven Kruspe et Paul H. Landers, le bassiste Oliver Riedel, le batteur Christoph Schneider et le claviériste Christian Lorenz) laisseront derrière eux la scène afin qu'elle soit récupérée en novembre pour les premières dates de la tournée en Amérique du Sud.

...To do this, the industrial metal band has even had to bring the scene by boat to Quebec.

"It was very long as we wanted to come to North America and the organization [Summer Festival] has given us the opportunity," he told us in German, with the help of an English translator.

The concert, presented the exclusive North American to serve as a prelude to even repeat a long world tour of three years starting in November.

After the concert, the six musicians (singer Till Lindemann, guitarists Richard Kruspe and Paul H. Zven Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, Christoph Schneider drummer and keyboardist Christian Lorenz) leave behind the stage so it is recovered in November for the first tour dates in South America.

There is no confirmation on the official site yet.

Joe Cutez

I know it's inane and tenuous as far as Rammstein news goes, but the latest Combichrist blog post has a damned cute Joe photo included:

It's his new Russian do. It's called Dr Seuss.

Sorry!

I've had very little time and there has been bugger-all Rammstein news this week, so everything has gone a bit stagnant. I'll get onto things soon.

Vettel (Off-Topic)

I stayed up to watch the British Formula 1 Grand Prix. I got really worried at about half-past midnight NZT, as Sebastian kept losing time to his team-mate and Lewis, who held a solid lead at Silverstone. He wasn't his usual elegant self, and just didn't have the pace I have come to expect from both RBR cars. I was wondering what was going on, and then he landed a free catch-up in the form of a safety car, and he seemed to fire up and look more like his usual self.

I really love this driver, and he didn't let me down this time, ending classified seventh place from the back of the pack in lap one. I have a tendency to pick a driver and stick with them for a season, but I have been really impressed by Vettel for years now, and it has become stupidly important to me that he does well.

Oddly, it's Vettel, and my association of a German win with joy through him, that lead me to support Germany after New Zealand (undefeated baybee, yeah!) were eliminated from the World Cup, rather than Rammstein or any other aspect of German culture that I admire.

Pair that with the talented and likable Mark Webber and you have a team designed to hold my attention. Go RBR!

Okay, that's the end of my off-topicness for the day. It wasn't as bad as I anticipated.

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.

It's My Birthday

I get to be completely self-indulgent and do whatever I want today, so I am not doing anything useful or practical. I shall write, work on my translation of Mike Oldfield im Schaukelstuhl, and watch TV. I suspect I will probably ramble a fair bit on here. It's a slow news period for Rammstein and I'm celebrating my last 30th birthday, so bear with me.

Garçon! Diesel!

In response to my recent WTF Eva has provided some vital information: Lindemann did the same thing for Pink. He is apparently a closet sommelier, who takes time out from his performance to organise a tipple for any special guest who might happen to be enjoying the show from the wings. I have this wild image in my head of the front-man trotting out from behind a gantry with a glass-cloth-draped arm bearing a tray of wine glasses, serving any artists attending Rammstein's shows with fine German wines.

I must say that I can't think of a higher level of service than to have your drinks order taken, mid-song, by a man simultaneously holding sway over 10,000-plus maddened rock fans. Yes please!

WineTweet 1
WineTweet 2

For Good

Lindemann and a bunch of other artists have contributed their mite for a charity. I have no idea which charity or charities are benefiting from this, but I have emailed the organiser to find out, and will update once I hear back.

WTF?

Really?

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!

LILT: Roter Sand 1.1

Okay, trying again:

For one love with one heartfelt vow
I said I'll come back to you
With sorrow I break my word now
As his bullet has got through

For one love our two pistols duel
One is levelling on me
He says that it is me who stole you
You love me yet
He can't see

Red sand and of two cartridges
One dies in a powdered mess
The second unerring round is his
And lodged deep within my chest

For one love and one heartfelt vow
So much blood runs from my mouth
And I won't be avenged now
Senseless, I fall to the ground

For one love with two pistols aimed
One was much more quickly drawn
Regrettably it was not mine
You belong to him

Red sand and of two cartridges
One dies in a powdered mess
The second unerring round is his
And lodged deep within my chest

Red sand and white doves attending
Feeding themselves on my blood
In the end there must be an ending
So my life has served some good

Red sand and of two cartridges
One dies in a powdered mess
The second unerring round is his
And lodged deep within my chest

Pink & Rammstein?

I've been thinking about Pink's enthusiasm for Rammstein's live show since I found her Tweet about it, and it strikes me that she has one hell of a rock voice. I can imagine her belting out filthy Till poetry with Rammstein. I wonder if she could sing in German without making an arse of herself...

That or get someone to LILT some Till lyrics for her to sing with them or record a cover with. I'd be game.

