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UK Concert reviews - April 2005

Rocksound – April 2005 – Issue #71

When you can feel the heat from the flamethrowers at the very back of the Academy, it would be a brave stage-diver who tempted fate tonight. Rammstein are in town, and you can feel the burn. First up, we have the equally brave Apocalyptica, who are either genius or the funniest thing in the world - four hair whirling heavy metal cellists hammering out skull-cracking riffs that might well he Metallica covers. They end with 'Hall of the Mountain King', and suddenly it's clear that they are both.

Six men in white shirts walk on stage scanning the space around them with flashlights, before the curtain suddenly rises revealing the real Rammstein high on their industrial back-drop. The epic 'Reise, Reise' ensues, followed by thunderous versions of 'Links 2-3-4', 'Keine Lust', 'Du Hast' and 'Stein Um Stein'. Singer Till, a hulk of a man who must have asbestos for skin, lords the front of the stage, but while the show is a visual feast of flame and fire, for this tour you cannot help but feel Rammstein want the music to do the talking. 'Mein Tell' is perfect stage drama, with Flake playing his keyboards in a cooking pot, before being stalked off stage by a knife wielding Till, but perhaps the most touching moment is when they come together at the front of the stage for the semi-acoustic 'Los'. Rammstein have always understood music is theatre, but tonight they show they understand a gimmick is never enough - an epiphany that is a privilege to witness.

Alex Whitehead

Metal Hammer
Brixton Academy, London

Imagine for a moment how difficult it must be to plan for a Rammstein tour. They're raised their own bar so high that punters now expect a breathtaking performance each and every time the Germans play live. There was a suggestion floating around that they were going to go for a stripped-down, pyro-free show on this tour, but they wisely decided against that idea. Their music is powerful enough on its own, but in the live setting it's the combination of the visuals and the sound that makes a Rammstein gig absolutely incredible. So when Hammer ventured into the Brixton Academy one recent night, it was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. The anticipation levels are so high before a Rammstein concert; it can only be followed by a feeling of anti-climax, can't it? Wrong!

A curtain drops to reveal a large metallic platform with the band perched on top, except for singer Till Lindemann, who soon emerges through a door at the foot of the platform that resembles HR Giger's mechanical vagina art. They pummel straight into 'Reise, Reise', the title track from last year's majestic fourth album, and it's immediately apparent that they sound as good as they look tonight.

'Links 2 3 4' from 2001's 'Mutter' album is next, with its military marching tempo, followed by another newie, 'Keine Lust'. By now, the two guitarists, Paul Landers and Richard Kruspe-Bernstein, have been lowered from the top of the platform to the stage on mechanical gadgets, the first of many toys that the band pull out tonight. For 'Feuer Frei', they all strap on the ol' facial flame-throwers and fill the air with jets of fire. It's a safety officer's nightmare; you can practically feel the venue's management squirming as sparks and flames cover every inch of the stage, but Rammstein are old hands at this showmanship game: every move is choreographed to perfection.

Things only get more bizarre: for 'MeinTeil', which tells the tale of Armin Miewes (the man who recently advertised on the internet for a sexual partner who wouldn't mind being eaten – cock first), Lindemann appears dressed as a chef. He pushes out a huge cooking pot, which contains keyboardist Flake Lorenz, and promptly chases him around with a knife, which also happens to double as a microphone. You have to admire that sort of attention to detail.

The toys, of course, keep coming. There are all manner of flame-emitting devices, such as a crossbow-style weapon that hurls bolts of fire upwards and showers the band with sparks. There are the fountains of fire that blow from the stage intermittently, and the balls of flame that shoot from the stage towards the balcony. During 'Amerika', Lorenz can be seen playing his keyboard while riding on a scooter with caterpillar tracks, and later in that same song, masses and masses of shredded paper are blown out over the crowd, covering all of the audience's sweaty brows with blue tissue.

Even without the gadgets, though, Rammstein are a sight to behold. Lindemann is built like a shot-putter and looks more than a little disconcerting in leather dungarees. Lorenz, meanwhile, with his skinny frame and Tourette-style twitches, is obviously a fruitcake. His knees clatter together throughout, and he jerks about the stage like a hyperactive junkie.

The songs are, of course, genius. 'Sonne' is still the top anthem, but new songs such as the excellent 'Moskau' are starting to rival it as a highlight of their set. It's the cold splendour of their music together with the visual grandeur of the performance that makes Rammstein such an experience, and tonight, as ever, they deliver everything that anybody could want from a rock show.

Whether you like the band's recorded output or not, it's still worth seeing them live, and there aren't a lot of bands you can say that about. But wee reckon we've established long ago that Rammstein aren't like other bands. Brett Callwood.

Rating (9)

© 2005 Sue Lindemann