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Metal Hammer - July 2005

Metal Hammer presents...

Metal Hammer sponsors the band's biggest UK shows yet – that must be seen to be believed!

Rammstein return to the UK for four Hammer-sponsored UK dates nest month following their three successive sold-out shows at London's Brixton Academy at the beginning of the year.

"The success of Rammstein in the UK has been a great experience for us," says guitarist Richard Z Kruspe-Bernstein. "Because for many years it looked as though what we were doing as a band, musically, visually and I guess culturally, wasn't going to work in Britain. But then the media seemed to discover us. We played a sold-out show in Brixton, which was an amazing night, very emotional, our singles started going in the charts and really we haven't looked back since. At some point, we'd love to be involved in a UK Festival – that would be very special!"

Rammstein play July 14 Newcastle Arena (0870 707 8000), 15 Birmingham NEC (0870 909 4133), 16 Glasgow SECC (0870 040 4000), 18 Cardiff Arena (02920 224 488). Tickets are available via a 24 hour credit card hotline (0870 161 2124) or online at www.gigsandtours.com

Rammstein will also play some major shows and festivals in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Finland, Belgium, Austria and Holland but, at the moment, they're in Berlin working on tracks originally recorded for the 'Reise, Reise' album which may form the basis for a new Rammstein album.

"We're not attempting to fashion an entire album from scratch," explains Richard, who spends his non-touring time moving between New York and Berlin. "Because we pretty much recorded an album-and-a-half for 'Reise, Reise'. We still feel good about the songs that didn't make it onto that record – in fact, our early plans had one of them earmarked as a first single. So we're finishing them off now and adding in a few more."

Rammstein have decided to rip up their own rule book, firstly by recording close to home (they've generally favoured locations such as France and Spain), and secondly, by returning to track-laying mode much quicker than usual, once again being overseen by Swedish producer Jacob Hellner.

The decision as to whether or not these new recordings will make up Rammstein's fifth studio album is expected to be made soon. There is also talk of a new in-concert DVD being available around the end of the year.

The band recently played a one-off show in Japan (Club Citta, Tokyo on June 3rd), where their current 'Reise, Reise' album is in the charts – the release was held back to coincide with the dates. An alternative Japanese version of 'Reise, Reise' (or Voyage, Voyage') was issued featuring extra tracks plus a bonus DVD.

"Over the years, we haven't been able to spend as much time in Japan as we might have liked," explains Richard. "But this year we've decided to make it more of a priority. As well as the one-off show in Tokyo, we'll be going back for the Summersonic Festival in August (13th and 14th), appearing on the bill in both Tokyo and Osaka.

"Given the size of our stage set, it's a major operation to travel as far afield as Australia, Korea or Japan," says Richard. "But it's important for us to present a 'proper' Rammstein show – a show that hopefully does justice to the reputation we've built up over the past 10 years.

"For Japan, we've decided that some of the key elements – such as the cooking pot Till wheels out during 'Mein Teil' – should be constructed over there, so they'll always be available when we need them. We couldn't play in Japan and not boil Flake!".



© 2005 Sue Lindemann