Rammstein in the Pink

Another new Rammstein fan?:

Rammstein show was the best show I've EVER seen, not knowing words. Holy shit. I want to be in a metal band. I want to invite them to dinner

End of Me Video Out

Apocalyptica have released the video for End of Me, featuring Gavin Rossdale, from Bush:



The full version is on their site.

Sonne Live

Thanks to jenstt.

Richardstiltskin

Moshpitmum has found a somewhat freaky resemblance between RZK and Rumpelstiltskin in Shrek Forever After:



RZK with red hair, perhaps after someone has confiscated his cigarettes? Grumpy.

Pearls

There's something very frustrating about Rammstein. Their work has been described as 'music to invade Poland to', the live show with 'Rammstein don't play, they burn', or something like it, but both are fairly trite and inadequate.

Rammstein's music, live show, and public life are authored to fuck with the programme. On the latest album there's a heartfelt Piaf tribute about the deflowering of a young man, a very poppy pop song about European sex tourism, and a heavy anthem about Rammstein and its fans. If you got the bonus disk you can listen a very pretty track about the rape of a goose-girl, and a operatic piece centred around the image of conjoined twins. The live show includes as much drama and choreography as any classical ballet, and a foam canon dressed up as a cock. The front-man only opens his mouth to sing and otherwise stands back and stares, and their lyrics are almost entirely German. Yes, fuck the programme. Let's just confuse the uninitiated and drive our fans to distraction, shall we?

To me Rammstein resemble nothing so much as a grain of sand in an oyster's shell. Consider the grain of sand. It gets into the oyster shell and irritates the shit out of the oyster. The oyster is forced to protect itself by coating the grain with crystalline calcium carbonate, and the end product is a pearl, and an overwrought oyster.

Despite the fact that their albums are coherent, thematic, and well-balanced Rammstein manage to avoid fitting into any pigeonhole you might care to invent for them. The tracks are distinct and disturbing, the hooks and riffs keep your body involved, even if you stop consciously listening, and that's without considering the actual meaning of the lyrics, around which this site is built.

Rammstein's stock in trade is their live performance, which I have never experienced. If they don't come down this way I expect to turn out a lot of pearls. Please support this Facebook group, and save me a lot of frustration.

Lateral Slide into Apocalyptica's 7th

It's about time I evangelised Apocalyptica again, as their new album, 7th Symphony, is imminent (August). Before that (Friday) their new video is due out. The song is End of Me, with Gavin Rossdale (Bush) providing the pipes (and doing so very well). I'm really looking forward to this.

There's a making of video below, featuring Eicca Toppinen, as well as Rossdale and Perttu Kivilaakso, showing a very emo, but beautiful series of shots being made, and excerpts from the finished video:



Enjoy!

Win Sonisphere Knebworth Tickets (the sequel)

Ireland's State site has a camping weekend pass for Sonisphere Knebworth up for grabs. w00!

Romanian Rammstein Review

There's a fairly comprehensive review of the Sonisphere Romania show here. Thanks to Rammchick for the link.

Anathema Tech Posts about Rammstein

Anathema played at Sonisphere Romania in Bucharest, and one of their guitar tech is maintaining a blog about it. He has posted about the megalith that is the Rammstein stage set, and how awesome the show is here.

Bucharest Photos

Mishu Vass has posted some great Rammstein shots from the crowd at Sonisphere Romania.

New Convert?

I found a lovely blog post today. I reckon (just a hunch) that she might like Rammstein. Let me know if I'm wrong.

Rammstein's Athens Set-List

Kindly provided by rammstein6athens:

- Rammlied
- Bückstabü
- Waidmanns Heil
- Keine Lust
- Feuer Frei
- Wiener Blut
- Frühling In Paris
- Ich Tu Dir Weh
- Du Riechst So Gut
- Benzin
- Links 2-3-4
- Du Hast
- Pussy
-----------------------
- Sonne
- Haifisch
- Ich Will

Motherfuckers

RZK has had a chat with Sonisphere. It's not really an interview, but I thought you might be interested.

Rammstein Tour a Hit

Rammchick has shared a link to this. The LIFAD tour is ranking second, after the Black Eyed Peas tour, which I honestly didn't know was on. Not too shabby for a band that performs in German.

3 AM - Half-Time

The NZ/Paraguay match has me awake and I don't like the commentator prattle at half-time, so I went and found this. A pat on the back to the Bulgarian metallers. It's not every day a government minister pays tribute to music fans for their conduct at a major festival.

Turkish Fans Won't Like This

Apparently Islamist media in Turkey are not happy about the advent of Rammstein specifically, and the Sonisphere festival in general. The reasons against the band seem to be the same as those cited in Belarus.

Eh.

Update 2010.06.24 2217hrs - From here:

The "Israeli company" in question is Purple Concerts, a big concert promoter based in Germany and run by two Israelis. The company recently brought to Turkey unwitting Mossad stooges such as Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood and the members of "WrestleMania Revenge Tour."

Rammstein's Haifisch: Behind The Scenes Clip

Ariesgirl has shared this link on the Neo Rammstein (French) site. Awesome!

Scalpers Beware

The Bulgarian internal revenue authorities are all over the Sofia Rocks Sonisphere festival. Ticketing, merchandisers, and the like are being scrutinised and monitored throughout. I hope they nail the scalpers. They are such parasites.

unTill Night

A nightclub party in Solfia lured Lindemann out of his private space the other night. Here is a link to the gallery. Of the 155 photos there he appears in around 30, and in every face shot the shutters are down. The mask is firmly in place with not even a glimmer of animation. They might be fun to go through if you are into the minutae of the man's public appearances, but to be honest nobody's home, so for those who prefer to see him candid and interested I can't recommending wading through this extensive series of perfect strangers.

360 Degree Rammstein Shot

Erikire has linked to this wonderful 360 degree shot of the Provinssirock show. The same site also has this one and this. Very effective!

Rammstein Understand Us

Ts4EVER has pointed out that, in the MTV footage at least, Till sings Wir verstehen euch toward the end of Ich Will, rather than Wir verstehen euch nicht, which is probably meant to make us feel warm and fuzzy, and works for me.

Rammstein at Metaltown

Combalex has posted a review of his Metaltown experience on Herzeleid, and has very kindly given me permission to post an excerpt from it here for you. There are no details of the show, as it was the same show as usual, but it sounds like the vibe was exceptional:

People started to move in to the first section of the crowd, i had gotten myself a sweet front row spot again infront of Paul once again, because like i mentioned earlier, he is the best guy to stand at, even though it is like my 3rd time. But that just tells everyone how great he is! Anyway, it started to get really crowded, i couldn't even reach my cellphone in my pocket, just insane. Then people also started pushing for some reason, probably drunks who had nothing better to do.

But then Rammstein went on and all the troubles went away. I could tell through the entire show that the band was in a such a great mood, it was really great to see them once again, even if it was a few weeks ago since the last time. Till was laughing alot and spoke a bunch of swedish, that even made sense! Most of it was about fucking though.. Oh well, that's Till! Paul was doing some weird moves that made Oliver and Schneider laugh. He also repeated some things that people in the crowd did, like a few of us was clapping along in Haifisch while Flake was in the boat, Paul just clapped along as well and started laughing, such an awesome guy! Flake was being silly as always, he even made fun of Till's headbanging in Ich will, it was hilarious!

Thanks to this, a great crowd that was headbanging, jumping, singing, all of that. It pretty much made it the best Rammstein show i have ever been to, it was just awesome to say least.

Thanks Combalex.

Yeah, Slack...

In case you're wondering if I died in the bath, I have just finished up working in a job that I was really unhappy in, so I've neglected you. Don't worry, I will get back on track soon, and resume bringing you the content you read this site for. I just need to let my hair down a bit...

Lovebreed

Jamey Jasta has Tweeted about Rammstein. Aw, nice! He's talking about playing Bergen with them.

Jamey is the front-man for Hatebreed, in case you're stupidly ignorant, as I am. I've added him to my metal Twitter-list. Here's his blog.

It's All Greek to Me

Rammstein play Athens this month. I'm cursing a bit, because I was in Greece this time last year. I'm Greek by marriage (Greeks will know what I mean by that), and we go over semi-regularly, but this year is an off-year, damnit!

Richard has given an interview to a Greek, which Rammstein.com.uy has in turn found and posted. I have proceeded to steal it from them:



Don't ask me what the Greek means. I don't speak Greek, yet. I would see if my father-in-law could translate, but he's in Greece. Enjoy!

Win Sonisphere Knebworth Tickets

You can enter here, courtesy of Virtual Festivals.

Petition to Bring Rammstein to Australia

Sign it!

from RammsteiNZ

Holy Crap!

I wonder if Schneider will regret this interview. It's utterly charming and very strange:

Finally, the classic Bizarre question: necrophilia, coprophilia or bestiality – which would you go for?
Oh, that’s a great question! I know this game – I played it once with a girlfriend from America, and we had a very funny night. I only have sex with people I’m close to, I won’t do anything with dead people, and I won’t do anything with animals, so it’s gotta be the poo thing… if it’s the poo of my girlfriend or wife, then it’s going to be fine! I definitely wouldn’t eat it, though– I’d roll myself into the poo.

If you don't find toilet humour funny (freak) then there's plenty of other stuff for you to check out in the interview, but for me it peaked at the poop.

Thanks to Eva for the link.

Bring Rammstein to Australasia

How many fans does it take to bring Rammstein halfway around the planet? I have no idea, but shall we find out?